Kristian House of Rapha-Condor won the British Road Championships 2009, we gave Chris Froome our “man of the match” award and there was plenty of sunshine.
That’s the British Champs in a nutshell, it really was a great day.
We thought we’d bring you a photo-rich piece from the race, since we took so many pics, and because over 11 hours in a car in one day has somewhat dulled our senses!
Hamish lives the dream, a wee house in the wilds of Belgium, slugging out it with the big hitters of he kermesse world, week in, week out.
He’s had some big wins out there, but ploughs-on, largely forgotten here in Blighty.
For the last few years we’ve helped Hamish out with race food and drink – the man who rides for Yawadoo and has earned the right to wear the red, white and blue stripes of a former British elite road race champion around his shorts and jersey.
Hi-5 and Cliff Bar were the precious cargo we carried and Hamish will be advising us how he’s getting on with them, as the season progresses.
Hamish gave us his take on the day;
“The Tumble climb was a kilometre too long for me – all my training is geared towards courses like the finish circuit is here – I just couldn’t stay with the leaders over the top, but I was riding strongly on the circuit.
“It’s difficult for the ProTour riders to get a result on a day like today; there’s so much weight of expectation on them.
“I knew Kristian was very well prepared, I saw that he had been getting good results in the Tour of Beauce in Canada – and that’s a hard race.”
As well as Hamish and the top four we grabbed a few words with some of the other names who mattered in Sunday’s epic.
Steve Cummings
Steve grabbed two big wins in Italy last year, this season it’s obvious that his morale isn’t the best – which is a shame; this is a man who Alberto Contador rated as a top team rider when they shared their tenure at Discovery Channel.
Barloworld has the reputation of not being the best organised of teams, Steve has just one race on the calendar for July and 11 for the whole of the rest of the season.
Alex was down with his dad for the day and did well to finish; he’s not had the racing required to build the form to go jousting with the ProTour boys;
“it was a hard race, The Tumble was tough, I tried to go with the front group but started to go backwards when I was three quarters of the way up!”
Ross Creber
Ross was one of those who suffered when Plowman Craven joined the long list of “imaginary pro teams” that have caused us to shake our heads, over the years. Now an Endura man, he took time to chat as he wiped away that Welsh dirt from his legs;
“I crashed before The Tumble, I got back but the birds had flown. I was 30th and top ten in the Under 23’s, so it wasn’t a bad ride; but I had a better one in me.”
Evan Oliphant
Big hero of the day for Scotland was another ex-PC man gone Endura, Evan Oliphant.
” James McCallum looked after me until the Tumble; there was a split just before it but we saw it coming and James ripped me right up to the front; I freewheeled into the lead group!
“Wiggins and Millar smashed it on The Tumble but I rode within myself and stayed close to Dan Lloyd and Roger Hammond; I knew they’d be a safe bet to get back on.
“We drove hard down off the Tumble; I only had a ’12’ and was revving-out.
“When House went, I hesitated, I thought Wiggins and Cav would bring him back. On the last lap, I attacked but Cav and Hammond countered and I couldn’t hold them when they came back at me.”
If we were rating Evan out of 10, Gazzetta style; we’d give him 8.5.
“Our early plan went a little astray; we had Tom Southam and Chris Newton down as leaders with Kristian and Simon Richardson as “floaters” – meaning that they would either adopt a supporting role for Tom and Chris or fall into a leadership role themselves.
“Half way up The Tumble it became “everything for Kristian” as we saw how things were going. He read the race perfectly; he’s been try so hard to get a win – too hard.
“He’s been so frustrated at the lack of results; in that respect it was a classic national championship – a good rider who’s off the radar comes along and wins it!”
VeloVeritas knows that self-praise is no praise, but we spotted Mr. House’s form way back in March, that’s why we interviewed him; and even back then, notice he spoke about winning today. Job done.
Ed and Martin, our top team! They try to do the local Time Trials, the Grand Tours and the Classics together to get the great stories written, the quality photos taken, the driving done and the wifi wrestled with.
Ever-versatile Endura man, Evan Oliphant crammed just about every discipline into last weekend - criterium, Premier one day and a British grass track title. We had a word...
Cervelo's Dan Fleeman left it late to take his first win of the year; but it took him just 3 minutes 18 seconds to convert late season road form to victory in the most specialist and punishing of races-the British Hill Climb Championship, on the 1100 metre Pea Royd Lane climb near Sheffield, England on Sunday.
As well as Raleigh’s Evan Oliphant’s recent overall win in the Premier Calendar another national competition was claimed by a rider who has close links to Scotland – 100% ME’s George Atkins regards Edinburgh as his second home and spent time in the capital after he left the BC ‘Plan’ a year or two ago.
It feels good just writing the words, Ian Field National Champion. I left you at the end of my last blog sat on the sofa watching the Superprestige race in Diegem unable to race due to a back injury.
Four men – counting the one behind the camera – their mission, to eat as many sandwiches, scotch eggs and sausage rolls as possible in one afternoon, whilst soaking up the sun, roadside at the British Elite Road Race Championships 2018. One of the local lads had the race on his iPhone and the result was confirmed: 1) Connor Swift for Madison Genesis; 2) Adam Blythe (Aqua Blue); 3) Owain Doull (Sky).
The 70’s are the ‘decade that taste forgot’ according to the Media; which is strange because I remember the era as having the best cars, music, films – and bike riders. On the continent the exploits of Sercu, Ocana, Merckx, Hoban, Gimondi, Verbeeck, Thevenet, De Vlaeminck and all the rest of a ‘Golden Generation’ of hard men made the disappointment of ‘The Comic’ being late once again all the harder to bear.
Whilst the world goes 'Giro crazy,' other races that don't involve pink jerseys go on their way without Lance and all the hype-the FDB Insurance Rás is one of them. When Viktor and I heard that Nico Eeckhout, Jaan Kirsipuu and Bert Roesems were riding, we nearly hopped the ferry to Ireland there and then.
Our man in the peloton - Endura's Evan Oliphant - took us through the rigours of The Med and Haut Var. Murcia may have been no cake walk but it had a happy ending for Endura - taking the sprints jersey and numerous top ten finishes. Here's what Wick's finest had to say...
The David Rayner has been helping young riders realise their continental dreams since 1995 with David Millar one of the first to benefit, and Theo Hartley from Bolton in Lancs will be one of the grant recipients in 2018. He'll be joining the Belgian Illi Bikes squad, run by long term Six Day soigneur and track aficionado, Etienne Illegems and his son Ken who was for a time a mechanic with Team Sky but could get round a tough kermis on his good days.
With the bells of beautiful Ampleforth Abbey peeling in celebration, Sky made it a hat trick of British National Road Race Championships titles; strong man Ian Stannard following on from Geraint Thomas in 2010 and Bradley Wiggins in 2011.
On a grey, damp but mild and fast Sunday morning on the roads around Blairdrummond near Stirling, Dooleys' Ian Grant added the '25' title to the '50' with a fine 52:26; besting Sandy Wallace's Silas Goldsworthy - whose fight back over the closing miles hauled back a 17 second deficit on Grant down to six at the line.
Last year's '50' champion Alan Thomson, took another medal for Sandy Wallace with bronze in 53:09.
The event was not without controversy, however.
You must be logged in to post a comment.