Okay start to baby Giro for GB
35th Giro d'Italia (Baby Giro), UCI 2.2
Italy, June 9-18, 2006
Starting today (June 9) is a 10 day Tour of Italy for Under 26 riders and provides the toughest challenge yet for the mainly teenage Great Britain team. They go into the race with two riders recovering from injuries and on a course not really suited to their talents but it will provide them with a tough challenge from which to learn and grow as riders for when they return to Italy after the European Championships. The team manager has gone into the race looking for a top 10 overall and a stage win which he says, would be fantastic if the riders deliver. He is however under no illusions how tough that is going to be saying that he expects that there may only be one or two group finishes in the whole race.
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Geraint Thomas is fourth on final stage
It was the final day of the Baby Giro and the Great Britain team went out to race it like they have for the rest of the race and were rewarded with 4th place on the stage for Geraint Thomas. It was a stage that the GB manager Rod Ellingworth says was always going to finish in a bunch gallop and the GB riders all combined to start riding in the last 10k for the Geraint. The best thing to come from the stage finish was the realisation by Thomas, that had he not been badly balked by a rider in the final gallop, he could well have won the stage, which after 10 days where he was racing against riders with a lot more experience, is a good sign for his future on the road, and track.
Overall, the manager says it went pretty well for such a young team. An injury to Andy Tennant and sickness for Mark Cavendish certainly took the shine off the race but he was pleased with how well his riders who had prepared well for the race, got through it. Not just riding it, but racing it from day one which he says was one of the reasons they were empty on stage 9 when they lost time. The Italian race was an event where he was able to put his team largely made up of first year seniors into a race and have them find their limits and experience a new kind of 'hurt'.
"I knew they were fit enough to do this after we had spent two months working towards this major goal" Rod explained from the airport. "They have come out of it learning a lot about themselves as well as how to apply tactics to a race situation. Overall, its been pretty good for us".
The riders now head back to their house in Italy for an easy time this week recovering before flying back to Britain and their house in Manchester before going up for the road race championship next Sunday. Then, its a short break before they get back on the track to prepare for the European championships in July.
Results
1. Emiliano Donadello (Ita) 2.41.40
2. Ricardo Escuela (Arg)
3. Marco Corsini (Ita)
4. Geraint Thomas (GBr)
30. Ben Swift (GBr)
59. Ian Stannard (GBr)
101. Daniel Martin (Irl) V.C. La Pomme Marseille
119. Ben Greenwood (GBr)
OVERALL
1. Dario Cataldo (Ita) 29.44.19
2. Dmitro Grabovskyy (Ukr) 0.05
3. Matthew Lloyd (Aus) 0.26
28. Daniel Martin (Irl) 8.10
47. Ben Greenwood (GBr) 15.18
49. Geraint Thomas (GBr) 17.17
87. Ian Stannard (GBr) 46.39
102. Ben Swift (GBr) 53.52
Mountains classification
1. Alex Cano Ardila (Col) 15 pts
2. Alex Rocca (Ita) G.S. 12
3. Geraint Thomas (GBr) 7
11. Daniel Martin (Irl) 3
Stage 9 -- The Big Arrives
This was a big day in more ways than one and the GC was turned upside down as the riders tackled two big mountains. After 60k, they came to the bottom of a 25 kilometre climb that was an average of 10 percent with sections of 15 per cent. Ben Greenwood, a climber through and through, showed his credentials when he got in a group of four including the eventual stage winner out front of the race but had to give best to them near the top of the climb and was then caught by a chase group of 11.
This group was one that Geraint Thomas had also been part of for much of the stage up until then on this monster climb but again near the top of this 2000 metre mountain, he lost contact and proceeded to lose two minutes quickly. After toughing it out in the valley the GB riders got to the final climb, 1800 metres of 12 to 13 per cent in 30 degrees plus heat. Ben Greenwood was with the front group and the other GB riders left in the race in various groups behind.
