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Tour Series 2010: Chester · 23/06/10

Jack Bauer took a Tour Series win in a 24 hours to forget for Rapha Condor Sharp.
The Tour Series in Chester saw two Rapha Condor Sharp riders on the deck as Endura took a clean sweep of podium places.

As had been the case in 2009 the final week of the Tour Series began yesterday as a three way fight between the country’s leading professional squads. However, by the time the ambulance shut its doors for the night in Chester the Rapha Condor Sharp team looked unlikely to be challenging for the win as two of its riders hit the deck leaving the team languishing in 5th place on the night and a now distant 3rd place overall in the series as a whole.

Team Endura were the main beneficiaries of a last lap crash that saw both Zak Dempster and Darren Lapthorne take to the tarmac. The two Australians hit the ground in the last lap as a group containing no less than three riders from each of the three leading teams contested the final sprint having escaped the clutches of the main field in the latter half of the race.

That break finally snapped the elastic of the main field after a night of relentless attacking had seen Kristian House first up the road until being caught by Endura and Motorpoint, but not before he could take the first Hot Spot Sprint, setting him up for victory in that competition and, barring a final round disaster, ensuring that competition would be won by a Rapha Condor Sharp rider in Woking.

After that several probing attacks came and went as various combinations of riders tried their luck off the front of the peloton and eventually a four-man move stuck. In it were Hayles, Darren Lapthorne, Ed Clancy and Yanto Barker, with the quartet working hard to build a lead that lasted until approaching the third and final Boardman Bikes Sprint.

The four were caught by a group of around ten riders, which then formed into the night’s main bunch containing the majority of those still in the race. Jack Bauer leapt clear from this group with around ten minutes of racing to go. At first the Kiwi was pursued by Kristian House and a Motorpoint rider, but by the next lap the Endura rider was alone and distancing the peloton at some rate.

Each lap his advantage seemed to grow, so much so that as the peloton crossed the line, Bauer had long since turned right into George Street at the top of the circuit.

Bauer was able to stay clear through the final laps and take the victory alone, arms aloft. Behind things weren’t as simple, as a large crash in the final corner caused chaos, splitting the peloton and bringing down a number of riders, with the worst affected being Pendragon’s Casey Munro and the Rapha duo of Zak Dempster and Lapthorne, while Stephen Adams and Andrew Magnier both crossed the line on foot.

The disruption meant the sprint for second was an unusual affair with Wilkinson crossing the line directly ahead of Hayles and Barker, giving Endura a crushingly dominant team win thanks to the 1 – 2 – 3 on the road. Top Motorpoint finisher was Malcolm Elliott in sixth, followed by Andy Tennant, while Clancy’s 13th was lucky as it ensured the Staffordshire based team took second and only lost a point to their Scottish rivals.

Heading into Woking’s final round the riders will be aiming to recharge their batteries ahead of one final push. The chaos of Chester means Rapha Condor Sharp are almost certainly out of contention for the overall, which comes down to a shootout between Motorpoint Marshalls Pasta with Endura Racing two points behind.

Speaking after the event John Herety expressed his frustration at the way the night had unfolded:

“This series is more like a roller coaster than a bike race for us, first we have a nightmare in Portsmouth, then claw our way back to the top only to slip back down again. It’s a cruel way to fall out of contention for the series but we can only pick ourselves up and do what we’ve always done, go back out there and start winning again. Fortunately the boys aren’t too badly injured, our thoughts go out to Casey really, he’s the one who’s come off worst in this and we hope he’ll be back in action soon.”

The woes of the team continued the following morning as news that Chris Newton had been brought down by a car whilst training near his home on the outskirts of Manchester. Fortunately Chris, as with his team mates who crashed in Chester, seemed to have sustained no lasting injuries from the incident in which a motorist turned across his path bringing him down before driving away from the scene.

britishcycling.org.uk

www.tourseries.co.uk

Photos by Larry Hickmott

Round Nine Results

Team
1) Endura Racing
2) Motorpoint – Marshalls Pasta
3) Team Raleigh
4) Kuota – road.cc
5) Rapha – Condor – Sharp
6) Pendragon Le Col Colnago
7) Team Corley Cycles
8) Sigma Sport – Specialized
9) CyclePremier.com – Metaltek
10) Team Ireland

Individual
1) Jack Bauer Endura Racing
2) Ian Wilkinson Endura Racing
3) Rob Hayles Endura Racing
4) Yanto Barker Pendragon Le Col Colnago
5) Kristian House Rapha – Condor – Sharp

The Halfords Tour Series Standings (after nine rounds)
1) Motorpoint – Marshalls Pasta 79pts
2) Endura Racing 77pts
3) Rapha – Condor – Sharp 73pts
4) Sigma Sport – Specialized 53pts
5) Pendragon Le Col Colnago 52pts
6) Team Raleigh 49pts
7) CyclePremier.com – Metaltek 43pts
8) Team Corley Cycles 33pts
9) Kuota – road.cc 25pts
10) Team Ireland 8pts

Boardman Bikes Sprints Competition Results
1) Kristian House Rapha – Condor – Sharp 11pts
2) Rob Hayles Endura Racing 9pts
3) Darren Lapthorne Rapha – Condor – Sharp 6pts

Boardman Bikes Sprints Competition Standings (after nine rounds)
1) Graham Briggs Rapha – Condor – Sharp 55pts
2) Kristian House Rapha – Condor – Sharp 43pts
3) Liam Holohan Team Raleigh 41pts

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