In September 2016, Torpedo7 partnered with Team Skoda Racing, promoting the sport and helping to grow some of New Zealand’s up and coming talent in road cycling. The progression of Team Skoda is getting better and better, and they’re amazing to watch. Be sure to follow Team Skoda on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
We’re stoked to be sharing their success with you.
Team Skoda Racing 2016 Report:
With Christmas upon us we thought it was a great time to reflect on 2016 and share how the team has gone both on and off the bike. Needless to say, it has been another stellar year for the team with excellent results across the board. Adding to this, we have met our ultimate goal of converting our riders into world class U23 riders. We will see two riders leave the team at the end of December for National & World Tour feeder Teams and have already lined up the next round of talent to replace them.
Major 2016 results:
2x World Champions – Junior Track Worlds TP & Omnium – Connor Brown & Campbell Stewart
2x World U19 Road Race representatives – Robert Stannard, Campbell Stewart
2x World U19 Track representatives – Campbell Stewart, Connor Brown
2x Oceania Road Medals – TT & Road Race – Robert Stannard
2x Oceania Track Medals – Elite TP – Connor Brown, U19 TP – George Jackson
2x NZ Junior Champions – U19 Road Race – Robert Stannard, U17 Criterium – Finn Fisher Black
1x NZ Club Championships – U23/Elite Road Race Champion – Callum Gordon
1x Stage – Tour of Southland – Sam Phipps
Domestic update:
On the local scene, our major focuses for the spring were the Tour of Southland, Trust House Teams Series, Dynamo Team series, Taupo Cycle Classic, K1 and the Novice Tour of Manawatu.
Southland remains the pinnacle race in the first half of the New Zealand calendar and is well represented by the top New Zealand riders and international Teams. The trip to Invercargill was our second time and we wanted to go better than we did last year. With our Worlds riders out of action, we took a relatively young team but they really overdelivered at the event. We were stoked to win Stage 2 to Te Anau (Sam Phipps), gained a podium on the final stage (Ethan Batt) and finished fourth in the Teams prologue.
Trust House Teams Series, Dynamo Team Series, Novice Junior Tour of Manawatu – In both these series we have continued our good form of 2015. Trust House has finished (5 rounds + 2 specials). We finished the 1st equal team, 1st U23 and 3rd on general classification (Joel Yates). Across the series, we gained no lower than 4th place in each round. Overall, we had 2 wins, two 2nds, one 3rd and two 4ths. At the Dynamo Series, we are 3 rounds in out of 6 and lead the Teams classification and have finished on the podium twice, with two 2nd placings. At the junior tour, we won both the U19 (Ben Hamilton) and U17 classifications (Finn Fisher Black).
One day races – Lake Taupo consistently rates as NZ’s single biggest one day race and we were happy to come away with a 4th overall (Chris Denholm) after a tight sprint for 2nd. K1, with the bulk of the Team at Southland and the Trust House series, we had no elites riding but our junior riders went 1st,3rd and 4th in the K1 (Ben, Oscar and Harry)
International Update:
Across the last 6 months there has been the World Road Champs in Doha and the Oceania Track Champs in Melbourne. Robert and Campbell attended the road worlds and competed in the TT (Robert) and the RR (Campbell). Robert placed 11th in the TT but was off the pace and Campbell crashed out of the RR. At the Oceania track champs this month we had four riders compete (Joel, George, Connor and Harry). Connor and George both went on to get silver medals in the TP (Elite and U19).
Outside of international duties, Robert, Chris and Campbell raced in the NRS and Chris & Ethan took part in the final VRS round. Robert proved his potential in the NRS by claiming 2nd overall and best young rider at the National Capital Tour. He also followed this up with many podiums. Not to be outdone, Campbell won the final criterium at the National Capital Tour and Ethan won the Green Jersey at the Tour of Bright.
Riders wearing the NZ jersey in 2016 – Campbell Stewart, Connor Brown, Robert Stannard, Chris Denholm, Ethan Batt, Oscar Elworthy, George Jackson, Finn Fisher Black.
Rider Update:
U19/U23 rider update: The bulk of our U19 and U23 riders have been on our roster for the past 2 seasons and this year was about converting talent into results. Robert Stannard has proven across the last 6 months that he is Oceania’s premier U19 road stage racer while Campbell Stewart would be regarded amongst the best junior track riders in the World. We are stoked to see these guys develop over the past 18 months and wish them all the best for 2017 as they continue their careers overseas. Within our other team members, all have come on in leaps and bounds. Chris Denholm has returned from injury to be the revelation of the spring for us with breakout performances at Trust House and Taupo. Other strong performers have been Joel Yates, Alex West, Connor Brown and Ethan Batt. With the departure of our top two riders, we will rely on these guys to take up the leadership roles and have complete faith they will be our next superstars.
Junior rider update: For 2016/17 we brought on 3 new riders (Oscar, Ben, George) and one returning (Harry). Further to this, we have added Finn Fisher Black and Daniel Reid. These guys will step up to replace Robert and Campbell. We are happy to say that our juniors are progressing nicely and have picked up the team ethos and culture pretty quickly. Based on results, we are confident we will see these guys on the top steps of the podium next year …and no doubt in the New Zealand Team kit.
While Finn will be a second-year U17 rider in 2017, his results speak for themselves, he is the current U17 TT, Criterium and Cyclocross Champion. Further to this, we have no doubt he could beat most of the U19 field in NZ in both road racing and TT.
Riders converting to Elite National Teams or World Tour Feeder Teams for 2017 – Robert Stannard Campbell Stewart, Connor Brown – Elite NZ Track Team
Incoming riders – Finn Fisher Black, Daniel Reid
Commercial Update:
The team continues to grow from strength to strength and we would like to acknowledge the ongoing support of Skoda New Zealand as our naming rights sponsors. Greg and the Team continue to back us both on and off the bike and it is great to have such an engaged lead sponsor. We love the concept of Team Skoda racing and the mass participation Team Skoda and will actively look to help build this in 2017. For the 2016/17 season, we have Bontrager, Vittoria New Zealand, Parktool, Ballina Motel, Whipit and Onfire Design back with the team. These guys continue to deliver the best products to market and we are proud to ride to ride in their equipment or support their services.
In September, we welcomed a number of new sponsors to the Team. Headlining our major new sponsors were Trek New Zealand, Torpedo7, CCN Sport, DT Swiss and Shimano New Zealand. Also joining the program is Science In Sport Nutrition, Biomaxa and Apex Insurance. This was a dream come true to have some of the biggest names in the cycle industry and has enabled us to get better traction and coverage in the market. At a rider level, it has led to our guys being able to compete on the best gear while saving money for more domestic/international racing.
For us, sponsors are more than a name on a page and as two marketers running the team, we always endeavour to lead the way in New Zealand cycling to deliver return on investment. The sponsors listed above are in our opinion the leading products and services in the industry and the perfect partners to help us deliver to our main objectives of converting talent and winning races on the domestic scene in NZ. Thanks again for your continued support in this space
Regards,
Brad Tilby + Scott Fairbairn