It was quite simply the toughest day of them all but the young GB riders, years younger than most of the contenders, have showed courage and determination at not only learning their craft, but also getting through the race under their own steam. Tomorrow, it's 127 kilometres and the final stage, which although tough, is one the GB team are hoping will be a bunch finish where perhaps they can again, get amongst it in the sprint.
Stage 9
1. Alex Cano Ardila (Col) Maltinti Lampadari Salgomma 3.34.07
2. Matthew Lloyd (Aus) South Australia.com-AIS 1.36
3. Dario Cataldo (Ita) Bedogni Natalini Praga 1.43
18. Ben Greenwood (GBr) British National Team 4.43
22. Daniel Martin (Irl) V.C. La Pomme Marseille 6.44
54. Geraint Thomas (GBr) British National Team 10.44
75. Ben Swift (GBr) British National Team 19.39
143. Ian Stannard (GBr) British National Team 24.43
Stage 8 -- Fatigue starts to show
It can't be forgotten that most of these GB riders were last year riding junior road races and now in a UCI ranked 2.2 senior race, after eight days, they were finally starting to run out of energy. They gave it all they could, says their manager Rod Ellingworth and it was the riders who were more disappointed than their manager at the results of the day.
Ian Stannard got in a break and was riding well over a tough course but when caught, went straight through the bunch and lost three minutes. It was worse for Geraint Thomas who said afterwards the tank was empty and he had nothing under the pedals. And for Andrew Tennant, although his knee injury wasn't any worse, it was no better so the manager opted to take him out and not risk it.
Stage Results
1. Ashley Humbert (Aus) 3.27.29
2. Kevin Ista (Bel)
3. Dario Cataldo (Ita)
58. Daniel Martin (Irl) 0.04
72. Ian Stannard (GBr) 3.47
119. Geraint Thomas (GBr) 6.25
121. Ben Swift (GBr)
122. Ben Greenwood (GBr)
DNF Andrew Tennant (GBr)
General classification after stage 8
1. Dmitro Grabovskyy (Ukr) 23.26.37
2. Dario Cataldo (Ita)0.16
3. Volodymyr Zagorodniy (Ukr)0.31
41. Daniel Martin (Irl) 3.22
60. Geraint Thomas (GBr) 8.28
66. Ben Greenwood (GBr) 12.30
86. Ian Stannard (GBr) 23.51
109. Ben Swift (GBr) 36.08
A Top 10 For GB on Stage 7
Stage 7 of the Baby Giro, was for once, an uneventful day for the British team as they got down to the business of trying to get a rider into the top 10 of a stage on a day when temperatures were in the low 30's. Celsius that is! With Geraint Thomas in 9th place on the stage today, they succeeded in this goal and also learnt a lot about what is needed in the future to try and get a lead-out train going.
The day began with a break of 32 getting away and in there on 'early doors' duty were Ben Swift and Ben Greenwood. The large group through wasn't away for long, around 30 kilometres, and after it was brought back, the sprinter's teams made sure on this one and only pan flat stage, that the race stayed together.
It was in a word, quite a 'boring' stage until 10k to go when the 'trains' from different teams started making there way to the front of the group to position their sprinter. Then with 6k to go, the Great Britain riders all had a good go at getting together and forming their own train for Geraint Thomas but it wasn't as simple a task as it sounds on paper with a bunch of 160 riders all riding full on jostling for positioning. There was also a crash that held up Ian Stannard in the later stages and although the team were able to go away from the stage reasonably pleased with how it went, they are also determined next time to put into practice the things they have learn on this sprinter's stage.
Tomorrow, its a long stage, 151 kilometres with an inline stretch of 73 kilometres followed by of 5 laps of a circuit which has a 2k climb on it which appears to be quite steep. The good news for the team is that Ian Stannard is getting better after his illness and other young riders like Ben Swift haven't been done in by this jumping up a level or three from what they were doing last year. The only question mark is Andy Tennant's muscle injury which may or may not show it self again on the hilly stage tomorrow. More from the team after the next stage.
