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A Langkawi Journal: Kiwi champ; Can Charteau; Huff speaks

By Jason Sumner, VeloNews.com
Published: Feb. 7, 2007
Dean sports the black-and-white of New Zealand's road champ
Dean sports the black-and-white of New Zealand's road champ
Photo: Jason Sumner

You could never tell by talking to him, but Julian Dean is a man under the gun. New Zealand’s reigning national road race champion is in the final year of his contract with Crédit Agricole and knows he needs to perform if he wants keep his place with the French ProTour team. But instead of worrying too much about the future, Dean remains the same laid-back rider that made him a fan favorite on the U.S. Pro circuit during his days with Mercury and U.S. Postal.

“It’s the first race of the season so some guys have done a bit more prep than others,” said the soft-spoken Dean on the morning of stage 6 of the 2007 Tour de Langkawi. “I’ll have more chances later in the year.”

Indeed, while Dean hasn’t played a major factor thus far in the Malaysia national tour (he’s finished top five in just one of five bunch sprints) he remains convinced that given the right opportunity he can still be competitive with the world’s best.

After Langkawi, Dean will meet up with his wife and then fly to their European base in Valencia, Spain. From there he’ll tackle Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Ghent-Wevelgem and Paris-Roubaix.

Dean works for Charteau here at Langkawi
Dean works for Charteau here at Langkawi
Photo: Jason Sumner

“Hopefully I can get some results so I can get my contract figured out around the time of the Tour de France,” said Dean who will again serve as primary Tour Shepard for teammate and sprinting star Thor Hushovd.

Dean’s role in Malaysia has varied from day to day, but with teammate Anthony Charteau in the leader’s jersey he’s spending a lot of time riding at the front. He was given one reprieve for the dead flat stage 4 run along the South China Sea. But after “cocking up the sprint by waiting too long,” team manager Denis Roux informed Dean he would need to sacrifice himself the rest of the way to save his team’s climbers for stage 8’s crucial ascent up into Genting Highlands.

“It’s a mistake I haven't made for a long time but there’s no excuse,” explained Dean who settled for fourth on stage 4. “I didn’t come here wanting to spend a bunch of days on the front, but you do what you have to do. We have the jersey and we’re going to defend it.”

No matter what happens this year, Dean says his big long-term goal is the Olympic road race at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. After that he says a return to the racing full-time in the U.S. is possible.

“I miss the lifestyle of racing there,” admitted Dean who broke in with Mercury in 1998. “It’s a little more casual and a little easier. Less stress. But I would never have done it any other way. I’m glad I went to America and then came to Europe. It was a good road for me to take.”

Race Notes
Game Over? With a four-minute lead and a strong team behind him, Anthony Charteau looks a solid bet to become the first Frenchman to win the Tour de Langkawi. But at least one rider doesn’t believe the race is over yet. Reigning champion David George (South Africa) knows personally the toll stage 8’s climb to Genting can take on a rider, and he’s not yet convinced Charteau will be up to the task.“He’s clearly a good rider but whether or not he can follow all the moves remains to be seen,” said George. “Plus I think the guys who could help him on the climb are having to work too much during the flat stages. I definitely still think there is a chance for someone else to win the race.”If Charteau does falter, there are 21 riders within five minutes who could jump on the opportunity. While five minutes might seem like a lot, Genting is one of those climbs that can rapidly take huge chunks of time.“In the words of Mike Creed, you can throw a water bottle seven seconds on that climb,” said Slipstream’s Timmy Duggan who is currently just seven seconds away from a spot in the top five of the overall right now.”

Huff describes the joys of sprinting in Malaysia
Huff describes the joys of sprinting in Malaysia
Photo: Jason Sumner

Closing in
Ever quotable Slipstream sprinter Brad Huff posted his best finish here yet on Wednesday, grabbing third in stage 6’s sprint finish into Cukai. Afterwards the 28-year-old Missourian gave a colorful assessment of the race’s final moments.“It was another stupid, insane sprint finish in Malaysia with every guy and his brother thinking they can sprint,” said Huff, who has been critical of the variable skill levels competing in Langkawi. “I just was sick of it and pulled an American crit’ move in the last two corners, and moved up 20 spots. I just came in hot and kept it hot. I went through a couple people. A Unibet guy said I almost killed him, but you know what, I’ve almost died everyday so I was sick of it. I didn’t even touch him. I just came out of the last corner too far back and was only able to sprint up to the second place guy. I probably went from eight to three. It was strung out pretty severe and I had to go from the far left to the far right. I’m happy considering how shelled I am.”

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