Pinnacle Aeos Carbon TT Team 2008

Potted History of Plowman Craven cycle team

2 June 2009

"Plowman Craven-Madison: Team survives but faces changes

Rumours of the Plowman Craven-Madison.co.uk team’s demise have been exaggerated. The team goes on, although it will undergo a name change – perhaps as early as tonight’s Tour Series race in Woking – relinquish its UCI Continental status and looks set to lose riders.

The team is set to be renamed madison.co.uk, and the loss of the costly UCI Continental status means the squad will be ineligible for the Tour of Britain, unless an exception to the rules can be negotiated.

And as many as four riders could be in the process of leaving, although the team’s owner Simon Barnes remained committed to the survival of the team. One of those strongly rumoured to be on the move is Evan Oliphant.

The riders have not been paid of late, but Mr Barnes said they would get the money they're owed as soon as it was possible.

Mr Barnes said it was a case of “hunker down, batten down the hatches and weather the storm” created by the difficult economic conditions rather than fold the team completely.

The plan had been for Plowman Craven’s financial involvement in the team to be smaller this year. Madison.co.uk came on board and it had hoped that a new four-year deal with a major company would be in place this spring to take the title sponsorship.

Meanwhile, Plowman Craven Associates folded early in the year, and the other Plowman Craven companies have been bought by a venture capitalist. The surveying company has been hit particularly hard by the economic downturn in the property and construction industries, and although things look brighter since being bought out, there is not the marketing budget to plug the gap left now the potential backer has pulled out.

Riders have not been paid, but Mr Barnes said they would get the money they were owed.

Mr Barnes said: “Plowman Craven has been backing the team for a number of years but it was always the intention that, financially, it would take a step back this year.

“We applied for UCI Continental status so we could ride the Tour of Britain, but it has turned out to be costly and not all that worthwhile.

“Plowman Craven hasn’t been affected as much as some, but it has been hit pretty hard by the credit crunch because it deals with two of the sectors most affected. Now that the company has been bought out, it’s in a pretty good position.”

“We were in advanced negotiations with a big company, but then they had redundancies and a serious reduction in marketing budget. We were relying on getting that money.”

Plowman Craven is not currently in a position to cover the shortfall. Riders had their wages delayed, but Mr Barnes’s priority was to keep the team going.

“I’m still supporting the team personally up to a certain level, and Madison.co.uk and Pearl Izumi are still on board,” he said. “We will search for a new backer. There are a number of companies who are interested, but they’re not in a position to write cheques at the moment.

“The riders have been told they will get their shortfall. I’m not about to fold the team and walk away, partly because morally it’s not right and partly because of my love of the sport. I’d rather tough it out at a reduced level now and still have a team, rather than fold and lose it.”

Mr Barnes admitted some riders would leave the team, but said it was amicable.

And he confirmed that the team’s new name would be Madison.co.uk, perhaps starting as early as tonight’s Tour Series race in Woking.

“The problem is, we wanted to ride the Tour of Britain, but the UCI changed the rules last October, so we had to have Continental status in order to be eligible,” he added. “I feel it’s asking too much. If, for example, a British telecommunications company were interested in the team, the Tour of Britain would be very important because it’s good TV time. But in effect, you’re paying a lot of money for just one race.”

So far this season, Plowman Craven have ridden the Tour of Majorca, and have won the opening round of the National Circuit Race series at Hillingdon, thanks to Jeroen Janssen." Copyright Cycling Weekly (2 June 2009)

Plowman Craven Madison Team Launch

25th February 2009

Scotsman Evan Oliphant lead the Plowman Craven Madison riders in fine style dressed in a kilt and playing his bagpipes at the team launch in Milton Keynes yesterday (24/2). Oliphant, one of the veterans of the squad has recently returned from a summer racing in Australia to join the team for a busy 2009 season that will focus on the Tour Criterium series, Nocturnes, Premiere Calendar and Tours of Britain and Ireland.

