Team Garmin-Barracuda » Garmin

Report: First win of 2012 is a team win – Tour of Qatar, stage 2

mark — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:14:38 +0000

Garmin-Barracuda scored its first victory of the 2012 campaign in true team fashion, winning the TTT of Stage 2 in the Tour of Qatar.

The boys in argyle blasted through the 11.3km out and back ‘Merckx-style’ time trial course, setting an early time of 12 minutes and 38 seconds which held throughout the day. The impressive result also moved team sprinter Tyler Farrar up to second overall on GC while the second-year rider Ramunas Navardauskas moves into the best young rider jersey.

“The TTT is close to our hearts at Garmin-Barracuda and winning today, as a team, is really exciting,” said Farrar. “Its a great way to start off the year.”

With more sprint stages to come Farrar is poised to contend for the yellow jersey.

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Feature: Reconnoitering Flanders

mark — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:25:22 +0000

Allan Peiper and Geert Van Bondt took the Classics crew out in Flanders to recon the race changes for this year and sent this report.

Today was our second attempt to get an early glimpse of the Tour of Flanders course. We had a recon planned for late December but the weather was too bad so we had to cancel.

Today was not much better at minus two (Celsius) and light snow falling at daybreak. We met at the Tour of Flanders museum in Oudenaarde. Our Classics director sportif Geert Van Bondt planned well for the weather and also had the course logged in on the Garmin 800 of three of the six riders so even though there was no signs up we could follow the course using our Garmins!

Geert brought Tyler from Gent and Johan Van Summeren came with Thomas Dekker. Maaskant brought Haussler who came yesterday by train from Germany. Sep Van Marke lives 10kms from Oudenaarde where we started the ride at the museum. So six seasoned pro’s and me, the 52 year old Sporting Manager. (Luckily Geert was behind in the car!)

The boys went out of the blocks for the last 150km of the course because of the cold and after 5km we hit the Taaienberg followed by the Eikenberg. We did six climbs and four sections of cobbles before a long 35km section which is normally head wind before we started on the final three laps. Three times over the Kwaremont and Patersberg with a variation of other climbs each lap and 10kms flat to the finish.

I climbed off after 80km to get out of their way! Most said it would be a lead heavy race with so many hard climbs in the final. We had spaghetti at the museum after showers and a talk about the race but mostly Summie and Dekker were telling silly jokes. It will be fun with those two clowns this year!

All in all it was great to see the course, to talk about the changes and how the race may go — but best of all was hanging with the boys on the bike for some time because that’s really what its all about, just riding!

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Data: Sep Vanmarcke’s Edge 500 data – Training Camp, day 3

mark — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:42:10 +0000

More photos from the Tour Down Under:

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Report: Young argyle riders impress – Tour Down Under, stage 5

mark — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:50:37 +0000

Today’s stage was a show for the young guns of the argyle armada — Nathan Haas and Jack Bauer. Sporting Manager Allan Peiper and Director Sportif Geert Van Bondt sent this report.

Today we had three flat laps of 40km and then two times up Willunga, all with a strong wind and 25C.

From the start six got away with Nathan Haas. First time up Willunga Haas attacked from the break and had 1min20 at the top.

In the bunch Bauer, Heino and Ryder in a group of forty. Movistar drilled it and the group split with Bauer making it in the front group of 25.

They caught Nathan going to the bottom. Jack hung on for 9th. Valverde beat Gerrans by a tire and both equal on GC. Jack 5secs out of top 10 so he sprints tomorrow for bonuses!

Andreas was tired today but did a lot of work yesterday. Martijn was in the second group over the top but its early days for a classics guy. Robby and Ryder rode the 50km back to the hotel.

The young riders impressed people today which is the way forward.

Tomorrow a criterium to finish before 100.000 people.

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Data: Martijn Maaskant – Tour Down Under, stage 1

mark — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:30:19 +0000

Martijn Maaskant’s Garmin Edge 800 data on Garmin Connect.

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Race report: Tour Down Under, stage 2

mark — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:50:56 +0000

Team DS’ Allan Peiper and Geert Van Bondt sent this report from the second stage.

148 kms today with start in Lobethal in the Adelaide hills. Two riders got away early and the bunch let them go. They got a good lead and there seemed to be no trouble.

Vacansoleil rode for the GPM sprint and the gap came down and after the second bonus Kohler who was in front dropped back to the bunch leaving Will Clarke from Uni SA with two minutes. The bunch eased and he got nine minutes which went out to 11.30 at 60km to go.

Lotto did not take responsibility and so the teams were waiting for each other to chase. We did not need to ride as other teams were the teams with the best GC chances.

Rabo, Sky and Leopard chased from 40km to go and Green Edge and Movistar started at 20km to go into the last lap but it was too late as Will still had 8.30. At the finish he got the stage and just missed the jersey.