Results
1. Ricardo Escuela (Arg) 2.29.45
2. Roberto Ferrari (Ita)
3. Matthew Goss (Aus)
9. Geraint Thomas (GBr)
29. Ian Stannard (GBr)
88 Ben Swift (GBr)
141. Andrew Tennant (GBr)
148. Ben Greenwood (GBr)
General classification after stage 7
1. Dmitro Grabovskyy (Ukr) 19.58.54
2. Dario Cataldo (Ita) 0.34
3. Volodymyr Zagorodniy (Ukr) 0.41
31. Geraint Thomas (GBr) 2.17
46. Daniel Martin (Irl) 3.32
65. Ben Greenwood (GBr) 6.19
89. Ian Stannard (GBr) 20.18
114. Ben Swift (GBr) 29.57
115. Andrew Tennant (GBr) 31.00
Mountains classification
1. Alex Cano Ardila (Col) 9 pts
2. Geraint Thomas (GBr) 7
Missed Opportunity on Stage 6
After feeling things didn't right go right on stage 5, it was a case de-ja-vu for manager Rod Ellingworth after his riders failed to 'connect' in the finale of stage 6 and in the 90 up bunch finish, Geraint Thomas was 12th. "A missed opportunity" was how he described it although one pleasing aspect of it was that at least all of the problems the team had the day before were behind them.
It started well as one of the three riders assigned to 'ride' in the first half of the race, did just that, as Ben Greenwood got himself into a small break that had over 3 minutes at one stage. As they approached the final 7 kilometre climb, the break had 20 seconds and he put in one more last attack to try and stay away. He was immediately joined by two others and then two more came across from the bunch. The British rider known for his climbing abilities gave it his all but it wasn't to be enough as the bunch were on them with 4 k to go.
With so many riders lining up for the sprint, it was chaos in the bunch with no less than four crashes in the final 5 kilometres. In that 90 strong group were Ian Stannard, Ben Swift and Geraint Thomas but despite the numbers, they were unable to capitalise on it in the big bunch finish and Thomas missed the objective of the day which had been a top 10 finish although a top three was on the cards had the race gone to plan.
In the end, Ian Stannard finished in the bunch, Ben Swift lost 36 seconds after being caught up in one of the crashes whilst Ben Greenwood, drained after his last gasp effort trailed in a minute 46 down. Andy Tenant meanwhile, after performing his 'duties' early on in the race, came in 6 minutes down and with a suspected injury which he was discussing with the team doctor when we spoke to the team tonight. A decision on whether he continues in the race with four stages to go will be made tonight.
The stage tomorrow is a pan flat one, where the manager is expecting the Aussies to be working hard for their sprinter Matt Goss and the Brits again, will be looking to Geraint Thomas to perhaps at last get the right breaks to pull of the much wanted stage win.
Results
1. Davide Tortella (Ita) C.T. Ormesani Panni 2.55.33
2. Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) G.S. Unidelta Dmt
3. Luca Conati (Ita) G.S. Zalf Desiree Fior
12. Geraint Thomas (GBr)
37. Daniel Martin (GBr) V.C. La Pomme Marseille
40. Ian Stannard (GBr)
96. Ben Swift (GBr) 0.36
106 Ben Greenwood (GBr) 1.46
146 Andrew Tennant (GBr) 6.50
OVERALL
1. Dmitro Grabovskyy (Ukr) Finauto Sport Team Casini 17.29.09
2. Dario Cataldo (Ita) Bedogni Natalini Praga 0.34
3. Volodymyr Zagorodniy (Ukr) S.C. Pagnoncelli Ngc Perrel 0.41
31. Geraint Thomas (GBr)2.17
46. Daniel Martin (GBr) V.C. La Pomme Marseille 3.32
90. Ian Stannard (GBr)20.18
116. Ben Swift (GBr) 29.57
118. Andrew Tennant (GBr) 31.00
Mountains classification
1. Alex Cano Ardila (Col) 9 pts
2. Geraint Thomas (GBr) 7
Stage 5 - June 13: Ovindoli - Ortezzano, 186 km
Eventful and probably the worst day for the team so far was how GB manager Rod Ellingworth described the stage today. He was disappointed that his riders didn't perhaps give as much as they needed to, to be where they needed to be in the group to keep their lead rider in position, perhaps because they were a little intimated by the length of the stage which they all ended up getting through.
