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Rally’s stock continues rise despite current North American cycling recession

Canadians key cog in Rally Cycling’s successful step to UCI Professional Continental status in 2018 with WorldTour races in Québec set close out the season

August 19, 2018
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by Aaron S. Lee

Rally Cycling
Image: Mario Stiehl

With the current state of the domestic North American road cycling scene, one might be shocked to learn one team is not only surviving, but thriving heading into 2019.

Jelly Belly Candy Company, a longtime team title sponsor recently announced it would withdraw from supporting its US-based UCI Continental team after 19 years in the sport — the longest-running commercial partnership in professional cycling — while UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling could follow suit with its Professional Continental and women’s team should a suitable commercial replacement not be found.

However, Rally Cycling is enjoying a banner season since making the jump to Pro Conti status in 2018, as well as a solid relationship with the consumer-centric digital health company since making the switch from Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies in 2016. And with recent success at the Arctic Race of Norway (UCI 2.HC), things are looking up for the Canadian WorldTour-race bound team from Minneapolis.

Image: Mario Stiehl

“We are on a pretty good run here,” three-time Canadian Olympic cyclist and Rally director Eric Wohlberg told Canadian Cycling Magazine. “We had a very successful Tour of Denmark (2.HC) a couple of weeks ago and last week Robin [Carpenter] was a very close second at [KOGA Slag om Norg (1.1)] we did up in the Netherlands — a lot of gravel and wind and stuff like that — so these guys are racing really well right now. We’ve got some pretty good momentum, so we are hoping  keep that rolling for the rest of the season.

“Back home we had a couple of good days at Tour of Utah (2.HC), so that is always great for the team and the sponsors, but it is kind of shocking news to see Jelly Belly losing their title sponsor right now,” he continued. “That team has had a great history and Jelly Belly Corporation has done a great job for cycling in North America for a decades, so it’s been great to see that support but sad to see them go.

“It’s same thing with UHC’s sponsorship woes right now, too. It’s sad that programme may be potentially going away, but same thing as Jelly Belly in that everything is in place — turnkey — so hopefully someone can step in and take advantage of that right now.”

As for Rally, things might be sailing smoothly from a sponsorship standpoint, but that doesn’t mean the team is set on auto-pilot at the moment — far from the fact.

A day after making a key tactical error on the opening stage of the Arctic Race of Norway (2.HC), Rally did just that by claiming a hard-fought, wind-swept Stage 2 final in Kjøllefjord with American Colin Joyce coming out on top and eventually finishing third on the general classification podium 12 seconds behind race winner Sergei Chernetski (Astana) of Russia.

“A reversal of fortunes for the Rally team,” said Wohlberg after the 24-year-old’s stage win — his second since claiming the Tour of Alberta opener in 2016.

“It was a 100 percent bonafide race today in the wind. We were aggressive all day long, didn’t get caught out once. It was too bad Robin kind of crashed at a really inopportune time. I think we would have had two guys in that front move actually.

“The guys were good,” he continued. “Colin had to do some big bridges, so it was impressive his ride all day long.”

Wohlberg was disappointed following his team’s early mistake a day earlier. The team missed a 27-rider split and had to ride all day to bring the break back in the closing kilometres. Rally’s efforts earned Joyce, whose previous best result this season was a second-place at the Winston Salem Classic in May, 10th place on the stage.

Image: Pauline Ballet / ASO

“I’ve been lucky enough to do some racing in Australia and New Zealand, so I’m used to some pretty hellacious crosswinds, but our American guys aren’t really used to that stuff,” he said. “It’s great that they can come over here and experience that. They dug themselves out of a huge hole in some hard conditions and the team really rose to the occasion [on Stage 2].”

Aside from the American riders success, Wohlberg singled out a few of his countrymen as ones to watch.

RELATED: Where will Canada’s top road cyclists be in 2018?

“We have a really strong Canadian contingent, including a returning Ryan Anderson, Adam de Vos, who  is running really strong right now, and Matteo Dal-Cin, who was good last week in Holland, so we are always looking for some big things from those three. The Canadian trio is also joined by compatriots Nigel Ellsay and 2017 Tour of Utah winner Rob Britton on the team roster in 2018, and will have a huge test ahead as they close the season with a pair of Canadian WorldTour race in Québec City and Montréal.

