The Motorpoint Pro Cycling Team Blog

The past few weeks have been a bit of a high for me personally and I really seem to have got my cycling legs back. I was third place in Colne and then won at Beverley and Blackburn. I didn’t expect to win to be honest. In some ways it was about being in the right place at the right time and taking the initiative.

The win at Blackburn was pretty special. It was quite a technical course – in some ways it would be better for superbikes! There were torrential downpours and whilst they stopped halfway through the race, the rain made the paving slabs treacherous. As we entered the final section, I heard a huge crash behind me with the sound of metal hitting concrete. It’s horrible when that happens but I knew it was my chance, so I broke away.

Coming out of the Tour Series was a bit of a relief to tell you the truth, as my legs were feeling pretty fatigued. I was disappointed not to win a stage, but for the team it was an immense achievement to win. It did seem touch and go for us, but we came out on top. I wasn’t on top form for most of it so to come away with a trophy in hand was incredible.

It is tough for the team because we have only a small squad unlike the big continental teams, so everyone has to dig in. Racing four times a week can really take it out of you. For the likes of Steve Burke and me, who are trained for crits it gets really tough on your legs to be doing that much. It’s requires completely different stamina from a 90 mile race.

The next few weeks are looking quiet for the first time since May, with a few remaining crits and possibly a trip to France. Then early September we’ve got the Tour of Britain. I’d like to win the first stage but we’ll see. For the likes of Bibby and Jonny McEvoy it’s their natural ground – for me it’s more about getting through it as it’s not my natural speciality. But it’s great for training for overall fitness so I shouldn’t complain!!

Ed Clancy

So, after a long, eventful and sometimes stressful five weeks criss-crossing the country the Halfords Tour Series is finally over….FANTASTIC!!!

This was the stated major target of the Motorpoint Marshalls Pasta team and to have now accomplished this feels hugely satisfying.

Throughout the series there have been quite a few fortunes and misfortunes, not just for ourselves, but for our opposition too. We always knew our main rivals would be Rapha Condor Sharp and Endura, and so it proved.

Trying to recall Round 1 at Canary Wharf seems such a long time ago now, but that’s where we opened our account with a third place to Rapha, followed by a great personal moment for me at Round 2 in Durham. On unquestionably the most challenging course of the series I was able to take individual victory, and we also took team honours on the night.

Round 3 went to Portsmouth where I was taken out in a crash around one third distance. However, the boys rallied to the cause and set up a great win for our Ian Bibby and close packing of our guys behind meant team victory on the night, which put us into the overall leader’s jerseys.

Moving to Round 4 in Exeter, it seemed that wearing the leader’s jerseys was much more difficult than it appeared. On an admittedly lacklustre evening for us we ended up fourth on the night. This began a run of below par performances for us, in which our once healthy six point lead was gradually whittled away by both Rapha and Endura through Rounds 5 in Southport and Round 6 in Kettering.

Then, after Round 7 at Peterborough the lead became no more, and Rapha overhauled us by the narrowest margin. By this time we had truly come to believe that those leaders’ jerseys were jinxed, as all our best performances had been when we were wearing own our Motorpoint kit. So, when I shouted out with a smile to the guys at Rapha as I left the car park at Peterborough, “Good luck with those cursed jerseys of DOOM!”…they thought I was joking!

So, on to Round 8 in Stoke-on-Trent, our ‘home’ round as it were, and back into our own familiar kit. Things couldn’t have been more different. Back came our legs, whilst Rapha’s legs fell off somewhere. Hmmm, that’s the curse at work there. Anyway, to cut a long story short, Bibbs in the break, delivered like a trooper and crossed the line first, followed by a Motorpoint blanket in the chasing group, and with four of us in the top eight put us winners on the night…and right back into the leaders jerseys, oh the irony!! Meanwhile Endura were second on the night, whilst Rapha had a shocker coming fourth. This left Rapha and Endura both equal second overall just three points back.

On to Round 9 in Chester and my nerves were jangling. Once again the lead was a weighty burden, and Endura finally came good, mullering everyone with an unprecedented 1-2-3 on the line, giving them the first team on the night. During the group sprint for second place, the Australian desperadoes of Rapha tried to demolish everyone. Thankfully we got through almost unscathed to salvage second from the wreckage. This left us just two points clear of a burgeoning Endura, whilst Rapha’s overall challenge had now virtually disappeared due to their first place on the night.

