Tuesday, January 16, 2007
from Adam Illingworth
I am busy getting my suitcase out and packing my bag for the up and coming season!
I leave next week for France where I will be joining my team Charvieu Chavagneux IC. It will be my second year in this team, which is, situated just East of Lyon. For anybody who has ever raced over there it is the team in pink. The team has been slimmed down a bit from last year, from 14 to 7. Some riders have left. The old man fro the team David Pagnier has left to take up a job as Director Sportif at SCO Dijion. Team joker Allan Oras has decided to open up cycling’s new front in Estonia. Unfortunately one of the best-loved members of the team Daniel Bennett passed away recently due to a heart attack. He was my roommate and would have been again this year. His passing will be missed all season. As a sign of respect the teams annual cyclo-cross will be named the Daniel Bennett Challenge.
The team has made two big recruits this winter. Nicolas Renauld and Nicolas Inaudi. Renauld although a ex-professional he has been amateur for a few years now and returns to his old home from Aix en Provence. Inaudi has spent many years in the bright colours of Cofidis and Ag2R and will bring lots of strength to the small squad. The one day specialist Guillaume Lejune who pretended to retire at the end of last season just so he could throw a end of career party will come out of his 'retirement' to boost the ranks at the front.
The team leaves in February for its annual training camp in St Maxime. Good weather and Roads together with some races make it idea preparation. Also the chief sponsor has a house near there so it makes him happy I guess. We can also use the good roads to test our new Isaac bikes. See if they make us faster, see if the Campagnolo is better than Shimano and check how much the tyres grip. All-important to things to get right before the season.
Living and racing over in France is great fun, certainly something any young and motivated cyclist should aim to do. However nothing is a give away. My team is very sympathetic and tries to help where they can. The real support always comes from Family and friends, this is where the Dave Rayner fund helps the most. I am very grateful to them for helping me live abroad and racing. I hope to fill this blog with many stories of heroics this year! Now back to packing that bag...
Adam
I leave next week for France where I will be joining my team Charvieu Chavagneux IC. It will be my second year in this team, which is, situated just East of Lyon. For anybody who has ever raced over there it is the team in pink. The team has been slimmed down a bit from last year, from 14 to 7. Some riders have left. The old man fro the team David Pagnier has left to take up a job as Director Sportif at SCO Dijion. Team joker Allan Oras has decided to open up cycling’s new front in Estonia. Unfortunately one of the best-loved members of the team Daniel Bennett passed away recently due to a heart attack. He was my roommate and would have been again this year. His passing will be missed all season. As a sign of respect the teams annual cyclo-cross will be named the Daniel Bennett Challenge.
The team has made two big recruits this winter. Nicolas Renauld and Nicolas Inaudi. Renauld although a ex-professional he has been amateur for a few years now and returns to his old home from Aix en Provence. Inaudi has spent many years in the bright colours of Cofidis and Ag2R and will bring lots of strength to the small squad. The one day specialist Guillaume Lejune who pretended to retire at the end of last season just so he could throw a end of career party will come out of his 'retirement' to boost the ranks at the front.
The team leaves in February for its annual training camp in St Maxime. Good weather and Roads together with some races make it idea preparation. Also the chief sponsor has a house near there so it makes him happy I guess. We can also use the good roads to test our new Isaac bikes. See if they make us faster, see if the Campagnolo is better than Shimano and check how much the tyres grip. All-important to things to get right before the season.
Living and racing over in France is great fun, certainly something any young and motivated cyclist should aim to do. However nothing is a give away. My team is very sympathetic and tries to help where they can. The real support always comes from Family and friends, this is where the Dave Rayner fund helps the most. I am very grateful to them for helping me live abroad and racing. I hope to fill this blog with many stories of heroics this year! Now back to packing that bag...
Adam
# posted by Adam I @ Tuesday, January 16, 2007
