Matrix Fitness GrandPrix 2017, Round 3 Northwich

In the women’s Matrix Fitness Grand Prix Series it remains Drops at the head of the Series, but there were new team and individual winners thanks to Emily Nelson and Team Breeze.

Run off in sunny and dry conditions, the women’s race came down to a bunch sprint, with Nelson taking her first win in the Series and Team Breeze riders filling three of the top six places.  The result extended Drops’ lead at the top of the standings, with Breeze moving into second spot and Team WNT falling back to third place.

 

Interview – Alice Barnes – Winner Lincoln GP 2017 by Cycling Shorts

Winner of the 2017 Lincoln GP; Alice Barnes of Drops Cycling chats to CyclingShorts.cc’s Chris Maher about her race. All content ©www.chrismaher.co.uk | CyclingShorts.cc Image by www.chrismaher.co.uk

1, Emily Nelson, GBR, Team Breeze, 19-laps, 41:43.905
2, Alice Barnes, GBR, Drops, + 0.127
3, Eleanor Dickinson, GBR, Team Breeze, + 0.190
4, Annasley Park, GBR, Drops, + 0.853
5, Amy Hill, GBR, Team OnForm, + 1.579
6, Megan Barker, GBR, Team Breeze, + 1.770
7, Rebecca Durrell, GBR, Drops, + 2.069
8, Lydia Boylan, IRL, Team WNT, + 2.593
9, Gaby Shaw, GBR, Team WNT, + 2.868
10, Charlotte Broughton, GBR, Team Ford EcoBoost, + 2.868

Emily Nelson, GBR, Team Breeze, 1:59.261

1, Drops, 284pts
2, Team Breeze, 277pts
3, Team WNT, 268pts
4, Team OnForm, 150pts
5, Storey Racing, 145pts

1, Rebecca Durrell, GBR, Drops, 94pts
2, Emily Nelson, GBR, Team Breeze, 93pts
3, Lydia Boylan, IRL, Team WNT, 84pts

1, Eleanor Dickinson, GBR, Team Breeze, 13pts
2, Alice Barnes, GBR, Drops, 13pts
3, Katie Archibald, GBR, Team WNT, 13pts

Chris Maher

Chris Maher

Photographer & Writer

Based in the North East of England; photographer Chris Maher specialises in sports photography with his main interests in Cycling and Super Bikes. Chris has covered sports events from local and national level right up to the Olympics for CyclingShorts.cc.
Website: www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Anna Magrath

Anna Magrath

Editor & Writer

Anna Magrath founded CyclingShorts.cc in 2008 and invited some of her cycling friends; coaches, photographers, writers and pro cyclists of different disciplines to join her, bringing you all things cycling related.

Over the years Anna has supported grass roots cycling events, riders and teams. Anna has a particular interest in Track, Road, womens cycling, recreational cycling and cycling related art. She has reported from the top cycle races on the world calendar including the Tour de France, Olympics, World Cups & World Championships.

Want to get involved? Why not get in touch.

CyclingShorts.cc are official sponsors of The Racing Chance Foundation, Team22 WRTTeam Jadan and cyclists Amy Gornall & Fraser Martin.

HSBC-UK British Cycling Spring Cup 2017 Rnd 1 | Klondike GP

HSBC-UK British Cycling Spring Cup 2017 Round 1 | Klondike GP

Hoping to carry his winning streak forward, Team WIGGINS Chris Latham takes the inaugural new Klondike GP, the opening race in the 2017 HSBC-UK British Cycling Spring Cup.

Latham travels to Hong Kong next weekend for the UCI Track World Championships April 12-16th missing round two of the four-race early season openers in the Spring Cup Series which moves South to Louth in Lincolnshire for the Tour of the Wolds another new edition.

A large crowd had assembled on Guisborough High Street to watch the one-hundred-and-forty rides get away on the one-hundred-and-forty-nine kilometre race at twelve-noon.

No sooner had the race officially started and a pile-up on the run-in-to Carlin How saw the race halted before re-starting some fifteen minutes later.

