TDU Tifosi Sundowner 23rd January 2013

Great sundowner last night with Satalyst Giant sponsors, Tifosi and guests filling the Gallery rooftop bar in Adelaide. A surprise highlight was the chance for Tifosi to have a chat with Aussie cycling legend Phil Anderson. Other special guests included Anthony Giacoppo (AJ), riding in the Tour Down Under for Uni SA, and Eastern States based Satalyst Giant team riders Alex Malone, Paul Van der Ploeg and Peter English.
A few drinks and snacks did not go astray either…

Put it in the diary for next year!

Team for Azerbaijan – starts 13th May 2012

Daniel Bonello
Alex Malone
Rowan Dever
Caleb Jones
Liam Dove
Trent Morey
reserve Chris Beeck

Manager Yves Beau
Reserve manager/ rider Nathan Dahlberg

Here is link to Tour Website – www.azar-tour.com
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Alex and James in action at Stage 5…
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The news has been sparse due to communication difficulties but here is a video Dan and Caleb managed to get through..
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Team-
1. Daniel Bonello
2.James Ibrahim
3.Trent Morley
4.Caleb Jones
5.Liam Dove
6.Luke Joyce

The 5 stages race will start from Semporna to Tawau (102.8km) on 27th April, from there the riders will proceed to Stage 2 : Tawau – Lahad Datu (146.6km); Stage 3 : Lahad Datu – Sandakan (181.8km); before they face the grueling mountain highlands in Stage 4 from Sepilok leading to Kundasang (214.8km) the base of Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in South East Asia. The race will end in the West Coast of Sabah on Stage 5 : Kundasang – Kota Kinabalu (112.4km), on 1st of May 2012.

Link to event WEBPAGE

Luke Joyce 2nd in Stage, Trent Morey 5th,  Caleb Jones 4th overall GC!

Luke Joyce Stage 5 report-112km solid climb at the start with long descents and steep climbs until about 50km to go where it was flat to the finish. i managed to cross to the break of 4 on a descent which had jon lovelock (genesys) in and worked with them until more riders joined us including 2 more genesys riders and trent morey (plan b) boosting the break aways amount to 10 riders with 60km to go. the genesys boys rolled hard to put jon in a position to win overall with the new zealand team riding hard to close the gap. in the last 3km i got away with blake hose (genesys) and a suren rider. in the final 400m there was a left hander where i ended up on the front and had the lead out the sprint. the suren rider kicked past me with 300m to go, i kept blake held off and held on to get second on the stage. caleb ended up 4th overall with a fantastic ride.

Luke Joyce stage 4-216km with a mountain top finish around 1300m. dan was able to cross to the break after it had been initiated which went out to about 5 mins. the new zealand riders rode on the front like they have been almost the whole tour or their man in yellow. when the bunch hit the climb, riders started going backwards while the yellow jersey tapped out a solid pace for what was left of the main bunch by himself for the last 50km. caleb climbed like a demon to grab 6th on the stage putting him into 3rd on gc.

Luke Joyce stage 3-186km relatively flat with rolling hills. i managed to get in the break with 3 other riders (ccn, 7 eleven and kazak). the gap went out to almost 7 mins while we were chopping off all day. with 20km to go the ccn rider got dropped and with about 17km to go the kazak got a flat tyre leaving it to me and the 7 eleven rider to drive it to the finish with the time gap coming down quickly as the bunch chased. eventually we were caught with just over 5km to go up a short steep hill. caleb managed to get 6th in the bunch kick and was sitting at 9th on gc.

Dan Bonello Stage 2

James Ibrahim Report

Dan Bonello Report
Stage 1: 102km
Elevation: 710m
Average speed: 44km/h

The peloton seemed to have a collective concern that today’s start had been scheduled for 2.30pm as the previous day temperatures had reached just over forty degrees. However a considerable amount of cloud cover meant that the temperature was a little more manageable for the bunch.