For Ben Swift, finishing the stage was certainly eventful as he wrote his bike off in a heavy crash early on in the stage. It was a crash which he managed to escape from nearly unscathed himself despite the wrecked bike. It took four bike changes to get settled though but once he had done so, he continued in the race. Andy Tennant punctured as well but like Ben, got back into the race.
Elsewhere in the race, there were four big crashes as the 164 riders left in the race were starting to feel the fatigue on the longest day so far in the stage race. As the lead group of 90 odd riders (including Ian Stannard, Ben Greenwood and Geraint Thomas) hit the big climb on the finishing circuit, 1 in 3, 1 in 4, it was the survival of the fittest as riders fought just to get over the hill, never mind racing anyone. Riders were falling off, or choosing to stagger up on foot whilst behind the team cars were not faring much better as clutches were burnt out and the hill was hurting a lot of people and machinery.
It was quite simply mayhem and at the finish line after the second ascent of the wall and riders all over the place, no-one knew where they were at the finish and not having any results didn't help. It was only there presence on cyclingnews.com that we were able to inform the GB manager of where his riders had finished because no-one in the race knew much at all as results were not being presented to them until the morning. "But that's Italian racing" as we've been told.
The upshot of the day though was that GB's leading rider, Geraint Thomas dropped from 13th to 31st overall and it really is now a goal to win a stage after a place in the top 10 has now fallen out of reach. Tomorrow however is another tough stage of 126 kilometres with a climb of 7km to do on a circuit to be raced around three times but at least the crazy climbs of today are done and dusted although I am sure the stories of what happened on the 'wall' will be remembered for a long time.
1. Piergiorgio Camussa (Ita) Progetto Ciclismo Alplast 4.00.47
2. Marco Cattaneo (Ita) S.C. Pagnoncelli Ngc Perrel 0.13
3. Marco Bicelli (Ita) G.S. Unidelta Dmt
55. Ben Greenwood (GBr) 1.23
57. Geraint Thomas (GBr)
75. Ian Stannard (GBr) 2.09
79. Daniel Martin (GBr) V.C. La Pomme Marseille 2.14
132. Andrew Tennant (GBr) 6.21
146. Ben Swift (GBr) 9.46
General classification after stage 5
1. Dmitro Grabovskyy (Ukr) Finauto Sport Team Casini 14.33.36
2. Dario Cataldo (Ita) Bedogni Natalini Praga 0.34
3. Volodymyr Zagorodniy (Ukr) S.C. Pagnoncelli Ngc Perrel 0.41
31. Thomas Geraint (GBr) 2.17
47. Daniel Martin (GBr) 3.32
57. Ben Greenwood (GBr) 4.33
95. Ian Stannard (GBr) 20.18
106. Andrew Tennant (GBr) 24.10
124. Ben Swift (GBr) 29.21
Stage 4, June 12
It was, in the words of the manager Rod Ellingworth, an 'interesting' day for the Great Britain team in the Baby Giro. After yesterday's rain, it was dry and very windy today and there wasn't a lot of race action to speak of early on. There was however for Ben Greenwood, another crash. This time in the feed zone but Ben managed to get up from the accident and get back to the bunch.
Next major thing of note was the bunch being stopped by a train whilst a break was up the road. So whilst the riders in the bunch were standing around waiting for the nod to get racing again, the break were allowed to continue and increase their lead. By the time they were let go, the break had over three minutes and after protests from team managers, the riders in the break were stopped and let go when the bunch had cut their lead to what it was when the train got in the way of the race.
For GB, the next goal was to get Geraint Thomas in a position to defend his Mountains jersey. During each stage, there is normally one GPM sprint and in the lead up to this one, one of Geraint's lead out men, Ian Stannard crashed on the descent losing skin here and there. Not good for Ian recovering from illness, or a good start for Geraint but the others in the GB team looked after him and in the sprint for the line he was beaten by the rider in second place in the KOM competition who took the jersey from him.
