Lotto-Ridley set to strike: Hansen

The 30-year-old followed Greipel to Omega Pharma-Lotto this year and says it took time to adjust to what was only his second career team after leaving the now defunct HTC-Highroad with whom he turned pro with in 2007.

Hansen is set to stick with the German sprinter until 2013 with Omega Pharma-Lotto splitting into two teams from next season.

The self-confessed outdoor junkie says following a new program, after being fed a diet of largely stage races in recent years had an effect on his season, that did not include leading-out Greipel in what was the German’s Tour de France debut in July.

“The season hasn’t been totally ideal,” Hansen told Cycling Central of his 80-race-day year.

“I never knew that it would be such a huge difference going from one team to another team. When you kind of think about it, it does take time for sports directors to understand what type of rider you are, what races suit you well and it’s very easy for people to categorise a rider and say: He’s that, that’s it.

“It just took a bit more time than normal with Omega Pharma-Lotto but in the end things were really good. I started doing more stage races and that really showed the team that I’m worth the value that they put into me. I’m really looking forward to the next few years with them.”

Hansen found himself riding for one sprinter, instead of several, this season and returning to unfamiliar classics territory with the latter, he says, contributing toward his Tour non-selection.

“I knew I wasn’t going, just how I was racing the classics, so in that sense it was bad luck for me I didn’t make the team,” Hansen said.

“With HTC I mixed with who I worked for. When I started with HTC it was always with (Mark) Cavendish and then I started working with (Andre) Greipel but I’d still do the odd race with Cav.

“When I came to Omega Pharma-Lotto it was just Greipel. Greipel did well at the Tour Down Under and because the UCI points system is you get a car position based on your best rider, Greipel did a lot of the classic races so the team had a car position for Flanders, Roubaix, Gent-Wevelgem and stuff like that.

“I think my mistake was to say that I’d just do the same program as Greipel. Those types of races weren’t ideal for me and I was hopeless at them.

“The team looked at me differently and then, for me, it was hard to come back to the level I was at and try and do a turnaround.

“I sort of paid for it in the middle of the season and towards the end, when all that was finished I got into a better routine for stage races things came good.”

Fierce sprint train for 2012

Omega Pharma-Lotto adopted a two-prong attack at the sprint-friendly classics and the Tour this year taking Ardennes king Philippe Gilbert as well as Greipel, who also transferred from HTC at the end of the 2010 season to chase his own opportunities.

The strategy was a success with both riders winning Tour stages but it meant Greipel had arguably less support than some of his sprint rivals who entered the Tour with teams built solely around them.

The dual focus sometimes saw Greipel forced to launch his sprint much earlier than rivals or, as was the case at Milan – San Remo, work for Gilbert if things did not pan out for himself.

Hansen said the team would be built more around Greipel next year.

Gilbert is departing for BMC Racing and the addition of Lars Bak and New Zealand sprinter Greg Henderson to the team will also give the outfit additional firepower in sprint battles on the world stage.

In addition, Greipel and Hansen will be armed with the confidence that comes after a year of customization.

“In the Tour he (Greipel) always sprinted from way back and he (was) always faster, he needed a lead-out,” Hansen said.

“Okay, that’s sort of our fault for not being in the Tour and maybe the team didn’t know what he was capable of. I think next year will be better and next year they’re going to have more riders for him at the Tour.”

The loyal workhorse

Hansen led the Omega Pharma-Lotto team at last week’s Jayco Herald Sun Tour that doubled as just his eighth ever race in Australia. His Sun Tour debut also marked the first time he’d been to a race without a sprinter.

“I can do things in the final but normally I never get a chance to,” the 2008 national time-trial champion said.

Hansen, who has been based in the Czech Republic for five years, has competed at the Tour Down Under three times and the Australian national championships four – finishing on the podium in three of those.

The two-time Crocodile Trophy champion plans to enter next season with the same goal as this year – supporting Greipel – but he is in talks with team sports directors to compete in stage races he grew up on with HTC and where he found his niche.

“I don’t really have that many personal ambitions in the sport,” said Hansen, who began cycling in an effort to improve what he says was his worst leg in triathlon.

“I enjoy being a worker, I enjoy helping people and I’ve got no problem doing that. I don’t really like the spotlight so it’s good to be working in that sense.

“I think I do that (lead-outs) very well, it’s probably one of the better things I can do.

“It’s just that with the classics, I have no real knowledge of the roads there. I started cycling late and when I joined T-Mobile they tried it with me and they saw straight away that I have no knowledge of the roads.

“All these guys, even before they turn professional, as an under-17, they race in those streets. Okay, the races aren’t so long but they do the same climbs and as they get older, the races get bigger but they do the same climbs so they all know the roads, the corners, where to be in front, where to sit back and save energy.

“For me, I turned pro at 25, I just had no knowledge at all. I’d be on the front fighting for position and guys would be sitting at the back resting.

“When T-Mobile did that then they realised I wasn’t a classic rider, they took me out and I was doing stage races, more supporting riders and making sure they save as much energy for the final. That was my job and also the lead-outs.”

Returning to homes

The Czech Republic is now just as much home to Hansen as his native Queensland.

“I actually spent the whole summer there this year,” he said of the country that fits with his love for the outdoors.

Hansen returns to Europe for a team training camp from November 23 in Belgium. He will spend most of the European winter at his overseas base where cross country skiing and hiking are all part of pre-season training.

“Most winters I have almost 10 weeks not touching the bike,” said Hansen, who trains regularly with European riders also in the region.

“Sometimes I’ll train three days just before a training camp, get some bike rhythm and go to the training camps.”

Lotto-Ridley is applying for top-tier status ahead of next season.

Follow Sophie Smith on Twitter: @SophieSmith86