.gif)
GB Olympic Academy Set to Work in Italy
In this feature, we'll be talking to Olympic Academy coach, Rod Ellingworth, about how his charges get on in the introduction to racing in Italy with a one day race and then straight after, a stage race,
Giro delle Regioni (UCI 2.2)
April 26th to May 1st, 2006
It was the final day of the UCI ranked stage race in Italy for the Olympic Academy riders (under 23) who were thrown into the deep end as they embark on their first road season for the Academy. Overall, the manager Rod Ellingworth says he's pleased with the way they have ridden having achieved the number one goal which was to get through the race which all the riders did and with three top 10s in the final three stages, he says he couldn't have asked for much more on their debut at this level.
They also set about learning different things about racing at this level so this was work experience with a capital W. Take the final stage today for example. It was the turn of Ross Sander to be the chosen rider for the bunch sprint and he was delivered to the start of the sprint by first Ian Stannard and then Geraint Thomas.
Things didn't go to plan as Ian's gear cable broke when on the 11 and he took them as far as he could before Geraint took over and once let loose, it was down to Ross who ended up going a little early and he was swamped but is still expected to have finished with a top 10.
Just like Geraint who had been given the chance of finishing the sprint off to finish 8th on stage 5a. On that stage, the team worked on getting a GB train going for him and although it didn't quite go as expected, and they fell a bit short in delivering Geraint to where he needed to be, it was a chance to learn from the experience in a high level race which Rod believes they did. It was something they could only learn from in a race such as this and the manager was relatively pleased with how they did.
The highlight though, not just because of the placing but the strength of the ride, was Ian Stannard's 2nd and Andy Tennant's 8th in the Time Trial. Rod explained that all the riders committed 100 percent to the race, with no-one cruising around. They were all equipped with the right gear for the race so there was to be no excuses and both Ian and Andy came up with good results in different styles.
Ian was spot on, showing a lot of experience in his pace management and his ability to ride the right line through the technical bits and at the finish he lead the event and did so until the last rider. The margin of 20 seconds between him and the next rider was also pleasing said his manager who described how he didn't go under 30mph into the wind on the home leg of the race having saved a bit on the outward journey.
Andy Tennant meanwhile showed that physically he as what it takes and its now up to the team and Andy himself, to put the whole package together. Despite not making the best gear choices and the technical nature of his ride being less than perfect, the World Junior Pursuit champion showed he has the engine to go far.
"Forget result and look at the rides" Rod said of their performances adding that to put in these performances with tired legs showed a lot of maturity on the part of these young lads.
Rod also gave a special mention to Ben Greenwood who has joined the Academy riders in Italy and today punctured and had to fight really hard to back on before slotting in and carrying on with his duties. It was a ride that impressed the Academy manager.
The team when we spoke were now heading for another race in Italy, where the riders would race over 170km in a 1 day event before a break. They are all healthy says Rod which after such a tough baptism says a lot about their fitness levels and Rod went as far as saying that these boys are going do something in Italy before the season is out...
_____________________________________________________________________
Stage 1 - April 26: Cassino - Fiuggi, 107 km
Whilst Matthew Goss, part of the Aussie World Title winning Team Pursuit squad yet again won in Italy for the second time in two days, it was a close call for Great Britain's Olympic Academy rider Geraint Thomas (pictured right). His manager in Italy, Rod Ellingworth, says Geraint was capable of winning today but tactically didn't quite get it right on the day and will have learnt a lot from the disappointment at going so close.
The stage, Rod says, was similar to the race the day before, a stage dominated by a small break early on and then under the pressure of the Ukraines, there was a coming together in the closing stages as the field tackled the final climbs. It was on the final climb of the stage when the race was hotting up big time as riders attacked continuously to get a break going that bad luck struck for Ian Stannard. The Milton Keynes rider was one of the Brits still in the lead group when he punctured and with the field all over the place up the climb, there was a delay getting a wheel to him which was to prove costly. Chasing hard, he still failed to regain the front group that was lined out ahead of him and Ian ended up coming in with Andy Tennant, three minutes down.
