Written by Canadian Nippon at 08:58 16/10-2022
Interesting the last time we talked about disappointment was during or slightly after the start of the Nederland’s Tour but this time we are starting to talk about the disappointment before the tour. As the team does look forward to the Nederland’s tour with hope, and at this stage that is all really the team has is hope that they can score a good stage result here and there so don`t expect much more to be said heading into the tour as the team still hasn`t confirmed target or even a captain for the event.
“We have over raced the team a lot this season as we expected more from the team as whole but as the team misses targets, we tend to always try to over reach. We still haven`t learned that the riders need to rest after races to be able to compete at this level. Compared with the lower division where they can race with only a few days rest and usually claim multiple results.” Added someone close to the team.
Since the end of Volta ao Portol, the team has struggled over the past fifty days to find a footing in the first division while doing just enough to keep them out of division two completely. The team had thirteen results after the tour and only seven more since. Not what was expected when the team climbed to just outside the top team world standing and only 3,000 OCM tour points.
“It hasn`t been a bad season with twenty results and three wins so far during the season but when you expect to win more and claim more overall results as we do at the team then yeah, it has been a bit disappointing. Add in the fact that we had high hopes for some training riders and as always that hasn`t gone the way as planned”
The team during the last press conference was extremely proud of the fact that they had eight signed riders under the age of 23 meaning the future was looking bright and while team still has seven riders under the age of 23; the youth prospects has changed a lot in the past few weeks. As the team released 23yr old Cedric Resto, 22yr old Quenby Roddy and 21yr old Austin Hinckley with 20yr old Jakob Norum, and 21yr old Caldwell Hemby only the two signed just before the last press release remaining with the team.
“Cedric Resto was simple replace with a rider that we thought had better potential moving forward as we signed Justin Hoff age 22 to replace him as they are very similar riders but with a bit of luck Hoff might also add some depth to the cobble team around Errol Mansell.” Stated the unnamed source again when asked about the youth training program. “Quenby Roddy on the other hand was supposed to be the future sprint captain replacing Irving Watts but he burnt out very quickly and sent the team manager (Robert Bouchard) into a rage; which seen him released very shortly after his last training session. In the end I also heard he might have regretted that decision since he was still useful as an U23 lead-out sprinter.” Added the source around the team. “The story goes that Austin Hinckley went to the defence of the burnt-out team mate and also found his walking papers shortly afterwards. Everyone on the team now knows not to cross paths with the boss when he is raging!!” laughed the source providing more information then asked for.
So, the question now remains where does the team go from here with their youth development? Simple answer is it doesn`t change that much as team was already focused on Paraskevas Abadiotakis as aiding and building around the cobble team headed by Mansell. It also means that Hoff is likely to be trained faster than he might have normally been trained as he fits with the cobble team nicely. With Hemby, Kerr and Norum always looking to be trained as future lead-out train but does this mean Canadian Nippon gives the lead to Eli Dauphin? Simple answer in short is the fact that they don`t really have anyone else at the moment and he has shown he has the right amount of ability to lead as a captain at least in the U23 ranks. This also means Canadian Nippon will once again head back to the market to look for future captains? Yes!! As they have a pass track record of always scouting the market for the best possible riders and then cycling through the riders as the teams plans change.
What are the teams plans for the rest of the season?
“Ah, as far as I am aware the team currently has no plans in place as they have raced too much and are currently resting heading into the Nederland’s Tour but with no expectations. One would assume that they will target the TT World Championship at the end of the season but other than that I think it will be a day by day or race by race decision on where and when they race.” Added the source when asked about the teams plans for the remainder of the season.
So as far as we can see the very ho hum start of the season seems to have carried most of the way through the season unless the later part of the season really kicks off but we wouldn`t hold our breath on that as past history shows that Canadian Nippon tails off towards the backend of the season after start strong, not the other way around.
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