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Wilkinson on the Attack in France

Story posted February 23, 2010; by Larry Hickmott ()

British pro team, Endura Racing took the ballsy option this season to dive in at the deep end and take on the pro teams on their own turf and after a tough start in the Tour of the Med, they are starting to find their legs even though the results sheets may not give that impression.

Superman Ian WIlkinson in the Tour of the Med. Photo: Team Endura Racing

Outside of Alexandre Blaine, the riders on the team are more used to a diet of British races which are a far cry from the pro races in Europe. Whilst a Premier Calendar race is anything but easy, there are generally only a dozen or two riders in contention but in a pro race like Haut Var, all the riders are at the level of the best Premier Calendar riders and so the Brits in Team Endura have had to adjust to that level which has been no easy task. Especially on a parcours that did none of the Endura riders any favours.

Luck plays a part in life and the team have had their fair share of bad luck with plenty of crashes in the two races. Some perhaps avoidable and down to a lack of experience in such a peloton but others certainly not avoidable. A case in question was Ian Wilkinson on Saturday in Haut Var. The field are thundering towards a narrow bridge and the peloton breathes in which results in riders switching around and Ian finding his front wheel being taken from underneath him and that was race over for stage 1.

Last year, Ian Wilkinson was one of the top riders in Britain with several notable victories and this year is one of many top riders racing for Endura. After a busy two days racing in the Haut Var stage race where he finished his second stage race of the season, Ian was taking it easy when I caught up with him in his hotel as the rain tumbled down outside. The day after Haut Var finished, saw the Endura riders busy with the press and having photos done before they had time to themselves to relax aching muscles.

Rob Partridge and Ian WIlkinson chat on the start line of a race. Photo: Team Endura Racing

Asked for his reaction to the Haut Var race, Ian recalled that the Saturday stage was on a beautiful course with nothing to severe. “There was plenty of climbing on it and despite that, the race was very fast. We had a really unfortunate day. Scott (Thwaites) was the first to fall when his musette got caught up in his bike in the feed zone and I don’t think he’d ever taken a musette before. He was riding brilliantly as well in his first race and went on to finish.”

“Then I had a stupid little crash just before one of the big climbs. We were approaching a bridge and everyone switched out and took my front wheel. I was unfortunate in bending the rear mech into the spokes and had to wait for the car and then chase back on just as the race was really starting to rev up. I managed to get back on which was good though”.

“It was a long old chase to get back on and hard work but there were quite a number of people who had dropped out the back when the race had gone up the climb. Evan (Oliphant) too had punctured and he was in a group just in front and we all got back on only for the race to split up when we hit the coast and the cross winds.”

After losing touch with the lead group as echelons formed, Ian realised he was not going to be competing for the win on this stage and was content to ride in and save his legs for the next day. “It was very disappointing because I was feeling significantly different to how I’d felt at the Med. I was feeling quite comfortable and happy in the surroundings of the race.”

“I was coping with the speed a lot better as well.”

The Endura jersey complete with a packed lunch ready for another a long stage in the mountains of France. Photo: Team Endura Racing

For stage 2, Ian had recovered from his efforts and crash and when looking back at a long day in the saddle, he explained “a lot of people said it was harder than a Tour mountain stage. It was 200k, very mountainous and even the bits in between were all up and down and twisty. The whole peloton was being stretched all the time. Despite that, we (Endura) were riding pretty well.”

“Early on it was superb. There was Alex, myself, Evan and Rob all having a go and attacking off the front and really showing ourselves which is a marked improvement already. Then we hit a big long climb and we slipped back and that was it – you couldn’t move up. Before the stage, Rob (Hayles) had given us the talk to tell us it was a big mountain stage and our race was to 120k, the feed, before it got crazy.”

“So we really did get stuck in and had a go but once the break went, and we’d missed it unfortunately, that was it and we were just sitting in the bunch.”

Asked what the difference was between the ‘Med’ and Haut Var, he says “the speed wasn’t a shock to the system like it was in the Med. We were also used to the hustle and bustle of being in a big peloton and more relaxed in that situation. We’d had a fair beating for five days and afterwards, we sat back, let it soak in like a big sponge and came out stronger.”

“We weren’t going to go and win a stage but instead of feeling beaten by it, we’re all on the up and that is a big improvement over the Med. I’ve come out of these races really motivated and I’m looking forward to going to Tour of Murcia (five day stage race) in a more attacking frame of mind.”

“At home, you know who you need to be with, who you can beat and who you can’t. In the Tour of Haut Var, it was a climbers course and I knew it wasn’t my cup of tea. None of us are proper climbers. On stage 2 there were three climbs that were 22-25 per cent.”

For Ian and the team, the week after Haut Var is a recovery week with the odd training ride and importantly Ian explained, getting to grips with their Look time trial bikes which Ian says are every bit as lovely as his road bike. “They’re pretty snazzy and I have never ridden one before so I need to sort it out. I think we’re going to have two or three days riding about on them so we’re ready for the time trial at Mercia.”

The Time Trial bikes will be getting a workout in the Tour of Murcia.

Ian is well into his second week away from home and says “it has been hard work missing the other half but the time down here has gone quickly because we’ve been so busy.” It helps Ian and his teammates that in the peloton there are many other British riders such as those from Team Sky. So at the start, there was time to chat and catch up with friends and rivals but once the race started, it wasn’t, says Ian, the sort of event you could roll around and talk.

“We did manage to have a bit of a natter in the bunch but the race was so on, twisting and turning, up and down, and because of that you’re concentrating so much and so not getting much time to talk.”

Looking back at the first two races in his new team, Ian says “It has been more of a shock than I expected but I am happy that after a few races in, I’ve been able to get in amongst it. It’s like being in a field of Premier Calendar winning riders. Like a big washing machine where everyone is constantly rotating – moving up and going back, moving up and going back. You have to concentrate to hold position because if you don’t, you’ll be at the back.”

His next race is the Tour of Murcia, a five day stage race which will see the team in another mountainous race which won’t suit them but will certainly make the climbs here in Britain seem a lot easier when they return. It will be the rider’s third Pro race in Europe in three weeks before a gap of three weeks prior to the first British race, the Tour of Reservoir (Premier Calendar) at the end of March.

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Interview: Ian Wilkinson during the Tour of the Med