Team Owner and MD of Plowman Craven Simon Barnes said he was excited about the possibilities for the new team and is looking forward to another successful season. "2009 looks like it will be even better for us and I'm impressed with the amount of talent we have for a relatively young squad. The guys rode with distinction at the Tour of Mallorca 2 weeks ago and we've been invited out to more races as a result" Barnes said.

The Plowman Craven Madison team was formed from the merging of Pearl Izumi, who stayed on as clothing sponsors, and Plowman Craven, with new sponsors Madison joining to make the team one of the best supported in the country.

Team Director Cherie Pridham, one of only 2 female managers in the sport in Europe, realised her long time dream of managing a pro team and believes that despite the young squad the team will feature in all the key races this year. "This is a great bunch of guys and it's a dream come true for me to be working with them." said Pridham "I think there will be a few surprises as there is a lot of raw talent that Eddie can make the most of during the races"

Madison Marketing Manager Matt Rushton said the team was the perfect vehicle for Madison to give something back to the road racing scene in the UK and maintain the profile of their leading brands Cervelo, Shimano, Giro and Garmin.

For the latest updates follow the team on Twitter - search PlowmanCraven to find and follow.

14th January 2009

Welcome to the 2009 season with Plowman Craven Madison!

This year is set to be another great one with exciting town centre racing across the country and of course the Tour of Britain to look forward to.

We are pleased to welcome a number of new sponsors to the team in 2009 including: Madison, Cervélo, Perl Izumi, Shimano, Garmin, Leica Geosystems, High5 and RICS.

The Plowman Craven Madison riders will use the early season Tour of Mallorca to test their winter preparation for the 2009 domestic season and as part of this program we are opening up the team training camp for our supporters to joins us.

The team will stay on in Mallorca for 10 days after the tour for an intensive training camp, where you can ride with the team each day as they head out, before splitting for a guided ride.

Team owner Simon Barnes is excited by the idea "This gives us a unique opportunity to invite the team fans and our clients to join us for some great riding, and to get to know the team off the bike. I like to think we are a lot more accessible for the fans than the bigger teams and this camp is another example of that".

Plowman Craven

Plowman Craven at Manchester World Cup

1st November 2008

Following on from the Scratch race Plowman Craven were represented by Scotland's Evan Oliphant in the points race.

Oliphant from Wick took the initiative in the qualifying round taking a lap and blitzed away from his fellow competitors gaining a lap and the 20 points bonus, after taking his lap Oliphant followed his rivals qualifying in 9th place.

The final was run off at break neck speed with Oliphant attempting to gain points with well timed efforts; however such was the pace that only eventual winner Chris Newton was able to build any sort of lead. Oliphant finished in 17th place in his final European outing of 2008.

Oliphant was philosophical "It was full gas in the final today; I tried to exploit other riders tactics but in the race was so fast there was little time for recovery".

[Aeos Carbon T can be seen in this photo.]

July 2008

This gorgeous Team PloughmanCraven Pinnacle track bike, belonging to team rider James McCallum, was ganked out of the back of his car at the Scottish Track Championships at Meadowbank Velodrome in July. No word on whether he got it back, but if he didn't, someone is riding around the streets of Edinburgh on a very distinctive track bike.

04/03/2008 - Plowman Craven make strong start to '08 season

Plowman Craven kicked off their 2008 season with two wins in two days this weekend, clearly demonstrating that the leading UK-based professional cycling team of 2007 are still the ones to beat this year.

It was also the first competative outing for the 2008 Pinnacle Aeos Carbon Team bicycles, issued to the team only 2 weeks before at the pre-season training camp in the south of France.