As expected there were numerous protagonists showing their cards as soon as racing began and Plan B were able to remain attentive and either be in any move that got a gap or conservatively help bring things back. It wasn’t until around the thirty k mark that a move of just two riders headed off up the road. With some solid tempo riding at the front by both Plan B and Genesys their gap never exceeded a minute forty, but it was surprising to not see it dip below a minute when the impetus of the chase really kicked in.
Without a true sprinter in our line up there was little pressure on us to do little more than consolidate a good spot in the bunch furthermore a safe finish on GC for myself and Caleb Jones.
With 5k to go the first of the riders was swept up by the bunch and it was assumed that the remaining rider from Pure Black Racing would soon be caught as well. A truly amazing ride from Michael Torkler saw him maintain the smallest of margins over the bunch and PBR were able to walk away with a well deserved 1,2,3 on the stage.
James, Caleb and myself were able to avoid the carnage of the final few k’s and finish in the bunch. This leaves us in a position to be on the hunt for a good break away tomorrow and perhaps pick up some time bonuses.
More to come from Borneo.
Daniel Bonello

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— -Luke Joyce Report

Stage one- 108km relatively flat stage saw with countless amounts of attacks from the gun. Eventually a New Zealand and another rider made a break that went out to about 1:40mins. Plan B had Dan Bonello and guest rider Liam Dove rolling on the front with teams such as Genesys to pull the break back.The last couple of kms to the finish were a bit dodgy with everyone trying to position themselves for a sprint and a right hander about 400m from the finish.

The New Zealand rider went on to ride to the finish by himself taking out the win.

All the Plan B riders finished with the bunch except for Luke Joyce and Liam Dove who got caught behind a crash 1.5km from the finish.

Tour of Philippines 14 – 17 April 2012
Team;

• Alex Malone
• Alex Smyth
• Daniel Bonello
• Logan Calder
• Peter McDonald

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Dan Bonello Tour of Philippines Pre Stage Video - Click to view

Stage 4 – Peter McDonald Race Report

The Team went into the last stage of the Tour of the Philippines with a simple plan.  Do what we could to help Alex get the yellow jersey.  With three days of hard racing under our belts and some big climbs ahead of us it was always going to be a tough ask.  Little did we know the brutalness of the stage that lay ahead.

The profile for stage 4 indicated some challenging climbs.  However the profile did not go close to justifying the severity of the climbs or the difficulty of the uncategorised climbs along the course. Alex and the rest of the team got over the first climb intact, despite a large chunk of the peleton already dropping off the pace.  So far so good only 8 more climbs to go.  It was half way up the next climb, a leg snapping 16km 10% monster that the bunch exploded into a million pieces.  By the top of the climb riders were spread all over the mountain and there was still another 7 climbs before the finish.

With the bunch splitting into pieces I decided to throw caution to the wind and attempt to get across to the front group.  The legs where starting to remember what it was like to race again and so I made my move.  I bridged across to the leading group of around 10 riders as we crested the first of the days KOMs.  Down the decent I was sucking in lots of air and hoping there was a little bit of respite in the form of some flatter road at the bottom.  No luck, we hit the bottom and headed straight up the next climb.  This was to be the pattern for the day, as it seemed there was next to no flat sections for the entire course.  We headed up the next climb and what my legs had remember on the pervious climb they had forgotten by the top of this climb.  Down a short decent and straight up the next climb.  Not long into this climb and I was turning squares.  I rode my own tempo to the top trying to minimise my loses to perhaps have a chance of getting back to the group on the decent.  I afraid it was all over for me.

I got to take in the sights of the magnificent region as I tempo’d over the next few climbs.  Impossibly steep mountain roads wound through tropical forest down to a river in the valley floor.  The stony river was spanned by cable bridges, straight out of an Indiana Jones movie.  The valley road only followed the river for a few kilometers at a time before heading skywards again.  I said hello and goodbye to the boy’s as they caught and dropped me on the final 30km climb to the finish.  Logan, Dan and Smythy had done a super job of pacing Alex the entire stage.  Although Alex had lost his GC position the Plan B boys had ridden a very brave race.

