Rasio Racing - A force to be reckoned with

Imagine this. After the usual start, where everyone sprints out the pen, you've made the front group. The pace is high, but you are confident in the draft. Within limits now. You start to notice who else is in the group. And when you start looking around, not one, not two, but five or six riders are in black jerseys with orange helmets. And you realize you've ended up in a group where half the riders are in the same team. Not only that, they are coordinated, they attack in turns, and try to play to each other's strength. This scenario is becoming more and more frequent on RGT and is the reason why Rasio Racing is so difficult to compete against. 

All of the team members are capable of winning a race, none of them are afraid to work for each other. Together they are harder to beat, than most individual riders on RGT. With the addition of Andrzej Krajewski, who ended third in the Tour de Monde, the team also has a top, top climber, and seems like the Team Ineos of the RGT platform. 

In our minds were are a pro team, only the paycheques seem to have got lost in the post, along with the keys to our flats in Monaco. 

The team consists of the following members

Jørgen van Bers (DS) – Netherlands – the brains and the steady engine behind the Rasio operation

Alex Pleger – Germany – the master drafter with a sting in his tail that has stripped wins from many in the closing meters, when his kitchen isn’t on fire.

Andrzej Krajewski – Poland – the mountain machine, high milage suffer lover, recent podium in TdM GC

Ben Haman-Philips – Wales – the TTT anchorman, flat land power specialist, holder of the Rasio Racing Inaugural Club Championship trophy

Mark Rowbottom – England – the TT engine being molded for team super domestique duties, IRL national hill climber.

Joris Schepers – Belgium – lithe mountain man who also does well on the rolling hills and sprints, a man for all seasons.

Nick Greenhalgh – England – heavier old diesel engine, with a love for pain forged in too many years playing rugby, and an improving sprint finish, specialist rolling hill courses.

None of us have ridden together in real life, but one day we will.

We met Nick Greenhalgh of the team, to a chat on the team's history and future.  

"Having spent much of the summer and autumn battling each other on Alex's Crit Series, Vive La France, Westerley, and of course the gateway race drug that is SSR Betteshanger, frequently jostling places on crossing the line. The team all knew of each other in the virtual arena that is RGT racing. However, it was Mike Lister's Team Time Trial competition (MRETT) that proved to be the glue that bound a disparate international band of unsigned riders together, forming Rasio Racing late last October. After one of Alex's crits, Mark asked if I was putting a team together to consider him, I hadn't been planning to, but it made sense.  Ben and Bers, as other members, popped straight into my mind. Alex was quickly signed as the 5th member, and finally, negotiations went well and Joris was lured in with promises of a flat in Monaco. Later in the year, we created an opening for a specialist climber to join and reeled in Andrzej."

Andrzej Krajewski with his finisher's
certificate of the Tour de Monde

"The evenness of our abilities suited the MRETT competition, we started well, never falling from the podium on any of the stages, claiming victory in our first team foray. It wasn't easy, there were a few practices, and even a wake-up call from Belgium to Wales to ensure the start line was complete one Saturday morning. None of us have ridden together in real life, but one day we will."

You are one of the most prolific teams on the platform. How do you think that the team element contributes to the racing? 

"The team element really enhances what we get out of RGT. Especially as we are all flowing in and out and back into lockdowns, having the team aspect has been really enjoyable. Though our individual rider times are similar for rolling courses, we have definite flat land and mountain specialists. This means, depending on the race, we are able to mount attacks on our terms and try and assist each other when we know one or more riders have a better chance. If they win, Rasio wins. If not, well we tried, and we go again in the next race.  It worked pretty well for us in the recent TdM series, where we achieved a solid 2nd place, out-gunned only by Glasgow United CC who chomped great chunks of time out of Rasio in the 3 lengthy mountain stages."

"RGT, and the awesome community that has formed around the open and rich racing options it provides, is keeping a lot of us sane and entertained, and also healthier."

Nick Greenhalgh shows that it is not only on
RGT the riders of Rasio are capable of winning

 It isn't by coincidence you often feel like you are outmaneuvered when racing with Rasio. They are talking tactics while racing, which means they always know when to push and when to let go.

"Using the Discord race radio, makes it easier to coordinate attacks and mid-race strategies, some days it works; others the field can be too strong and it can end up every man for themselves, but often we help each other out, stringing out a group, dropping back, or telling Joris to calm his attacks."

The team is a unit in the races, as well as in every day, where they push each other's limits. 

"We are weekend warriors, though more and more we are really all week warriors and rest days are getting less and less frequent, often used for an FTP test. In our minds were are a pro team, only the paycheques seem to have got lost in the post, along with the keys to our flats in Monaco. In addition, we have to sluice out our own pain-caves and tell our partners that being a soigneur is a privilege.  Lots of great cycling banter as we live out our dreams on the pixels."

Do you have any future aspirations for the team? 

"Yes, Ben has been carefully examining his previous rides around South Wales and is the mastermind behind the 5 stages ‘Taith de Cymru’  tour taking place 6th of March -10th of March. Our aspirations are a little rude, in that whilst we are hosting it, we also want to win it.  As well as this, we will continue to work together in several other RGT series that are running at the moment, including the Thursday Crit Series that Alex organizes, the official RGT WRS series, where several of us have completed every stage, Westerley VR Series 2, the Wingman Cup, also Mark and Alex have been putting in some good performances in the Echelon Racing League. All that said, one of our main aspirations is to take off the now trademarked Wattbike black kit and orange helmet and have our own team kit on RGT. Alex has been working on some excellent designs to freshen up the Rasio Racing brand."

Jørgen van Bers of the team

The only worry with such a strong team is, who are the real competitors going to be? In TdM, Glasgow C.C won the team GC, but it is safe to say, that with the addition of Krajewski, Rasio now has all ends covered, and it seems like they are miles ahead of any other team on the platform.