Heino was boxed in in the sprint but Nathan Haas and Jack Bauer helped him well in those last kilometers.

I think Martijn Maaskant cracked a little from yesterday as he was not recovered from the excessive heat. Hopefully he is better tomorrow. Ryder was good and we keep him in mind for Willunga Saturday.

Tomorrow is the stage to Victor Harbour and a strong southerly wind is expected so echelons could happen and that’s what we like :-). Its a tricky run in for the sprint so good for Heino. Let’s hope he can bag one!

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Garmin-Barracuda Team Members to lead out the Echelon Sonoma Napa Gran Fondo

mark — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:13:39 +0000

A benefit for Charity of Choice

SONOMA, CA (January 18, 2012) – For the third year, the Echelon Gran Fondo is back in the wine country announcing a new start/finish in Sonoma, just 21 miles from the start of the Amgen Tour of California (ATOC). In honor of Sonoma Valley Hospital and Charity of Choice, Team Garmin-Barracuda will support the event including passing near the start of the Amgen Tour of California (ATOC) that begins in Santa Rosa the next day.

The Gran Fondo will start at 9 AM on May 12, 2012 with 11 (super mini kids fondo), 50 and 75 mile ride options that include parts of the Napa Valley. “We are really excited about having Team Garmin-Barracuda team support the event this year as well as our Sonoma start,” said Echelon’s event director, Michael Sexton. “The new course is outstanding and includes northern parts of Napa Valley that we could not get to last year such as the Dry Creek, Mt Veeder and Trinity grade.”

The Garmin-Barracuda team, which captured the Best Team classification at the 2011 ATOC and placed Tom Danielson on the podium with 3rd overall, will be there for the ceremonial start and will lead out the fondo just a day before they begin the 5th annual ATOC. At the ATOC, 18 professional bike teams including Garmin-Barracuda will compete in an eight-day stage race that finishes in Southern California.

Team Garmin-Barracuda is the top American professional cycling team dedicated to ethical sport and developing the next generation of cycling champions. Since its inception the team has placed riders in the top 10 of the Tour de France, and in the 2011 edition, the team placed the top American in the race (Tom Danielson, 9th overall), won the Team Time Trial, captured a total of four stage wins, held the yellow jersey for eight days, and won Best Team Overall.

“We look forward to the Amgen Tour of California every year, and this year is extra special because we are excited to take part in the Gran Fondo to raise funds for local community partnerships and Charity of Choice,” said Jonathan Vaughters, CEO, Slipstream Sports.

Garmin Corporation has been a title sponsor of the Echelon Gran Fondo series since its inception and donates merchandise including the Garmin Edge 500 and 800 GPS cycling computers to top fundraisers.

Media Contacts:
Team Garmin-Barracuda
Marya Pongrace
Email: Marya.pongrace@slipstreamsports.com
U.S. Mobile: 347-698-3412

Echelon Gran Fondo
Hunter Zieisng
Email: Info@echelongranfondo.org
Phone: 415-720-6789

Report: Crash limits sprint chances – Tour Down Under, stage 1

mark — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:41:52 +0000

A crash in the final kilometer took the argyle sprint crew out of the running, with Heinrich Haussler looking otherwise strong for the finish. DS’ Allan Peiper and Geert Van Bondt sent this report.

Temperatures hit 42C yesterday and everyone suffered. Four riders were away after 5km and after 15km we turned right into the head wind and our boys hit the front. The peloton split into four groups and it was battle stations for many.

After the feed we put one into the chase, interchanging with Bauer and Maaskant.

Into the final and the boys tried hard to make position. Nathan came up to Robby and Heino at 2km to move them up. He got hooked off the road but did not crash.

At the km to go mark a big crash occurred. Robby and Heino were on the wheel of Greipel who just missed a crash but both our guys went down. Robby hit the back part of his bike on a car but is otherwise ok. Heino went down too so game over for us on stage 1.

Heino has a stiff wrist and a little skin off but is ok. Everyone really suffered in the heat.

Wednesday is a hard stage with four times around the finish in Sterling (3km false flat climb). That should be the best stage for Heino and temperatures should be mid 30′s.

More photos from the Tour Down Under

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Preview: Starting 2012 Down Under

mark — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 02:24:36 +0000

The first race of the 2012 season is finally here, the Tour Down Under. Team Garmin-Barracuda’s always smiling Chiro Matt Rabin sent us this preview of what has happened so far, what’s to come, as well as what his role will be this first week.

Birthday boy Andreas Klier and Heinrich Haussler show off their new threads

The new cycling season is on the doorstep. We are here in Adelaide the Tour Down Under which begins later today with a criterium through town. While this has no effect on the General Classification outcome of the race, it’s the first opportunity for the teams to race together against each other and test lead-out trains at a WorldTour standard.

Our riders arrived in Adelaide a week ago or so and have bad a steady block of good training since then.

