September 1, 2010 – Canada’s top road cycling team flew home on Aug. 30 after a month of hitting the European circuit and a number of races on pavement and cobblestones in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. Pedal readers have seen our reports about the team’s exploits, including Keven Lacombe’s win at Grand Prix des Marbriers in France and Guillaume Boivin’s 2nd place finish at Germany’s Sparkassen Giro. Here is an interview with SpiderTech p/b Planet Energy team members as they return home and prepare for the ProTour races in Quebec City and in Montreal on September 10 and 12 respectively. A sprint race in Quebec City has also been added to the calendar on Sept. 9.

Andrew Randell, tell us about how you fractured your femur. How is your recovery going and when are you likely to race again?
AR: To be honest the crash was nothing spectacular and didn’t leave me with a great story to tell. Very simply, my front tire slipped out in a corner while we were doing a race in Bochum, Germany. I was surprised when it happened as it was a circuit race and we had already done the circuit numerous times. And on this lap the race wasn’t going full-bore. Suddenly the horizon tilted and I was lying on the ground my hip throbbing underneath me. Quick and simple. They took me to the hospital – despite my protestations that I didn’t need x-rays – and two hours later I was in the operating room, a screw and plate being attached to my femur.

My recovery is going well. Already the morning following the crash I was able to walk and each day has been better. I can walk a bit without the crutches and this past week I rode the turbo twice, waking up the next morning with sore muscles which was a nice feeling. I’m lucky as my season is over and I can take the appropriate time needed to recover fully.

David Boily, congratulations on making the Canadian team, winning at Gaspé Park and doing well at the Tour de Beauce. As a rider only 20 years old tell us about your season and what the future holds for you?
DB: It’s been a very good season for me so far. My participation at the Tour of California and winning the red jersey at Tour de Beauce were really my favourite parts. Right now, I have the honour to race the ProTour races in a couple of weeks. This is unreal. If someone would have told me, a few years ago, that I would ride Tour of California and a ProTour race during my first year as a pro, I would have laughed at them. I’m very lucky to have a team that believes in me and my goals. As well, we’re very lucky to have Steve [Bauer] and Josée [Larocque] who are working so many hours to see the team achieve their goal (Tour de France 2012). As for the future I will continue to work extremely hard and hope we’ll be doing more interviews during the next few years.

Mark Batty, as the longest-serving member tell us your thoughts on the team’s development?
MB: You are right; I guess I am one of the longest-serving riders on the team. In the beginning we were a team that didn’t venture far out of Ontario, and now we are spending a month in Europe. Watching our development and being a part of this team’s growth has been amazing – every year we’re doing bigger races and performing well at them. This is the first time I have been to Europe with the team and the way we have ridden shows that we are on track with the our plans. We have some big goals and I am grateful to be a part of them.

Éric Boily, you won the Critérium de Gatineau in June. Tell us about what you have learned in Europe…
EB: In the last month, I have learned that in Europe – and especially in Belgium – you have to constantly battle to stay at the front of the peloton and be aware of crosswinds, cobblestones, rain, etc. I also learned that roads are more slippery when it’s raining Europe than they are in North America and learned that the hard way! (note: David Boily and Eric Boily not related but are sometimes jokingly referred to as “the Boily brothers”)

Simon Lambert-Lemay, you have previous experience doing well at European races – how are they different from North America?
SLL: I had some success in Europe as a Junior but the racing starts to change in the U23 category and now with SpiderTech and the pros there are even more changes. In Europe in the junior and U23 category the racing features attack after attack. It’s a free-for-all with the end objective of winning. In the pro ranks with SpiderTech, the racing is much more controlled. The beginning of each race is hard until a group gets clear and then one of the big team takes control to bring them back. Sometimes, the race or the course is so hard that nobody can control it and it gets really difficult to make the lead group. You have to be in top shape to ride with the leaders – the races in Europe are a little faster and a little longer, which brings it up to another level!