Still in the big front group for the finale though were Ben Greenwood, Ben Swift and Geraint Thomas. With the final sections of the race mainly downhill, a break got away with only 4 or 5 kilometres to go with the bunch breathing down their neck the whole time. Thomas, eager to prove himself in this type of race, bided his time near the front of the group until with 800 metres to go he could wait no more and launched himself in pursuit. It was going to be touch and go but he did manage to catch the tail end of them as the line was approaching fast but then found himself swamped as the sprinting bunch engulfed him, crossing the line in around 18th place.
His manager felt had Ben Swift and Geraint linked up better for the final sprint, a win would have been a possibility but then adding that with it being their first race in Italy, it was always going to be a learning experience. Ben Swift for example spent much of the race going back for bottles and learning about that side of being a team player but still had the legs to be in at the kill. Rod went further by saying when asking about positives from the stage, that Ben Swift's progression is one of the highlights.
He came into the Under 23 Academy at 17 and had his 18th Birthday having a rough time of it in Moscow at the World Track Cup. He then had a knee problem and missed riding the Manchester and Sydney World Cups as well as the Commonwealth Games. Despite the great disappointment of that, Ben has bounced back which Rod explained was pleasing after Ben had such a tough beginning in the Academy.
Rod also said that Ross Sander was showing signs of getting better after he went into the Italian job lacking the required fitness to compete at the level he is capable of and that the racing in Italy will also help World Junior champion Andy Tennant. The West Midlands rider has come into this level of racing with little experience of bunch riding with the pros and despite being physically capable of riding at this level, still has much to learn about pro racing.
It is the main reason for being there Rod says, for the riders to learn and work hard, but when I asked how the lads were finding the glamour of racing in Italy, Rod who has raced in France himself, laughed and replied it's no more glamorous here than it is racing in France or Belgium. This image of it being more glamorous is bullsh#t. In fact the organisation of the races here isn't as good in some respects.
He went on to say that there is probably more quality in-depth in Italy and that the warmer temperatures make for better training before finishing with we can do this. It's not too hard or beyond these lads. We'll go away from this stage race in a few days, plan better and try again.
RESULTS
Stage 1 - April 26: Cassino - Fiuggi, 107 km
1. Matthew Goss (Aus) Australia 2.37.50
2. Oscar Gatto (Ita) Italy
3. Anders Lund (Den) Denmark
18. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Great Britain
45. Ben Greenwood (GBr) Great Britain
84. Ben Swift (GBr) Great Britain
96. Andrew Tennant (GBr) Great Britain 3.11
105. Ian Stannard (GBr) Great Britain
116. Ross Sander (GBr) Great Britain 6.05
Stage 2 - April 27: Villanova di Guidonia - Guidonia Montecelio, 167.8 km
1. Dymytriy Grabovskiy (Ukr) Ukraine 4.15.26 (39.415 km/h)
2. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Belgium
3. Mickael Larpe (Fra) France
9. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Great Britain 0.07
29. Andrew Tennant (GBr) Great Britain
46. Ben Greenwood (GBr) Great Britain
49. Ian Stannard (GBr) Great Britain 0.15
94. Ben Swift (GBr) Great Britain 7.54
100. Ross Sander (GBr) Great Britain 13.17
Stage 3 - April 28: Orvieto - Spoleto, 152.9 km
1. Dymytriy Grabovskiy (Ukr) Ukraine 3.51.05 (39.699 km/h)
2. Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Belgium
3. Anders Lund (Den) Denmark 0.17
15. Ben Greenwood (GBr) Great Britain
32. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Great Britain 2.14
38. Ian Stannard (GBr) Great Britain
67. Andrew Tennant (GBr) Great Britain 2.26
92. Ross Sander (GBr) Great Britain 13.29
93. Matthew Goss (Aus) Australia
94. Ben Swift (GBr) Great Britain
Stage 4 - April 29: Castelfranco di Sopra - Barberino di Mugello, 156.6 km
1. Yann Huguet (Fra) France 4.34.33 (36.845 km/h)
2. Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Japan
3. Maxim Belkov (Rus) Russia
17. Ian Stannard (GBr) Great Britain @14
27. Ben Greenwood (GBr) Great Britain
68. Ross Sander (GBr) Great Britain 10.22
69. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Great Britain
83. Andrew Tennant (GBr) Great Britain 13.10
84. Ben Swift (GBr) Great Britain
Stage 5A
1. Aldo Ino Ilesic (Slo) Slovenia
2. Oscar Gatto (Ita) Italy
3. Romain Feillu (Fra) France
8. Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Great Britain
Stage 5b - April 30: Lodi - Lodi ITT, 11 km
1. Dymytriy Grabovskiy (Ukr) Ukraine 13.05
2. Ian Stannard (GBr) Great Britain 0.09
3. Andre Steensen (Den) Denmark 0.30
8. Andrew Tennant (GBr) Great Britain 0.47
29. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Great Britain 1.13
37. Ben Greenwood (GBr) Great Britain 1.19
47. Ben Swift (GBr) Great Britain 1.29
55. Ross Sander (GBr) Great Britain 1.40
Final stage result to come....