RELATED: Rob Britton’s Tour de Utah win a career in the making

“We are gong to be shutting it down after the Grand Prix races,” admitted Wohlberg. “Clearly a podium there would be unbelievable for us and a great way to cap off a very big season. We’ve done so much racing outside North America and this has been a huge step up for us. I think we’ve risen to the challenge very well.

“The biggest hurdle this year was setting up our schedule,” he continued. “It’s hard to put together a programme when you’re not really sure if you are going to get the invite or not or if your application is going to be accepted. But from the way we’ve raced overseas we’ve shown the ASO and RCS that we are willing to come over here and race and I think that’s going to help the invites come a little easier in 2019.”

Image: Mario Stiehl
No place like home for Ryan Anderson …

After two years abroad racing for French Pro Conti team Direct Énergie, 31-year-old Ryan Anderson is back to where it all began. The Alberta-born, British Columbia-resident returns to Rally after five seasons spent with Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies since 2009, and it’s a move he’s happy to make for both personal and professional reasons.

RELATED: Ryan Anderson returns to Rally Cycling

“For me it’s good,” Anderson told CCM. “I’ve enjoyed all the things I did at Direct Énergie, but off the bike it makes life easier for me. I’m happy to be here and excited to be a part of this team trying to grow in Europe, and try to share the experience I did pick up at Direct Énergie or Spidertech.

“I’ve kind of done the spectrum,” he continued. “I’ve come over to Europe for really small teams and been on a really big team — a bit of everything.”

A veritable workhorse, Anderson is a bonafide road captain with experience racing — and finishing — a Grand Tour, the 2016 La Vuelta a España, as well as racing both Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders earlier that same year.

“I was very fortunate at Direct Énergie to do all the Classics, to do a Grand Tour,” he explained. “Those experience in races, especially in the spring when we had a lot of hard race days, but that’s normal, but when you come over from North America for the first time it feels a like a big jump into the deep end.<

“For me, my role, I hope to keep being reliable for the team and support some of the young guys with different ambitions,” Anderson concluded. “I still have personal ambitions. I still want to chase and I think this team allows me to do that as a well.”

Image: Mario Stiehl
Consistency is key for Adam de Vos …

The season’s start seems like a lifetime ago for 24-year-old Adam de Vos, who after kicking of the new year racing in Spain, UAE and Holland, found himself in the yellow leader’s jersey for two days in Malaysia after winning Stage 2 at Le Tour de Langkawi (2.HC) in March.

RELATED: Adam de Vos slips into yellow with solo stage win at Le Tour de Langkawi

Since then, de Vos added strong performances at Tour of California, followed by a fourth-place finish at road nationals and a win immediately after at the Delta Road Race (1.2).

Stringing a complete season together is key for de Vos, who is targeting a strong finish for 2018.

“I had really good consistency on this last block of racing in Europe, which I haven’t really been able to accomplish before and I’m really happy with that,” he told CCM. “Heading into the WorldTour races in Montréal, Québec, I think I’d like to do some good results there or I might end up working for the team, whichever, but I think just ending the season on a high, which I kind of did last year with a win near the end of the season (Raiffeisen Grand Prix), but then I had some DNFs. So just wrapping up a more consistent year is on the agenda.”

‘Unfinished business’ for 2017 Canadian champion Matteo Dal-CIn …

Plagued by injuries and health issues, Matteo Dal-Cin finds himself healthy and happy and ready for a bit of redemption following a season last year’s Canadian road race champion just as soon put behind him.

RELATED: Matteo Dal-Cin powers to Canadian championship road race title

“Last season I came off a bit of a knee injury and had some bad luck with a chest infection at the beginning of this year, so form is finally coming around, which is nice where you are not racing just trying to survive, you’re actually an active participant and being able to do your job well,” the  27-year-old from Ottawa told CCM. “I got [Arctic Race] to finish up, Germany and then the WorldTours back at home. It’s a fantastic calendar the team has to close the season out and really looking forward to it.”

With the Deutschland Tour (2.1) on deck, followed by Grands Prix Cyclistes Québec et Montréal, Dal-Cin has his hands full in his final days racing this season, but that is not stopping the 2015 Grand Prix Cycliste de Saguenay (2.2) from looking ahead for another run at the national title.

“Yeah, didn’t have the season I hoped for in [the national champion’s jersey],” admitted Dal-Cin, who did not finish this year’s Canadian road race due to “decent, but not great legs” on the day. “So I’ve definitely got some unfinished business.

“I would love to do it justice.”

Aaron S. Lee is a journalist for Eurosport and contributor to Canadian Cycling Magazine