TalkingShop: Jack Bauer of Endura Racing

Britain’s national tour a major goal for Jack Bauer and Endura Racing who this week are preparing for the big race by training in the Pyrenees

There is no doubt that, like the Halfords Tour Series, the Tour of Britain, another event from the Sweetspot group, is having a major influence on the British pro teams who want to see their riders achieving top results against the best in the world and the media exposure that this would give them.

One such team is Endura Racing from Scotland. This year they stepped up a level with some star  signings and during 2011, the team has tasted success in Europe as well as America. It is though the National Tour that is the big goal for them and their riders.

One of the top performers within Endura Racing in 2010 was Jack Bauer who came to the team wearing the champion’s jersey from New Zealand. Jack is now nearing the end of his second season with the team and his results continue to get bigger and better. Next stop for Jack and the Endura Racing team is Peebles in Scotland.

“It’s a big goal of mine and has been for the whole year” Jack told VeloUK. “The last few months have been geared up towards it so it’s an important race for me and Endura Racing. My goals are simple enough;  to do well with a stage win perhaps or a good result on the GC.”

Jack winning in Utah recently. Photo by Jonathan Devich | epicimages.us

Jack, winner of a stage in the recent high ranking Tour of Utah, explained from the training camp 1700 metres above sea level that with the likes of HTC-High Road and Garmin Cervelo fielding strong squads,  Endura Racing were looking forward to coming to Peebles (Scotland) and taking them on.

“Sure, we’re a small team but we’re also a strong team,  a well drilled outfit and we’ll go there, lay our cards out and see what we come away with” the former New Zealand Road Champion explained.  The British team are spending seven days at altitude in at La Molina in the Spanish Pyrenees and are being looked after by former Cervelo Director Sportif, Alex Vega.

For Jack, the training camp comes after a break recovering after the stage race in Utah and it’s not so much the race he was recovering from but the jet lag, sleeping no less than 22 hours the first night back in Europe.  He says of Utah that it was the first time he has ridden at altitude and the team had little time to adjust to the lack of oxygen which was for sure a completely new experience for him.

“At sea level, it’s your legs that give up while at altitude it was my lungs and throat that conked out before my legs did. The throat and lungs took a real hammering in Utah where as here at 1700 metres and most of the training at sea level, we’ve been fine.”

Over the years, the Endura Racing team has grown from a Scottish based outfit doing its best  competing at national level event s to becoming last year very competitive in the top races including the Tour of Britain. In that race, Jack Bauer and Iker Camano both got close to podium finishes (4th) on stages and Alex Blain too got into the top 10 on a stage. Overall they did well too with Rob Partridge finishing eighth after having got into the vital break on stage 2.

Jack in last year’s Tour of Britain where his best placing was 4th on a stage.

Asked how the team in 2011 compares to 2010, Jack replies, you can’t compare the team this year to the one from last year. “Our build up and the whole direction over the year and how the team has grown is so different” he says. “We have all learnt how to ride as unit this year.”

“2011 with Endura Racing been really good and in fact it’s been a steeper learning curve for me than year one with the team.  We’ve had good results and Utah was a big highlight. To win in a field of that sort of class gives me the confidence to try similar moves in other stage races. The lead out we had going there was class; full of confidence and aggression.”

The addition of a time trial to the Tour of Britain is also something that pleases Jack and the team. Back in Utah, Alex Wetherhall was fourth in the time trial there and Jack was 12th. The team know that in the race of truth, they can compete with the best and preparing for that effort is also a major part of their training in La Molina along with many other efforts including sprinting and hill efforts.

The team, led by Alex Vega, are leaving nothing to chance with lots of specific efforts all geared to help the riders in the Tour of Britain. It’s an approach that Jack hasn’t really experienced before and he admits to being quite impressed with how Alex has had them training in the mountains.  Ian Wilkinson who is also with the team, gave an insight into the efforts on one of the days when he said on Twitter, “4.5hrs including  4 x 5 minute power climbs. 1 x 20min power flat.  Sprints x 5.” Adding, as you’d expect from Superman, “Don’t try this at home kids!”

Today (Friday), the riders rode through three different countries or as Ian Wilkinson said on Twitter, three different ‘shires’. Andorra, France and then back to Spain.

It was quite a mountainous route with the riders climbing to 2400 metres at one point and the session giving the riders five hours of solid work with some TT work early on and then some hill efforts later in the session.

Not surprisingly, Jack admitted to looking forward to his nap on the massage table!

After the camp has finished on Sunday, the riders will return to their bases and for Jack that means some leisurely rides in Girona recovering from the ‘ordeal’ in Molina. The week in Girona will be the final chance for some easy miles before the Tour of Britain and then hopefully says Jack, the Road Worlds where he’s hoping to get a ride for New Zealand.

Getting selected for the national team is just one of the goals Jack has for the near future. He also says that riding in the London Olympics is a big aim, the biggest in fact. “The selectors are looking outside of the World Tour teams so I can’t see why I can’t make the final cut for the Olympics” says Jack. “Since I was a kid I have a dreamt of riding the Olympics and for sure, that will be the big goal next season.”