So, to Woking, where it would all end in a result very soon…but in who’s favour.

It would have been very foolish to underestimate Endura, having seen their display in Chester 72 hours earlier. Many of those intervening hours were spent weighing up various potential scenarios, and pondering possibilities. Should Endura win, we absolutely had to finish right behind them, those risks were enormous, having seen how crashes and punctures had affected our results previously in the series.

One difference in Woking was we’d had special one piece skinsuits made at the last minute, instead of the usual jerseys. This gave a boost to the guys, somehow a feeling of the curse being lifted.

Anyway, as soon as the flag dropped I felt a sense of calm, and that things were going to our way, not against us. I had better legs than in quite a while. It felt like we were always in control…Soon, the pace picked up and the bunch split behind me, and ahead in the break we had the necessary three riders, whereas Endura had just two. This boded well, for even though Rapha also had three riders, they were no longer an immediate threat to us.

That group worked particularly well, apart from two obvious Endura ‘non fare paying passengers’…understandable.

Into the last few laps the inevitable attacks kicked off, Rapha being prominent and it was always going to be one of their riders who would capitalise on the Motorpoint/Endura rivalry. But to us it didn’t matter, we had bigger fish to fry. At the end it was Dean Windsor of Rapha doing the last two laps solo to win, whilst I won the kick behind from Ian Wilkinson of Endura.

We’d done it………..

Then followed a feeling of a huge weight lifting from me. A pressure which had been building for months was gone. It had been the sole focus for me for so long. Having come so close in 2009’s Tour Series, especially losing out by a tyre’s width on the last sprint in the last race I knew what it meant.

But with that pressure gone, I’m still not quite sure what’s going to replace it though.

What I can say is that it has been a pleasure, an absolute pleasure to be a part of this team. Superbly supported from every angle, I am a happy man, and I thank you all.

Malcolm Elliott

The RAS is the longest eight day race of the season and with five men limited per team, not to mention the terrain, it can become unpredictable and at times, quite aggressive. You need to pace yourself during the tour, which is what the guys did, building momentum throughout the week. My ultimate aim was for a podium but with the Swedes in top form, and a top field, including a number of continental teams, I was delighted to finish the RAS in 2^nd.

By this point in the season, your fitness should be at its peak having basically been preparing since the start of the year. Early on, the Cintron in Majorca was a struggle for me but after a number of wins and a good Tour of Brittany and now the RAS, I am feeling on top form for what is a very busy June.

It can be tough, with so many races packed into the month, what with the Premier Calendar and the Tour Series. Fatigue is an issue so the strength and depth needs to be there but the team is riding high at the minute, so we feed off each other. Plus, when it comes to the Tour Series, Keith tends to rotate us all so no-one “over rides”.

I’m particularly looking forward to Southport. It’s my home town, it’s my local club and all my mates are coming along so there should be plenty of support. I can’t wait for it!

Pete Williams

 I was reasonably happy with how the Lincoln GP race went. It certainly sounded like a good race from what people told me, and now I’ve watched the video on the website. Unfortunately, being in the team car I didn’t get to see that much of it. Getting two riders in the Top 10 was certainly good for team morale and bodes well for the forthcoming RAS Tour in Ireland. I was disappointed that the guys let two lots of two get away but I am sure we’ll address that in future Premier events. Both Ian and Jonny have enjoyed a great start to the season and Lincoln saw them continue their rich form of vein. I was particularly pleased with Andy’s performance, especially with him having being ill since finishing the Tour of Brittany.

 The Lincoln GP is always a bit of a lottery because of the size of the field. Although as a spectacle, it’s right up there for the public, for a team manager it’s a bit of a nightmare, especially when there are 200 riders, many of whom were simply not of the right calibre for the quality of that race. This showed early on with riders being pushed further and further back all the time, resulting in myself so far off the pace in the team race that I could barely pick up the race organisers radio. It was only when the field was cut after the half way point that you could really understand what was happening in the race. Prior to that there were so many bottlenecks, it was a bit of a joke.

Keith Lambert

I was really pleased with our performance in the Tour of Brittany, especially considering the quality of the field. There were over 20 continental teams competing, which meant the standard of racing was far higher than we would normally encounter.

