Fleche du Sud Stage Race (UCI 2.2)
May 25-28; Great Britain Cycling Team Report
Geraint Thomas Wins Fleche du Sud
It was the Welsh rider's biggest victory yet and he sealed with style today as Geraint Thomas finished the Flech du Sud with 4th place on the stage to clinch the Yellow, Under 21 and Points jersey in this UCI ranked 2.2 International. To cap off a great race for the British team, Andy Tennant held on to his 3rd place overall and second place to his teammate in the Under 21 competition.
Rod Ellingworth said afterwards he was proud - not just of Geraint - but the whole team for the way they rode together and all achieved various things during the race. Everyone in the team had good form and it showed on the road today where Rob Hayles lead the way, helping these young riders to not only learn the ropes but also inspire them.
It was a hectic stage but for once it was sunny and warm which helped the already good team morale. After 40 kilometres, there were lots of attacks, including many from the overall contenders but Andy and Geraint contained them with some brilliant attacking but contained riding of their own. Then, when a group of eight riders escaped, with the best placed rider in 7th overall at almost 3 minutes, the GB team let them go, riding tempo and controlling the break's lead.
As the distance of the stage wore on, the leading group started to break up and the GB riders started to hunt them down to try and ensure Geraint kept his Points leader's jersey as well. No point giving it away without a fight! This they all did until with around 5km, they could ride no more and parked up to leave Geraint and Andy to finish the job. Only three riders eluded them but Geraint's second place in the bunch sprint, 4th on the stage, helped him keep the leader's jersey making it a very successful race for the rider who was 20 years old on the 25th. What a birthday present!
When you look at the fact that this team had three first seniors in it, it was an awesome performance on the road by them and a great morale boost before their next big target - the 'Baby Giro', a 10 day Tour of Italy.
Right: a great ride by Andy Tennant to finish 3rd after not a lot of years racing, especially at this level.
It underlines the fact that even though the GB programme is based around for the main part, winning medals on the track, the team are also making great strides in helping develop talented road riders that may well find themselves in Pro Tour teams in the coming years and as well as winning medals on the track, will also be vying for the same on the road.
"These riders are not just great track riders - they are great bike riders" Rod told British Cycling. "I'm really proud and impressed with the way they rode this race".
They now return to Italy for a break before the final phase of training for the young riders Tour of Italy. Our congratulations to Geraint, Andy, the two Bens, Rob plus Ian Stannard.
Stage 4 - May 28: Dudelange - Esch/Alzette, 161,8 km
1. Stefan Parinussa (Ger) Sparkasse Team 3.58.38
2. Michael Tronborg (Den) CC Differdange
3. Alain Lauener (Swi) Fidi BC COM 0.11
4. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Great Britain National Team
52. Andrew Tennant (GBr) Great Britain National Team
74. Ben Greenwood (GBr) Great Britain National Team 4.12
83. Ben Swift (GBr) Great Britain National Team 7.08
85. Robert Hayles (GBr) Great Britain National Team
OVERALL
1. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Great Britain National Team 16.14.27
2. Wolfram Wiese (Ger) Regiostrom - Senges 0.13
3. Andrew Tennant (GBr) Great Britain National Team 0.48
48. Ben Greenwood (GBr) Great Britain National Team 16.06
56. Ben Swift (GBr) Great Britain National Team 25.16
59. Robert Hayles (GBr) Great Britain National Team 28.06
DAY 3 -- Geraint Keeps His Yellow Jersey (Stages 3A & 3B)
The third day of the Flech du Sud saw Great Britain's Geraint Thomas continue to hold his yellow jersey and also, Andy Tennant move up to third place overall. Two riders in the top three is quite an achievement for the team but manager Rod Ellingworth isn't getting over confident and knows his lads are tired with a long day in the saddle to come to defend the yellow jersey.
The day began with stage 3A which finished up a 5 kilometre climb and Rod explained that everything went to plan. A break went away but with no-one a threat on the GC, so the Great Britain riders let it go and controlled the race.
The race for the overall came down to the final climb and Geraint Thomas found himself putting time into everyone except for his closest rival in second place. Better still for GB was that Andy Tennant moved up a place into the top three after another good ride while the rest of the GB riders sat up at the bottom of the climb and cruised in, saving what they had left for the important afternoon stage.
Stage 3B
This was a really tough stage with the roads going up and down all day, steep climbs, cross winds, rain and at the end, a battle royal for the overall. Having not raced in Europe for a while, Rob Hayles was having a tough time and got dropped along with Ben Swift and it was left to Andy Tennant (3rd)n and Ben Greenwood to help Geraint defend his yellow jersey.
