Top 10’s, breakaways, and levelling up at volta a catalunya
The finish line in central Barcelona marked the end of not just a super tough week of racing at the Volta Catalunya, but also the end of the team’s first European WorldTour race. One which saw the guys rally together through some tough moments and set backs, but also through moments of strength and promise for the road ahead.
The week got off to a mixed start with Tyler Stites making the opening day’s breakaway and just missing out on taking the KOM jersey by a few points. However, it also unfortunately saw team sprinter for the race Riley Pickrell fall sick, and having to drop out on stage two, in the part of the week most suited to fast finishes. This however gave lead-out man Mark Stewart the opportunity to get amongst the sprints and that he did, with two 10th place finishes, the second of which coming after a day spent out in the early breakaway for much of the stage. Stites also got up there on the tough stage 2 finish for 15th.
The race then transitioned to the mountains for three difficult stages in which the focus changed to supporting Byron Munton ahead of the climbs. A strong showing on stage 5’s first major climbing test teed up a thrilling sixth stage where, after a tough fight for the break, Byron went clear in a super strong move, before leading the race with one other riders over the day’s major ascent.
The climbing stages and eventual GC were eventually fought out amongst some of the best climbers in the world, but the boys did the jersey proud and showed up each day with the desire to prove that their invite to the race in just the team’s first season was warranted. Another huge week for the team and entire collective, summed up succinctly by road captain Stewart, “All in all, a massively positive week in the story so far of Modern Adventure Pro Cycling.”
Team DS, Joe Rosskopf commented: “I’m just really impressed and thankful to make it though to the end of the week with six guys. I know we’re down one with Riley, and we missed him on the sprint stages, but he got sick with really unfortunate timing. To finish with six other guys on stage seven today is awesome.
“These guys showed up so dedicated over and over again. There’s nowhere to hide in these races and the week-long WorldTour races are just one step down from a Grand Tour. There’s nothing above it at this level of competition in the world of cycling.
“Staying focused and preparing this well, showing up in terms of fitness, was super impressive. We have such a great group of guys that I’m also really thankful to be here and be a part of it. It goes for the staff as well - saying yes to a race and delivering when we could have arguably been in over our heads this early into our journey. We’re always ready to push our boundaries and take opportunities when they come, but the mentality of everyone involved is so good that so far we keep delivered despite everything being new. So, thanks to the staff for making it happen and for ensuring we still have fun along the way.
“We saw how much this race means to the guys when a couple of them hit the ground hard on stage 5. No one takes these WorldTour opportunities for granted, summed up by the guys fighting through with wounds.
“Every step of the way this season has been uncharted territory, no matter if it’s a big race or small. But across the riders and staff, everyone’s so reliable and ready to deliver. A lot of little goes a long way and every time we say yes to something that gets us in a little over our heads, we pull it off every time. This makes it easier the next time. This has been our process for building the whole thing and it’s super rewarding.
“From a results perspective, a couple of top 10s and a 15th. These are not easy results in the WorldTour sprints and for a race like this. Then for the young guys, this is just the beginning. A big physical load for them but also the experience of it all, being around 150 extremely experienced and qualified riders. We talked about it at the finish - imagine when you guys are at your fourth Volta a Catalunya, how different that’s going to feel. You’ve got to start somewhere and they did great. They showed up and fought for the break everyday, so it’s just the beginning for those guys to build from, whether or not they’re fighting for a result now.”
Mark Stewart added: - “Catalunya was our first European WorldTour race and just our second as a team. It looked like a pretty daunting seven days ahead a week ago and looking at the start list we were racing against Grand Tour winners and the best guys in the world. So we knew we were up against tough competition and stiff parcours. That delivered as it was a pretty brutal week of racing. We also got quite unlucky to lose Riley to illness early on in the week as we’d eyed up some of those sprint stages with him. So with me as lead out man and his back up sprinter placing 10th two days in a row, it showed that we could have been quite competitive with our actual sprinter here.
“The boys came together amazing in those first few days and even without our sprinter we still went through the processes. What we’ve been doing the first few months of the year is building something greater than ourselves and almost looking to the future, putting standards and processes in place. In the second half of the week, we had two objectives. Firstly, looking after our main climber Byron who showed himself to be world class in AlUla and UAE. Then the second was just trying to get through those really brutal mountain days. We successfully did that. Byron was in a world class breakaway on stage 6 and we had six riders cross the line in Barcelona today. A tough week but we made our mark along the way and came away with a couple of top tens and a lot more learnings. We also used this week to bond as a team, both as riders and staff. All in all, a massively positive week in the story so far of Modern Adventure Pro Cycling.”