Tony Gibb won the Eddie Soens Memorial race in Liverpool on Saturday, while team mate Simon Gaywood was victorious in the Wally Gimber road race in Kent the next day. Gibbs victory on the 50 mile closed circuit race on Aintree motor racing course was a fourth victory in the traditional season opener for the former World Cup and Commonwealth Games rider, equalling the record set in the 1970s by Doug Daley, now a coach with the GB Squad. Gibb previously won the event in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

Only a few days after the Team returned from a training camp in the French Pyrenees which caused them to miss last week's Clayton velo race where Rapha-Condor-Recycling took the top six places, Plowman Craven were determined to remind everyone why they were the most successful UK based pro cycling team last year.

The Eddie Soens is open to all racing categories, including fourth category riders, juniors and women, who are given a three minute advantage over the elite field. The handicapped group were caught after only six laps as a strong headwind slowed the field on the back straight and effectively prevented any attacks succeeding.

Tony Gibb makes it four when, with ten laps to go a dangerous group did manage to get 30 seconds on the field, Plowman Craven organised themselves at the front and brought them back within two laps and from that point the pink and blue Plowman Craven riders controlled every move.

As the bell rang for the last lap the Plowman Craven train were still at the front with Rapha-Condor-Recycling lining up behind them. Dean Downing of Rapha tried to go early but it was Gibb, led out by team mate Evan Oliphant, who emerged first out of the final bend to power his way to the line and take an emphatic victory over Downing with third place going to Jon Mozley of Pearl Izumi-Planet X.

Commenting after the race, Gibb praised his new team mate Oliphant for providing the perfect lead out:

"van was a one-man motorbike down the back straight and gave me a perfect lead out. As soon as I came off his wheel I knew that was it."

The next day Plowman Craven showed their strength in depth when Simon Gaywood won a bunch sprint after six riders broke away in the 63 mile Dulwich Primavera Wally Gimber road race in Tenterden, Kent.

An early break from AW Cycles' Rob Enslin was soon caught by a chase group including Gaywood, Richard Sykes-Popham (KFS Special Vehicles), Roy Chamberlain (Corley Cycles) and Chris McNamara (Wildside). The five quickly established a lead of more than a minute on the main bunch before Plowman Craven's Simon Richardson soloed up to the breakaway to help his team mate.

Simon Gaywood grabs the GimberIn the sprint for the line Gaywood won from Sykes-Popham, while Chamberlain held off Enslin for third spot.

It was Gaywood's first road race win since last years Archer GP, a title he sadly won't be able to defend this season as the race has had to be cancelled due to lack of Police co-operation. The Bedford-based rider is often better known as a crit man, winning many of the National Circuit Series races last year and only losing out on the overall Series to (then) team mate Gordon McCauley in the final event. After the race a modest Gaywood was full of praise for team mate Richardson:

"Simon had a fantastic ride, coming across to us without any help and keeping the pace fierce during the last kilometre to stop anyone jumping. I was lying in third place, perfectly positioned when it came to the gallop."

Team founder, and boss of Herts based geomatics company Plowman Craven, Simon Barnes, commented:

"We've started the season as we mean to go on. In both races this weekend we've shown we have the talent and the tactics to make winning attacks and control any chasing group.

"This year we've put together a much more coherent team and the riders compliment each other very well. But other teams have also raised their game and so I think it's going to be an exciting season. Despite what some in the cycling press are saying, it's not just a two horse race between ourselves and Rapha-Condor-Recycling - SiS Trek are clearly a strong team and Pinarello have yet to race.

"Next weekend's Bikeline two-day in North Wales looks set to be an explosive start to the Premier Calendar. The race effectively decided the overall individual winner of the series last year but I think it will be much closer throughout this season."

11/10/2007 - Pinnacle backs Plowman Craven for further 2 years

London – Thursday 11th October 2007 – Pinnacle bikes are to be the official bike supplier to the Plowman Craven Professional Cycling Team for a further two years

Pinnacle Bikes are pleased to announce a new two year sponsorship deal that will see Pinnacle supply the Plowman Craven Professional Cycling Team with the latest generation carbon road bikes for the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

Plowman Craven is currently the most successful UK based professional cycling team, with four national titles already this season. They lead both the individual and team UK road rankings and came second in the Premier Calendar. They also rode both the 2007 Tour of Ireland and Tour of Britain.