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Dan Bonello Stage 2 Report  -Tuguegarao City to Cauayan City
Distance: 103km plus 10km neutral

Plan B and the rest of the peleton at the tour of Philippines were faced with a 103 km route for stage 2. This came as a relief for many of the riders as the previous day had proven to be somewhat of an endurance test in the searing heat on exposed roads, however we knew that even on a shorter stage the team had to remain attentive from kilometer zero.

As expected attacks began as soon as the commissaire wound up his window and fired up the AC in his car. It was a fairly standard unsettled start to the stage with small groups continuously trying their luck at an escape. The first thirty kilometers of the stage were raced over some seriously rough roads and many teams fell victim to either wheel or tyre problems and we were no exception, with both Logan and Alex Smythe keeping Nathan busy from the team car.

At about the fifty kilometer mark after the race had calmed down quite a bit Alex Malone managed to find his way into the crucial move of the day again. After the race he explained that his legs felt incredible considering the disregard he showed for them the previous day. After rolling in in fifth place he now sits in third overall. Obviously we are unsure how things will play out with so much climbing on the horizon, but we certainly hope that a high place on GC for Alex is attainable.

Once the days break had finally established itself the remaining K’s ticked by in a somewhat processional manner for the peleton. We contributed to keeping the pace relatively high, simply so that things would remain settled and were impressed by the co-operation of some of the other foreign teams. Alex Smythe was also able to put yesterdays battle behind him to roll take second in the bunch kick, which is bittersweet given that we are unlikely to see any more sprint finishes in this tour. A broken spoke for Logan with twenty five k’s left to race made it a day to forget for him,but a motorpace to the edge of town from a pig truck still made for a unique end to his stage 2 experience

More to come in the following days

DB

Alex Malone Stage 1 Race Report:
Stage stats (approximate):
42km/h average speed
290 Watts (normalised)
30 minutes spent above 364 Watts
1,132 Watts max
360m elevation gain

The PlanB Racing team kicked-off its second UCI tour for the year in the Philippines. Two riders – Logan and Alex Malone plus our DS, Nathan have come straight off the back of Tour of Thailand which finished last week and three would join us in Manila: Dan Bonello, Peter McDonald and Alex Smyth. On paper the team looked great but as these races can so often go, it doesn’t always matter if you have the strongest team because unless you look for opportunities in each stage, the tour can quickly run away from you. These guys over here can jump and attack all day and while they may not be able to roll turns in a break all day, it won’t matter as twenty of them can gap the bunch in an instant. The rule: have at least one PlanB rider for every five members of a breakaway. It doesn’t always happen but that’s the formula which ensures you have enough guys to contest the finish. Here’s how the stage went down…

After a hilly neutral zone the race was off, average a little under 50km/h for the first 20-odd kilometres. Breaks went, breaks came back and we always had at least one PlanB rider in the move. Everyone was taking some good turns at following the accelerations and with the heat and distance to be endured, it was just a matter of time. Finally, three of us got off the front, Alex M won the intermediate sprint at the 73km mark and then another 15 riders joined after another 10km. This made for a front group of about twenty and included Logan and Alex M. The group was too big to last and while the gap got out to over one-minute, it quickly came back and the bunch was again together. Alex M saw Sea Loh from OCBC on the attack and went again. This ended with another twenty-odd group getting off the front. This time all the strong teams were represented and so the gap grew steadily. Plenty of teams were sitting-on but with Dan and Alex M in the front we had two guys who could make it till the end. The good times didn’t last as another move went with a little over 25km to go. Alex M made the 10-rider split and even with TSG pulling hard to close it down with Fukishima Shinichi, our group gained almost two minutes over what was now the second group on the road. With five kilometres to go the group split again and unfortunately Alex M didn’t have the legs to go with it, the gap was steady but at the finish line was probably about 30 seconds. He finished in about 7th place.. It was a shame after spending the whole day off the front but it bodes well for the coming stages. Dan was in the chase group and the peloton cruised in a number of minutes behind. Dan and Logan plus Peter are our best chances for GC with the impending mountain stage on day four so for the next two stages it’s all about keeping them out of trouble and in the front group.

