British Elite Men's Road Race Championships

 

Robert Price National RR Champs & British Cycling Premier Calendar GP of Wales
August 5, 2007; Abergavenny (Wales)
Report & Images by Larry Hickmott (thanks to pilot Graham Harper)

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TV Coverage: The National Championships/GP of Wales will be shown on British Eurosport at 3pm on 17th of August after stage 4 of the Vuelta a Burgos.  It will also be repeated during the Vuelta in September.

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Report

David Millar not so fresh from his Tour de France a week ago, was the winner of the British Championship in Abergavenny when he outsprinted Daniell Lloyd for the title after the two dominated the race.

 

The day’s racing
There is certainly something very special about a British Road Race championship and with the sun shining and a field of more than a hundred riders present, a great race was in store. Missing unfortunately was Geraint Thomas. Talking to some former professionals before the race, they all agreed it was a mistake by the young man  not to have done it and even eventual winner David Millar agreed as you will see in the post race reactions. Only Geraint knows though just how tired his body was.

 

Before the race, there was a special atmosphere on Baker street with the likes of Hugh Porter, David Duffield and Phil Phil Liggett mingling with the riders such as Jeremy Hunt, David Millar and others. One-by-one, the riders came to sign on including the KFS Special Vehicles team whose sponsor built the truck they were using for  signing on!

 

Then, at 11am, the VIPs including the Mayor of Abergavenny, the Welsh flag was lowered and the riders were sent on their way down the hill and through the town centre where a section of the town centre pedestrian way that joins two sections of road was cleared of furniture especially for the race.

 

The KFS team on the truck their sponsors built for British Cycling.

 

As the flag was pulled into the lead car, a Porsche convertible no less, the attacks soon came. With the help of my pilot Graham Harper, we hovered within sight of the bunch and waited for a break to stick. It took a while before one did but before the race had made it to Raglan, a quality break was ‘up the road’ and one that looked ominous for the riders who missed it.

 

Driving it hard was former champion Matt Stephens (Sigma Sport) who had for company  Pinarello’s Andy Roche and Lee Davis, former double champion Jeremy Hunt (Unibet), Matt Talbot (Rapha Condor), Ben Pochee (Bike and Run London) and Rob Hayles in his new Team KLR/Parker kit.

 

It wasn’t all plain sailing for them and more than once, the break split when the road went upwards as the pace was forced  by the likes of Stephens and Hayles and that had the desired effect of a gap opening up on the bunch where it was all follow the leader as the man in yellow and with creams to stop his skin burning, David Millar tried over and over to get away.

 

Finally he managed it with Daniell Lloyd and Russell Downing grimacing in his wake.  Half a lap later, when Millar and co joined them, the lead continued to increase for a short while before it started to plummet as a chase was finally organised in the bunch.

 

The teams of KFS Special Vehicles, Recycling.co.uk and Plowman Craven/Evans Cycles all had riders in the bunch who had missed the break and everyone knew it was a make or break time in the race.

 

As we waited at the start of lap two, Millar, Stephens and co were working hard at the front of the break whilst the bunch was being strung out in a line by the aforementioned teams. It took until the race hit Newcastle another 15 kilometres away before a splintering peloton finally looked like making contact with the break. Stephens was working himself into a box trying to make sure that didn’t happen as was Millar but a few did get across, including Chris Newton, Rob Partridge, and Rob Sharman.

 

Millar looks like he is on a Sunday ride whilst there is a made scramble behind to bring him back!

 

It was then Millar applied the coupe de grace and with the Scottish flag flying high on a corner outside of Newcastle, Millar jumped away. Hunt tried to go with him but failed and it wasn’t until Lloyd got to him that the winning partnership was made. By the time they had got to Cross Ash, they already had a lead of 30 seconds whilst there was a crash at the back of the peloton.

 

From Cross Ash, it was mostly down hill to Abergavenny where they would start the finishing circuits. We got permission as we entered town to drop in behind them and sample the atmosphere as they rode into town for the first time with a big crowd already lining the barriers. There was a scare though as Lloyd and Millar made their way out of Abergavenny as Lloyd punctured a rear tyre.

