Dolphinholme Road Race.
The the Tour De Pyrenees in our legs the team were keen to continue to build out for in the run up to the Tour of Britain. The Dolphinholme Road Race was to be our first event back after a short rest. With 6 riders present at the start the pressure was on to take the win. Team Raleigh didn't disappoint and rode a fantastic race to take the win. It was the young and talented Richard Handley that took the honors with a fine solo win.
Click here to read the BC report and see the photos.
Portugal.
When we stepped off the plane it was like walking in to a fan oven. The temperature here was consistently in the high 30's. The mountainous terrain and Portugal's finest riders were not all we would have to worry about, it would be a constant battle against dehydration.
Day one of the race was a 5km prologue TT finishing up a tough 1km climb. Been the polar opposite of a time trial specialist, I rolled over the line a minute or so down on the winner. I was just glad to get the stage over with so I could start with the real racing.
Day two was a 160km flat/rolling day. The wind was not strong so there would be no impact on the overall today. I wanted to use the tour to build my road form back up after nothing but crits for a month and a half so, I got my self in a breakaway. It was not to be though as the yellow jersey group wanted to keep everything together. Most of my team mates gave it a go too but they all endured the same fate. The race ended as the leader intended it, with a big bunch kick.
Day three was a real test. It was up and down all day for 150km with a few categorized climbs, including a 1st cat climb towards the end of the stage. I once again attacked the race and tried for the early move. The peloton was happy to let it go until it grew in size to around 15. With too many riders in the break the team of the yellow jersey shut the break down. Once the race hit the category one climb it was down to our GC man, Dan Fleeman. I held on for as long as I could but was dropped 2km from the top of the climb. I took the rest of the stage easy to save my legs for the next day. Dan did a great ride to stay with the leaders and climbed in to the top 10.
Day four was up and down all day. There were no huge climbs but strong winds and very little flat over 170km would take it's toll. With the time that I had loosed I though it would be a great opportunity for a break to finally stay clear. I raced hard form the gun and got in what looked to be the break of the day. Around 10 of us got a gap of around a minute. However, the team of the yellow jersey saw an opportunity to take time on GC. With me up the road the peloton was been whittled down to around 50 guys in the cross winds. Because of this increased pace the break was brought back. I spent the rest of the stage looking after Fleeman with the aim of keeping him fresh for the tough day ahead.
The final day was a 100km circuit race around a tough 10km mountainous corse. The goal today was simple, try to move Fleeman as far up GC as possible. The pace was relentless from the first time up the climb with guys going out the back every lap. With two laps to go I was going to try and launch Fleeman off the front on the climb. I took him in to position and then just before the steepest part, I attacked with Dan on my wheel. I managed to hang on to the remains of the peloton until the final lap. Unfortunately Fleemans attack was brought back but, it was good to be one of the few teams brave enough to have ago at what seemed and invincible team. Dan finished the race in 15th position overall, just 1 minute 30 off the win.
I was really happy with how the tour went for me, as I was just there to help Dan and get my road legs back. I got stronger and stronger everyday and managed to finnish a very difficult race where almost half the field didn't finnish. I'm now looking forward to building on my road form in time for the Tour of the Pyrenees in August.
Tour Series. Final Week.
Chester.
The penultimate round of the Tour Series took place in-front of an estimated 10 thousand people in the city of Chester. It was another beautiful day for the riders to tackle the hour long criterium round the cobbled streets. We faced an even tougher challenge than usual, as Team Raleigh were one of only 5 British teams to take part in the Irish Tour Series over the weekend our legs were a bit heavier than usual.
Team Raleigh was very much on the offensive with a man in all the major breakaways. Attacks were going and been brought back all the time. It wasn't until about 40 minutes in to the that hour long race that a break away was looking like it would stick. Both Dale Appleby and myself were present in the 12 man escape group which would fight out the win.
With only a few laps remaining Enduras, Jack Bauer went solo from the group to take the win. It was all drama behind though as two Rapha Condor riders in the escape crashed on the final bend, stalling us Raleigh riders sprint. Dale managed to salvage 8th place on the night while I crossed the line in 11th.
Behind the break away the Peloton, unaware of the crash, went in to the corner flat out hitting the fallen riders. James Stewart managed to stay upright and crossed the line giving Team Raleigh 3rd place on the night. It was a great performance by the team as we edged ever closer to 4th place overall.
Woking.
The 10th and final round of the Tour Series took place under sunny skys in Woking. The team were in high spirits with intention of jumping Pendragon and Sigma in the overall rankings.
The race was flat out from the gun and an early split saw 10 riders slip off the front. Team Raleigh's Dale Appleby and myself tried to bridge but were marked out by the other teams battling for the 4th place spot. A few more laps in and the peloton began to settle down after the fast start. With no Pendragon or Sigma riders in the breakaway Team Raleigh decided not to ride the break back and save energy for the finnish.
With around 10 laps left the fast pace of the peloton had whittled the peloton down to no more than 25 riders. The team were riding well with 4 riders still remaining in the group. The team decided to put there number to good use with 5 laps remaining and I jumped off down the road. Sigma immediately reacted and closed the gap with just one lap remaining. Coming in to the sprint for the line Raleigh managed to place all 3 of there riders in the front. It was an anxious wait to see if we had done enough to move up in the overall. When the results came in Team Raleigh had just missed that 4th spot by 2 points but had moved up to 5th overall. I also managed to hold on for 3rd overall in the Boardman Bikes Sprint Competition.
The Tour Series had been a good showing for Team Raleigh with a podium place in Chester, 2 sprint wins on the night, led the sprints overall for 4 rounds and managed 5th overall. The team were always in the action and are looking forward to competing again next year.