Recycling Racing Team Invests in the Future of Cycling

 

Story posted March 6, 2007

 

Class of 2007 for Recycling: Back row, Matt and Luke Rowe, Simon Holt, Adam and Ryan Bonser. Seated, Chris Newton, Shaun Snodden, Graham Briggs and Tom Diggle.

At the launch of the Recycling.co.uk team in Blackpool last Friday, a young team of riders headed by former World Champion Chris Newton was unveiled to a packed ballroom at the Imperial Hotel. With well known TV personality Fred Talbot compering the event, the launch had glitz, glamour and lashings of lycra clad athletes.

 

Right: Fred and chief sponsor Charlie Jackson form a double act to kick off the presentation.

 

Under the title 'Strictly Come Cycling', the official launch of the team, which is co-sponsored by Blackpool, saw hundreds of invited guests pack the ballroom of the hotel to watch the unveiling of the team which was followed by various speeches and a display by the Go-Ride coaches and riders in the ballroom!

 

Young riders go through the skills routine for the packed auidence at the Imperial Hotel.

The emphasis for 2007 will be on developing young riders so they benefit from the teams experienced staff and can move forward towards a future continental cycling career. The riders, under the direction of team manager John Herety, sees former World Champion and Commonwealth Gold and Olympic track medallist Chris Newton staying on.

Chris will lead the team on the road and assist in the development of the younger athletes, passing on his wealth of experience and practical skills on the road to fast track the youngsters towards the ultimate goal of high level continental racing. The domestic road scene has been pretty well dominated by the Recycling team over the past three seasons and it is hoped that by changing the emphasis towards the younger riders, new talent will emerge to bolster the domestic competitions.

The 2007 line-up is:
Chris Newton, Shaun Snodden, Graham Briggs, Ryan Bonser, Adam Bonser, Tom Diggle, Simon Holt, Matt Rowe with Luke Rowe.

 

Male and female cheerleaders entertain the crowd as the team lines up behind.

British Cycling went along to the launch in Blackpool where as well as the pictures you see here, we spoke to the riders starting with Chris Newton who joked he can't remember when he was 18, the age of some of the riders in the new look 2007 Recycling.co.uk team. "As I have been saying all along, this move to a younger team is good. I can teach them things not by dictating but by them watching and seeing what goes on in races and I will learn from them as well because fresh ideas can sometimes be good ones".

"I have worked with John (Herety) for almost a decade now and both of us are good tactically I think, and we can pass on that knowledge and they may not have the horsepower of a seasoned campaigner but what they lack there they will more than make up for in youthful exuberance, so its pretty exciting."

Chris then admitted that he didn't know all the lads that well prior to the team being put together due to them all being so young but living in Oldham, Chris explained that he does go training with Ryan and Adam Bonser and also knows Graham Briggs from previous races they have done and Shaun who has been with the team for a while.

"One of the big reasons to stay with the team was because it enables me to stay in the country. I couldn't see myself my doing 12 months of racing full on with high expectations on me. I put high expectations on myself during the winter and for a sponsor to want me to win week in week out, I don't think it is possible and Charlie knows that. He knows I will race and will pick certain goals through out the road season and he gives me a bit of flexibility as well so it's a good partnership."

Talking about his focus for the season, it kicks off with preparation for the World Track Championships. A key part of that was the Manchester World Track Cup, "we trained really hard up to it and the racing was intense, especially the Points race." Chris then mentioned he came out of it with a bit of a cold and that for the next few weeks, his road racing here in the UK will be a major part of his build-up towards the World Track Championships where he will be looking to get selected for the Team Pursuit and Points race.

"After that I'll be looking to get a good solid road season in and do well in the Premier Calendar and Elite Circuit Series as well as the odd stage race the team does here and abroad. It looks like we'll be doing around one stage race a month of between 6 and 8 days which is the sort of thing I need to keep that strength I need for the Track season. John knows that and also when to push me and when to take the pressure off me."

 

Chris Newton and Luke Rowe.

