Spidertech: Tour de Suisse & Tour de Beauce Wrap up

Tour de Suisse Stage 1 report

(Lugano, SUI – June 9, 2012) Team SpiderTech powered by C10 made Canadian sports history today by becoming the first ever Canadian-based cycling team to start a UCI World Tour race on European soil, the Tour de Suisse.

The landmark accomplishment is an important milestone for the team co-owned by cycling legend Steve Bauer and Josée Larocque, who started the project more than five years ago.

In the opening race, a 7.3 kilometre prologue, Brian Vandborg was the fastest “spider”, posting the 90th fastest time. The team is focusing on breakaways and stage results rather than the general classification and is expected to be in the thick of the action in the eight coming stages.

Tomorrow, the 160-rider peloton faces the longest stage of the nine-day race, 218 km from Verbania to Verbier, including the Simplon Pass that crests above 2,000 m, and with a finish at altitude. With Team Liquigas-Cannondale’s Peter Sagan in the lead after winning the prologue, the teams vying for the general classification are expected to try to shake things up on what should be a very difficult stage.

Anderson earns Tour de Suisse ‘most aggressive’ prize

(Verbier, SUI – June 10, 2012) Team SpiderTech powered by C10′s Ryan Anderson (Vancouver, BC) is tied with cycling legend Frank Schleck at the top of the climbers’ classification at the 2012 Tour de Suisse.

Ryan Anderson was part of a two-man breakaway with Alesandro Bazzana of Team Type 1. The break showed a maximum gap of more than seven minutes during the longest stage of the current Tour de Suisse which, at 218 km, featured two huge ‘hors categorie’ climbs.

At the summit of the first major clmb, Anderson launched his sprint with 200 m to go and took the maximum points for his efforts.

“It was the plan for one of us to make the break and fly the team colours on television,” said an exhausted Anderson after the race. The leading duo was caught with 40 km to go, and Anderson dropped to the back of the field after his outstanding efforts in the opening 180 km.

Frank Schleck will be wearing the actual KOM jersey tomorrow as the jersey is awarded to the top rider in the overall standings in case of a tie. In addition to finishing tied with Schleck in the KOM classification and taking the opening sprint points, Anderson won the ‘most aggressive rider’ award for his efforts.

Team SpiderTech rider Raymond Kuenzli, who is from Switzerland, rose to the occasion on home soil, finishing in 24th position in the 160-rider peloton, and jumping to 34th place in the general classification. Kuenzli is sitting in second place of the best Swiss rider classification.

The race was won by Portuguese rider Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa of Team Movistar, followed by Schleck four seconds later and Mikel Nieve Ituralde of Euskaltel-Euskadi, 12 seconds behind.

Anderson still tied for Swiss mountains lead

(Aarberg, SUI – June 11, 2012) The Tour de Suisse continued today with the third stage, a 195-km race between Martigny and Aarberg.

Peter Sagan won the dicey sprint to the finish line, edging Baden Cooke of Orica-GreenEDGE and Ben Swift of Team Sky Procycling.

Ryan Anderson of Team SpiderTech powered by C10 remains tied with RadioShack-Nissan-Trek’s Frank Schleck in the best climber competition with 20 pts, as neither rider scored points on the stage.

U.S. rider Lucas Euser was the top SpiderTech finisher in the front group.

Tomorrow, the team will be racing the fourth of nine stages, leaving Aarberg in the morning to reach Trimbach for a total distance of 189 km.

Vandborg jumps to 3rd in Swiss mountains standings

Team SpiderTech powered by C10 rider Brian Vandborg has climbed to third place in the best climber competition at the Tour de Suisse today after being part of the main breakaway of the stage.

Vandborg earned 17 points at the summits of the classified climbs  and now sits behind teammate Ryan Anderson and “King of the Mountains” classification leader Frank Schleck of Team RadioShack-Nissan.

