British Cycling Looking to Add to Chris Froome's Tour De France Success
Paris and the Champs-Elysees one week, London and The Mall the next. The literal nature of road cycling means it has a near monopoly on some of the world's most tourist-friendly streets, boulevards and avenues.
For British cycling the two locations have come to represent important and historic landmarks in its increasing influence and prominence in the sport. After Team Sky's Chris Froome sealed his second Tour de France in Paris, the third edition of RideLondon-Surrey Classic this past weekend reiterated the current standing and future potential that might have seemed unreachable as recently as a decade ago.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Things have changed. The fortunes of the country's riders are now intrinsically linked to so many of the biggest and most notable races. On Saturday, another new location to mark that burgeoning strength was added in the Basque Country.
Adam Yates—a highly rated product of the British junior ranks who joined Orica-GreenEDGE with his similarly well regarded twin brother Simon in 2014—broke from a pack featuring several fellow survivors of last month's Tour de France to become the first rider from his country to win Clasica San Sebastian.
The event counts multi-time Tour winner Miguel Indurain and this year's third-placed general classification man Alejandro Valverde among its past victors. But for a crash with 3.5 km remaining, Yates may have had a say in stopping the latter winning last season.
This time Yates was partly aided by the fractured nature of the race in its final kilometres. The hopes of BMC's Greg van Avermaet were cruelly and dangerously dashed when he was knocked down by a motorbike on the final climb up Bordako Tontorra. Problems with the host broadcasts' feed also confused matters.
Still, Yates' determination in surging forward suggests he might have grabbed first even with more formidable accompaniment to the finish line.
Having made up for last year's disappointment in the process, the short-term image of the 22-year-old's momentous victory is likely to be him not realising he had crossed the finish line. "I spoke on the radio to my sport director but because of the crowds the radio was too quiet," he told his team's official website before adding, because of the previous "carnage," he "didn’t know if I had reached the lead or not."
The lasting takeaway from San Sebastian relating to Yates will—all being well—be the part it played in a fledgling career that is developing patiently but encouragingly. A solid neo pro year was lit up by impressively winning the varied Tour of Turkey. His recent multiple Tour de France top-10 placements on the way to 50th in the GC has combined with this latest victory to suggest the expectation around him has not been misplaced.
Over in London a day after Clasica San Sebastian, some of the names who have led Britain's rise to prominence in the Tour and elsewhere were participating in the climax to the now yearly cycling festival regarded as one of the successfully sustained legacies of London 2012.
The RideLondon-Surrey Classic tracks a course featuring the landmarks of the Olympic road race route such as Box Hill and The Mall, concluding a weekend of public-participation events and other competitions (notably the fiercely contested but all-too-short women's Grand Prix criterium, won this year by Velocio-SRAM's Barbara Guarischi).
At Sunday's start point outside Horse Guards Parade plenty of fans could be found waiting outside the Etixx-QuickStep and Team Wiggins vehicles to meet Mark Cavendish and, you guessed it, Sir Bradley Wiggins. The former hoping for a return to winning ways after he was unable to build on his Tour de France Stage 7 win amid endless days in the mountains. The latter former maillot jaune winner promoting his eponymous development team and clocking a few extra miles in preparations for a planned return to the track at Rio 2016.
Froome was absent, but the Team Sky bus proudly bore yellow bands in commemoration of their main-man's achievement. "There was a lot of support out there," 2014 Classic runner-up Ben Swift said post-race of the roadside backing for the British outfit post-Tour. "I saw a few banners for myself and I think it’s just how cycling is in the UK now. It was massive."
Prior to the roll-out Swift chatted with the man who beat him a year earlier, Adam Blyth, then of NFTO, now back on the WorldTour with Orica-GreenEDGE. Among the last to make their way out once things were underway were the old team-mates Cavendish and Wiggins, enjoying a catch-up of their own while the pace was still slow.
As it was, none of Blythe or the latter pair would be involved in the deciding actions of the day.
Wiggins enjoyed what is set to be one of his farewell laps on British roads, but kept his activity to a minimum. Cavendish briefly tested his legs out of the peloton, but was then absorbed back in, left to watch as the breakaway that did last included his new team-mate and fellow fast-man Fernando Gaviria.
EQS did not feel the need to give chase, and nor did Sky with a motivated Swift among the number also including Lotto NL-Jumbo men Mike Teunissen and Sep Vanmarcke, as well as BMC's Jean-Pierre Drucker. The latter established his position after good softening work from his allies Floris Gerts, Rohan Dennis and Philippe Gilbert (the latter having also ridden in Spain the previous day).
Swift was glad to be back racing after a three-month absence resulting from a broken shoulder at the Tour de Yorkshire. "The first 20 km was flat out, it was a bit of a shock to the system—the lungs were burning, pretty hard—I kind of rode myself into it," the 27-year-old admitted. "It was quite controlled the first couple of climbs and then once we hit the last climb of the circuit I was given free role to start following moves and attacking."
Describing it as an "aggressive last 50 km and then a super aggressive last 10 km", Swift helped Drucker reel in Vanmarcke's solo escape heading into central London, a reluctant Teunissen in tow. Heading onto The Mall it was to be BMC's Luxembourger who had the legs and strategic timing to pip the others.
"I knew if we keep him (Vanmarcke) close we can come back and I always try to keep an eye on Ben Swift because I was thinking he is very motivated to win here," Drucker recounted. "So I tried to race a bit on Ben and at the end I think I didn’t steal the victory, I did my work as well and I attacked as well.
"It’s my first pro win so it’s even nicer to win in front of the Buckingham Palace."
After being denied a win in the Classic again, Swift initially and understandably cut a disappointed figure on his way to the podium. Having had time to reflect he was pleased his training form had translated relatively well, "to get that solid result in a race straight off." His upcoming schedule includes the Tour of Denmark and Brazil's Olympic test event, to "have a good look at that and go and lay on Copacabana beach for a little bit."
Drucker heads to the Eneco Tour and then the Vuelta a Espana. The latter may also feature an attempt from Froome to improve on two second places in Spain and win Britain's first Grand Tour outside of France.
With Froome's success and the continued efforts of men like Yates and Swift to make their own way, British cycling should have plenty more to celebrate. The flip-side of that is guys like Drucker will have even more reason to try to stop them. Be it in Paris, London, the mountains of Spain or wherever.
Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