_____________________________________________________
OTHER INTERNATIONAL NEWS
41st International Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt - 2.1
In this German stage race, a rider who graduated from the Olympic Academy last year, Britain's Mark Cavendish, was 9th on the stage won by German Andre Greipel from top sprinter Danilo Hondo. It was a massive bunch finish and the expereince 'Cav' would have got from it would have been very useful as he looks to establish himself as a front line sprinter in road racing.
He was however disappointed after looking for a top 5 but after having ridden his bike little since the Track Worlds due to illness, it was a great performance. Mark's fellow Great Britain team-mate Ed Clancy was in the bunch as well in 95th place.
Stage 1 - April 26: Kaiserslautern - Worms, 130.0 km
1. Andre Greipel (Ger) T-Mobile Team 3.08.18 (41.42 km/h)
2. Danilo Hondo (Ger) Team Lamonta
3. Rene Haselbacher (Aut) Gerolsteiner
9. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Sparkasse
95. Ed Clancy (GBr) Team Sparkasse .
__________________________________________________________________
61st Gran Premio Della Liberazione -- Day 1 of the Italian Job
The riders in the Great Britain Olympic Academy had their first taste of Italian racing since moving to Italy last week. Riding the 61st Gran Premio Della Liberazione, it was the biggest test yet and all of them got through it riding technically and tactically okay says the team coach Rod Ellingworth. 
The riders, Ian Stannard (pictured), Andy Tennant, Ross Sander, Ben Swift and Geraint Thomas are now living in a large house in the Tuscany area of Italy under the watchful eye of Max Sciandri and Rod Ellingworth. In a race with many experienced national teams, it was a case of throwing the riders, who were juniors last year, in at the deep end says Rod. They did however ride well with one, Ian Stannard finishing in the front group, going as far as having a dig in the closing stages. It was yet another example of just how good this young rider is.
The Great Britain riders went into the race with the strategy of sitting in for the first 20 laps in the 23 lap race. It was says Rod, a risky strategy but one which worked out okay in the end. The only limiting factor says Rod was the depth of the riders fitness. Being young and with no experience of such high profile senior road races in their legs, they did lack the racing miles at this level but Rod is confident that given time, these riders will succeed here.
Two of the riders were competing on the road for the first time after the World Track Championships only two weeks ago, Ian Stannard and Silver medallist in Bordeaux, Geraint Thomas. These were the only two who managed to stay in the front group with Thomas finding himself in the barriers late on and coming in just behind the front group where Aussie Matt Goss won the race in a sprint.
Rod was impressed with the gutsy riding of his youngsters, pointing out that after puncturing and chasing to get back on, he almost had to drag Andy Tennant off his bike late in the race to get him to save his legs for the stage race (31st Giro Delle Regioni) that starts tomorrow (Wednesday) where Recycling.co.uk rider Ben Greenwood will join the Academy riders in starting the event proper.
We'll have more on the GB Italian job in the coming days.
1. Matthew Goss (South Australia Ais)
2. Manuel Belletti (Trevigiani Dynamon Veneto Banca)
3. Cristiano Fumagalli (Filmop Sorelle Ramonda Parolin)
4. Marcello Pavarin (Bata Seep)
5. Oscar Gatto (Zalf DøFrðFior)