Recycling.co.uk also sees two sets of brothers in the team, Matt and Luke Rowe and Adam and Ryan Bonser. Luke Rowe, a member of the GB Cycling team's Olympic Development Programme explained that it was good having Matt in the team because his older brother, a former member of the Olympic Development Programme himself, knows the Recycling.co.uk manager John Herety from Matt's time in Europe on GB duty. Luke says that his big goals for 2007 are the European and World Track Championships and also the World Road Race championships where he added that being in a domestic team with Chris Newton and John Herety will help him learn about the tactics side of things.

"I'll also be doing some big races with the ODP like the Junior Paris-Roubaix so there will be some big road goals this year as well as the track. This is a step up for me because it is such a big team with top under 23 and senior riders in it, so its good to be part of it."

As part of his preparation for the coming season, Luke spent a week in Majorca with the Recycling team and prior to that, he was in Belgium doing Team Pursuit work with the ODP. Being part of the GB programme means Luke will miss many events here in the UK as he goes away with the GB junior team to do races in Europe, something which will no doubt benefit the team when he returns to the fold throughout the year.

His brother Matt agreed with his brother that going to Recycling was a step up as he and the team tackle longer and more demanding races with seasoned campaigners on the road. His season though with the team is off to a slow start as he has glandular fever which means he's out of action for six weeks.

The Guiding Hand: John Herety

 

John is interviewed on stage at the presentation.

One of, if not the most experienced British team manager based in this country is John Herety, a former professional rider who has ridden the big classics in Europe. He has been manager at Recycling for a few years now and helped the team change from a team of season campaigners to one with a young up and coming squad. "We dominated the British scene last year and that didn't appeal to go out and do that again, and talking to our sponsors, we were all very keen on the young rider angle. I found that the best time I had with Great Britain was working with the Under 23 group and Charlie, our principle sponsor, was also very keen. So we looked at the riders who were available to come to the team to join Chris who was also keen on the idea."

"We are aware that in some of the bigger races that Chris will not be as well looked after as he has been in the past and he is quite cool with that so we're not aiming this season to set the world on fire. We want to get through this season with our riders racing correctly which is my aim. Provide them with the tools they need to go out and race correctly. And if they are good enough, then we'll see that on the road. And next year, there is a veritable feast of young riders coming through as well which is great for the sport. What I noticed at the Manchester World Track Cup too was that the crowd were behind the young riders as well. The cheer for the 100% ME lads was almost as loud as the one the senior team got. I think it leaves people with a good feeling when they see youngsters doing well even if they don't win which is what I am all about."

"All our riders despite being young have been getting up there in races." On the team's schedule, he explained "It's quite heavy to be honest. We have more Premier Calendar races this year and the Elite Circuit Race series and we have got quite a heavy European programme as well." And a help in that overseas programme is that the team have a number of riders besides Chris Newton with European experience after basing themselves in Europe. Riders like Graham Briggs and Ryan Bonser. John also explained that it will be quite a juggling act to manage the racing schedule both in Britain and Europe adding that it's the travelling that can harm young riders. "These riders are young and still developing and they will need some rest from time to time".

Finally, a cycle racing team needs one very important piece of equipment, a bike, and John explained what they were using for 2007. "We have Pinarello frames from our friends at Yellow Ltd so we are very grateful for that. Chris will be riding Corima wheels in an exclusive deal with Yellow and the rest of the team will be using Extreme wheels. The groupset will be Dura Ace. Each rider has two bikes, one at home and one with us on the team vehicles so they can travel to events without having to take a bike. We also have a new clothing sponsor called Champion Systems along with Rudy Project Helmets and sun glasses and DMT cycling shoes. We're as well equipped as we have ever been and then we also have SiS as a drinks sponsor."

 

The teams Pinarello bikes on show.

Miracles do happen?
One of the miracles in the team is 21 year old Ryan Bonser, part of a talented duo of brothers from Manchester, with his brother Adam being just 18. Last year, whilst racing over some mountains steeped in cycling history, Ryan crashed and broke his back. Not only did he live to tell the tale, but he is riding again after a long period off the bike and racing with one of the country's foremost teams.

Asked why he felt compelled to go to France to race, he says "when I was a junior racing in Britain I had this ambition to go abroad and race in Europe. So I got the opportunity to do that as I turned senior and so I raced there for three seasons in France. This will be my first time racing a full season in Britain since I was a junior."