 There was also no let up in the pace even though we were covering between 170-190kms a day. Ironically, the length of the tour will have done Ian Bibby and Jonny McEvoy the power of good as they will go into the forthcoming FDB RAS in Ireland full of confidence and with seven days worth of hard racing in their legs.

Inspite of the challenges that such a tour presents, not least the tactical ones, like not being able to use team radios, the guys made all the right calls, and racing in Team GB colours, certainly did their country proud. Now for the castles, cobbles and cathedrals of Lincoln.

Keith Lambert

So, now I’m back and recovered from the weekends efforts in the Tour of Ulster, let me tell you a little about it. My first time proper racing in Northern Ireland, except for a criterium in Belfast about 25 years ago.
 
It was we, the B team, as we called ourselves, as the rest of the team were in France at the Tour of Brittany. This consisted of Andrew Roche, Steve Burke, Lee Davis and myself with Phil and Jackie Griffiths stepping back into managerial duties. Brian Roche and the ‘Gogginator’ completed the crew.
 
Saturdays 92mile stage featured a large breakaway from very early on in the stage that eventually became whittled down to five of us, including teammate Lee Davis, and which largely defined the shape of the remainder of the race. At the finish I came second to Irish rider Philip Lavery, with his teammate Stephen Gallagher taking third. Lee was fourth and Adam Armstrong, who would wind up winning Genaral classification, was fifth. Lee also took the lead in the Mountains classification.
 
Sundays stage of 92miles was once again an strange day.At one point around mid distance I went from being about 4 big groups back and around 2 minutes down, to then claw back. Finally to escape in a 3 man break and eventually finish third after a desperate chase of the remnants of the front group to limit our losses. Then at 1km to go, yellow jersey Lavery overshot a left turn which meant I took over the race lead.
 
That afternoon saw a very short 2.4km time trial. This was to suit our own Steven Burke perfectly, he being a 2008 Olympic medallist at 4km. Despite riding an upright bike and regular wheels against most of the local opposition who brought out their best Lo-Pro TT machines he blew them away to take the stage win. I was 8th and conceded 5″ to Lavery but put 3″ into Armstrong, so went into Monday’s final 70mile stage with 15″ lead over Lavery and 16″ over Armstrong.
 
By Monday it was clear that the big danger to GC was going to be Lavery, whose persistent attacks over the weekend were taking their toll on the peloton. It appeared I was the only one who would, or could stay with him, The stage became a constant cat and mouse game. The rest of the team were working very hard to control the race. We were happy to keep contained an earlier break that featured Stephen Gallagher, Lavery’s teammate and who was himself something of a threat at 1′34″ back on GC. But it wasn’t to be, and a regrouping was brought about by Lavery’s chase, despite his own teammate looking good there for the stage win. There was then a period of frantic activity during which the quiet unassuming Armstrong slipped into the move that was to net him the race.

Behind Lavery and I continued to play our game, neither wishing the other to gain. So, I found myself stuck between a rock and a hard place. Had I chased Armstrong I would have then left myself open to attack from Lavery, so still wouldn’t have won. Sometimes in racing you have to make decisions, not always the ideal, but choices between the least bad options, not the most good ones. Despite the team’s grafting, Lee managed to hold onto his King of the mountains jersey.
 
Irish racing has always been interesting and is never predictable. Just when you think everything looks bad and all is lost, there’ll often be a big reshuffle which completely changes the order and things can look quite different again.
Fortunes quickly change…and so it proved once again.
 
Despite this we enjoyed a warm welcome and the people were friendly. I shall take away good memories of this race.

Malcolm Elliott

The CiCLE Classic is quite unlike any other race on the British Calendar, modelled loosely on the formula of the legendary Paris-Roubaix ‘monument’ classic.
 
Now in its sixth edition it has established itself as arguably the best one-day race in the UK.
 
Starting in the town of Rutland, and finishing in Melton Mowbray 105 miles later, via a compex network of loops in the Leicestershire lanes. These contain a total of 11 sectors, particularly challenging sections covering dirt roads, and even farm tracks across fields, where positioning is all important and involves much jostling and jockeying to achieve this.
 
It has its own atmosphere too, some of the tiny villages and communities pour out to spectate and make it an event, with music, barbeques, banners and announcers keeping the party going as we, the riders, come and go.
 
Another big feature of this race is the ever present danger of punctures, mechanicals, crashes and other mishaps. Heavier, more durable wheels and tyres need to be used as these roads are so hard on equipment. 
 
