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2007 News Archive
Tour of Britain Showdown for Rock Racing Rivalry
7th August 2008
Two months ago, few would have predicted a British rider would win 4 stages in this year's Tour de France. Mark Cavendish's sensational sprinting reignited the passion for cycling in Britain and wet the appetite for the Tour of Britain, the first big event post Beijing and the next battleground for the Plowman Craven/Rock Racing rivalry.
The last time the pink and blue Impsport clad riders from Plowman Craven lined up against the high end fashion-inspired kit of the Rock Racing team, it was in the intense heat and fierce winds of the American state of California as the British team challenged the bad boys of the peleton on their home turf. With the Rock & Republic sponsored team one of the final entries to the Tour of Britain, this rivalry is set to continue half a world away.
The titles are tumbling in for the team from Plowman Craven in recent weeks, as they head towards peak fitness for the showdown with the skull and crossbone squad. Team captain Tony Gibb won the Blackburn Grand Prix in sizzling style recently, leading from the first few metres to win convincingly, while Evan Oliphant captured a national title in the Scottish 4 km pursuit championships and Simon Gaywood climbed to the top podium place at the Derny Fest in Hertfordshire.
In response, Rock Racing won 6 races and recorded 10 podium finishes in 17 days of competition in the States in July, while Rock rider Tyler Hamilton won the overall title in the Tour of Qinghai Lake in China. When the rival riders next meet for the Tour of Britain start, both teams are clear: this is a winner takes all battle.
The rivalry started earlier this season. The cancellation of Premier Calendar races in April convinced Team Plowman Craven to escape the winter weather in Britain for sunny California, where they took part in a series of races including the Redlands Classic, the Sea Otter Classic and the Isla Vista Classic pro criterium. With some impressive wins and top finishes to their credit in their brief stay in the States, Team Plowman Craven were fearless in taking on the established American professional scene and in particular, Rock Racing.
"Any team fielding two former world champions, 2 Olympic gold medallists, 4 Tour de France stage winners and 8 current and former national champions is a force to be reckoned with and I was delighted with the way our riders took the fight to the formidable team of Rock Racing," says team manager Garry Beckett.
"At the Sea Otter Classic road race, our boys were badly outnumbered by the team from Tinseltown on the gruelling circuit around Monterey, but Evan Oliphant and Simon Richardson launched a savage assault in the last stretch of the race to beat the Rock boys into 3rd and 4th place," he said.
In the Redlands Classic, although Evan Oliphant punctured in the final stages leaving the field clear for Rock Racing's Santiago Botero to clinch the overall title, the attacking style of the Plowman Craven team was praised by race organisers and cycling fans alike.
Team Captain Tony Gibb is itching to take on the Americans on home soil in the tour of Britain, when the weather conditions should favour him and his team mates.
"Although it was nice to see the sun in California, we raced a couple of times in searing heat and on one occasion in blinding dust clouds created by high winds. We might not relish riding in the cold and rain of an English winter, but I know it's made us tough enough to face whatever conditions the tour of Britain has in store for us."
"We have a fantastic team ethic at Plowman Craven, the lads are working really hard and are totally committed to a common goal," he says. "We can't wait to take on the glamour gang from the Hollywood Hills."
The contrast between these rival teams could not be more stark. Simon Barnes, Managing Director of geomatics company Plowman Craven is a well known club rider on the British scene and travels from his Harpenden base to support his riders whenever possible. Michael Ball, CEO and Creative director of Rock and Republic and the man behind Rock Racing has brought high end fashion and flair to the cycling tour with his urban chic race kit, fleet of team Cadillacs and the Rock Racing Trailer and 35 foot rig.
Both owners and teams share a common goal, however; to be the number one cycling team in their country. As the Tour of Britain riders line up in London at the start of the tour on 7 September, the clear winners are the spectators watching the showdown between these exciting teams.
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