Great weekend for U23s on the road - Bike Magic

Bike Magic - Mountain Bike News, Videos and Reviews. Keep up with the latest Biking Gear, Events and Trail Guides at BikeMagic.

Share

News

Great weekend for U23s on the road






Twickenham CC Road Race National Junior road Race Champion, Steve Cummings, rode
to a fine solo win in the first round of the National Under 23 road Race Series,
the Twickenham CC Road Race at Brill, on the Oxfordshire-Buckinghamshire border at
the weekend.



Cummings and his Lottery sponsored national squad team-mates, riding in their domestic
colours of Team Alsager/Addidas, dominated the race, taking four of the top five
placings.



The race took place in brilliant sunshine over a tough nine laps of constant climbing
and descending which rapidly sorted the contenders from the also-rans. Just two laps
into the race, the five Team Alsager/Addidas riders (Jamie Alberts, Dan Bridges,
Steve Cummings, Neil Swithenbank, Tom Southam) went on the attack, breaking clear
of the main bunch with five other riders – including Justin Hoy, Lee Finch, Robin
Sharman and Alexander Ross. By the start of the third lap, this group had a gap of
almost a minute on the rest of the field.



First to feel the pressure up front was Dan Bridges and he was ordered back to the
main group to police any chasers, by National Team Manager John Herety. For several
laps the leaders held the gap at two minutes, with several efforts to chase them
down failing to make any impact. However, at the start of the seventh lap, team Alsager/Addidas
went on the offensive again. Led by Tom Southam, they attacked one-by-one and broke
clear. Only Robin Sharman had the strength to go with them and by the end of the
lap the leading group had broken into two with Southam, Alberts, Swithenbank, Cummings
and Sharman riding away from the increasingly demoralised chasers.



With two laps to go, Steve Cummings made a spectacular solo attack off the front
and rapidly built himself a comfortable lead of over a minute. Descending at well
over 50moph at times and showing the strong rhythm of the fine time-trialist he is,
he never looked like cracking and simply rode away from his pursuers.



Pushed on via radio link by his manager, John Herety, Cummings was always in control
and rode in to the finish well over a minute clear of Jamie Alberts, who had also
managed to shake off the rest of the front group. Robin Sharman gained reward for
a brave unsupported ride, taking third from Neil Swithenbank in a sprint and Tom
Southam rounded off a good day at the office for the national squad coming in alone
in fifth.



Alsager/Addidas Team Manager John Herety admitted that his riders had not followed
their pre-race strategy, but was well pleased with the initiative and competitive
spirit they had shown: ÑWe had agreed to wait till half distance to see what developed,
but they are free to make their own minds up and judged the situation perfectly.
The slow pace early on, and the tough course, gave them the opportunity to apply
some pressure earlier than planned and it really paid off. Full credit to the rest
of the break for working with our lads, and to Robin Sharman in particular – he looked
very good and deserved his third place.â



With the team due to jet off to Germany for a tough Under-23 international race,
Herety pointed out the significance of the win for his riders: ÑTheir race programme
mixes quality domestic races with some really hard continental events where the opposition
is much tougher. Abroad they are learning how to race, how to finish races and how
to ride under pressure. At home they are expected to win and itÇs good for them to
learn what to do when they have that opportunity.â



National Team Coach, Ken Matheson, was also delighted with the performance of his
team: ÑWith the excellent support and training they have, thanks to Lottery funding,
they are always going to be under pressure to perform when they race in this country.
For them to dominate the race as they did is to their credit.â



Twickenham CC Road Race

Results

1. Steven Cummings (Team Alsager/Adidas)

2. Jamie Alberts (Team Alsager/Adidas)

3. Robin Sharman (Alysys Bradgate)

4. Neil Swithenbank (Team Alsager/Adidas)

5. Tom Southam (Team Alsager/Adidas)

6. Justin Hoy (Liphook Cycles)

7. James Griffiths (Linda Mccartney/WCU)

8. Lee Finch (Arctic 2000)

9. Daniel Lloyd (Raleigh Factory)

10. Alexander Ross (Desside Thistle)

11. Stephen Joseph (Gore Bike Wear)

12. James Shaw (Stourbridge CC)

13. Carl Freeman (High Wycombe)

14. Tom Rowan (Twickenham CC)

15. Peter Murdoch (Velo Eccosse)



Under-23 Rund um den Henninger Turm The Alsager/Addidas team dashed straight from
the finish of the Twickenham CC race to Heathrow airport, from where they flew to
Frankfurt for the Espoirs (Under-23) support race to the classic Rund um den Henninger
Turm. Using the same course as the classic race, including the 800 metre climb of
the Mammonshainer, it was a testing workout for the young riders, now sporting their
international GB colours.



Against strong local opposition and top under 23s from all over Europe, the young
GB riders (who are all 21 or under) put up a solid display riding in support of climber
Jamie Alberts. With excellent support from his team-mates, Alberts rode strongly
all day, but missed a crucial break of five riders which went early in the race.
This group swelled to 13 by the last lap, with a gap of 2 minutes over the rest of
the field. Alberts than attacked alone and attempted to bridge the gap. Although
he manged to get within 20 seconds of the leaders, he wasnÇt able to make contact,
and finished alone in a creditable 13th place.



Team Manager john Herety was pleased JamieÇs ride: ÑHe rode very well, especially
considering that this is really only his first full season as a Senior following
leg surgery he had last year. He sometimes lacks confidence in races of this length.
But, heÇs got the ability, as he demonstrated in chasing the leaders alone for the
last 22km.â



Neil Swithenbank supported Jamie Alberts until the last 25km and came in in 28thplace.
Riding with the GB team and gaining experience of international racing were Lee Finch,
David McGowan and James Shaw.



Results

1. Torsten Hieckmann (Ger)

2. Dirk Reichl (Ger) Team Telekom Juniorteam

3. Thomas Brunn Eriksen (Den)

4. Christian Pfannberger (Aut)

5. Bram Tankink (Ned) Löwik Meubelen

6. Martin Eiminger (Swi)

7. Harald Starzenhgruber (Aut)

8. Jörg Strauss (Swi)

9. Steffen Weigold (Ger) Team Telekom Juniorteam

10. Niki Starosta (Ger) RG LG Giant Frankfurt

Other

13. Jamie Alberts (GB)

28. Neil Swithenbank (GB)













Share

Newsletter Terms & Conditions

Please enter your email so we can keep you updated with news, features and the latest offers. If you are not interested you can unsubscribe at any time. We will never sell your data and you'll only get messages from us and our partners whose products and services we think you'll enjoy.

Read our full Privacy Policy as well as Terms & Conditions.

production