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Ryedale Grand Prix
Rob Partridge yesterday demonstrated the type of form and tactical nous that took him to the 2009 Welsh national road title, as he outfoxed his breakaway companions in the last kilometre at a flooded Rydale GP in north Yorkshire. This win meant a lot to the 24 year-old Welshman, but it also meant a lot to the Endura Racing squad who executed an awesome show of team-tactics in the rain on this classic 112 mile route, round 5 in the 2010 British Premier Calendar.
After his win at the 2009 Welsh road race championships Partridge has had a relatively lean time in race wins, so victory yesterday was hugely significant for the Wrexham rider:
Yeah, this has been a long time coming. I've had my share of misfortune this year, what with crashes and niggling injuries, but started to feel good last month and 6th on GC at the Ras last week has set me up for this one.
I felt like 10-men out there yesterday and although the weather was pretty grim I just got on with the job. Winny [Julian Winn, DS] had a strong word with us all beforehand and just said that we had to win today, and with 8 of us in the front group for most of the race we had everything in place to do so.
Partridge was also quick to praise his team-mates, as he described the unfolding of the race.
The guys all followed the moves today, we really were on it. With about 50km to go I just launched one and myself, Lappers (Darren Lapthorne) and Wouter (Sybrandy) got a gap. After it went up to 1 min 40 seconds I did some maths and thought this is going to stick, so turned my attention to winning the race and how I was going to do it.
Sybrandy went first with about 4km to go and I knew that he is strong as an ox when he gets away, so jumped on him. After I bridged to him I took a look back and Darren wasn't quite on, so that gave me confidence too. Into the last km and Darren went, I jumped on his wheel and thought 'stay here'. It was pretty clear it was going to come to a sprint and with about 200m to go we were virtually at a standstill so I went and gapped the other two straight away, then just held it to the finish.
The 2010 season promises much for the Endura Racing boys. With a top-class domestic line-up including Olympian Rob Hayles, and bolstered by Kiwi's Jack Bauer and Jason Christie, along with Frenchman Alexandre Blain, they have the credentials to rank alongside any UK-based team. However, it's fair to say, after a strong start to the year the squad have not quite hit top gear yet. But some excellent team riding at the Tour Series, and a good couple of wins for Ian Wilkinson - including taking round one of the British Cycling Elite Circuit Series - has meant that the 'E-Train' is now well on track.
On the team aspect Rob adds:
Yes, this is a big one for the team. Morale is now high, very high. My phone hasn't stopped buzzing since the race! Everyone expected big things from this team and we are turning the corner I think. The atmosphere within the camp is excellent, and with some big races coming up in the next few weeks we are definitely confident.
For me it's a big week ahead, you're only as good as your last race, and it's back to business tomorrow at the Tour Series in Southport, then another three races this week, culminating with the Premier Calendar race at the Beaumont Trophy on Sunday. Then I'll be starting to also think about the Nationals (National Road Race Championships) in a couple of weeks. Winning is great, but there is no time to dwell!
Photos by Andrew Kennedy | British Cycling
06/06/2010