Weather is also a factor to consider, every previous edition has always enjoyed dry, calm conditions. If this year were to be wet, then it will be sure to quite a different proposition, with slippery roads and mud clogging up bikes and gears sure to happen.
 
I have a good history here, and of the four editions I have competed in I have finished 15th(2006), 1st(2007), 3rd(2008), 11th(2009).
 
Unfortunately, our team will be under strength this year as six of our guys are riding the Tour of Brittany being held concurrently, so the remaining four of us will be up against it.

Malcolm Elliott

After a cold and rainy three days in Scotland, we had a day at home to pack and then straight on a plane to Majorca for the Cinturon Classica four day stage race! After winning two second places in Scotland we were all really motivated to get a win. The opening stage was a three km prologue. Our manager Keith Lambert had driven the Motorpoint team van over with our new time trial bikes. We spent the morning setting up positions and then went to practice the course! Jonny McEvoy was off first and went into second position, then I went off and posted the fastest time, with still 30 riders to go it was an hour of waiting to see if we had the yellow jersey. The day ended with the yellow jersey and three riders in the top ten!

The second stage had two big climbs in. The race split on the first climb and going up the big climb there were six Columbian riders attacking me so I decided it would be better to let a few riders go up the road. With five km to the top, four riders had a gap of 35 seconds. I attacked the group I was with and tried to catch the leaders. I got really close but the gap was just a little too big and I ended up chasing for 20km and never got there. I got caught in the peloton and lost the jersey.

On the last stage it was a flatter day and we all rode well. James got in a break of three riders and only got caught with five km to the finish, and Jonny did a brilliant job leading me out for the finish where I claimed second place and scored enough points to win the jersey.

Next on the agenda is a week at home, until we get a ferry to Jersey for the Tour de Bretagne.

Ian Bibby

With three good Majorca training camps under our belt, preparation began in earnest for the World Championships in Copenhagen earlier this month by spending more time on the track practising sprints, standing starts and general technique.

I had asked the coaches if they would consider me for the omnium (a five event discipline) at the Worlds, but having heard nothing back, I assumed I hadn’t been selected. Ten days prior to the World’s starting, I got the call and it was a case of setting about building a different bike.

The atmosphere in Copenhagen was fantastic with lots of British fans making the trip and at points the stadium was standing room only – sometimes it was so noisy it was difficult to think straight!

The omnium itself is quite tactical and you have to “think on your feet” for several of the races. I didn’t go into the event with any expectations, especially given the short amount of training we’d done, but was aiming for a podium finish.

I started well, winning the 200m pursuit but came 13^th in the scratch race. I didn’t do badly in the following two events, picked up a win in the 1km TT and gained valuable points in the Points Race to earn me gold. Having gone into the event with little expectation it was fantastic to come away with a medal and such a good win margin.

The team overall felt we gave a solid performance – we only dipped on the Team Pursuit. We have definitely progressed since two years ago in Beijing. We’re feeling very confident looking towards the Olympics and the team should have plenty of optimism – there is certainly more to come from Team GB.

Ed Clancy

One of the highlights of being a bike rider is getting to visit and experience many different great places around the world. The OCBC Singapore Criterium held in the beginning of March was an opportunity to leave the bib tights and thermal vests in the drawer for a week at least. Although it’s a lengthy trek to get to South East Asia its definitely worth it for a great organized race against some top opposition from around the World.  The race itself was an hour and 45 minute on a 1.5km circuit with the start/finish line being the same as the one used for the Formula One Grand Prix held under flood lights each year. Following a few days of light training to acclimatise and get over the long flight, it was race day. 

Starting just after midday, the temperature was in the high 30s making it feel like you were racing inside an oven at times; not that I’m complaining (I wish it gets this warm up in Scotland for Easter). The pace of the race was consistently high with a few moves briefly going off the front of the peleton for a few laps but with the two pro tour teams controlling it and looking to set it up for a big bunch sprint, they were all doomed. 

So with a lap to go it was all together with everyone eyeing up the $12,500 first prize. With so many riders wanting to contest the sprint and such wide roads used for the circuit, it made it extremely difficult to maintain your position at the front of the bunch. After a kamikaze final lap, both myself and Malcolm finished in the prize money. Although everyone was a little disappointed not to finish higher up the placings, we’d all got another race under our belts and have good morale for the next block of racing.

Pete Williams