2008 News Archive
2007 News Archive
Success for Plowman Craven in USA
20th April 2008
Sea Otter Classic road race, 18 April
After coming within millimetres of their first American win last Saturday with Tony Gibb's second place in the Isla Vista Classic, Plowman Craven dominated the Sea Otter Classic Road Race in Monterey California with a glorious solo win for Evan Oliphant.
In a race held over a gruelling 10 mile circuit containing heavy roads and steep gradients the Plowman Craven team showed their class against the best riders on the U.S. pro scene. With the squad reduced to severn riders after Team Captain Tony Gibb had to return to the UK early due to a family bereavement, the clean cut Plowman Craven riders were out numbered by the bad boys of the peleton Rock Racing.
As the assembled teams rolled out of the Laguna Seca motor racing circuit the Plowman Craven riders knew the only result they were looking for was the top spot on the podium. With attacks coming thick and fast as soon as the flag was dropped, the team marshalled the head of the peleton ensuring that no attempted attack was allowed any freedom unless it contained the correct combination of riders and a large percentage of the boys in pink and blue. With several attacks from Simon Gaywood and Simon Richardson the team was riding with an aggressive game plan.
Soon after the race had reach the 30km mark a large group had forced itself clear of the peleton with Plowman Craven represented by the entire team. With the peleton chasing hard the break away was captured as they reached the foot of the main climb one lap later. Alex Higham realising the other riders were under considerable pressure forced the pace on the early slopes. This again split the peleton and forced severn riders clear including Oliphant and Richardson. As they crested the top of the climb Gaywood sensed the danger and followed two other riders, closing the gap a few kilometres later. This now made ten riders in the lead group with three riders from Plowman Craven and three from Rock Racing.
With the race behind neutralised by Plowman Craven's James Millard, Tom Barras, Neil Coleman and Higham the break's lead grew reaching three minutes. Back at the head of affairs there were several attacks trying to shed the boys in pink and blue. Entering the final lap Oliphant attacked just after the feed zone on one of the steeper sections of the course, and this time no one could follow the powerful Scot. While the chasers behind organised their efforts Oliphant had gained a 20 second advantage. As the Rock Racing Team fought to capture the lone leader, Oliphant realised that it was safer to measure his effort and at the foot of the 2 mile climb to the finish he was recaptured.
Sensing the group was fatigued Oliphant immediately switched to the right hand side of the road and launched a second savage assault. This time it was final and Oliphant soloed to a glorious victory, while team mate Richardson led out the sprint securing second place with Gaywood in seventh. Minutes later the remnants of the peleton appeared spread across the countryside led by Alex Higham and Neil Coleman and followed by James Millard, with Tom Barras retiring once his work was over due to illness.
Simon Barnes Managing Director of Hertfordshire based geomatics company Plowman Craven was on hand to witness the team's success.
"It was great to come here and see the lads win in this fashion. I know everybody wanted Tony to be here but the lads wanted to win for him today. The way the team is performing now is very exciting and even more so given the recent launch of the Plowman Craven L.A. office. This will give the company and the team great profile".
Victor Evan Oliphant was pleased with his first victory in America. "The course today suited me and was very similar to Girvan. I knew with 20 miles to go that we had the better of the Rock Racing riders in the break. Although I initially only attacked to set up a counter attacked for Simon Richardson I was strong enough to seal this important victory for both myself and the team."
Results
1st Evan Oliphant Team Plowman Craven
2nd Simon Richardson Team Plowman Craven
3rd Sergio Hernandez Rock Racing
4th Rudolph Napolitano Rock Racing
7th Simon Gaywood Team Plowman Craven
16th Alex Higham Team Plowman Craven
18th Neil Coleman Team Plowman Craven
27th James Millard Team Plowman Craven
Isla Vista Classic pro criterium, 12 April
Plowman Craven narrowly missed their first US win when team captain Tony Gibb was beaten by just half a wheel in the Isla Vista Classic crit in Santa Barbara (12 April). With Gibb joined by Gaywood, Barras and Oliphant in the top ten, Plowman Craven was the best team in the race held on the Santa Barbara college campus.
The race was held under clear skies and with the temperatures hovering at just over 35 degrees it was always going to be a tough event. The race was however made harder still by the attendance of the strongest teams in America, which made up a field of 120 riders that flashed around the wide 1km circuit with thousands of spectators watching on and enjoying the party atmosphere.
From the second the flag was dropped Team Plowman Craven could be seen riding in the first few riders, their goal to control the race in an effort to deliver Team Captain Tony Gibb to the line in a mass sprint finish. Simon Richardson repeatedly launched strong attacks in an effort to tire the other teams, and increasing Gibb's chance of victory. With half an hour to go the race was still together despite aggressive riding from each member of the Plowman Craven team, with constant attacks and a strong presence in every move. As first Simon Gaywood and then Evan Oliphant tested the field, stretching the peloton into a long single-file line with the riders fighting to hold the rear wheel of the competitor in front, thanks to the ferocious pace set by the mass of pink and blue at the head of the field.
With 20 minutes remaining Manager Garry Beckett called Richardson to the front to carry out yet more repeated attacks in an effort to take the sting out of the other lead out trains, as the race entered an exciting finale. With both Team Plowman Craven and the Successful Living Team going to the head of affairs giving the enthralled crowd a spectacular finish as both teams battled for control of the race, with shoulders rubbing and mere centimetres separating the riders.