“If (Dario) Cataldo (OmegaPharma) wasn’t in the break, we may have stuck it to the line today. Movistar wasn’t going to give us much of a leash and collaboration in the break was poor because Cataldo is such a threat for the general classification,” said Danish rider Vandborg. “We’ll see how the race develops from here, but it’s good to have Randy and me both in contention for the KOM moving forward.”

“The day was incredibly active, with several riders attempting to break away from the sound of the gun. All teams wanted representation in the break today. So, the fact we made it bodes well for the abilities we are developing in the team,” said Steve Bauer, directeur sportif for Team SpiderTech at the Tour de Suisse. “It was a bonus to put down a great showing here today as two of our C10 sponsors — Spidertech and BlackBerry — joined the team today.”

In the sprint finish, Slovak rider Peter Sagan of Team Liquigas-Cannondale won his third stage at this year’s the Tour de Suisse.

Team SpiderTech is not a threat for the overall victory at the Tour de Suisse, but the team’s objective is to animate the race, hunt for a stage performance, and focus on the King of the Mountains classification to hopefully wear the coveted and respected jersey awarded to the best climber.

The KOM race is expected to be very difficult with the climbs on stages 8 and 9.

Added Bauer: “It will be an honour to take it for a day or two, and a dream to hold it to the end of the tour. Today we moved a strong player into contention with Vandborg scoring 17 points to move into a tie for third with Morkov from Team SaxoBank, Vandborg’s teammate from last year.” 

CLASSIFICATION – KING OF THE MOUNTAIN
1. Frank Schleck (LUX) (RadioShack-Nissan) 20 pts
2. Ryan Anderson (CAN) (Spidertech Powered By C10) 20 pts
3. Brian Vandborg (DEN) (Spidertech Powered By C10) 17 pts

Will Routley of Whistler, BC, who has been fighting a severe flu since the start of the Tour de Suisse, abandoned the race.

Tomorrow, the peloton will travel 193 kilometres between Olten/Trimbach and Gansingen.

Roth 2nd, De Luna top young rider at Tour de Beauce

(Lac-Etchemin, QC – June 12, 2012) Team SpiderTech powered by C10 enjoyed a strong opening day at the Tour de Beauce Tuesday as Flavio de Luna earned the best young rider jersey and Ryan Roth finished second on the stage.

The Tour de Beauce began with its usual tough stage in the rolling hills around Lac-Etchemin, and road construction forced organizers to add even more climbing this year.

The 162-km race opened with a flurry of attacks and after just five kilometres a breakaway of three riders went up the road, including De Luna, Ken Hanson (Optum-Kelly Benefit Strategies) and David Williams (Competitive Cyclist).

Although De Luna hadn’t been assigned to cover the early moves, he was at the right place at the right time and went for it. “I was riding out front and it just happened,” said the 22-year-old from Aguascalientes, Mexico.

With just three riders, it was going to be tough to make the break stick to the end, but De Luna decided to go for the King of the Mountains sprint points and try to get the team onto the podium.

In the end the breakaway stayed away for nearly 140 km, and though Hanson took the KOM jersey De Luna finished the stage in the same time as the leaders and now sits atop the best young rider classification. He is also second in the KOM standings and can hope to win the jersey later in the tour.

The finale featured a dangerous three-rider attack that included 2011 winner Francisco Mancebo (Competitive Cyclist). Mancebo hung on to win the stage by a couple bike lengths, but the downhill run to the finish meant the peloton overhauled the other two riders and Ryan Roth managed to avoid a pair of crashes to finish second on the stage.

“The opportunity presented itself so I went for it,” Roth said.

“When you’re out there good things happen,” said team director Michael Carter, who was full of praise for De Luna. “He’s well on his way to the mountains jersey, and he did a great job to hang in there to finish with the main field after such a long breakaway.”

Roth, De Luna in strong position at Tour de Beauce

(Thetford-Mines, QC – June 13, 2012) Team SpiderTech powered by C10 consolidated its strong position in the Tour de Beauce during the second stage Wednesday as the race heads into its most critical phase.