 

Crowds line the barriers as the leaders get 7 to go.

 

The Shimano Neutral service car though was on it like a shot and not only did they change the wheel but also helped him get back to the position he was in when he punctured. The duo then resumed their chase. Behind them, the large chase group was one minute going full gas as riders attacked and then sitting up all over the road.

 

That lasted for a while before a group managed to force the split whilst the rest sat up. The group now fully committed to chasing down the leaders consisted of defending champion Hamish Haynes (DFL/Cyclingnews), Russell Downing (Team Health Net Maxxis), Robin Sharman (KFS Special Vehicles, Alex Coutts (Babes Only), Gordon McCauley (Plowman Craven/Evans Cycles), and Alex Higham (Rapha/Condor).

 

 

Left: Russell Downing and right, Chris Newton battles on for points in the Premier Calendar race held in conjunction with the Championship.

 

Russell Downing (above) tried to go it alone from the chase group with two laps to go but was caught and he was replaced out front of the chasers by McCauley and Haynes. They stayed clear of the chasers to the end but the real interest was in whether it was going to be Millar for the title or would Lloyd upset the form guide and beat the crowd favourite. Lloyd certainly had a go and a big attack before Abergavenny saw Millar having to dig deep to get back but once he did, Lloyd had nothing left to gap him.

 

The first sprint was for the final corner and Millar won that and proceeded to jump away from Lloyd who was either over geared out of the corner or just ran out of legs and Millar had time to raise his arms high and celebrate a glorious victory.

 

 

Daniell Lloyd, David Millar and Hamish Haynes.

 

Reactions:

After the podium presentation, the press and podium riders had to make the very short walk across the road to the pub where we could have a chat with the riders whilst they cooled down with a drink -- water of course! This is what they had to say:

 

David Millar: “The ride of my life” were the first words David Millar said after coming to a stop. “And Daniell did as well”. On the way he attacked continuously to get away after missing the break, Millar replied “I had to take the race by the scruff of the neck. This sounds so much like bull sh#t but I felt so bad. It’s the Tour de France legs, you feel tired but you can go all day.”

 

On coming to Wales to win, he says “I wasn’t going to come here and sit back and let the race go away from me which is why I had to race aggressively. I had to modify my style of racing. I knew when that break went that the race was over if I didn’t bridge across to it. I also didn’t realise the course was so easy. When we went up the hill it was like, ‘is that it’.”

 

“Before we got across, I couldn’t move, the whole bunch was watching me. So when I went to bridge across, I put in a big attack and only Daniell and Russell (Downing) could go with me. Then when I got here, I realised the bunch had started to race and it was then I realised what the day was going to be like.”

 

Millar gets a bottle of drink from Shimano Neutral service.

 

So I waited until the bunch got close to us and the big guns were coming across and as  soon as that happened, I went again because I figured they wouldn’t be able to organise a chase behind. I saw Chris Newton and a few others had bridged across and that was when I went.”

 

On Daniell’s puncture, he replied “I didn’t realise at first but I figured they would bring him back on so instead of letting the time gap come down, I’d keep the pace on and the car would bring him back on. If I had let the time gap drop, that would have given them hope behind.”

 

On the final lap and Daniell’s attempts to get away, David says “he did a couple of big attacks and the first one he did was good, fully committed and then after that it a case of being the first into the last corner, and I got it right but it was a hairy sprint, there is no doubt about that.”

 

“This win is massive for me, means a huge amount. I wanted this jersey for my whole career. I have had close calls and spat the dummy a few times but with age I have matured and managed to control my temper a bit better.”

 

“I am very proud of being British and wanted to get it out there a bit more.”

 

On his team kit for next year with Slipstream, he replied “god knows what they’ll do to this – they might manage to turn this into some form of argyle.”

