THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
A Langkawi Journal: A day with Slipstream
The directive for the day was simple. If a promising move peeled off the front of the peloton during the early portions of the Tour de Langkawi’s stage three run from Kuala Kangsar to Cameron Highlands, Slipstream team director Johnny Weltz’s wanted one of his six riders to be there.
Beyond that he asked only that they make sure to “help each other out.”
Weltz knew that the first climbing test of this 10-day event in Malaysia would challenge his young team in ways it hadn’t yet faced in 2007. He was cautiously optimistic that they would be up to the task.
“I feel like we can be competitive here,” said the former Danish pro who won a stage at the 1988 Tour de France and is now in his second year as European director for the U.S. development team. “We are not going to give anything away.”
Four hours and eight minutes later, Weltz clearly liked what he had seen. His team had placed a rider in what ended up being the winning break, saw its two GC hopefuls easily sit in with the main field, and witnessed its top sprinter put up a valiant fight to finish inside the time cut, keeping his stage win hopes alive.
VeloNews was along for the ride in the Slipstream team car and compiled this insider’s look at what went on during a sun-scorched day of racing in Southeast Asia.
Pre-race: Following a one-hour transfer from the team hotel in Bukit Merah to the stage start in Kuala Kangsar, the team’s six riders — Mike Creed, Brad Huff, Huub Duyn, Kilian Patour, Timothy Duggan and Mike Lange — spend most of the morning hanging out in the shade, waiting for the first big day of climbing to begin. On tap is a 133km ride that concludes with two category 1 climbs up into the dense jungle of the Cameron Highlands. Neither ascent is terribly steep. It’s actually more like one long, steady climb with a short descent in between.
The real test will be the heat. Malaysia sits just north of the equator, meaning high humidity and temperatures in the mid-90s are a daily occurrence. By the end of the day Weltz and his staff have exhausted their supply of cycling water bottles and had to hand out several of the store bought, twist-off variety that had been brought along just in case.
Early on: In typical Tour de Langkawi fashion, the first hour of racing is fast and animated. This hors categorie event brings together a wide mix of skill levels. Besides five ProTour teams and a handful of pro continental outfits, there are national teams from places such as Malaysia, Korea and Iran. That often means lesser riders trying their hand in early, sponsor-pleasing breakaways, knowing once the real racing begins they’ll be lucky to hang on. The Slipstream riders keep their heads low, waiting for the right move to form.
Back in the team car Weltz is relaxed, joking with team mechanic Kevin Grove. A one-time teammate of Slipstream general manager Jonathan Vaughters, Grove now spends his summers bouncing between the team’s European headquarters in Gerona and races around the world. Among the topics of discussion are whether or not the team is going to get a start spot in this year’s Paris-Roubaix. The answer is unknown at the moment. “We are still hoping for a wild card,” reveals Weltz. “We have an invite to a race in Portugal at that same time, but we are dragging our feet a bit to see what happens.”
Of course the team’s biggest goal is a start spot at the Tour de France. Weltz doesn’t offer any clues as to when that might happen, but admits he and Vaughters were at the 2007 route unveiling last fall, “talking to the right people.”
On the go: After some early jostling, a group of five manages to escape the bunch at the 30km mark. Among the escapees is eventual stage winner Anthony Charteau of Crédit Agricole and Slipstream’s Creed. This is a good move in Weltz’s view, and he passes the news onto his other riders via the handheld radio that rests on his lap. Several riders quickly answer back, giving Creed props. The break quickly pushes its gap over the two-minute mark, and Weltz sends his No. 2 car, driven by Slipstream team doctor Prentice Steffen, up ahead to watch over his rider.
Unscheduled pit stop: One of the imminent dangers of bike racing in far away places is food that doesn’t, shall we say, agree with you. On this day there is a large amount of “discord” in the peloton, and Slipstream’s Patour is among the victims. While Creed is plugging away at the front of the race, the young Frenchman drifts back to the No. 1 team car with a look of panic on his face. “Do you have toilet paper?” he asks pleadingly. The answer is an unfortunate “No,” but a musette bag serves as an adequate substitute.
By the end of the race the unofficial count of riders spotted in compromising positions on the side of the road is 15. Among them is pre-race favorite Jose Rujano (Unibet.com), who surrenders nearly 12 minutes to stage winner Charteau.
Patour seems unphased by his episode, flexing his biceps in triumph after rejoining the peloton.
Growing gap: At the 52.4km mark the breakaway has rolled up a 7:20 advantage over the peloton. Weltz speaks for everyone in the car. “This is going to be interesting,” he says. “If Unibet wants Rujano to stay in there they are going to have to roll a bit. It’s hard, though. At this time of the year nobody knows what others are capable of, so there’s a lot of feeling out, trying to decide who to work for.”
Troubles begin: With 60km covered, the breaks’ advantage has ballooned to more than nine minutes. But on the opening pitches of the climb the pace becomes too much for Creed, and he slowly drifts back to the peloton. He will eventually lose more than 12 minutes to Charteau. After the race he says the speed was more than he was ready for at this point in the season. The 25-year-old has spent most of the last month training and racing on the track.
“Forty-minute efforts in points races doesn’t exactly get you ready for days like this,” he admits.
Huff is also struggling. Once on the climb the top American from last year’s USPro criterium championships is quickly dropped from the lead group. That doesn’t stop Weltz from singing his young speedster’s praises.
“He could be among the best sprinters in the world,” contends Weltz. “He just needs more endurance and more experience.”
Sunday’s experience will be one of perseverance. “He just has to survive today,” continues Weltz. “That will give him more chances for stage wins.”
Weltz then orders Patour to stay with his teammate, and has Steffen drop back in the No. 2 car now that Creed has come back to the group. The team boss then punches the accelerator, making his way through the shattered peloton to check on his riders at the front.
Solid showing: The team’s other three riders, Lange, Duggan and Duyn have all fared well. All three make the front group when the peloton splits during the climb, with Lange and Duggan hanging on all the way to the finish. Duyn isn’t too far back, noteworthy considering he was on bottle-fetching duty for most of the day.
“This shows that the team is progressing,” says Weltz. “We are not going to be a feeding station for a ProTour team. We are going to develop our own stars and we’re going to keep them.”
Final standings: Though the chase for the Langkawi overall is likely over, with Charteau taking 3:54 out of his nearest challenger, Weltz is pleased with his team’s performance. Lange and Duggan lose only 4:38 to the Crédit Agricole rider, and both have stayed within their limits. At the other end Huff and Patour sneak in exactly six minutes before the time cut, meaning the big sprinter will have at least four more chances to do his thing.
“That’s our stage win for the day,” says Weltz. “Now we see what Brad can do.”
Epilogue: The following day Huff places fourth in the bunch sprint ending in Kota Bharu. He’s disappointed for sure, but that is part of the process as Slipstream flows towards its bigger goals.
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