We then asked Ryan to explain more about his crash in Europe which almost ended his career. "I was in a two day race which went over some major Cols (Col d'Aubisque for example) and I was descending by myself in probably the worst conditions I have ever raced in. The race was in pieces by this point and the visibility was zero really. I missed one of the bends and paid the biggest price and crashed really heavily. I was at the side of the road for at least 15 minutes before anyone on the race saw me as I was out of sight."

"I was taken to hospital with spinal injuries and operated on within hours of arriving. I have still got eight titanium screws in my back along with two plates that run the length of the injury (three vertebrae). I was completely immobile for four days in pain and the surgeons were keen for me to get up and move even though I had no control. So I started to sit up but found my back wasn't really strong enough. Then later, I started to walk with lots of help because I couldn't control my legs. Then I think I was lucky in that naturally, the sensations in my legs started to come back."

 

"The surgeon who operated on me gave me a 1 in 10 chance of even feeling my legs again. So that alone for me has been a big victory. I only found that out once I was well into my rehab from a friend who had spoken to a doctor."

 

Ryan is singled out by Fred to tell his story on stage.

"I haven't raced since then but just from training, I don't feel nervousness and don't feel I have lost any of my technique descending or riding in groups." He then admitted to being quite chuffed that John has brought him into the fold.

"If this hadn't happened I was probably looking at going back to France or maybe not even cycling this year. I knew after talking to John at the track nationals that they had a big change in the team this year and he was keen to bring me in and I jumped at the chance. This is the best opportunity I could get because it's a good setup. I found that out at the training camps where it was a professional set up and we were looked after by pros. I couldn't ask for more really."

"I'm in the best shape I have been in for this time of year, I just have to lift it and get the speed back for racing which is going to be a shock to the system."

Finally, 23 year old Graham Briggs (pictured right) who has ridden in France as well as in some big teams in Britain, is back racing again. "Last year I rode for Agisko but things didn't really work out very well so I bought a house and concentrated on that. I thought about my racing career when having that time out and this opportunity with Recycling came up and I grabbed it with both hands. I've done two camps with the team now, one in early January in Majorca and then another last week when were doing more intensive work".

Graham says he learnt a lot in the two years he spent in France and admits he wants to pass that experience on to the younger guys. "I feel a lot more relaxed nowadays than I did in past years and just take it as it comes."

British Cycling wishes the team well in 2007.

The launch even had a choir singing!

Blackpool Cycling Festival
As well as the launch of the Recycling.co.uk team, the activities at the Imperial hotel also saw the launch of the Blackpool Cycling Festival where a number of key British Cycling events will be run.

The festival kicking off on no less a day than Friday July 13, will see a round of the British Cycling Elite Circuit series starting at 6pm opposite the Imperial Hotel on North Promenade when the country's best circuit racers will battle hard for an hour or so around a 1.5 mile course along the Middle and Lower Walks. Then, on Saturday July 14, the Blackpool Youth Grand Prix starts at 10am along the same course.

 

The Blackpool schools skills race, open to children from primary and secondary schools across the resort, will follow at noon and then, at 8pm, the Blackpool Grand Prix des dames when the country's top female cyclists take to the saddle. The final day of cycle racing will see the Blackpool Grand Prix Premier Calendar road race start at 9.30am, when 100 or more of British Cycling's best roadmen will tackle a 100-mile course around the Fylde coast and finish on North Promenade. The festival finishes with a Sunday traffic-free ride open to everyone.

Councillor Fred Jackson said to the Blackpool Gazette (link ): "We are delighted to be holding this festival. The council is keen to get as many people as possible on to their bikes and to highlight the benefits of cycling." He added: "When I was younger I was a keen cyclist and used to cycle to work. My sons and their families all have bikes. I think learning to cycle and riding your bike forms a very important part of growing up and the council actively promotes safe cycling throughout the schools." The festival has been arranged through Blackpool Council, Blackpool Primary Care Trust, British Cycling and Cycling Development North West.

The riders are interviewed on stage.

 

The cheerleaders were certainly a good example to the active young people in Blackpool.

Go-Ride competitors get ready for the off.

VIPs from Blackpool are interviewed on stage.