 

On Geraint Thomas not riding: “As he gets older, he’ll learn. A week after the Tour I felt crap all day today, I felt tired and my legs were bad but your perception is weird in that you’re off the front and I am hurting and suffering but I am going dam fast. And I just keep going as well. Geraint has never had those sensations. If he has been on his bike and feeling terrible, what he doesn’t realise is he is going really quick.”

 

“He’ll get that with age.”

 

To finish he added that along with some major races including  Plouay and Poland (ProTour stage race which clashes with the Tour of Britain) his aim is the World Road Championships, and both the Time trial and Road Race. On the latter he added “I want to do better this year. My aim is to podium so that is my next big goal.”

 

Daniell Lloyd: On being his best performance in Britain ever, “in this country, definitely. To be in a two up time trial for that long, over half the race was hard. When I first got into it, I thought what have I got myself into here. The first time I got away with David to go across to the break, both Russ and I were both hanging on David’s wheel. At that time I thought I’m racing for second place now.”

 

“Having said that, the second time I got away with him, I was still struggling, but when I got to the finishing circuits, I started to feel a lot stronger and pulling equal turns and towards the end I was thinking, he doesn’t look that much stronger than me, I can win this if I play it right but I couldn’t shake him. I started believing in myself and although I had a bit of cramp with two laps too go I had a dig with a few Ks to go but he got on to me within a few hundred metres.”

 

Lloyd gets a drink from his team car.

 

On his puncture, “as the gap wasn't big enough, the team car wasn’t allowed, but neutral service did well  and the wheel change was good. I got back on fairly quick. When it first happened I couldn’t believe it but we had a big enough gap that they couldn’t see me so I got back to David pretty quickly and we carried on trading turns.”

 

“To have achieved this with a World Class rider makes the moral even better. To have held my own, I am proud of my ride. It was also really good for our team (2nd and third in the medals) to have two on the podium and to have lost to one of the best riders in the world.”

 

On the course “I am sure they could have made it a lot harder but its the riders  that make the race. There were enough hills where you could make a difference and the stronger riders could show their strengths so it was alright.”

“I don’t think David is used to British racing and on his own, he saw a break go away and nobody chase it and thought that could be it. He went across to the break on the first lap and he was like a motorbike – unbelievable.”

 

Defending champion Hamish Haynes (bronze, 4th in the race) “I tried to do as little as possible in the first half and hoped the race would come together and I’d still be in the mix at the end. When Lloyd and Millar went on the final big circuit though I didn’t quite have the legs to go with them. As he was a teammate, I had to play the game there.”

 

McCauley and Haynes are chered on as they go through with a lap to go.

 

Gordon McCauley (3rd in the race): A former New Zealand champion on the road, the Kiwi was able to compete as the race was a combined Premier Calendar/National Championship. In the pub afterwards, Gordon said of his race “At the start, the breaks were firing off and I decided to ride opposite to what I normally do. Usually I try to get away in an early break and I thought I have got to start riding a bit more sensibly and it went and we (Plowman Craven) missed it.”

 

“There was no point me riding for myself because I am not British so we rode for Simon Gaywood who has been going really well lately. So there was us, KFS and Recycling on the front and they rode really well and we brought the break back fairly quickly and just as we got there, David and Dan went up the road.”

 

“Gaywood went across to the break with Newton but shortly after when I looked up, Gaywood had come back. I thought oh no, and I looked around and we had nobody left so I was pretty much last man to make it across to the chase group and after that I was swinging for 60ks on the back. I was also trying to keep out of the way as it’s a British title race and I  didn’t want to screw things up.”

 

“Then our group split, and to be honest I didn’t contribute much and only took the odd turn and then I thought I’ll clip off with a lap to go and they can race for third. Then Hamish came up to me and we rolled the last lap and he said to me to roll in third as he gets third in the championship anyway.”

 

“This goes to show there is a pretty good standard of racing in the UK. Most of us were going toe to toe with the full time Euros and that shows the standard is improving.”