A break got away with 18 riders but never got more than 30 seconds and when the field got to the business end of the race, it was breaking up and riders were coming back to the chasers. With Andy and Ben finding it tough protecting Geraint, there was relief when Ben Swift managed to claw his way back to the front of the race and drove hard at the front for around 7 kilometres to give his teammates a breather.
He then lost contact for good having done his job and then next to go was Ben Greenwood. Andy Tennant was also having a tough time, yo-yoing on and off the group but still managing to stay with the lead group to protect his place overall. Coming into the last 10k, Geraint's rivals were taking it in turns to attack him but the Welsh rider gave as good as he got and even threw in an attack of his own to let them know who was boss.
Then came another coupe-de-gras when on the final descent to the finish, Geraint showed he had plenty of balls by attacking on wet roads with hairpins and the like. It shook his opponents for sure and Geraint proceeded to ride away from them, catching one of the final remaining riders in front of him to finish second on the stage and keep his yellow jersey.
Despite there being gaps between riders at the end, the manager says everyone in the lead group was given the same time much to Geraint's disgust and so Geraint goes into the final day with only a small lead and a tired team but as the manager says, being in yellow helps them all ride above themselves and after a tough stage race, they will need to do that to finish the race with the leader's jersey.
Stage 3a - May 27: Colmar/Berg - Eschdorf, 78,6 km
1. Christopher Myhre (Nor) Maxbo Bianchi 2.07.48
2. Evgeny Sokolov (Rus) La Pomme Marseille
3. Albert Timmer (Ned) Loewik Meubelen
10. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Great Britain National Team 0.52
32. Andrew Tennant (GBr) Great Britain National Team 1.12
39. Ben Greenwood (GBr) Great Britain National Team 1.37
81. Michael Reihs (Den) Designa Kokken 5.09
82. Kasper Malmkjaer (Den) Herning
84. Robert Hayles (GBr) Great Britain National Team
87. Ben Swift (GBr) Great Britain National Team
STAGE 3b
1. Stefan Parinussa (Ger) Sparkasse Team 1.51.15
2. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Great Britain National Team 0.03
3. Maarten Mandemakers (Ned) Fondas P3 Transfer
39. Andrew Tennant (GBr) Great Britain National Team
59. Ben Greenwood (GBr) Great Britain National Team 5.17
70. Hugo Gootjes (Ned) Ruiter Dakkapellen
71. Robert Hayles (GBr) Great Britain National Team 9.18
83. Ben Swift (GBr) Great Britain National Team 9.35
Stage 2 - May 26: Kayl - Rumelange, 168,9 km
Geraint Thomas in Yellow, Tennant has a Blinder of a Race
The race for the overall in the Flech du Sud blew wide open today as the teenagers in the Great Britain Olympic Academy team threw down the challenge to the rest with Geraint Thomas (right) winning the stage and 19 year old Andy Tennant finishing 4th. Tonight we spoke to the team manager in Luxembourg, Rod Ellingworth to get the full story on how it all fell into place.
It was again, Rod explained, a really horrible day weather wise. The wind was horrific, they had heavy rain all day and just riding their bike was hard work - never mind racing. That didn't however put off the GB lads who made the first move of the day when Ben Greenwood got himself in a move of eight riders and all was going well until he had a heavy fall on a roundabout. Then, rather bizarrely, the rest of the break fell on the next roundabout!
A little later, another of the GB riders, Andy Tennant also got caught up in a crash and broke his shoe which meant he had to go back to the team car and get service and if that wasn't bad enough, 20k later he punctured which meant he had to get back to the group again after service. Looking on the bright side of these problems, Rod explained that they did give Andy an opportunity to learn more aspects of what bike racing is about by having to use the convoy to get back to the group.
By this time in the race, the bunch was splitting into three or four groups and GB, the manager says, were never really in difficulties. The only one who did was Ben Greenwood who took an hour or so to get over his fall before finding his place in the main group. There were more problems of another kind for GB though after about 60 kilometres when they missed a move of five riders which looked quite dangerous. This was the signal for Rob Hayles and Andy Tennant to shred the field in the crosswinds and bring the break back which they did within four to five kilometres.
