Peter Hawkins in his old Belgian team colours
Irish international Peter Hawkins has said Dan Martin’s father Neill was instrumental in helping him land his new UK pro contract and he is now looking forward to establishing himself on the UK scene in 2012.
The former national criterium champion said his new squad, Team IG-Sigma Sport, will also give him the chance to do a good ride in the An Post Ras in May and will be taking in a programme of races in Europe.
“The main targets for the team will be the Premier Calendar, the Halfords Tour Series, National Circuit Race Series and the Tour of Britain,” Hawkins told stickybottle.
“We'll also be riding slightly more foreign races than the team did last year and will hopefully be ending the season with the Herald Sun Tour in Australia.”
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“Personally I'm looking to establish myself on the UK scene by riding strongly in the Premiers and hopefully getting consistently good results in the crit series races. Also I'm naturally very motivated for the An Post Ras. I think with 2009 winner Simon Richardson and 2010 3rd place rider Dan Craven we should have a very strong team with a few different cards to play.”
Hawkins said given the strength of the team – which has just attracted IG Markets as a title sponsor – selection for many races will be far from a foregone conclusion.
“I'm looking forward to gaining more experience in the international racing and will be trying hard to get selected for the Tour of Britain in September,” he said.
Having only finalised his deal in late September, he already feels he has made the right move.
“The team seems to be very professionally run but also very friendly; I think they make a point of not hiring guys with big egos. In Matt Stephens we've got a manager who has a huge amount of experience and is also very approachable. I feel like I've really landed on my feet with this opportunity and I'm really keen to make the most of it. My training's been going really well so far and I'm very excited to get going.”
Hawkins raced last year with the amateur Belgian team Wielerteam Decock-Sportivo and lived in Kuurne in West Flanders. He was based abroad for three years, having originally gone to Belgium with Dany Blondeel’s Belgian Project.
“I’m very grateful to Dany for that,” he says.
The 26-year-old did a maths degree at Newcastle University before deciding to fully concentrate on cycling in 2008. He plans to base himself at home in Belfast in the early months of next year before moving to England for periods of the season when the racing there is more frequent.
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Delighted with his move to the new UK set-up, he says he has Dan Martin’s father Neill to thank for helping him make the contacts that secured his place in the team.
“I was introduced to Matt Stephens by Neil at the Olympic test event in August which I rode on the Irish national team. After riding for a Belgian team for the last three seasons I was keen to move somewhere where I'd have the opportunity to ride higher profile events. I was also looking for more variation in the type of racing that I was doing and where I could have more financial support.”
“I sent Matt a CV, we spoke a few times over the following weeks and I was offered a contract in September. It was a bit of a lifeline for me because I was having to seriously consider my future in the sport. So I'm very grateful to Neil for recommending me to the team and to Matt for putting faith in me.”
Hawkins takes in a three-day training camp with the team in Wales at the end of January and then a week-long camp in Tuscany in the third week in February.
The team kicks off its season in the UK on February 26th with the Clayton Velo Classic in Lancashire. The first international assignment comes relatively early, with the Paris Troyes UCI 1.2 in France on March 11th.
While the team’s calendar for the period leading up to the An Post Ras is dominated by UK events, also included are: Tour de Normandie (March 19th-25th); Cinturón Ciclista Internacional a Mallorca (March 29th-April 1st); the Ronde Van Noorde Holland UCI 1.2 (April 24th).
Some of the international races are listed as provisional fixtures in the team’s schedule. Like his team mates, Hawkins has not yet had absolute confirmation of his personal schedule.
It couldn’t be? A sticky bottle? Nah, the irony would be too delicious….
Riding for Ireland in the Lincoln GP 2011 (14th)
Team Sigma Sport Specialized (now IG-Sigma Sport) being introduced to the crowd at the Tour of Britain
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