Written by Svalbard Trek at 08:51 4/9-2014
Svalbard Trek are a new cycling team built with the backing of the merchandise giants Svalbard Clothing and Trek Sports. It all started with the hiring of 15 English riders including the 27 year old English climber Driscoll Whillans. After a pre-season training program in the Scottish hills, the team got ready to go.
Our first race was the one day race of Thun-Thun. In the washout of a summer in the Swiss alps, we were hoping for good weather, but the morning dawned with pouring rain and low cloud. The roads around Thun and Lenk, especially the Jaunpass and Gurnigel pass had water pouring down the roads. In the peloton, numerous crashes made any chase back nigh on impossible and the number of injuries was extremely high. The breakaway sealed the win, Claassen taking the top spot. The best placed Trek rider was Whillans in 11th.
A week later we visited Colombia for our second race as a team. The Hills of Cabudare are usually won by a long breakaway, but this time the confidence in the team was exceptionally high. The Svalbard team kept the pressure up the entire way, with no breakaway gaining more than a minute on the main field. On the penultimate climb, the field suddenly split in two, with the entire Svalbard team in the leading half of the peloton. The race finishes on a climb, and at the bottom of the final climb, the breakaway was caught. With the majority of the team in the leading group, Iver Jenkins was allowed to attack. Only two riders could follow, Whillans and Rico Sims. After playing cat and mouse and after repeated attacks from the two Trek riders, Whillans broke the the spirit of Sims and was left to fly to the top. Iver Jenkins then made sure Sims had hit the wall before the attacking. It was an incredible day with Svalbard Trek taking the top two places on the podium and with Mantle and Gerald taking 8th and 9th. It was a sign of the great things to come, and hopefully the first of many wins.
The Mukacheve Grand Prix was our next race. Svalbard Trek was again noticeable at the front of the race, keeping tabs on the breakaway. On the final climb, a small group of favourites formed. Whillans launched an attack off of the front. With the main favourites unwilling to chase him down, he was again left to ride by himself to the finish line to claim yet another victory.
At this point, Svalbard Trek signed their first big names. Hirai Kazuo was first signed, followed by Leontiy Pervak and Sandijs Semerjaks. It is hoped that this team can challenge for sprinting stages and cobble stages in the higher divisions. And this team got to work immediately.
Our following one day race was in Barbados. Andros Town was a learning curve for the art of lead outs in the team. Despite a late pile up, the majority of sprinters were in with a shout for the win. But when Pervak tried to come out of Kazuo's slipstream they both went the same way, almost ending in a heap on the road. They managed to stay on their wheels and finish third and fifth on the stage.
It had been an impressive start from Svalbard Trek with four podium finishes in four races and eight top ten finishes.
In our following one day race, Den Haag - Den Haag the teething problems of Andros Town were no longer apparent. The lead out train worked perfectly but Pervak was to finish a tight second. Yet another podium and Kazuo was to finish ninth to claim yet another top ten.
This trend of podium finishes was to continue in our next two races. Izmir GP was also to go to plan but Pervak finished in third place. Kotoyo GP went to plan but this time the team decided that both Kazuo and Pervak were to go for high finishes. Both were to get on the podium with Pervak on the second step and Kazuo on the third. Fenton Green was also to lie in the top ten.
It marked a hugely impressive start to competitive life after just 7 races. We have 8 podium finishes and fourteen top ten finishes. These results have been above expectations and Svalbard Trek are still to compete in two cobbling where Sandijs Semerjaks will surely start as a favourite. Hopefully Svalbard will have been promoted thrice before the end of the regular season, of which we have only been competitive for a third of the time.
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Comments
I am already struggling now.... Not a good sign.....
Nice story, impressive run but the real challenge is maintaining points. But that is for next season.
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