The day after spending 140 km in the breakaway on Stage 1, SpiderTech’s Flavio De Luna scored points on both classified climbs Wednesday and now sits just one point behind “King of the Mountains” leader Ken Hanson (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies).

Meanwhile, Ryan Roth, who finished second in Stage 1, made sure he stayed out of trouble in the 160-km second stage and remains just four seconds behind overall leader Francisco Mancebo (Competitive Cyclist Racing Team).

Thursday’s 164-km stage finishes with the 8-km climb to the top of Mont Mégantic and will be critical to both the overall standings and the KOM classification.

“The guys did good – we didn’t make any losses today,” said team director Michael Carter after the stage. “We’re looking to Hugo (Houle), Flavio and Ryan for a good result, and the others will do their part to help.”

Stage 2 started off very fast as rider after rider attempted to break away, but it wasn’t until the 40^th kilometre that three riders managed to get clear. Craig Lewis (Champion System Pro Cycling Team), Jamie Sparling (Raleigh-GAC) and James Williamson (Bike NZ – Pure Black Racing) soon gained four minutes on the field before Competitive Cyclist began to set tempo to keep the time gap under control.

The gap was down to a little more than two minutes at the final KOM climb with 30 km to go, when Williamson dropped back to the field, but despite Team Type 1 Sanofi’s efforts to chase them down Lewis and Sparling managed to hang on by 29 seconds at the finish.

Lewis gained enough time to leapfrog Roth in the overall standings – Lewis is now second at three seconds – but the time gaps in tomorrow’s mountain top finish and Friday’s time trial will have a far bigger impact in the final outcome of the race.

Note: Flavio De Luna was mistakenly given the best young rider jersey on Tuesday. That award actually belongs to Adiq Othman (Champion System). He was given the jersey before Wednesday’s stage. Hugo Houle is second and De Luna sits third.

Houle climbs to 4th overall at Tour de Beauce

(Mont-Mégantic, QC – June 14, 2012) Hugo Houle has made no secret this week that he’s in great shape, and the 21-year-old Quebecker proved it Thursday with a brilliant ride to the summit of Mont-Mégantic.

The Team SpiderTech powered by C10 rider finished fourth on the “queen stage” of the Tour de Beauce, trading attacks with 2011 winner Francisco Mancebo (Competitive Cyclist Racing Team) and Australian Rory Sutherland (United HealthCare) to finish fourth on the stage.

The result – which also puts Houle into the fourth spot in the overall standings – earned Houle the red jersey as best young rider in the tour, and he’s also the top-ranked Canadian in the race, which is being led by Mancebo.

“I’ve wanted to test myself against guys like Rory Sutherland and Mancebo because they’re among the best in the world,” said Houle after the stage.

“The guys did a great job once again,” said team director Michael Carter. “The goal was either to get in a break really early or hit them at the end. Flavio (De Luna) went in an early move but it didn’t work out, so we went with Plan B.”

The 164-km stage ended with an 8-km climb to the summit of Mont-Mégantic – the highest road in Quebec.

A five-rider breakaway went up the road after about 25 km and gained as much as six minutes, but by the time the pack hit the final climb everything was back together again and it was an all-out race to the summit.

Simon Lambert-Lemay, Zach Bell, Martin Gilbert and Francois Parisien made sure Houle, Ryan Roth and De Luna – who was sitting second in the best climber standings – were well protected until the base of the mountain.

“As it split up, Hugo went with the leaders and put in three really solid attacks,” Carter said. “Ryan (Roth) lost a little time, but he should get a little of that back in tomorrow’s time trial.”

On Friday the riders face a 20-km individual time trial, which will play a decisive role in the final standings.

“I haven’t done any specific time trialing lately, but with the form I have I think I can do a good ride,” Houle said.

SpiderTech still in the hunt for Swiss mountains prize

After six stages Team SpiderTech powered by C10 continues to battle for the “King of the Mountains” title at the Tour de Suisse.