Geraint had no excuses afterwards, saying the better rider had beaten him in the sprint but he lives on to fight again. After the KOM sprint, and getting to the business end of the race, the 20 year Welshman managed to get in the selection at the front of the race but then crashed on a descent, banging his hip in doing so. He did however manage to regain the lead group of 60 plus riders where Ben Greenwood was the only GB rider.
The crash happened with only 5km to go, so by the time he got back to the lead group, his chances for a stage win were slim so he rolled in with the group, not losing any time and looking ahead to the next stage. The other GB riders, Ian Stannard, Ben Swift and Andy Tennant came in with various groups behind the lead one.
Tomorrow sees the toughest stage yet - 187 kilometres - the longest race many of the GB team have ever raced. There of the five were juniors last year so a stage of this length is going to test them to their limits and not only that, the 5k finishing circuit has a 22 per cent climb on it each lap. Geraint Thomas, will again legs willing, try to get the KOM jersey back, or better still, a stage win but the team know as they reach the half way point of the baby Giro, it's going to be a tough challenge, but one which they will meet head on.
1. Gavazzi Francesco (84-Ita) Unidelta
2. Bucciero Antonio (82-Ita) Pagnoncelli
3. Ferrari Roberto(83-Ita) Trevigiani Dynamon
41. Martin Daniel (86 Gbr) La Pomme Marseille
Geraint Thomas and Ben Greenwood not listed in results available but finished with lead group.
OVERALL
1. Grabovskyy Dmytri (Ukr) Finauto D'Etoffe
2. Cataldo Dario (Ita) Bedogni
3. Zagorodni Volodimyr (Ukr) Pagnoncelli
13. Geraint Thomas (Gbr)
30. Martin Daniel (Gbr) La Pomme Marseille
59. Greenwood Ben (Gbr)
Stage 3 (Sunday, June 11)
Whilst Britain bathed in sunshine, it was raining on the Baby Giro's parade in Italy and it was a tough day for the young riders in the 10 day stage race. With the rain, came slippery roads and it wasn't just the riders who were crashing as team cars also came to grief in the treacherous conditions and on a course which was very technical as well.
An interesting stat from the Olympic Academy manager with the team, Rod Ellingworth, in the Tour of Italy are five first year seniors three of them in the GB team and they also happen to be the youngest. All credit to them for their showing today then when again, the team work almost netted them a stage through their leading rider, Geraint Thomas.
The team were all working for Geraint until the last descent when the two Bens, Greenwood and Swift as well as Andy Tennant joined the long list of puncture victims. That left Ian to help Geraint which he did and then once Ian had done all he could, he dropped back, Geraint took the race to the others. He attacked around 5 kilometres out and was quickly joined by a Russian rider and the two of them raced for the line with the pack breathing down their necks.
Under the red kite, and their time in front came to an end as the bunch, or what was left of it, swallowed them up and Geraint was content to come in at the back of the group, not losing any time but not gaining that much sought after stage victory. He did however have the King of the Mountains jersey to keep him warm though!
The rest of the team all finished safely and can now sleep well knowing that on the next stage, the manager as asked for the 'good' wheels and the bikes to be spruced up with new bar tape etc as the team attack the longest stage so far tomorrow (Monday), 155km. It finishes with a 7 kilometre climb at 7 per cent and there are others but its not as 'crazy' as today's stage and the team will be hoping their luck changes as they continue to press on for a stage win.
Stage 2 - June 10: Maddaloni - San Bartolomeo In Galdo, 134 km
Mixed fortunes for the Great Britain Team today with a near win by Geraint Thomas and Mark Cavendish having to abandon due to sickness. His leaving the race was a big hit for the team and he now returns to the Under 23 house in Italy to try and recover and prepare for a return here and the European Championships.
Today's stage was a tough one with a long climb that looked tougher than it turned it to be with the manager Rod Ellingworth describing it as a long a drag. As the race entered the final part of the stage, on the descent approaching the final climb, Ben Greenwood crashed but managed to bounced back up and carry on, catching the front group before the finish.
