RTS rider proves it’s never too late to chase UCI team contract
This week has seen a productive, successful few days for RTS Racing’s Lee Rodgers, who has been one of the most aggressive riders in the Tour de Taiwan and who ended Thursday’s sixth stage wearing the green jersey of points classification leader.
The 39 year old Englishman went on the attack on Monday’s third stage, joining forces with Shinichi Fukushima (Terengganu Racing) and trying to stay clear until the end.
He finished towards the front on the following day, then attacked again on stages five and six, collecting points in the intermediate sprints and riding his way into the green points jersey.
“So far the Tour de Taiwan has been pretty good, the stages are quite short (the longest at 137km) so the racing has been full on most days, which suits me,” he told VeloNation this week. “I’d much rather blast it and at least know I’ve been in a race at the end than sit in all day.
“I got into a 100km break with Fukushima on stage three and despite our best efforts we got caught with six to go, then spat out the back…so the GC chances went.
“Next day I managed eleventh – and in a bunch sprint, unheard of! – in my ‘home’ town of Taichung on a hill I train on twice a week, which was a nice moment. Then on stage five, yesterday, somehow I ended up in another stage-long break with Abbas of Azad. We had 127km together in windy conditions, only to be caught in last two kilometres.”
Realising that he was getting closer to the green jersey, he decided to give it another go on Thursday.
“I had a look at the points classification last night and realized that I was sneaking up on the leader, Feng Chung Kai (Action Cycling Team), who had 23 points. I had a haul of thirteen after stage five,” he explained afterwards. “So to get the green jersey would mean me taking the two sprint points, worth five points each, today and he getting nothing from them.”
The odds of one rider getting top points and another completely missing out appeared unlikely, but that’s how things played out. “I joked this morning with my team that my only chance would be to go for another huge break. They laughed for quite some time. But then, well, when Ali of Azad took off after about three kilometres into the 129km stage I hit it and chased after him with Anuar Manan. I took the first sprint point, then the second, and though we got caught with three kilometres to go I learnt at the line that I’d won green.”
Rodgers ended the day exactly level on points with Feng Chung Kai, but got the jersey on countback of intermediate sprint victories. He said that as a non-sprinter, he was thrilled by what had happened, and that he’d fight to defend his lead on Friday’s final stage.
“We’ll do our best to defend tomorrow. The onus is on Action to gain points, and with the GC so close there might be more going on to distract everyone. It’s definitely better to be in green than chasing it.”
[Editor’s note: Rodgers subsequently defended the green jersey, winning the competition when the race finished earlier today.]
Unusual career pattern:
Most riders competing with UCI teams start young, gradually develop, become stronger, clock up good achievements as young riders, turn pro and have a career of several years.
While there are exceptions, many riders retire in the mid thirties.
Rodgers is very different, and that’s why his story is an interesting one. His long, complicated path to the Asian peloton started in Britain in July 1987, the day after Stephen Roche fought back on La Plagne, and resulted in some local success. However his commitment didn’t last too long. “I raced for a couple of years, but then life got in the way, I guess.
“I quite happily went off to university and travelled. I had a great time, worked as a scuba diver in Thailand for a year, went to Japan for ten years.
“Then maybe about four years I decided to lose some weight. I was a bit fat and I bought a cheap Trek , doing a bit of training. I did a fifty kilometre sportif and I kind of won. I did another one and then the competitive juices started to flow again. Before I knew it, I was racing all over Japan, travelling up to sixteen hours per race.”
Realising that his late arrival to the sport was an interesting story and also having an aptitude for some very creative writing, Rodgers contacted several publications and began freelancing. That brought him deeper into journalism and also further into the sport itself.
Having returned to cycling after a near-twenty year absence, he showed steady improvement on the bike and has got to the point where he’s fighting for a major jersey in the 2.1-ranked Taiwan race.
Rodgers believes part of the reason he is going well now is because he dug so deep at the start of the year.
“Langkawi was obviously good for the legs but I think the real foundation for my current form was Oman and Qatar,” he said. “It was like the Uber-Camp. Amazing what getting your legs ripped off by Boonen, Cancellara at al will do for you!”
Click on the image below to watch a video interview with Rodgers, filmed at the recent Tour de Langkawi. He talks about his background, his very unusual re-entry to the sport, his aims for 2012 and also his impression of the expanding race scene in Asia.