News
Tour Series - Portsmouth and Exeter
Week two of the Halfords Tour Series took us to the south coast last week with rounds in Portsmouth and Exeter.
Portsmouth
A damp and cool evening awaited the Tour Series for an evening of fast racing on the pancake flat course on Southsea Common.
Once the riders settled into the evening's race, Alexandre Blain made his move at the right time to win the first Boardman sprint of the evening and 15 minutes later James McCallum took the second.
The fast pace and slick conditions meant that a crash or two was always likely and a number of the Endura riders were involved in others people's crashes, including Rob Hayles who was unlucky to me taken out by a change of direction ahead of him. Although he stayed upright, he landed squarely on his top-tube and cracked it right through, meaning his race was over.
As the race headed into the final laps, the remainder of the team made it's way to the front of the peloton and lifted the pace, lining the bunch into a long snake of riders. Although the tactics were enough to prevent anyone making a late break, both Motorpoint - Marshals Pasta and Pendragon – Le Col – Colnago were able to get enough riders ahead in the final sprint to relegate the team to third place on the evening. Ian Bibby of Motorpoint - Marshalls Pasta took the individual win.
Exeter
The team made the journey along the south coast to Exeter on Wednesday after a sunny morning ride around some of Rob Hayle's old training routes near Horndean in Hampshire.
Ahead of the Elite race, Exeter city centre was taken over by a range of bike related activities including cycle speedway, kids races and a race on the full circuit featuring members of the emergency services racing in uniform!
The huge crowd lined the street for the Tour Series race, with a particularly large throng of people behind the hay bales at "Davie's Corner".
Endura Racing were again in the thick of the action with James McCallum narrowly taking the first Boardman intermediate sprint of the evening. Ian Wilkinson was also active, spending long spell at the front of the race.
Towards the final laps and the Endura train again made it's way to the front of the bunch and raised the pace again. Once again though, the tactic didn't quite pay off, with Dean Downing (Rapha-Condor-Sharp) taking the win and his team taking the honours in the team competition, with Endura Racing 2nd on the night.
Photos courtesy of Neil Batt | Fisher Outdoor Leisure
Next week sees the Tour Series visit Southport and Kettering. Come along and see the action and cheer the team on.
Check out the Tour Series Podcast for an interview with Rob Hayles recorded after the Exeter round
Remember that you can catch the action on ITV4 at 19:00 the evening after each race. If you miss that, then you can watch again on ITV Player.
06/06/2010