There was bad luck for Ian Stannard on the final climb as well as he punctured with 4 kilometres to go and with the group all over the hill, and service not close to hand, he lost time to the leaders. At the front of the race, Geraint Thomas was taking the race to the rest and on a typical Italian run in, cobbles, tarmac, left, right and so on. He attacked the bends with 800 metres to go and found his bike sliding out on him.
He kept it upright though but having been on a big gear, he lost momentum and the World Champion and some others came through under him whilst he tried to get going again. Behind him, it was carnage as riders tried to follow him through the right angle bend and came down, including Ben Greenwood for the second time. It was just one of a few crashes on the run which at speed, caught out many a rider. Of the rest of the team, Andy Tennant and Ben Swift came in okay.
At the time we spoke to the manager, there were no results, which is bad enough considering the stage finished quite a few hours ago, but worse was the fact that they started the race early today, catching out many riders including Ben Swift and many had to join in the race when it came back around after a 4 kilometre loop.
Some stats from today, although cyclingnews.com is only showing 69 finishers on the first stage (prologue), there are in fact 180 in the race and today, they were riding in warm conditions of 24 to 25 degrees. Tomorrow, Geraint Thomas, who won the King of the Mountains today, will be in the KOM jersey as he's now second overall in that competition and the leader of it is in yellow. The manager says the riders will now have to start being a little less cautious and start attacking the race to help Geraint in his bid to move up the overall. We'll have more from him tomorrow.
1. Grabovskyy Dmytri (85-Ukr) Finauto D'Etoffe
2. Zagorodni Volodimyr (81 Ukr) Pagnoncelli
3. Bonuccelli Davide (82-Ita) Maltinti Solgomma
5. Geraint Thomas (85 Gbr) Nazionale Gran Bretagna
31. Daniel Martin (86 Gbr) La Pomme Marseille
48. Andrew Tennant (87 Gbr) Naz. British Team
OVERALL
1. Grabovskyy Dmytri (85-Ukr) Finauto D'Etoffe
2. Cataldo Dario (85-Ita) Bedogni
3. Zagorodni Volodimyr (81 Ukr) Pagnoncelli
13. Geraint Thomas (85 Gbr) @1.18
15. Daniel Martin (86 Gbr) La Pomme Marseille @1.20
22. Ben Greenwood (84 Gbr) @1.32
28. Andrew Tennant (87 Gbr)@1.34
Stage 1 - June 9: Caserta - Caserta ITT, 8.5 km
This was a brutal opening time trial, mainly uphill and one where the team did not expect great things from the riders. So it was no surprise that a climber like Ben Greenwood was the top rider for the GB team in the Time Trial, finishing in 16th place with Andy Tennant 31st and Geraint Thomas 33rd. Former British Cycling Junior Road Race champion Daniel Martin is also riding for his French club and finished the time trial in 19th position.
"They all gave 100 percent so I have no complaints" the manager said afterwards.
Two of the riders have gone into the race just short of 100 per cent. Mark Cavendish who fell off three times in the Tour of Berlin where he had two stage wins has a lot of skin missing and a cold as well whilst Ian Stannard is getting over the illness he had prior to the Fleche du Sud.
The next stage, finishing on top of a climb which comes straight after a 900 metre climb, will be a tough one for the riders the manager explained and we hope to get a story on the stage tomorrow.
Results
1 David Garbelli (Ita) Caneva Concrete San Marco 14.35
2 Dimitriy Grabovskyy (Ukr) Finauto Phone&Go Zoccorinese 0.04
3 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Mcs Bedogni 0.15
16. Ben Greenwood (GBr) British National Team 0.46
19. Daniel Martin (GBr) La Pomme Marseille 0.51
31. Andrew Tennant (GBr) British National Team 1.05
33. Geraint Thomas (GBr) British National Team 1.08
59. Ian Stannard (GBr) British National Team 1.26
Other placings for Ben Swift, Mark Cavendish unknown.
