SA's Barloworld start strong
8 February 2006
The revamped Team Barloworld has had a solid and promising start to the 2006 season, with riders in action on either side of the globe the past weekend.
In the Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia, Jeremy Maartens and Jock Green, on loan to the South African national team, were part of the decisive break that went after 30 kilometres on stage three on Sunday that put the South Africans in a leading position in the race.
Former Barloworld rider, David George, took over the yellow jersey as the overall leader of the race, while Darren Lill, another former Barloworld rider, is leading the King of the Mountains category.
Problems for the champion
Barloworld's South African champion, Ryan Cox, who is also the defending champion of the Tour de Langkawi, fell off the pace on the Sunday stage race after suffering a stomach problem. After a good first day when he put himself in contention for the title, Cox lost almost six
minutes on the stage and said that he and the rest of the team would be working to make sure that a South African wins the race.
South Africans have been dominant in this race in recent times, with Cox finishing second in 2004 and Robert Hunter wearing yellow a few years ago.
"Sunday was like we predicted with a very fast start and we did the first 50 kilometres in the first hour," said Cox. "A very big break went clear with around 20 riders, just like the first stage and we had Jock, Jeremy, Darren and Dave all up there.
'Not a bad thing'
"As I was covering some of the other GC (general classification) riders I missed the move, but it was not a bad thing as later I had bad stomach problems which took all my power and I suffered all the way to the finish."
The all-round performance of the team bodes well for South Africa's hopes at the Commonwealth Games. Cox, Green and Maartens will join George, Hunter and Rupert Rheeder for the
Games in Melbourne in March to form a strong road racing team that has a very good chance of winning a medal.
Barloworld debuted their new red livery on the European debut in the GP Costa degli Etruschi in Donoratico, Italy, on Saturday. Former South African champion Tiaan Kannemeyer was part of a team that worked to get Giosue Bonomi into the final sprint. The Italian finished tenth, behind winner and fellow Italian Alessandro Pettachi.
Confident mood
Barloworld's new manager, Claudio Corti, was in confident mood after the Montecatini training camp, which took place from 23 January to 2 February.
The team got in some good training, despite it being bitterly cold in Italy, and the Barloworld brains-trust of Corti and his assistants, Alberto Volpi, Valerio Tebaldi and Christian Andersen used the time at the training camp to establish the best possible structures and systems to equip the team to compete in the more prominent races
featured on the annual cycling calendar.
The team was also fitted out in their new red kit and bicycles, provided for them by Cannondale, who have joined the team as a sponsor this year.
"The training camp proved to be invaluable. Our values, which include passion, leadership and perseverance, are evident within this diverse team," said Corti. "I believe that each rider has something unique to offer this team and they are determined to focus on the objectives for this season – to win as many Pro-Tour races as possible."
SouthAfrica.info reporter
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