Tomorrow’s stage is 100km and flat apart from a small hill at the 30k point. This will be a good chance to slip away and gain some time over the climbers. The stage finishes in the city of Cauayan. It might seem like a straight forward event but the team must be attentive and stick to the plan: get in the move and get us a win. Today was close but no cigar. Tomorrow is a new day.

Cheers Alex

Link to site with more info on Tour – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Tour_de_Filipinas and http://philcycling.wordpress.com/

Congratulations to Matt Irvine for winning the open Men’s State Criterium championships and also big congratulations to Theo Yates showing his rapid development over the last 6 months by taking out the WA U19 State Criterium title in a talent packed field.

In the open men’s WA state criterium title event the Plan B Racing Team rode aggressively and were rewarded with two places on the podium. Logan Calder hit out from the breakaway group with 5 mins to go and left everyone is in his wake apart from Matt Irvine who took the win. Andy Martin surprised a few of the more fancied sprinters to take out the sprint for third.

Thanks to Roues Chaudes CC for another well run event. Thanks to Spring Photography for the images

Alex Smyth, Trent Morey and Dan Bonello are  keeping the Plan B flag flying interstate racing in Victoria. Alex Smyth notches up a good stack of results for the team and wins his 4th A Grade in a row at the Carnegie Caulfield Criteriums.

See HERE for results and club information

Great detailed reports from Brad Hall about the races . Although Plan B did not win the series we take delight in the fact two of the riders we helped develop last year, Sam Davis and AJ took a popular victories.  Brad takes 3rd on last stage with a strong ride.

http://bradhall.com.au/news-blog/

A great night was had Thurs 19th Jan at the Plan B Racing Tifosi function TDU 2012. The drink was flowing and food most welcome after a few hard days in the saddle following the race around the hills of South Australia. Thanks to all who attended and help support the Plan B Racing Team.
We signed up a few new members and anyone else interested should contact Darryl Morphett on darryl.morphett@planbonline.com

A star studded field descended on Perth for the annual criterium series which were 4 races over 4 days. The Smokefree Perth Criteriums is Western Australia’s premier criterium series and the teams to watch were from the National Road Series including Genesys, Budget Forklift and Plan B Racing.  The racing was tough with the highlight for Plan B being a podium for Brad in stage 3 in Leederville ably assisted by the team comprised of Theo Yates, Andrew Martin and Aaron Slaavik.

For complete results click HERE.

Click HERE for Race Reports from Plan B Racing rider BRAD HALL

A very proud moment and a result of much hard work. Well done guys inc Eric, Aaron Slaavik, Luke Joyce, Nathan Dahlberg and Alex Malone.

Taken from Cyclingnews.com

Eric Sheppard (Plan B Racing), a graduate of the Victorian Institute of Sport, has conquered the 2.2 rated Tour d’Indonesia after seeing out the final day of racing on Wednesday around Jarak.

The diminuitive climber, who turns 21 on October 16, proved the strongest over the 10 days to take the biggest win of his so far short career. The victory was thanks to a determined effort from the Plan B Racing team who had a make-shift team of five riders in Indonesia against some of the best squads on the UCI’s Asian Tour.

Team manager Wayne Evans praised the work of his riders and thanked the team’s sponsors and supporters in a release.

“Eric is clearly a talented cyclist and has only been riding for a few short years, so to be able to win a 10 day international tour is a great display of his talent,” said Evans. “It’s a fantastic result.”

“He had a great team behind him in a very experienced Nathan Dahlberg, Ex 7 Eleven and Motorola Pro who raced the Tour De France and major classics in Europe, Alex Malone and two new recruits to Plan B in Aaron Slavik and Luke Joyce. [The fact we also had] a local Indonesian Manager in Oki Rosgani also helped a lot, and he was a pleasure to work with.

Evans added that he was keen on keeping Sheppard with the team next year, and is exploring options at the moment to figure out an arrangement that suits all parties.

Plan B has enjoyed a rare run in Indonesia over the past month with Sam Davis coming close to overall victory himself in the recent Tour of East Java. The victory however marks the team’s first stage race victory on the Asian Tour and continues their progression in the sport.