Twice a winner in his debut pro season, Andy Fenn (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) has said that he hopes to get further opportunities to chase victories in 2012.
“I would like to get another win somewhere,” he told VeloNation this week, while also accepting that he must accept the tasks given to him at this point in time. “I will keep on doing what is asked of me, and hopefully an opportunity will be given to me again.”
The 21 year old Briton made a dream start to his professional racing career when he won both Trofeo Palma de Mallorca and Trofeo Migjorn in Spain in February. That came after he made the switch to the big leagues this year after competing in 2011 with the An Post - Sean Kelly Continental team.
Thus far, he’s found the step up to be relatively straightforward. “I sort of knew what to expect from riding with An Post last season. They had a similar race programme to what I have done this year so far, so it didn't feel I was getting thrown in at the deep end,” he explained.
That programme may have similarities but the squad is very different. Omega Pharma-Quickstep is currently the number one team on the UCI’s WorldTour ranking system, after a highly successful start to the season. This includes Tom Boonen’s recent victories in both Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders.
“The level is that bit higher, so it really is a team effort to get the win,” he said, when asked about the differences to last year. “Even including the team staff as well, all the small things make the difference; everything is taken care for in a team like this. I knew this team would be good, but to be part of the number one team in the world at the moment is probably the biggest surprise.”
After a series of races in Belgium, Fenn is currently enjoying a small break, which he admits feels a bit strange so early in the season. Some stage races which are yet to be confirmed should be on the horizon for the youngster, in which he hopes to continue the teams successful run.
As he said, he hopes to clock up more wins this year if the opportunity arises. Until then, he’ll help the more established riders and try to build his experience. He admits that being surrounded by stars such as Tom Boonen and Tony Martin can’t hurt his chances of learning and improving too.
“You pick up a lot,” he said. “Especially from the races in Belgium, with a lot of it down to positioning and looking after yourself. Also how the team rides together, so when mistakes are made it's easier to see what we did wrong and learn from them. But you also learn a lot from watching the other riders from different teams as well.”
Being British, there was some degree of surprise when his signing last year was announced. Many would have expected him to join Team Sky, the only British World Tour team.
He said that discussions happened with both . “There were talks with Sky; however I was very interested in joining Omega Pharma – Quickstep, and my manager Paul de Geyter helped a lot in that. I thought it would be a great fit for me, especially considering the types of races I want to target in the future. I can learn a lot here.”