Riding an almost anti-clockwise direction the race re-joined the A171 Whitby Road near Scaling Dam before heading back down to the coast and north bound towards Saltburn-by-the-Sea.

Three rides went free Sam Harrison for Team WIGGINS, Dan Fleeman for Metaltek Kuota Racing Team and Charlie Tanfield for Brother NRG Driverplan quickly establishing forty-four seconds before joining forces.

As the gap grew to around a minute, Matt Holmes for Madison Genesis bridged across for the second lap and they extended their lead to over five minutes at one point.

Approaching the final lap, a matter of urgency saw the time drop below two minutes advantage before Matt Holmes was the only rider left out front.

The course, a tough start to the season according to local lad Harry Tanfield dwindled the Peloton by half and an attack by Hayden McCormick for One Pro Cycling on the run in was joined by Alistair Slater for JLT Condor, Liam Holohan for Metaltek Kuota Racing Team and Taylor Gunman for Madison Genesis.

With only a few kilometres remaining it looked like a bunch spring was inevitable with the victory going to Chris Latham by a narrow margin.

 

Results:

1: Chris Latham Team WIGGINS

2: Enrique Sanz Team Raleigh GAC

3: Harry Tanfield Bike Channel Canyon

 

U23: ZacMay Metaltek Kuota Racing Team

KOM: Charlie Tanfield Brother NRG Driverplan

Official Results by British Cycling

Chris Maher

Chris Maher

Photographer & Writer

Based in the North East of England; photographer Chris Maher specialises in sports photography with his main interests in Cycling and Super Bikes. Chris has covered sports events from local and national level right up to the Olympics for CyclingShorts.cc.
Website: www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Race Report & Gallery – Steve Cummings wins the Tour of Britain

All images ©www.CyclingShorts.cc | www.chrismaher.co.uk

Steve Cummings clinched overall victory in the Tour of Britain at the end of the London Stage presented by TfL, finishing safely within the bunch to seal the Yellow Jersey presented by Eisberg, as Caleb Ewan sprinted to victory.

The Brit, who took the jersey after Stage Six in Devon, crossed the line on Regent Street St James in 17th position as the bunch fought out the victory at the end of the 16-lap circuit race.

Cummings is the second British rider to win the modern incarnation of the Tour of Britain, following Sir Bradley Wiggins’ victory in 2013.  Cummings also wins the Adnams Best British Rider prize.

Behind Cummings there was no change on the overall classification, with BMC Racing Team’s Rohan Dennis second at 26-seconds and Team Giant Alpecin’s Tom Dumoulin third a further 12-seconds in arrears.

Lotto Soudal’s Tony Gallopin took fourth with 2014 Tour of Britain winner Dylan Van Baarle in fifth.  Team Sky’s Ben Swift was the other Brit in the top 10, finishing eighth.

 

Interview – Steve Cummings – 2016 Tour of Britain Winner by Cycling Shorts

2016’s Tour of Britain winner Steve Cummings of Dimension Data chats to the media post race. All content & Images ©www.CyclingShorts.cc | www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

I’m delighted. Finally I can smile and enjoy it. It’s been a tough week. It was so close that it wasn’t done until I crossed the line,” said Cummings afterwards

I’d to thank all my team-mates for keeping me out of trouble, and the British public for supporting every day like they have. It’s been a great week.

It’s a bit overwhelming, I just want to but a baseball cap on and a hood up and disappear now for a while and get back out of the way.

Steve Cummings

Tour of Britain 2016 Yellow Jersey Winner

Orica BikeExchange’s 22-year-old sprinter Caleb Ewan took his first win on British roads, becoming the ninth different stage winner of the week in a highly competitive Tour of Britain.  Lotto Soudal’s Jen Debusschere had taken a flyer coming through Trafalgar Square in the final kilometre and at one stage looked like holding his advantage to the line, but such was the speed of Ewan that the young Australian rocketed past, with Dylan Groenewegen also coming past for second.

