Drapac Porsche Development Program 2007 Annual Report

2007 saw the Drapac Porsche Development Program claim a number of prestigious victories and achievements throughout the year. Highlighted events included the Australian National Road Championships, Tour De Hokkaido, Junior World Championships and the European Tour. Additionally, there were outstanding performances on the track by both the Juniors and the Seniors.

The year began with the announcement from the UCI stating Drapac Porsche Development Program had successfully registered as the first Professional Continental Cycling Team in Australia. Darren Lapthorne and Rob McLachlan put in phenomenal performances at the Australian National Road Championships, finishing in 1st and 2nd position respectively. Lapthorne was crowned the 2007 Australian National Road Champion and had the honour of wearing the green and gold colours on his Drapac Porsche jersey for the remainder of the 2007 season. Furthermore, in the U23 event, Dean Windsor finished in 4th position.

On the track, Phil Thuaux claimed gold in the Individual Pursuit at the National and Oceania Track Championships therefore gaining qualification for the World Championships squad. Mitchell Docker also qualified for the team joining Phil in Majorca, Spain to compete in the World Track Championships.

In March, five members of the Pro-Conti team raced in the 2007 Tour De Taiwan where the team was again hugely successful. Drapac Porsche finished second in the Teams Classification, Overall Classification (Rob McLachlan) and Points Classification (Dean Windsor). Rob McLachlan also won a stage and Dean Windsor spent a day in the coveted yellow jersey of Tour Leader! The Bendigo International Madison is classified as Australia's most decorated Madison event, featured four Drapac Porsche riders. Travis Meyer and Mitch Docker, who were fresh from the Track World Cup Series in Manchester, teamed up again to make a formidable pair. Daniel Thorsen and Dean Windsor also made their mark on the race. Meyer and Docker finished in a triumphant second position after Docker was thrown from his bike earlier on in the race.

For the first time, the Drapac Porsche Pro Conti team sent a team of eight cyclists to Europe for two months, to gain a taste of European racing. Throughout the 2 months, the team competed in the Tour of Austria, Brixia Tour and a number of smaller Kermese races. Prior to departing, a number of the selected team members had the additional pressure of completing their semester university exams whilst in heavy training to be “race fit.” All successfully achieved both, being able to get “race fit” and also score a number of Distinctions and High Distinctions in their subjects.

Upon arrival in Europe, the team spent a few days acclimatising to the European weather and competed in a few kermese races in preparation for the grueling stages of Austria and Brixia Tours. After two kermese races under their belt, the team lined up alongside the Pros in the inaugural Halle Ingooigem. With a start list that included Tom Boonen (QUICKSTEP), Robbie McEwen, Bert Roesems (PREDICTOR- LOTTO), Rik Verbrugghe, Nick Nuyens (COFIDIS), Jeremy Hunt (UNIBET), Nico Eeckhout (CHOCOLADE JACQUES), and Stijn Devolder (DISCOVERY CHANNEL); the Drapac Porsche Pro Conti team where nervous but keyed-up going into their first European Continental UCI event. Rob McLachlan and Darren Lapthorne finished in the top 15 an outstanding result for the team’s first UCI Pro race. Following the Halle, the team continued their success taking out one of the largest kermese races in Belgium, Darren Lapthorne and Mitchell Docker crossed the line in first and third position respectively. A few days the Drapac Porsche team was on the start line for the Tour of Austria alongside Pro Tour Teams like Discovery Channel, Quick Step-Innergetic, T-Mobile is an experience in its self. Riding through the Austrian Alps the team experienced all weather conditions, rain, hail, snow and sunshine during the 8 stage event. Stuart Shaw finished in the top 10 in the second stage and Mitchell Docker in the top 25 in the final two stages. After a week long recovery in northern Italy, the team’s batteries were recharged to take on The Brixia Tour. Similar to the Tour of Austria, the start list was comprised of high profile teams and riders from the Pro Circuit.