Bruno Langlois, congratulations on making the Canadian team. You finished third at the Nationals and did well earlier this year at the Vuelta Independencia. What are your key strengths for Quebec City and Montreal?
BL: I think one of my strengths is that I know the courses really well! I raced the Quebec stage during Tour de Beauce and I live in Québec City, basically on the race circuit there, so I have been training on it regularly. I think this will be a good advantage for me. I also know the Montreal circuit pretty well. The fact that I will be racing home with a lot of my friends as supporters will for sure help me to push my limits and raise my level of pain tolerance.

As a hard worker and team rider, I will be following the plan that Steve Bauer and the team will put together. If I have to ride or support some of my teammate as leader I will do it and do my best for the success of the team.

I’m usually pretty good in races with hard circuit with repetitive hills and a short recovery. My form is really good after spending a month in Europe and doing some hard races. This will be my first ProTour race and for sure I will give everything I have that day.

Lucas Euser, your patella was shattered last year – how is it healing up? How does riding with SpiderTech compare to riding with your former team, Garmin? And was it a surprise to be back in Europe this year?
LE: I was hit by a car in May of 2009. It took nearly five months to fully heal and caused a severe amount of atrophy in the major leg muscles. I dedicated myself to coming back from this, but knowingly set reasonable goals along the way. My main goal for the season was to just transition from injury to racing. I think I showed signs along the way that not only am I able to race again, but getting results are right around the corner. With a proper off season this winter I feel I can return to 100% full health.

Racing with SpiderTech p/b Planet Energy has been a very unique experience. Everyone within the team is super close. I was one of only a few new recruits for this year, so it was up to me to fit in or not. I feel I managed that quite well and have been able to make connections and friendships with just about everyone within the team. It’s clearly a much smaller team and cannot be compared to racing at the ProTour level, but from the amount of drive and passion everyone has, it’s clear this team is on a course to one day join Garmin and the other teams at the highest ranks of the sport. To be back racing in Europe was a great feeling for me and a true team success as we had three wins, a 2nd place, a 4th, a points jersey, a Team Classification win, and a handful of top 10s, all in highly competitive races. I have confidence the team will be able to carry this momentum into next year and be able to compete at a much higher level.

In the tune of developing close relationships I want to say ‘good luck’ to all the guys racing the ProTour races. It’s a great feeling to have the ProTour move to North America and prove that it motivates teams and riders to grow and be more competitive in the sport. I can’t wait to see what our National team is able to do with the big guns of cycling.

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As reported earlier here’s the list of riders selected to Canada’s National Team Powered by SpiderTech for the upcoming ProTours in Quebec City (Sept. 10) and Montreal (Sept. 12).

The ProTour Provisional team rosters for Quebec City and Montreal are subject to change up to 72 hours priort to the race.

National Team Powered by SpiderTech

– Ryan Anderson – Spruce Grove, AB – (Kelly Benefit Strategies)
– David Boily – Québec, QC – (SpiderTech powered by Planet Energy)
– Guillaume Boivin – Longueil, QC – (SpiderTech powered by Planet Energy)
– Rob Britton – Victoria, BC – (BISSELL Pro Cycling)
– Charles Dionne – Saint-Rédempteur, QC – (FLY V Australia)
– Martin Gilbert – Châteauguay, QC – (SpiderTech powered by Planet Energy)
– Keven Lacombe – Montréal, QC – (SpiderTech powered by Planet Energy)
– Bruno Langlois – Québec, QC – (SpiderTech powered by Planet Energy)
– Will Routley – Whistler, BC – (Jelly Belly Cycling team powered by – Kenda)
– François Parisien – Repentigny, QC – (SpiderTech powered by Planet Energy)
– Dominique Rollin – Boucherville, QC – (Cervélo TestTeam)
– David Veilleux – Cap-Rouge, QC – (Kelly Benefit Strategies)