Groenewegen’s runner up spot, his fourth top ten of the week, helped him into the Chain Reaction Cycles Points Jersey.

In the Yodel Sprints classification An Post Chain Reaction’s Jasper Bovenhuis took the jersey, joining the day’s breakaway once again to mop up the jersey after the first of three intermediate Yodel Sprints.  Bovenhuis’ final advantage was 12-points over Andre Greipel, but the German did win the overall HIGH5 Combativity Award in a week that saw him win a stage and on several occasions light up the Tour of Britain with his attacking riding.

With no SKODA King of the Mountains points on offer in London Xandro Meurisse enjoyed a final day in the jersey, adding that classification win to his seventh place overall.

Ian Stannard solos to victory in stage 3 of Tour of Britain

Ian Stannard soloed to a memorable stage victory in the beautiful surrounds of Tatton Park on the outskirts of Knutsford, as huge crowds lined the route of the first every Cheshire East stage of the Tour of Britain.

The Team Sky man won by nearly two-minutes from breakaway companions Graham Briggs and Kristian House, to lead a British 1-2-3 at the end of the 180-kilometre stage from Congleton, with the peloton racing in over five and a half minutes down.

Overnight leader Julien Vermote retained the Yellow Jersey presented by Eisberg and his six second lead over Steve Cummings, with the other main General Classification positions remaining unchanged.

Speaking afterwards, Stannard, who lives locally to the Stage Three route in Wilmslow said;

 

I was keen to get away. It’s always nice to win from a breakaway and go solo too. I really enjoyed it today. I knew I want to go over the top of the Cat and Fiddle with about five minutes on the peloton, we’d have a chance on the run-in then. I heard it went out but I didn’t know much more. I was just happy to be up there.

Ian Stannard

Team Sky

 

Interview – Ian Stannard Team Sky – Stage 3 Winner Tour of Britain 2016 by Cycling Shorts

Post race interview with Ian Standard of Team Sky after he soloed to a memorable stage victory in the beautiful surrounds of Tatton Park on the outskirts of Knutsford, as huge crowds lined the route of the first every Cheshire East stage of the Tour of Britain.

After being waved away in front of the biggest crowds of the week so far in the historic market town of Congleton, it was Matt Cronshaw of Madison Genesis who lit the race up, attacking as soon as the race was de-neutralised on the outskirts of town, taking Briggs, House and Stannard with him.

The break was down to three by the time it reached the second SKODA King of the Mountains climb of the Brickworks, with Cronshaw distanced and eventually swept up on the day’s final categorised climb of the Cat & Fiddle.

Over the top of that climb as the route navigated a series of false flats across the moors of the Peak District National Park Stannard went away,

 

Lunch Ride – Ian Stannard’s 178.6 km bike ride

EPIC RIDE, GREAT STAGE VICTORY, EXTREME KUDOS!!! managed to see rac4 times, at start Congleton, at KOM Alderley & bottom of Cat & up the little hill for Gawsworth from Fools Nook.

casting Briggs and House adrift to then contest their own race for second.

Stannard was long since finished and celebrating with family and his team as Briggs and Middlewich resident House fought out the battle for second, Briggs staying on the ONE Pro Cycling man’s wheel to come around House in the final metres for the runner-up spot.

Bardiani CSF’s Nicola Ruffoni led in the peloton for fourth, outsprinting Danny Van Poppel  and Ramon Sinkeldam, who pulled on the Chain Reaction Cycles Points Jersey.

Andre Greipel retains the Yodel Sprints jersey going into Stage Four in Wales, while Xandro Meurisse keeps the SKODA King of the Mountains jersey for a further day.  The Belgian enjoyed a day long tussle with Nicolas Roche for the remaining points at each of the three climbs, but only managed to extend his hold on the jersey by a solitary point.

 

All images ©CyclingShorts.cc | chrismaher.co.uk

Stage Four is the longest of the 2016 Tour of Britain, weighing in at 218-kilometres from Denbigh to Builth Wells, and also including 4,000-metres of ascent as the route wends its way south through Mid-Wales to the finish on the Royal Welsh Showground.