With two riders within four points of the lead, the team has raced the past two stages with the same mission – to get into the breakaway and pick up KOM points.

Each day Brian Vandborg and Ryan Anderson have tried hard, but have been caught out and the accumulated fatigue is taking its toll as the team rides its first big stage race at the WorldTour level.

“We were almost there today (Stage 6 to Bischofszell),” said Vandborg. “We tried to push through on Movistar as the break was establishing … but they didn’t want any of it.

Sometimes it’s just that way. The big teams have the strength and clout to decide when enough is enough and they are happy with the break. We just missed the timing a bit today.”

Anderson remains just one point out of the classification lead, while Vandborg is four points down.

“The KOM classification is still open, in some ways this can really benefit us,” said assistant team director Kevin Field. “I think for us it will now come down to Stage 9. Fingers crossed, Brian or Randy can get up there the last day and snag points.”

Each rider on the team has raised their game while racing at a new level.

“Lucas was great today, he really stepped into the road captain role and was keeping the guys on task. It was great to see,” said Field.

Friday’s Stage 7 is a 34-km individual time trial on a technical and challenging course near Zurich.

“We won’t have any riders really going for this stage. It won’t be an easy day for the riders, but our goals are modest for today: Get through and focus on recovery for the final two mountain stages to come,” said Field.

“We knew this race would be hard, a whole new level for us and this tour is as much about learning as fighting for results,” said team owner and director Steve Bauer. “We’re really happy to see the commitment and aggression the guys are putting into the race-opening when its crucial to get in the breaks. The spirits are high, we’re going to keep fighting.”

Houle has breakthrough result in Tour de Beauce

(St-Benoît-Labre, QC – June 15, 2012) Hugo Houle wanted to show that he could rival the best riders on the continent, and he got his wish Friday with a third place in the time trial stage of the Tour de Beauce.

The 21-year-old Team SpiderTech powered by C10 has already proved that he is the best Canadian in the U23 category by winning the national championships in that age class for two years running. But his result Friday came against much older, more experienced riders after three tough days of racing.

The stage winner was former seven-time Canadian Champion and former worlds medalist Svein Tuft, 35, who races on the WorldTour with Orica-GreenEDGE.

Tuft posted a time of 27 minutes, 8 seconds, 30 seconds faster than 30-year-old Australian Rory Sutherland (UnitedHealthCare), and 46 seconds faster than Houle. “I’m very happy,” said Houle after the race. “The team had confidence in me, and the pressure was on me to perform today.”

After Houle’s fourth-place finish at the summit of Mont-Mégantic on Thursday, he now sits just 19 seconds behind Sutherland in the overall standings, with another Orica-GreenEDGE rider, Christian Meier, in third place at 43 seconds.

“This was a breakthrough race for him,” said team director Michael Carter, who praised

Houle’s professionalism in bouncing back from a fall on Tuesday. “Had he not crashed on the first stage, who knows. That always takes it out of a rider.”

Team SpiderTech had a strong showing in the time trial, with Ryan Roth finishing fifth and Zach Bell ninth.

The focus now turns to the final two stages of the tour, a tough circuit race in Quebec City on Saturday and another one in Ville St-Georges on Sunday.

Sutherland has a very strong team to lean on as he defends his overall lead, but they have a hard job ahead of them as several teams are poised to go on the attack, and it will be up to Houle to look for opportunities to play off some other riders, such as Tuft and Meier, to gain some time.

Houle continues to lead the best young rider classification, and SpiderTech is second in the team standings as well, just 53 seconds behind UnitedHealthCare.

“This has been such a team effort all week, and here we are in second place on the team classification with a very good chance as UHC burns off their riders defending the lead,” said Carter. “It’s a second priority, but it’s a target for sure.”

Houle still 2nd at Tour de Beauce

(Ville de Québec, QC – June 16, 2012) The Team SpiderTech powered by C10 boys rallied around Hugo Houle Saturday to deliver him to Sunday’s final stage of the Tour de Beauce as fresh as possible.