The Plowman Craven team have been using the Pinnacle Aeos alloy/carbon team frameset this season to great effect with wins in both the Premier Calendar and National Circuit Series proving that the bikes are more than up to the demands of professional cycle racing. This development process was taken one step further with the Aeos Carbon Team frameset that the team used during the Tour of Britain.

For the 2008 the team will be riding the all new Aeos Carbon Team bike that was first spotted at the Tour of Britain in September. This is the culmination of a year long design process which saw Pinnacle design this new frame and fork from the ground up. The new pink and blue colour-scheme was an instant hit and gave the bikes and riders a highly visible presence in the bunch.

“We are really please that we can continue this relationship with a British bike brand”, says Team Owner Simon Barnes, “the riders really like the bikes and the continuing development means we have a say in how we want the bikes, just one of the benefits of working with a local company like Pinnacle”.

”2007 has been a fantastic year for the team and having the right bikes certainly helped us,” says team rider Tony Gibb, who powered his way to victory in the Blackpool GP on his Pinnacle “The team bikes have been super reliable all year and we are very pleased that our working relationship with the Pinnacle designers has resulted in the new carbon frames pretty much to our exact specification.”

“To have the team involved has been really beneficial to us” says Scott Hargrave, Brand Manager for Pinnacle Bikes, “to have such positive feedback for our bikes in first year of production shows that the evolution process from early prototypes to the final product that the team is using is complete. The Aeos Carbon Team frame-sets that the riders used for the Tour of Britain were designed with input from the team all along the manufacturing process”.

As well as designing the carbon range of production road bikes around the team, Pinnacle will also be working closely with the riders over the early part of next season in the development of time trial and track frames, which once tested will be put into production.

London – Tuesday 9th January 2007

Evans Cycles, the UK’s largest specialist cycle retailer, is to share title sponsorship of successful British cycling team Plowman Craven for the forthcoming 2007 season.

The name of the new team changes to Plowman Craven – Evans Cycles Racing Team to reflect the joint investment from both companies. Leica Geosystems, Speedplay, X-treme and Impsport also sponsor the Team.

Not only does the Team have a new name for 2007, it will also be riding new British-designed team bikes supplied by Pinnacle, and sold exclusively at Evans Cycles stores throughout the country. There will also be new riders, including former elite circuit series winner and national derny champion, Simon Gaywood. But sadly Malcolm Elliot, winner of the British Cycling Elite Circuit Race Series for Plowman Craven in 2006, has decided not to continue with the team in 2007.

“We’re thrilled to be associated with the Team for 2007”, said Ben Hart, Evans Cycles Marketing Manager. “Our involvement is not just about getting the Evans Cycles message out to cycling fans, but it’s also our way of supporting some of the best athletes that British road and track cycling has to offer”.

The Plowman Craven Team was only set up last year but is already one of the top teams in the Country. The Team had a very successful first season in 2006, winning a total of three National and one World titles. As well as Malcolm Elliot taking the Elite Circuit Race series, team mate Tony Gibb was overall UK number one ranked domestic rider, National Madison and Omnium Champion, and James Taylor won not only the National Madison title with Tony but gold at the National Criterium Championship.

“Last year was a fantastic first season for the team” said Simon Barnes, Plowman Craven’s, CEO. “The results fully justified our faith in setting up the team, and now for a company of the calibre of Evans Cycles to join us as joint title sponsor shows just how far the team has come in a year. With such a high-profile title sponsor, new bikes and new riders, as well as being UCI registered, 2007 looks set to be an exciting year.”

Tony Gibb added: “For me, this team is all about quality and professionalism. We have the best support and back up from Plowman Craven and the best equipment from Evans Cycles and Pinnacle bikes. With the additional riders joining us this year I am sure we will produce another year of great results which will go some way to repaying the commitment from Plowman Craven and Evans Cycles.”