If Marcel Kittel is to be successful in this year’s Tour of Qatar it’s likely that he will owe much of glory to his Giant-Alpecin lead-out train, as behind - or this case in front - of every great sprinter is a volley of riders utterly devoted and in tune with their fast man’s needs.
Tom Veelers has been with the Giant-Alpecin team since turning professional. Back in 2008, the team were registered as Skil-Shimano and were pigeonholed as the plucky second division team with limited resources but a fair amount of heart and passion. A wildcard entry into the Tour that year warmed them to many fans but in the years since the squad has developed into one of the most respected and successful teams at the WorldTour level.
Kittel and John Degenkolb have been nurtured into two of the best sprinters of the last few years but Veelers has become a mainstay in the team, a fine sprinter in his own right but unquestionably one of the best lead-out men in the business.
“Of course we want to get some racing rhythm and that’s important for the coming races. For the lead-outs it’s important that we stick together but you never know in the Tour of Qatar because it could be chaos if there’s no lead-out,” he tell Cyclingnews as he welcomes us into his hotel room on eve of the race by offering us a chair.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I don’t like to say that there’s a lot of stages that we can win,” Veelers says with a wry smile, “but of course ever day there’s a new chance. Let's start with trying to win one and then we can try and go from there. We’ve not won here before so one stage would be a good start."
It’s all rather modest from a man who has helped propel Kittel onto the throne as the world’s best sprinter in the last two seasons but Veelers appears as down to earth as they come. Come race day that will all change though. He’s fought on the battle fields of Qatar’s deserts before and can testify to the severity of the conditions the race can throw up.
“Some guys are afraid of this race. On one hand you’re afraid and you don’t want to go in full gas and ride echelons but you have to go in and race aggressively. That has to be your mindset if you want to get good results good results. That’s what it’s all about, getting stuck in and really going for it. Qatar is a race,” he says before pausing, “where you need to ride aggressively. You can't miss a single corner where the wind can change or that’s it. Race over.”
Are they the best lead-out operation in the world? “Well we have a super strong lead-out train and we can win with more guys than just Marcel. You can see it with John [Degenkolb], Nikias [Arndt], Luka [Mezgec]. I’m proud of that and what we’ve achieved together. It’s something that we want to keep on doing in the future.”
But the hair trigger responses needed in races are formed away from the races, at team camps, and in training.
“It’s all so quick and you’ve got to make decisions in a split second. But to form a lead-out, what you need is time to get to know each other. You need trust in each other and you need to work hard. Everyone in the lead-out plays their part so I’ll bring in the knowledge that I have and then they’ll bring what they know. From there we make a plan, and we share it.
And within each lead-out train every autonomous angle and scenario must be covered and rehearsed. No rider is identical to the last as Veelers explains.
The evolution of the lead-out train is something Veelers has witnessed and been part of first hand. Mark Cavendish and HTC re-created a blueprint starting around 2008 that set the benchmark for everyone to follow. It took time but over the years, and with HTC’s demise also a factor, a number of squads have invested and established their own techniques. One team in particular brings their entire lead-out team into the windtunnel just to find the most aerodynamic and resourceful line-up – not just for themselves but one that will intentionally disadvantage the opposition.
“That’s because more and more teams are improving their trains, sprinters are using more guys to help them and teams are generally getting stronger. Of course HTC was the biggest team several years ago but for us timing is important. We have riders who understand each other really well," he says.
“That means if you take someone like Timmer, he’s massively important for us because he’s the first guy for us. He knows where to go and with what speed. It’s all about knowing each other inside out.”
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://ift.tt/1C9tiwb
No comments:
Post a Comment