“Francois (Parisien) in particular did a great job for me today,” said Houle, who is in second place after five stages, just 19 seconds behind Australian Rory Sutherland of the UnitedHealthCare team. “The guys brought me water all day so I just sat on Sutherland.”

Houle did have a bit of a scare early in the stage.

“At the start I didn’t feel very good, but I ate like four Bonk Breaker bars and I came around,” he said.

Despite a breakaway that survived to the finish and several attacks by contenders for the overall victory, there were no major changes to the standings after Saturday’s stage. With small gaps separating the top five places it sets the stage for a dramatic battle in Sunday’s 125-km circuit race in Ville St-Georges.

“The guys were on task and did their job to keep Hugo protected today,” said team director Michael Carter. “It was a good day. Tomorrow’s the war.”

Houle ends Tour de Beauce in 2nd overall

(Ville de St-Georges, QC – June 17, 2012) Hugo Houle ended the Tour de Beauce in second place overall Sunday, scoring the biggest result at the elite level in his young career.

The Team SpiderTech powered by C10 rider started the 125-km final stage just 19 seconds behind leader Rory Sutherland of the UnitedHealthCare team, but it quickly became clear that it was a next to impossible task to dislodge the Australian.

“We saw right away that Sutherland was virtually unbeatable,” said Houle. “I didn’t win but, for me, to finish second in the Tour de Beauce is amazing.”

Houle laid the foundation for his result with a fourth-place finish in the third stage, which climbed to the summit of Mont-Mégantic on Thursday. He followed that up the next day with third in the individual time trial, which was won by former world championship medalist Svein Tuft.

“His result here shows that the breakthrough in the time trial and on Mégantic was no fluke,” said team director Michael Carter. “He’s a complete rider.”

That said, Houle could not have done it without his teammates, who protected him throughout the tour and wound up second on the team classification.

“The team did a really good job, I was never stressed,” said Houle.

“The team rode great,” said Carter. “And you’ve got to hand it to Rory and his team as well.”

RACE PROFILE
Event: 2012 Tour de Beauce (CAN)
Class: UCI 2.1 (America Tour)
Type: Six-day stage race
Website: http://www.tourdebeauce.com

RESULTS – STAGE 6
1. Bruno Langlois (Garneau-Quebecor-Norton Rose) 3:05:58
2. Marsh Cooper (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) @2”
3. Matthias Friedmann (Champion System Pro Cycling Team) @21”
4. Christian Meier (Canada) same time
5. Evan Oliphant (Raleigh-GAC) st
===
12. Hugo Houle (SpiderTech p/b C10) st
19. Ryan Roth (SpiderTech p/b C10) st
28. Flavio De Luna (SpiderTech p/b C10) st
37. Francois Parisien (SpiderTech p/b C10) @1:08
52. Martin Gilbert (SpiderTech p/b C10) @7:02
DNF Zach Bell (SpiderTech p/b C10)
DNF Simon Lambert-Lemay (SpiderTech p/b C10) 

RESULTS – GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Rory Sutherland (UnitedHealthCare)
2. Hugo Houle (SpiderTech p/b C10) @19”
3. Christian Meier (Canada) @43”
4. Svein Tuft (Canada) @1:06
5. Matt Cooke (Exergy) @1:07
===
8. Ryan Roth (SpiderTech p/b C10) @1:29
24. Flavio De Luna (SpiderTech p/b C10) @6:10
34. Francois Parisien (SpiderTech p/b C10) @9:20
47. Martin Gilbert (SpiderTech p/b C10) @25:15 

STAGES
Stage 1: Lac-Etchemin – Lac-Etchemin (162 km)
Stage 2: Thetford-Mines – Thetford-Mines (160 km)
Stage 3: St-Georges – Mont-Mégantic (164 km)
Stage 4: St-Benoît-Labre (Individual Time Trial – 20 km)
Stage 5: Ville de Québec (Urban circuit – 125 km)
Stage 6: Ville de St-Georges (Urban circuit – 125km)

Team SpiderTech completes tough Tour de Suisse

(Sörenberg, SUI – June 17, 2012) The 2012 Tour de Suisse, celebrating its 76th edition, came to an end today, and Team SpiderTech could not be happier with the experience it has gained throughout the last nine days.