For now though, Jack has a big opportunity to make a splash in the pro ranks at the Tour of Britain, giving himself and his team a much needed boost as the season comes to a close in 2011. VeloUK will be right there alongside the riders every step of the way round Britain and wishes Endura Racing lots of luck for the race.

Alex explains to the riders the route for the day this morning.

Tour Team (Read more):

The eight riders in the long list are Ian Wilkinson, Jack Bauer, Paul Voss, Rene Mandri, Alex Wetterhall, Iker Camano, Alex Blain and Rob Partridge. The latter, according to the team, has been kept back in Britain to race the Richmond Grand Prix this weekend where they feel he stands a good chance of winning on that race’s tough course.

RELATED LINK:  Sigma Sport get familair with the route for the Tour of Britain

TOUR OF BRITAIN THE LINE UP SO FAR

Garmin Cervelo
Julian Dean (NZl)
Roger Hammond (GBr)
Thor Hushovd (Nor)
Daniel Lloyd (GBr)
Martijn Maaskant (Ned)
David Millar (GBr)
Reserves: Brett Lancaster (Aus); Cameron Meyer (Aus); Gabriel Rasch (Nor)

Sky Procycling
Alex Dowsett (GBr)
Mathew Hayman (Aus)
Peter Kennaugh (GBr)
Michael Rogers (Aus)
Ben Swift (GBr)
Geraint Thomas (GBr);
Reserves: Steve Cummings (GBr); Greg Henderson (NZl); Jeremy Hunt (GBr)

Sigma Sport Specialized
Tom Last
Wouter Sybrandy
Simon Richardson
Russ Hampton
Tom Murray
Steve Lampier (below)

Rapha Condor Sharp
Ed Clancy (GBr)
Dan Craven (Nam)
Zak Dempster (Aus)
Kristian House (GBr)
Jonathan Tiernan-Locke (GBr)
Andy Tennant (GBr)
Reserves: Graham Briggs (GBr); Dean Downing (GBr); Ben Greenwood (GBr); Casey Munro (Aus); Dean Windsor (Aus);

AN Post Sean Kelly Cycling
Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu)
Sam Bennett (Irl)
Andrew Fenn (GBr)
Pieter Ghyllebert (Bel)
Ronan McLaughlin (Irl)
Mark McNally (GBr)
Reserves: Mark Cassidy (Irl); Niko Eeckhout (Bel); Philip Lavery (Irl); Connor McConvey (Irl); Kenny Terwduwe (Bel)

Leopard Trek
Will Clarke (Aus)
Linus Gerdemann (Ger)
Dominic Klemme (Ger)
Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita)
Martin Pedersen (Den)
Jens Voigt (Ger)

Rabobank
Lars Boom (Ned)
Theo Bos (Ned)
Rick Flens (Ned)
Michael Matthews (Aus)
Bram Tankink (Ned)
Coen Vermeltfoort (Ned)
Reserves: Matti Breschel (Den); Graeme Brown (Aus); Sebastian Langeveld (Ned); Maarten Tjallingii (Ned)

Team Europcar
Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn)
Franck Bouyer (Fra)
Anthony Charteau (Fra)
Damien Gaudin (Fra)
Yohann Gene (Fra)
Alexandre Pichot (Fra)
Reserves: Mathieu Claude (Fra); Christophe Kern (Fra); Guillaume Le Floch (Fra); Kevin Reza (Fra)

Team NetApp
Jan Barta (Cze)
Cesare Benedetti (Ita)
Bartosz Huzarski (Pol)
Daryl Impey (RSA)
Leopold König (Cze)
Timon Seubert (Ger)
Reserves: Andreas Dietziker (Sui); Andreas Schillinger (Ger); Daniel Schorn (Aut)

Topsport Vlaanderen Mercator
Dominique Cornu (Bel)
Kenny De Ketele (Bel)
Stijn Neirynck (Bel)
Jarl Salomein (Bel)
Preben Van Hecke (Bel)
Jelle Wallays (Bel)
Reserves: Sven Jodts (Bel); Stijn Joseph (Bel); Steven Van Vooren (Bel)

Vacansoleil DCM Pro Cycling Team
Maxim Belkov (Rus)
Jan-Bert Lindeman (Ned)
Barry Markus (Ned)
Wouter Mol (Ned)
Jens Mouris (Ned)
Willem Wauters (Bel)
Reserves: Borut Bozic (Slo); Marcello Pavarin (Ita)

UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
Robert Förster (Ger)
Chris Jones (USA)
Karl Menzies (Aus)
Rory Sutherland (Aus)
Boy van Poppel (Ned)
Scott Zwizanski (USA)

Team Lineups To Come
– Endura Racing (Britain)
– Motorpoint Pro Cycling (Britain)
– Team HTC – Highroad (USA)
– Team Raleigh (Britain)