While the Pro Continental team were in Europe, three of Drapac Porsche Development Program’s recent Scholarship recruits for 2007 - qualified for the Australian Junior World Track Team. In early August Travis Meyer, Sarah Kent and Thomas Palmer departed Australian shores bound for Mexico to compete at the UCI Junior World Track Championships. In just one day, between the three of them, they amassed five medals. Travis Meyer won three gold medals, taking out the Men’s Individual Pursuit, the Men’s Team Pursuit and the Men’s Scratch Race. Thomas Palmer and Sarah Kent followed Travis’s form in hot pursuit with Tom claiming the bronze in the Men’s Team Sprint and Sarah taking silver in the Women’s Individual Pursuit, bowing out to fellow Australian Josephine Tomic. Following on from Tom's bronze medal on Sunday in the Men's Team Sprint, Tom gained his first Junior World Championship. In an absolutely "cracking time" of 1:02.366. Being the first starter for the event, Tom and the Aussie Support team endured the excruciating and nerve-racking wait for the other 19 riders to race. When the results were announced, the elation was outstanding, Tom received his first Junior World Champion title.

During the Jayco Herald Sun Tour, the Drapac Porsche’s Mentoring Program was launched. Where each rider is matched with experienced senior business and community leaders, outside of the cycling community, who can provide guidance, advice and support over an extended period of time (1-3 years).

Drapac Porsche Pro Conti team travelled to Japan a number of times in the last half of the year, competing in the Tour De Hokkaido and the Japan Cup. As well as being victorious in the team’s classification at the Tour of Hokkaido, Darren Lapthorne and Mitchell Docker had podium finishes after triumphant stage victories. Japan Cup race organizers labeled the Drapac Porsche Development Program as the first Australian team to be invited to the 2007 Japan Cup. A prestigious honour to contest a prominent event, Drapac Porsche’s Stuart Shaw won the ‘King of the Mountain’ classification and Darren Lapthorne finished 11th overall on General Classification.

As the road season came to an end, the 2008 Track season began with the Oceania Championships. Drapac Porsche’s Phil Thuaux won the Elite Men’s Individual Pursuit and joined fellow team mate Travis Meyer in the Australian team to win the Elite Men’s Teams Pursuit. The following weekend, Thuaux backed up his win by blitzing the field in the same event at the Sydney World Cup. A great sign as he prepares for selection for the Australian Team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Overall, the Pro Conti team took out the 2007 UCI Oceania Series individual and team’s championship title while managing to feature prominently in the Tour of Taiwan, Tour de Hokkaido and the Jayco Herald Sun Tour. Furthermore, throughout the year three of our scholarship riders completed their final year of secondary schooling. Lisa Friend, Sarah Kent and Camille Pallett were all able to juggle training and competing at the elite level while maintaining their education commitments. For 2008, they are looking forward to entering their first year at University, announcements of which courses they have successfully been accepted into will be announced in late January 2008.

With 2008 quickly approaching, plans have been put in place for the 2008 racing calendar, rider recruitment and the strategic direction of the team. The team has successfully signed up Angus Morton (graduate of the RAK Development Program), Miles Olman (formerly SA.com), Gene Bates (formerly SA.com), Daniel Braunsteins (DPDP stagier for 2007), Grant Irwin (formerly SA.com) and Peter McDonald (formerly FRF-Couriers) to the 2008 Drapac Porsche Cycling Team. As an introduction to the new season, the entire 2008 team, spent 6 days getting to know each other during training sessions, corporate ride with the team’s sponsors and clients, and in various seminars about the team’s support groups – mentoring program, medical team, team management and sponsors. An essential element to a successful 2008 season.

On a racing side for 2008, the team has recently been invited to the prestigious Tour of Qatar in 2008, where the Program will line up along side 10 of the top ProTour teams from Europe. Following this, the team will travel to compete in the Tour of Langkawi and Tour De Taiwan. An international two month trip is scheduled to coincide with the University mid semester holidays. 2008 has a key focus on international racing, predominately in Asia, the goal for 2008 is to finish the season in the top three on the UCI Asian Series rankings.

For updated information on the team’s progress through the 2008 season, please visit news items featuring on the website.