It was then status quo in the race as most of the action was at the back of the field as riders got shelled and then, with 50 kilometres to go, seven riders escaped and two of them were from Great Britain, Andy Tennant and Geraint Thomas. The break happened during a cross wind section with the pressure on at the front and the teams that were at the front helped form the break. With the yellow jersey and two of his teammates in there, it was a strong group of young and old riders and they put their heads down and ended up getting three minutes on the rest. "Behind them, everyone was their knees" Rod says of the chase. "I had been telling the boys it was going to happen in the last hour today and they had to survive and get through it 'til then."
They break soon reached the finishing circuit with all the riders riding well although Geraint did have to ride through a bad patch with stomach problems causing him cramp. 'G' toughed it out though and then a little later on the start of the last climb, Andy Tennant (right) did his softening up act as he put in a big one, forcing the other riders to chase him for all their worth with only six kilometres to go.
Chase them they did and only two or three got to him before Geraint Thomas executed the coupe-de-gras in style, stomping hard on the pedals and taking flight through the wind and rain. After such a hard day in the saddle, no-one could live with the young Welshman as he raced to the finish line. With a kilometre to go, he had five seconds and at the line, 13 seconds on the next rider and the stage and yellow jersey was his!
The icing on the cake for Rod was the fourth place of Andy Tennant who was almost third but got rolled on the line by Jacob Nielsen of Denmark, relegating Andy to 4th position which after the day he had had, was a remarkable ride from the Junior Pursuit champion. His prize for such a good ride is the Under 21 jersey which is lead by Geraint but Andy is in second place and fourth overall.
Talking about Geraint, Rod was full of praise for the lad. "I think that is his best win on the road. Junior Roubaix is good but you have to hand it to him with a 2.2 international stage win. He had a big accident last year and he has clawed himself back from that. He also had a lot of opportunities last year but was completely dedicated to Mark Cavendish and from that, has learnt a lot of good skills."
"You can tell when you watch them in training and see how they are when they're racing and G rode really well today. Rod said On Andy's ride, Rod added "That ride he did today was really impressive too".
As for the team overall in the race, Rod is pretty happy of course - who wouldn't be with a rider in yellow and two in the top four. "The bottom line coming into the race was a minimum of the Under 21 jersey" he explained to British Cycling tonight "just to show everybody we have the best young riders."
"I said to them a few days before we came here that we have done the 'getting through races' and the learning as a team bit and we're here to get results. We have done a lot of drills together in the time we have been together since October where there has been a lot of talking about bike racing and it shows."
"Geraint has done a hell of a lot of detailed work on how he can be better in races and he said to me afterwards the stuff we have talked about paid a big part in what he did today. As an example, one evening last year, we spent three or four hours where we went through every single race he did last year on the road. How it went, did he hit his objective in the race and what he could have done better. It's a diary he has and one he keeps reading. "
"Its that detail that makes these lads this good at this age. That and the on the road work so I knew we should get a result here. We have been doing a lot of work like the last ride they did in training was six hours and every 40 minutes, they did 20 minutes through and off and I said, this is what we do in a race when we have a yellow jersey. And I have done loads of this in Italy so they are pretty well drilled and know what its going to feel like."
Tomorrow is yet another hard day for Rod's lads, two split stages but the manager is confident his lads will get through it. "We know there are five other guys to watch and we are missing a big engine like Ian (Stannard) but if they try to do it, and can't then that's something they will use later to go away with and train and become better. I know they will all give it everything they have and more to keep that jersey though."
Finally, a word on some of the walking wounded. Ross Sander for those that don't know has a broken wrist after a heavy fall in Italy during the training camp. He's back at home training on the turbo, whilst Ian Stannard is feeling better after having had to abandon the Flech du Sud on day 1. He is using his time in the team car to learn the skills of racing as he watches it unfold in front of him, asking his manager questions and generally getting more and more anxious about getting back out on the bike.
1. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Great Britain National Team 4.20.31
2. Wolfram Wiese (Ger) Regiostrom - Senges 0.13
3. Jacob Nielsen (Den) Glud & Marstrand Horsens 0.28
4. Andrew Tennant (GBr) Great Britain National Team
26. Ben Swift (GBr) Great Britain National Team 4.30
29. Ben Greenwood (GBr) Great Britain National Team 6.06
35. Robert Hayles (GBr) Great Britain National Team 6.13
OVERALL
1. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Great Britain National Team 8.15.40
2. Wolfram Wiese (Ger) Regiostrom - Senges 0.13
3. Jacob Nielsen (Den) Glud & Marstrand Horsens 0.28
4. Andrew Tennant (GBr) Great Britain National Team
23. Ben Swift (GBr) Great Britain National Team 4.30
30. Ben Greenwood (GBr) Great Britain National Team 6.06
51. Robert Hayles (GBr) Great Britain National Team 7.37
Day 1 Stage 1: 164.4 km
It was a 'horrible' day one in Luxembourg their manager Rod Ellingworth explained with wind and rain and temperatures of 10 degrees. They went into the race with six riders, Geraint Thomas (who rode the race the year before), Ben Swift, Andy Tennant, Ian Stannard, Ben Greenwood and the experienced Rob Hayles. It wasn't long though before they were down to five as Ian Stannard had to retire at the first feed zone. The Milton Keynes rider had been ill on Monday and it had taken its toll as he struggled to even stay with the gruppetto which formed after only 30 kilometres.
On a course which was up and down all day, with a number of 1 and 2 kilometre long climbs, the GB riders were finding the climbs okay after a 10 day training camp in Italy and a number of races there since they went out in April. They did however miss a break of around eight riders which went after 50 kilometres on a descent and it was another lesson, that of communicating with each other at crucial moments, learned their manager explained.
As they approached the finishing circuit, Rod called Andy Tennant and Ben Greenwood to the front of the bunch to help with the chase to try and bring the race together for Geraint. Rod didn't want a repeat of the year before when the team lost a minute plus on the first day. Sure enough, as the break started to break up and the chase gathered momentum, the race did indeed come together with a round 12 kilometres to go.
In the slimmed down lead group approaching the finish, Rod gave the orders for Ben Swift and Geraint Thomas to go for a result in the gallop which they did with the Welsh former World Junior champion ending the race in 7th place on a stage won by a Team Sparkasse rider, Tom Flammang. It is only a matter of time before Geraint wins something his manager explained afterwards and this race is well within his ability to do that he added.
On one hand, the race is a preparation event for the 10 day 'Baby' Giro in June which will be a big challenge for such a young group of riders, but says Rod, he's also expecting some results from them as they gain the experience of racing at this level. Getting a top 10 on day 1 was good he says but it's going to be a hard race, especially day 3 where there are two stages and the first of those has a hill top finish.
Part of the learning experience is for riders like Geraint Thomas to think carefully about how much of their reserves they use and when, Rod explained. Especially as the time gaps are expected to open up on stage 3A. One of Geraint's targets, besides a stage win, is the Under 21 jersey or even a high place on the overall and British Cycling will be in touch with the team to see how they go in the coming three days.
Stage 1 - May 25: Esch/Alzette - Berchem, 164,4 km
1. Tom Flammang (Lux) Sparkasse Team 3.55.09
2. Peter Molmann (Ned) Fondas P3 Transfer
3. Evgeny Sokolov (Rus) La Pomme Marseille
7. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Great Britain National Team
40. Ben Swift (GBr) Great Britain National Team
65. Andrew Tennant (GBr) Great Britain National Team
66. Ben Greenwood (GBr) Great Britain National Team
74. Robert Hayles (GBr) Great Britain National Team
General classification after stage 1
1. Tom Flammang (Lux) Sparkasse Team 3.55.09
7. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Great Britain National Team
38. Ben Swift (GBr) Great Britain National Team
56. Andrew Tennant (GBr) Great Britain National Team
57. Ben Greenwood (GBr) Great Britain National Team
58. Dirk Bellemakers (Ned) Dutch National Team
75. Steve Fries (Lux) E.R. - UC Dippach
76. Robert Hayles (GBr) Great Britain National Team 1.24
Background Info
As part of the GB team's preparation for the 'Baby' Giro (June 9 - 18), the riders in the GB Olympic Academy have headed north to compete in the Fleche du Sud in Luxembourg this week. Headed by senior rider (not quite ready for a bus pass yet) Rob Hayles (Silver medallist in 2006 Track Worlds), the team will also see 2005 World Junior Pursuit Champion Andy Tennant, Ben Swift, Ian Stannard and Geraint Thomas (Silver medallist in 2006 Track Worlds) along with Ben Greenwood from the Recycling racing team all competing in the four day, UCI ranked stage race.
The GB team will join National teams from Luxembourg and the Netherlands plus many others from around Europe including Team Sparkasse(Germany).
RACE SCHEDULE
25th, Stage 1: 164.4 km
26th, Stage 2: 168,9 km
27th, Stage 3a 78.6 km
27th, Stage 3b 79,1 km
28th, Stage 4 161km
