Flecha ready for spring

Flecha: Putting in the kilometres in training

Juan Antonio Flecha is ready for a renewed charge at the Spring Classics in 2012 with a Team Sky squad which keeps getting stronger.

Speaking in Mallorca at the team’s training camp, the 34-year-old Spaniard admitted he is full of optimism going into the new season with spirits in the team still at all-time high after a stellar 2011 campaign.

Flecha will be looking to add another Classics victory to his palmares with Team Sky after an accomplished victory at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in 2010 - only his third race with the squad.

Despite coming within a whisker of repeating that success this season, the Argentinian-born rider will be looking to take the big races by the scruff of the neck heading into his third year with the squad, and nowhere more so than the epic Spring monuments.

He said: “For me there is always a focus on the Spring Classics, especially Flanders and Roubaix and you have to start in really good shape if you want to be strong there.

“For the first part of the season they are my main goals. Later will come the Tour de France and I hope to make the team for the Tour. There are also some big races after the Tour but these are the long-term goals. Right now I need to be thinking about my first goal and that is most definitely the Classics.”

Strength in depth

With a number of new riders entering the fold for 2012, Flecha believes the team has a squad capable of competing at the highest level throughout the Spring campaign.

He added: “The team is getting better and better in the Classics. There are some new guys coming in like Bernhard Eisel, but if you look at young guys like [Ian] Stannard and G [Geraint Thomas] they are getting better and better too. There is a natural improvement of the young talents; they are consistent and solid and I have no doubt that they will be good in the Classics.

“Helping these guys is a big part of my role. You always try to teach the young riders; whether it is things that I know, little secrets or bits of advice. I think for them it’s also nice to have guys with experience in the team so they can go to races and have someone there who has done it before and it can give them confidence.”

With the route for the Tour of Flanders changing significantly for 2012 with a new finish in Oudenaarde, Flecha admits he is intrigued about the layout: “I had a quick check on the changes but I’ve not really looked that closely yet. I have an overall idea and I am curious about it. It’s a challenge for me as it is something new. The race is not going to really change in one sense because it will always be tough, but with the new laps it will be interesting.”

Progress

After 12 seasons in the pro peloton Flecha is uniquely placed to gauge the development of a new team and feels 2011 was truly a landmark year for Team Sky.

He reveals: “In 2011 we’ve made a huge improvement. I wasn’t expecting that. In the first season of the team [Team Principal] Dave Brailsford said ‘we are going to learn, we’re going to do better’ but at the end of two years the results were a surprise for many of us. Not because we under-estimated ourselves but normally the process of improvements is slower, but this time it was really big!

“Now it’s going to be our third season. Everything is better settled, the team is more organised and everything moves quicker and more efficiently. It feels like now it is really rolling. In the training camp everyone is looking really motivated and I am excited to see how we can get on.”

One of the highlights of the year for the road captain was undoubtedly being a part of a breakthrough performance in June which saw the team shepherd Bradley Wiggins to victory at the prestigious Critérium du Dauphiné.

“Of course it was really nice to help Bradley. He achieved probably his best result on the road. He was fourth in the Tour (in 2009) but this was a victory in a big pre-Tour race with a lot of big names. It was really great for the team and for Brad. Especially the way the guys rode the race and protected the leader. It was really nice to see and be part of that.”

Stepping up

With the new season seeing the introduction of Mark Cavendish and a wealth of proven Grand Tour talent, the competition for places at the world’s biggest races will be hotter than ever.

Yet despite the increased strength of the roster, Flecha insists: “That’s just part of belonging to a big team. My point of view has always been not to think about making the team; you just focus on your job and trying to do your best. Then at the end it’s for the team to decide who they will bring. Sometimes it’s not necessarily the strongest riders but someone who fits a certain role at that moment. In the end it’s about doing the best for the team and it’s not the responsibility of us riders to be concerned with being at a certain race.

“But it’s true that the team has changed. There are some really good new riders so of course the team has gone to a higher level. It will not be easy to make the team for certain races. I think it’s going to challenge everybody and probably, if you are surrounded by good riders, your level gets higher. So it only helps the team to move forward.”