 

As for his preparation for the Worlds in the Time Trial “I have been working on my TT. I did the 10 mile TT here the other night when there was 250 quid to break the record and pretty comfortably broke it on a very hard night with gales and that. My goal is top 16 at the Worlds which is part of the New Zealand Olympic Qualification and I know I am going to have to have the best day of my career. A similar day to the Commonwealth Games (he won Bronze)  to even get in that 16 but hey, Vinokourov’s out so that’s one place higher I finish!”

 

FIRST PHOTOS

 

Just the weather for the lead car!

 

The race leaves Abergavenny...

 

First attack of the race...

 

A group forms but it doesn't stick....

 

Yet another attack...

 

This all in the first 10 miles...

 

First break that stuck with Matt Talbot leading Matt Stephens as they pass a castle near Abergavenny (Raglan).

 

Millar with one of his many digs to get away from the bunch after the break had gone.

 

When Millar's attack fails, another tries, Alex Higham from Rapha Condor.

 

Millar goes off the front again still trying to get clear.

 

Finally, Millar manages it as a group of three forms with this chase group led by Daniell Lloyd with Russell Downing's face showing just what torture it was out there.

 

More try in the bunch, Daniel Shand, to go clear after Millar has escaped.

 

In the end though, KFS Special Vehicles, Recycling.co.uk and Plowman Craven/Evans Cycles racing teams come to the front and chase the break down.

 

The break which Millar and co caught has just been caught by a few riders from the bunch including Chris Newton but Millar isn't finished yet.

 

Millar attacks again from the break ...

 

... and is caught by Daniell Lloyd and the two of them are never seen again.

 

One of the strongest in the race, Matt Stephens fell on the finishing circuits when in the chase group which was a shame because every time we saw Matt he was either driving the break or attacking it! What a rider!

 

Lloyd punctures but gets back quickly thanks to Neutral service...

 

Richard Wilkinson leads a group of three with Russell  Downing and Hamish Haynes as they try and get away from the still large chase group.

 

The chase group some what disorganised early on with the finishing circuits.

 

Matt  'never say die' Stephens attacks through the finish area trying to pull a chase group clear. He then fell and was out of the race.

 

Martin Ford attacks with a lap to go from what is left of the second chase group.

British RR Championship Result (OFFICIAL)
1. David Millar, Saunier Duval-Prodir
2. Daniel Lloyd, DFL, Cyclingnews
3. Hamish Haynes, DFL Cyclingnews  @1.30            
4. Russell Downing. Healtnet @2.25
5. Robin Sharman, KFS Special Vehicles
6. Alex Couttes, Babes only
7. Alex Higham, Rapha Condor
8. Mark Lovatt, Sportscover
9. Rob Partridge, Recycling.co.uk
10. Marcin Bialoblocki, Middridge
11. Richard Wilkinson, Rapha Condor
12. Mark Wordsworth, JE James
13. Martin Ford, PM
14. David Clarke, PM
15. Lee Davis, Pinarello
16. Daniel Shand, BW Heist Zuiderkempen
17. Mark Thwaites, Kinesis UK                                
18. Chris Newton, Recycling.co.uk

PREMIER CALENDAR EVENT (WELSH GP)
1. David Millar, Saunier Duval-Prodir
2. Daniel Lloyd, DFL, Cyclingnews
3. Gordon McCauley, Plowman Craven/Evans cycles @1.27
4. Hamish Haynes, DFL Cyclingnews  @1.30            
5. Russell Downing. Healtnet @2.25
6. Robin Sharman, KFS Special Vehicles
7. Alex Couttes, Babes only
8. Alex Higham, Rapha Condor
9.  Mark Lovatt, Sportscover
10. Rob Partridge, Recycling.co.uk
11.  Marcin Bialoblocki, Middridge
12. Richard Wilkinson, Rapha Condor
13. Mar Wordsworth, JE James
14. Martin Ford, PM
15. David Clarke, PM
16. Lee Davis, Pinarello
17. Daniel Shand, BW Heist Zuiderkempen
18. Mark Thwaites, Kinesis UK                                
19. Chris Newton, Recycling.co.uk

 

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