With only three laps to go the pink and blue train was in full flight, as they moved Gibb into position for the final dash to the line, sitting 10 riders back with 500 meters to go World Silver Medallist Gibb used his immense experience in this kind of finish, switching to the wheel of fast finisher Karl Menzies from the Health Net Pro Cycling Team. As the sprinters opened up rising star Cody Oreilly was the first hit out with a long drawn out sprint, Gibb realising that Menzies was not in form stepped out early from behind the American in a bid to close in on Oreilly. With the finish line looming Gibb lunged for the line with neither rider sure which of them had been successful. The judges had a tough job to separating the two in the photo finish, eventually giving the verdict to Oreilly by under a centimetre.
Understandably Team Manager Garry Beckett was full of praise for the team, although a little frustrated with second place. "Today Team Plowman Craven showed the established American professional scene that they are some of the most skilled criterium riders in the world, with a performance than any Sports Director could be proud of. Every single one of the riders influenced the race greatly and we could have had anyone of them on the top step of the podium. It is a shame after all that hard work for us to come second by such a small margin, but we shall take this confidence forward."
Tony Gibb added. "The team did a fantastic job for me today and they kept me in a great position. Inside the last lap I made a decision to go it alone and unfortunately I just ran out of road".
Results
1st Cody Oreily Successful Living Pro Cycling Team
2nd Tony Gibb Team Plowman Craven
4th Tom Barras Team Plowman Craven
7th Evan Oliphant Team Plowman Craven
10th Simon Gaywood Team Plowman Craven
30th Neil Coleman Team Plowman Craven
32nd James Millard Team Plowman Craven
35th Alex Higham Team Plowman Craven
Team Plowman Craven continued their American campaign the next day (13th April) with the Garrett Lemire Memorial Pro Criterium in Ojai California.
Garrett Lemire Memorial Pro Criterium, 13th April
With unseasonal temperatures soaring to over 100 degrees and a prize purse of $26000 dollars competition was fierce from the gun as the riders all jostled for position on the 1mile circuit with a short climb encountered shortly before the run in to the finish. The riders were gridded on the start line in the order of the national series and the boys in pink and blue had to fight their way to the front. By the end of the first lap they had accomplished their first target and sat in a good position to dictate the race and make sure they had a presence in each move.
As the pressure was applied at the front on the climb to the finish a group of 4 riders were dragged clear including Plowman Craven's James Millard, however with the race in its infancy the group was never likely to succeed and the quartet returned to the peleton. As the race developed both Tony Gibb and Simon Gaywood were involved in breakaway attempts which were allowed a brief freedom, before being captured.
With all the major teams seeming to want to force a split it was only a matter of time before there was the right combination. Losing Tony Gibb with mechanical problems, the riders at the front of the race set a searing pace as gaps started to appear. Within a lap the relentless pressure had forced a group of 21 off of the front, containing Evan Oliphant.
Behind the front group the race was neutralised by teams happy with the split. While both Tom Barras and Simon Gaywood attempted to join Oliphant in the front group failing to make contact with 30 minutes of the 2 hour race remaining and returning once more to the peleton.
Oliphant now was observing the other members of the lead group making sure to follow the moves that he needed to when dangerous combinations formed, and saving his energy when he could. The race was now reaching its climax as the group led into the last lap, with Oliphant sitting comfortably in 10th place in the line.
As the leaders crested the top of the climb with around 500meters to go the Scot had positioned himself perfectly in 3rd position, as they made the penultimate corner before diving down the start finish straight disaster struck with the first 2 riders crashing leaving Oliphant no option but to brake to avoid the accident. Oliphant manoeuvred himself around the obstacle and began making up ground eventually finishing in 13th place with the race won by Kyle Gritters from the HealthNet Team. The peleton finished some 45 seconds in arrears, with Simon Gaywood close to the front.
Oliphant originally from Wick in Scotland was understandably disappointed. "I was frustrated to be behind the crash in closing stages which split the front group as I had felt good all day and was looking for a good result. I tried to split the group down with 4 laps remaining but the other teams didn't give me quite enough leeway."
Garry Beckett the Team Manager commented: "This race was extremely taxing for the riders and with such high temperatures rehydrating was a major issue, and we are fortunate to have a superb nutritional support from High5 which helped us to overcome this. It was a blow to lose Tony as he is in great shape at the moment and today's race is one that he excels at. Evan rode extremely well making the split and then using his tactical prowess to make the race go the way he wanted it to. It is just a shame he was hampered in the finale as I am sure he would have achieved an even better result."
Results
1. Kyle Gritters, Health Net-Maxxis, 1:49:32.3
2. John Murphy, Health Net-Maxxis, 1:49:32.8
3. Hilton Clarke, Toyota-United, 1:49:32.8
13. Evan Oliphant, Plowman Craven RT, 1:49:42.0
32. Simon Gaywood, Plowman Craven RT, 1:50:57.0
55. Simon Richardson, Plowman Craven RT, 1:51:03.9
64. Alex Higham 1:51:06.6
70. James Millard, Plowman Craven RT, 1:51:10.4
76. Tom Barras, Plowman Craven RT, 1:51:40.8
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