Stage 2 Tour of Britain 2016 – Julien Vermote wins in Kendal

The Etixx Quick-Step rider was among the survivors of a 15-rider breakaway on the 188-kilometre stage from Carlisle and was joined by Dimension Data man Cummings, who had broken away on the climb of The Struggle, and was an aggressive presence throughout the run in to Kendal.

 

I knew once the break it had gone it would be very difficult to catch us or if they did catch us they would have wasted a lot of energy as well.

Once I saw Cummings coming back I knew I had to stay in his wheel because once he gets a little gap he’s gone. We had good co-operation between us but I’m really glad I could take the Stage win.

 

Julien Vermote

Stage 2 winner & Yellow Jersey holder, Etixx Quick-Step

After starting in clear conditions in front of large crowds in Carlisle, the first half of the stage was run off in sunny conditions, with the strong 15-rider lead group containing overnight leader and Stage One winner Andre Greipel, Team Sky’s Nicolas Roche and Vermote.

Once through Keswick and over the second SKODA King of the Mountains climb of Chestnut Hill the rain and mist set in with the, much anticipated, climb of The Struggle out of Ambleside proving decisive.

 

 

Interview – Stage 2 Tour of Britain 2016 – Julien Vermote wins in Kendal by Cycling Shorts

Post race interview with Stage 2 winner and Yellow Jersey holder Julien Vermote of Etixx Quick-Step.

Dimension Data’s Mark Cavendish led the peloton onto The Struggle, just over a minute and a half down on the fracturing front group as Vermote and Roche went clear from the break with Xandro Meurisse, Bert-Jan Lindemann  and Trek Segafredo stagiare Jacopo Mosca.

First to bridge across was BMC’s former World Hour Record holder Rohan Dennis with an impressive ride, making six in front on the descent, with a chase group of ten led by Cummings and Ben Swift behind.  Under pressure from Cummings and Gallopin that group dissolved, with Cummings going on to make it across.

The Brit put in several attacks on the rolling Crook road from Windermere towards Kendal, with Vermote the only rider able to follow him.  The pair built a 40-second gap as they approached 5-kilometres to go, the majority of that work done by Cummings as with Dan Martin behind Vermote was content to bide his time until the finale on Beast Banks.

With Cummings leading up the climb, Vermote surged past on the outside as the gradient eased going into the final 200-metres, crossing the line with a 2-second advantage over Cummings, good enough for a six second lead overnight going into Stage Three in Cheshire.

The win was Vermote’s first since his victory in Brighton during the 2014 Tour of Britain, when he won alone at the end of another arduous stage.

I asked the team to come here, I knew it wasn’t originally in the programme but I knew there would be some opportunities,” said Vermote reflecting on his win.  “It’s an open race with only 6 riders per team so that makes it different to all the other races. It’s a really tough race though, small roads and up and down all day but I’m just really happy I took my chance.

Julien Vermote

Stage 2 winner & Yellow Jersey holder, Etixx Quick-Step

Behind Vermote on the General Classification is Cummings at six seconds, with Dan Martin third at 1-minute 04-seconds, before Meurisse, Swift and Tony Gallopin all a further four seconds in arrears, while only the top-12 riders remain within three minutes of the Yellow Jersey presented by Eisberg.

Stage One winner Greipel moved into the Yodel Sprints jersey after taking a clean sweep of the intermediate Yodel Sprints in Hesket Newmarket, Cockermouth and Grasmere, and Wanty Group Gobert’s Meurisse took the lead in the SKODA King of the Mountains jersey.

Stage Three sees Cheshire East host their first ever stage of the Tour of Britain, with Congleton hosting the start and Tatton Park outside Knutsford the stage finish, which the race will pass through at around 1pm, before returning for an expected finish at around 3.15pm.