“The team has grown significantly over the last nine days. Our riders were put to the test, riding beside all of UCI World Tour teams, and they gained valuable experience that will help us as we continue to race around the world,” said Steve Bauer, 1984 Olympic Silver medallist and co-owner of Team SpiderTech.

“We are more motivated than ever to pursue the Team SpiderTech project, and we are now striving to put together all the pieces in place to receive a World Tour licence, and become the first Canadian-based team to ever ride the Tour de France.”

“Without the complete and dedicated support from SpiderTech and all the C10 partners on board, such as Argon18, BlackBerry, Pinetree Capital and NRS Brakes, we would not have had the opportunity to race this great Tour de Suisse. As a team, as a family, we have accomplished a great feat and wrote a new chapter in the history books.”

Since the opening stage of the Tour de Suisse, the riders rode 1400 kilometers, in some of the World’s most challenging roads in Switzerland.

The team enjoyed a great start to their World Tour experience, with Ryan Anderson taking part in a break that ultimately tied him in the KOM classification leader at the time, Frank Schleck. Then, Brian Vandborg broke away with an attack, and he too jumped up in the KOM standings, staying among the top climbers throughout the race.

During the tour, swiss rider Raymond Kuenzli quickly became a fan favorite, building a fan-base along the way. At the end of the tour, he was well-known among the cycling-crazy Swiss population.

On this last day of racing, the team had the same mission in mind, to score some KOM points. The day was more about survival, and build some strength for the team. All six starters today finished what was a very gruelling race. The day’s efforts were also to recognize the race invitation from the organizers, and show them respect for the hand they lent out to Team SpiderTech.

With a young team of riders mostly in their twenties, the team will continue to gain international racing experience, and will grow to become even more powerful.

Next up for Team SpiderTech will be the 2012 COLD-FX Canadian Road Championships, in Lac Mégantic, QC, from June 21 to 24.

RACE PROFILE
Event: 2012 Tour de Suisse (SUI)
Class: UCI WT (World Tour)
Type: Nine-day stage race
Website: http://www.tourdesuisse.ch/en/

RESULTS – GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (POR) Movistar Team 35:54:49
2. Frank Schleck (LUX) RadioShack-Nissan +0:14
3. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma–QuickStep +0:21
4. Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank Cycling Team +0:25
5. Mikel Nieve Ituralde (SPA) Euskaltel-Euskadi +0:40
=====
72. Lucas Euser (USA) Spidertech Powered By C10 +1:04:26
76. Raymond Kunzli (SWI) Spidertech Powered By C10 +1:11:04
86. Brian Vandborg (DEN) Spidertech Powered By C10 +1:23:57
87. Michael Morkov (DEN) Team Saxo Bank +1:26:48
88. Caleb Fairly (USA) Spidertech Powered By C10 +1:37:43
90. Guillaume Boivin (CAN) Spidertech Powered By C10 +1:44:55
92. Ryan Anderson (CAN) Spidertech Powered By C10 +1:48:18

STAGES
Stage 1: Lugano – Lugano (Prologue – 7.3km)
Stage 2: Verbania – Verbier (218km)
Stage 3: Martigny – Aarberg (195km)
Stage 4: Aarberg – Trimbach/Olten (189km)
Stage 5: Olten/Trimbach – Gansingen (193km)
Stage 6: Wittnau – Bischofszell TG (195km)
Stage 7: Gossau ZH – Gossau ZH (Individual Time-Trial – 34km)
Stage 8: Bischofszell TG – Arosa (198km)
Stage 9: Näfels-Lintharena – Sörenberg (216km)

L'Équipe Spidertech propulsée par C10 est commanditée par Giro et Finish Line.