May 16, 2011 (Frankfurt am Main, Germany) – The UCI 2.1 3Etappen Rundfahrt in Germany was the first time that any of our team had raced at this level of event and for all but one, their first stage race in Europe.

Stage One: 8.0km time trial
Riding on their regular road bikes and alloy wheels, Alex and Nigel put forth very strong efforts in the time trial. Alex finished just 13 seconds from the sixth place on a flat, non-technical course.

Stage 2: 113.5km road race
For this stage, Bernd Schwartz, the race organizer, had selected every hill in the region, the steeper the better, and included these in the first road stage. The peloton slowly dwindled as Category 2 climbs ticked past on the way to the Category 1 peak. A crash and ensuing mechanical eliminated Canadian climber Simon Trivett from contention, and Alex Cataford and Nigel Ellsay made it in sight of the summit before losing contention.

Stage 3: 94.6km Road Race
With the General Classification still a tight race between two German and Dutch racers, no breaks were allowed up the road. That did not stop Canada’s Oliver Delaney from getting himself in every move for a third of the race. The sunny weather of the past months changed and with the rain, Ty Andrews found out the hard way how slippery the roads here can be.

The Canadian riders were commended by race officials and other teams for their fantastic positive attitudes and great efforts. The team was truly a pleasure to work with and are ready to put their newly learned lessons to work next weekend in Holland where the stages will be defined by winds and winding roads.

NEXT RACE: May 20-22, UCI Stage Race, Internationale Junioren Driedaagse von Axel, Holland

Results (brief)

Stage 1 – 8km – Individual Time Trial
1. Ivar Slik (Ned) 10:24
2. Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) 0:01
3. Silvio Herklotz (Ger) 0:04

33. Alex Cataford (Can) 0:32
66. Nigel Ellsay (Can) 0:49
79. Simon Trivett (Can) 0:54
104. Ty Andrews (Can) 1:05
118. Olivier Delaney (Can) 1:25
126. Jeffrey Doyle (Can) 2:09

Stage 2 – 113.5km – 2 Road Race
1. Ivar Slik (Ned) 2.52:14
2. Silvio Herklotz (Ger)
3. Benjamin Dietrich (Ger) 0:03

93. Alex Cataford (Can) 8:35
96. Nigel Ellsay (Can) 8:35
103. Simon Trivett (Can) 9:03
113. Olivier Delaney (Can) 13:35
116. Ty Andrews (Can) 13:43
DNF Jeffrey Doyle (Can)

Stage 3 – 94.6km – Road Race
1. Pascal Ackermann (Ger) 2.18:02
2. Silvio Herklotz (Ger) 0:02
3. Jaap De Man (Ned) 0:08

73. Alex Cataford (Can) 0:37
101. Nigel Ellsay (Can) 0:56
103. Olivier Delaney (Can) 0:56
DNF Ty Andrews (Can)

Final GC

1. Silvio Herklotz (Ger) 5:20:34
2. Ivar Slik (Ned) 0:18
3. Thijs Van Beusichem (Ned) 0:37
4. Sebastian Pot (Ned) 0:38
5. Jonas Koch (Ger) 0:41

90. Alex Cataford (Can) 9:50
97. Nigel Ellsay (Can) 10:26
114. Olivier Delaney (Can) 16:02