All images ©CyclingShorts.cc | www.chrismaher.co.uk

Jadan Press Women’s Circuit Race Beverley 2016

All images ©www.chrismaher.co.uk | CyclingShorts.cc

 

Gabriel Shaw [Podium Ambition p/b Club La Santa] win’s the third Jadan Press Women’s Circuit Race in Beverley, East Yorkshire.

Pam Wainman Director of Jadan Press flagged the rolling start to the third-successive Jadan Press Women’s Circuit Race around the partly cobbled one-point-two-five kilometer circuit in Beverley town centre.

Flora Gillies [Team22WRT] set the initial pace over the line in a hotly contested forty-minute race shortly after seven in the evening.

The main group of fourteen riders settled down into the opening laps to the shouts of encouragement from a packed town centre audience. Ellen McDermott [Team Jadan-Weldtite] and Amy Gornall [Podium Ambition] setting the pace.

It wasn’t long before Gornall piled the pressure on gaining over fifty-meters on the chasing group.

Pam Wainman Director of Jadan Press flagged the rolling start to the third-successive Jadan Press Women’s Circuit Race around the partly cobbled one-point-two-five kilometer circuit in Beverley town centre.

They all came back together before Shaw pushed off the front and then being reeled back.

Gornall went once more stringing the eight-rider-group out and leading them over the line for the first sprint bonus prize, twelve laps remaining.

Gornall, Rosie Walsh [High On Bikes], Shaw, Sarah Bradford [Team Jadan-Weldtite], Gillies, Sarah King [Unattached], Rebecca Longthorp [Cliff Pratt Racing], Elizabeth Burrows [Team Jadan-Weldtite].

McDermott headed a group of four, now around thirty-seconds behind.

Pressure now being applied by Podium Ambition squeezed the lead group down to four rides with Bradford and King for company.

Gornall puts fifty-meters into the leaders with five laps remaining. Taking the second sprint bonus prize, Gornall leads across the line well ahead.

Chasing hard behind, Gilles puts another burst in to try and bridge across to the leaders.

Two laps remaining and Shaw joins Gornall out front.

With the bell lap being rung, Shaw and Gornall are the clear leaders with King in hot pursuit. Unable to hold the pace Bradford just misses out on a podium finish and Gilles sprints into fifth.

 

Reaction after the race.

Cycling Shorts: Was there a plan?

 

The plan was just to be aggressive.

Gabby

Podium Ambition

Just see how it went.

A couple of the other riders had a few of digs, we were just following to begin with. After the race had gone on for a few laps we started to rack it up a bit.

Amy

Podium Ambition

Cycling Shorts: What did you think of the course tonight here in Beverley?

It’s a great course, the cobbles really strung it out. You can put the power down over the cobbles – that was really good!

You can get out of sight, out of mind around the back through the little streets.

There’s quite a lot of support here in the town centre. It creates a good atmosphere.

It’s really good. People were shouting all the way round, especially on this backside out in the Sun. They were all enjoying it. It was really good.

Gabby

Podium Ambition

Provisional Race Results

 

  1. 18 Gabby Shaw Podium Ambition p/b Club la Santa
  2. 20 Amy Gornall Podium Ambition p/b Club la Santa
  3. 14 Sarah King @18
  4. 6 Sarah Bradford Team Jadan Weldtite @33
  5. 5 Flora Gillies Team22 WRT @1.03
  6. 16 Rosie Walsh High On Bikes @1.05
  7. 3 Rebecca Longsthorp Cliff Pratt Racing Same time
  8. 8 Ellen McDermott Team Jadan Weldtite @1.51
  9. 4 Sophie Thackray SunSport Velo Same time
  10. 13 Sarah Burke Team Jadan Weldtite Same time
  11. 19 Lucy Farquhar Holme Valley Same time
  12. 11 Hannah Righini-Brand Team Vertex-pedalpowersport.com Same time
  13. 7 Elizabeth Burrows Team Jadan Weldtite Same time
  14. 10 Louise Scupham Team Jadan-Weldtite @1 Lap

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