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Rider Report Cards · 13/07/10
We thought it would be a good time to sit down with the boss, John Herety, and take a look at each of the riders and review the season so far from the point of view of the 12 riders who make up the Rapha Condor Sharp team here in the UK:
Graham Briggs
Back in black after 12 months away from the team, Graham has impressed by fulfilling his allocated role as a crit specialist on the team and stepping up when required to fill gaps in the squad left by illness and injury:
Great to have him back in the squad, he played his role perfectly on the Tour Series performing consistently week after week, always there when you needed him. He was drafted in to the Tour of Japan squad at the last minute too, getting through that was no mean feat so after a really heavy programme it wasn’t really a surprise to see he got a little sick over the last few weeks. As a result has had to have dental surgery for an abscess this week but we’re hoping he’ll make it back in time for the National Criterium champs this week in Beverley.
Dean Downing
It’s been a mini roller coaster for Dean throughout 2010 with a recurring back injury striking at the most inopportune moments contrasting sharply with some memorable wins along the way in Taiwan, The Tour Series and Premier Calendar.
The thing about Dean is that when he’s good, he’s very good, but when things go wrong they couldn’t really get much worse. He’s shown he’s still a massive force in the sport this year, winning Prems on the road as well as excelling in his speciality; the criterium. Dean’s a popular figure in the sport, great to have on the team and great for the sponsors. It’d be brilliant, not to mention deserved if he could regain his criterium title at the weekend.
Dean Windsor
The Duke has improved constantly in his first year in the UK, getting to grips with the Tour Series and building a reputation and a little army of fans for his gutsy never say die riding style:
Dean would be the first to admit he didn’t really have much idea of how big the Tour Series is over here when he arrived in the UK. The style and intensity of racing were a bit of a shock to begin with but he got better and better throughout the series and he capped the series in great style by winning in Woking where lots of the sponsors were present, you can’t ask for much more than that.
Jonathan Tiernan Locke
In his first full season back on the road after returning from glandular fever JTL has been a solid addition to the team, taking a stage win at the Ras to underline his potential as a rider.
Jon made a solid start to the year and it was great to see him take a deserved win at the Ras, with this being his first year as full time pro he’s perhaps got a bit too committed to his training and overdone it a little. Recognising that and of course being sensitive to his history of glandular fever we’ve cogged him back a bit, got him to look again at his training and we’ll surely see the results of that as he returns in the latter part of the season.
Darren Lapthorne
It’s been a frustrating year for Darren to date, clearly in great form when the team trained in Spain at the start of the year he’s always been a protagonist in every race he’s ridden but so far has missed out on the big win he deserves:
Nearly is the word that probably sums up Lapper’s season to date. In Japan it looked like he would ride away from the field on the penultimate day, but the dice fell for Kristian that day instead, then in the Premier Calendar he finished second at the Ryedale GP whilst in Smithfield he was motoring but came away with 4th place when perhaps he could have won. Recovering from three broken ribs and a cracked sternum sustained in the Tour Series in Chester, Darren is bound to come back strong over the remainder of the year.
Tom Southam
Coming into great form earlier in the year Tom sustained a broken elbow in a crash at Lincoln, missing out on a trip to Japan and leaving himself a mountain to climb to be back to form before the end of the year:
Tough times for Tommy recently, a complicated break in his elbow has taken a long time to get right and he’s still waiting for the green light from the doctors to begin racing again. He’s a classy rider though and if it’s possible to regain his fitness before the season runs out he’ll be there for the team.
Ben Greenwood
Steady progression has been the theme of Ben’s year to date with a couple of injury struck seasons seemingly behind him as he’s begun to show glimpses of the rider who was so exciting a prospect just a few years ago:
Great to see Benji back to something approaching his best, he’s been a loyal servant to the team this year taking a couple of little wins when not riding for others. His 15th place at the national road race on a savage course was a sign of better things to come and he’s currently training in Italy and targetting the Mi Aout Brettone in August.
Dan Craven
Signed to the team in 2009, Dan struggled through much of his first year in the UK as injury and illness frustrated this phenomenally talented rider. This year things have been markedly different for Dan, at one point seemingly taking victories at will:
In 2010 we’ve seen the Dan Craven we thought we’d signed in 2009. A powerful style, astute on the bike and charismatic in the way he rides. He’s shown that when he can stay healthy he’s a force to be reckoned with and having been able to focus on stage racing and one day events rather than the crits he’s really shone. As another one of the team who’s enjoyed a little break from racing we’ll expect to see him perform well in the final part of the year.
Chris Newton
With wins in Doonhame, Lincoln and the Beaumont Trophy under his belt Chris has shown his best road form for a number of years to dominate the Premier Calendar:
On the road in the UK Chris has been a massive force this year. The way he rode at Lincoln for example was superb, always using his head, keeping the others on the back foot and really dominating in a way we’ve not seen for little while. There’s still plenty for Chris to do before the season runs out so don’t be surprised to see his name in the headlines again more than once before he turns his attention to the track once more.
Kristian House
With the jersey of the national champion on his back for the first half of the year, Kristian has had one of his best seasons ever taking victories at home and abroad on both road and in criteriums:
Kristian has really done the jersey proud this year, his win in Japan was a highlight of course but he’s always been strong, impressing with his consistency on all terrains. The back end of the season has plenty for him to direct his talent at and he continues to be one of the outstanding riders in both the team and the country as a whole.
Matt Cronshaw
It’s been a transition year for Matt as he seeks to take another step forward in the sport. Undoubtedly one of the big future talents in the domestic scene he’s been knocking on the door all year, so far though the big win has eluded him:
Matt is undoubtedly a talented rider but he’s struggled a little this year to progress, he’s been close on a number of occasions at the Ras, in the Elite Circuit Series and Tour Series. It’s only a matter of application and time really for Matt, hopefully this is the right place for him to make that progress and as he matures I’m sure the big wins will start to roll in.
Zak Dempster
With a number of near misses over the course of the year Zak has had a frustrating season so far. However, the lack of individual victories bely the massive contribution he’s made to the team out on the road, both in placings at Tour Series and in his role within the team.
TweetZak is a big engine, when he gets on the front the rest of the bunch quickly knows it, at the Tour Series he was the kind of guy you could stick on the front with a lap to go and expect both a leadout and a top 5, there’s not too many who can do that. In the prems and the stage races too he’s been an important part of the team adapting to the loss of race radios to become a kind of roving captain. When he hits top form he’s going to surprise a few people, until then he’s already proven his value with his unselfish way of riding.
