The slick looking Masi Kenda/5 Hour Energy team bike for this season(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
The team uses a cool magnetically attached water bottle from Vincero Design(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
Getting ready to roll out for a long day on the road(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
Frankie Andreu brings years of experience to the team for another year of directing(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
The boys laugh it up before hitting the road(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
Roman Kilun makes some adjustments to what will be his TT bike this year.(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
John Murphy is feeling better after his hand breaking crash at the Valley of the Sun stage race.(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
The team rolls out for more training miles(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
Not much for traffic out here but one must always be careful.(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
The team forms up for some paceline work. (Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
Frankie Andreu spends hours keeping an eye on the guys while out riding(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
Speeds pick up as peer pressure grows.(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
Kenda/5 Hour Energy is ready for another successful season after the week in Tucson.(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
Luca Damiani is another returning team member from last season(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
Phil Gaimon is back for another season on the bolstered team(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
The team's camp(Image credit: Veronika Lenzi)
The homestead(Image credit: Veronika Lenzi)
Phil Gaimon heads up the climb(Image credit: Veronika Lenzi)
The Kenda/5 Hour Energy team rides in Tucson, Arizona(Image credit: Veronika Lenzi)
The Kenda/5 Hour Energy team gets rolling(Image credit: Veronika Lenzi)
Andy Jacques-Maynes (Image credit: Veronika Lenzi)
Andy Jacques-Maynes joins the Kenda/5 Hour Energy team(Image credit: Veronika Lenzi)
Paul Mach and his Kenda-5 Hour Energy teammates(Image credit: Veronika Lenzi)
John Murphy rides with a cast after a run-in with a car in the early seasonr acing(Image credit: Veronika Lenzi)
The team truck ready to roll(Image credit: Veronika Lenzi)
(Image credit: Veronika Lenzi)
John Murphy is ready to get back to racing the season in the US(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
The team got in lots of team building rides this week(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
The Kenda/5 Hour Energy team on the windy roads of Tucson(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
No time for the team to take in the desert sights this week. (Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
Like many teams, Kenda/5 Hour Energy presented by Geargrinder headed to a warmer climate for their pre-season training camp – Tucson, Arizona for eight days of training.
Before camp had even started the Kenda/5 Hour Energy team had already racked up a win with John Murphy in the time trial at the Valley of the Sun stage race. Unfortunately, the next day a car was directed onto the road during the stage and Murphy crashed into the suddenly stopped vehicle. The result was bruises and a broken hand. Murphy's teammate Chad Hartley took revenge with a win in stage 3's criterium.
Another Kenda/5 Hour Energy rider to stand on the top step of the podium is Phil Gaimon. He has already taken two wins this year: the Race for Humanity road race and the following day's criterium.
As expected, dialing in the new equipment and meshing the new riders with the returning ones are goals during the camp. And, of course, putting in the training miles is a big part of the agenda.
"We've been going out for four to five hours. At times we've split the team into groups to do some hard paceline training and some race simulations on a climb," explains director sportif Frankie Andreu. "We'll ride easy, but at three different points during the day we'll actually do some hard stuff for 30 to 40 minutes."
Off the bike, the riders have been getting a different type of training. In this modern day of instant news, Facebook and Twitter posts, the riders have had presentations regarding social media and how best to manage it.
"We've had a couple of professors from the University of Arizona talk about social media," said Andreu.
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"One of the biggest questions teams have is how do you balance the personality and originality of the rider with the image of the team?" says Andreu. "No one likes to read boring tweets and we like the fun of it, but we need to keep it decent - that's the balance the team is striving for."
The Kenda/5 Hour Energy squad has some new members for 2012. In addition to Murphy, Andy Jacques-Maynes joins the team from Bissell.
"I'm super excited to get him. He's a really consistent rider, which is a plus for us," said Andreu of Jacques-Maynes. "One of the reasons we brought him on was we needed more horsepower. He's a very good time trialist and descent in the mountains, but he can also do what's needed in the criteriums. Being that versatile appealed to us."
Jacques-Maynes describes how he became part of the Kenda/5 Hour Energy team.
"I was looking to stay with Bissell last year and wanted to stay with them, but they told me I needed to look for something else. It wasn't my choice, but it's not something I'm upset about either – it was time to move on," Jacques-Maynes says philosophically.
"I can't fault them, they didn't have the room to keep the same number of guys and I was on the short end of the stick. It happens in any industry, whether it's a job or bike racing. It happens, but I was lucky to find a ride with Kenda/5 Hour Energy and I'm pretty happy with that."
Andreu remarked how lean Jaques-Maynes looked at camp. The reason for this race-ready look was his participation in a 24-hour mountain bike race in October.
"To finish off last year's season I did the 24-Hours of Moab, solo, on a dare. I won it and that laid me flat on my back for a month, which was perfect as it was my normal off-season break."
After recovering from such a grueling race Jacques-Maynes discovered that he was a couple of steps up aerobically from where he had been before.
"I give credit for that due to the huge effort at the mountain bike race." That effort equaled over 400 kilometers on a mountain bike in a 24-hour span.
Jacques-Maynes calls central California home and his location is ideal training for the upcoming Amgen Tour of California.
"Stage 2 is 100 percent on home roads. I don't need a map – I know every inch of it, so I got that one dialed in. The other stages I've either ridden on training rides or as part of the (Amgen Tour of California) stages. This is a home race for me and I'd be thrilled to race it."
Of course, all domestic teams want to be invited to the Amgen Tour of California, a race whose stature on the international calendar has grown significantly. Kenda/5 Hour Hour Energy is no different.
"We're motivated and want to go, but we still don't know what's going on yet," says Andreu. "We're going to continue to prepare for the season, which includes the Amgen Tour of California and try to win some bike races early on."
John Murphy is returning to a domestic based team after two-years with BMC. The broken hand was only a temporary set-back for the former US pro criterium champion. He had been out on the bike wearing a cast with an extra wrapping of handlebar tape around the bars for the first days of camp. Fortunately the cast has since been removed.
"That's a big get for us too because of his sprinting ability," explains Andreu. "Also his leadership abilities will play a big part of that too."
The team will officially kick off their season at the Old Pueblo stage race in Arizona and then continue west for the San Dimas stage race and the Redlands Classic, both in California.