This is the first opportunity I’ve had to get my hands on our riders since we gathered for our training camp in Boulder in November. Each season see’s some riders come, and some go, so the November training camp is always the first real opportunity to meet the new riders, get their histories from an injury perspective and start to optimise their function biomechanically.

Typically as a chiro this involves a lot of hands on stuff, while giving riders pointers and direction on things to work on over the winter if it’s necessary. My view is that it doesn’t take a long time necessarily to see change when you are on the right track but finding that track for the individual is the key to getting the most improvement.

I saw on a poster out here, “Don’t dream of winning, train for it”. This made me think of exercises our riders do before they go out to train. On dropping into their rooms you will often see them going through a warm up routine involving core stability, coordination work, and dynamic stretches.

In other sports such as football or rugby these warm-ups are obvious as they’re typically done on the pitch in full view of the crowd, here they are done in hotel room floors with the beds pushed back! I guess this is just one of the small things that being a Professional is all about.

Also, the general consensus amongst those of us that have been with the team a few years is that this is one of the best looking kits we’ve had, and the boys are keen to show it off.

So with our team here in Australia kicking-off the new season in a modest but sunny 25 degrees, with its great blend of youth and experience, a dapper new kit, everyone being acclimatized and with jet-lag gone here’s to starting as we mean to go on, and wishing the boys all the best for this afternoon.

Team Garmin-Cervélo Officially Renamed Team Garmin-Barracuda

mark — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:01:47 +0000

Addition of Barracuda Networks as New Sponsor

Boulder, Co. and Campbell, Calif., Jan. 11, 2012 – Team Garmin-Cervélo, the elite American professional cycling team dedicated to ethical sporting and developing the next generation of cycling champions, today announced that it will become Team Garmin-Barracuda with the addition of Barracuda Networks as a new sponsor of the team.

Barracuda Networks is the worldwide leader in powerful, affordable content security, network performance and data protection solutions for organizations of all sizes.

“The incredible sense of teamwork, passion and determination, and commitment to innovation, align perfectly with our philosophy on delivering the most innovative solutions and support to our customers,” said Michael Perone, executive vice president and CMO of Barracuda Networks. “This partnership provides a fantastic platform to share that message with millions of people around the world in a unique and meaningful way.”

“We are always looking for partners who, like Garmin, share our passion and commitment to the best innovations in technology, and Barracuda Networks is a perfect fit,” said Jonathan Vaughters, CEO of Slipstream Sports and Director Sportif of Team Garmin-Barracuda. “The partnership with Barracuda Networks is long-term and the company will also allow Slipstream Sports to continue to pursue other co-title sponsor opportunities.”

“We’d like to thank Slipstream for giving us the second team name in 2011 when they had no obligation to do so,” said Phil White, CEO of Cervélo. “We’re excited that Barracuda Networks is joining the team. It bodes well for the future that the team is attracting new sponsors of this caliber, and Cervélo looks forward to continuing as a key partner and the official bicycle supplier of the team for the next three years.”

Owned and managed by Slipstream Sports, Team Garmin-Barracuda is dedicated to promoting ethical sporting and developing the next generation of cycling champions. In 2007, Slipstream created the most progressive anti-doping system in the professional sports world and now works with the Anti-Doping Sciences Institute to continue its anti-doping mission.

“From a business standpoint, working with Barracuda Networks makes great sense,” said Matt Johnson, President of Slipstream Sports. “The sponsorship provides Barracuda Networks with an unprecedented opportunity to showcase its technology leadership and expand its brand footprint around the globe.”

Team Garmin-Barracuda today unveiled the 2012 jersey from technical clothing supplier Castelli, which will be raced for the first time at the Tour Down Under. Castelli continues to make sure the team has the right clothing for the season, from the cold spring classics to the heat of France in July. In addition to the innovative SanRemo Speedsuit and Gabba rain jacket, there are some surprises in development that fans will see as the season progresses. The Team Garmin-Barracuda replica pieces will be available beginning in February.

Garmin continues to provide the team with technology they use while training and racing, including the Garmin Edge 800 with its leading touch-screen and advanced mapping capability and the Edge 500, a lightweight, compact GPS enabled cycling computer.

About Barracuda Networks Inc.
Barracuda Networks combines premises-based gateways and software, virtual appliances, cloud services, and sophisticated remote support to deliver comprehensive content and network security, data protection and application delivery solutions. The company’s expansive product portfolio includes offerings for protection against email and Web threats as well as products that improve application delivery and network access, message archiving, backup and data protection. Coca-Cola, FedEx, Harvard University, IBM, L’Oreal, and Europcar are among the more than 150,000 organizations protecting their IT infrastructures with Barracuda Networks’ range of affordable, easy-to-deploy and manage solutions. Barracuda Networks is privately held with its International Headquarters in Campbell, Calif. For more information, please visit www.barracudanetworks.com.