The Popular Champion: Rob Hayles

 

June 29, North Yorkshire

British Cycling Road Race Championships Full Report

By Larry Hickmott

 

Note: To view a race report in pictures, plus photo albums, results and more click here

 

We talk to Rob Hayles and other stars from the Men’s road race

The winner of the 2008 British Road Race Championship is Rob Hayles of Halfords Bikehut making it a double for the British team after Nicole Cooke’s win on the Saturday. Second was last years Junior champion Peter Kennaugh and third Dean Downing who just failed to do what his brother Russell did in 2005 – win the title he wants so much.

A Day out in North Yorkshire

The 2008 British Road Race championship in the Ryedale area of North Yorkshire was by far the toughest race I have seen in the country this year which is only fitting for a championship race and an example of how much winning this jersey means to riders.

 

The day did not start well. On the Saturday, one of the National Escort riders said the Sunday forecast was grim and true enough when I got in the van on Sunday morning at 6am, rain was falling and it did so all the way to North Yorkshire where I had to drive into the clouds as I made my way up Sutton Bank towards Ampleforth. Being on a motorbike to watch a race unfold is a great place to be but not in the rain!

 

At the race headquarters, it was wet but was getting dryer and by the time the riders were being called to the line, late as ever they were!, it was dry and was to remain so until the last hour of the race. I spent my time there trying to get online but being North Yorkshire there was nothing doing outside of a faint data connection and even my two phones from different networks had no signal. Hence the reason the report that night didn’t go up until I returned home that night.

 

There are some areas where technology has some catching up to do!

 

At around 9.30am, the riders rode the five or so miles to the magnificent and historic Duncombe Park, home to Lord and Lady Feversham. This is where the riders would line up and start the race proper, something the Ryedale race has done for the last few years. In the gritty conditions, riders were puncturing and service was already active on the way to Duncombe Park. Once there, Mark Cavendish and David Millar were introduced to the small crowd that had assembled and then the flag was dropped and ahead of the riders five hours of racing.

Lady Feversham was on hand to present prizes both days. All our thanks go to her for being a great host.

 

A few miles of neutralised riding followed and then it was on and how. For two hours or so, it was hard to keep up with the different groups forming and failing as breaks and chase groups got away, were brought back and then it started all over again. In the first break there was misfortune for Kristain House who punctured and no-one there to help. He did get back in the race however but when a race is in full flight and both break and bunch are lined out, a puncture is not something you want to see.

 

The great thing about the race was the brutal pace as British based riders and European based professionals went head to head. A break would get away but there was no time to settle down and get into a rhythm because the chase behind was so fierce that the riders in the break were sprinting as if their lives depended on it just to stay clear and hope, that the chasers run out of steam. After well over an hour of this chase and be chased, the peloton came together for one fleeting moment and it was at this time that Science in Sport rider Ian Wilkinson saw his chance and he fled the bunch.

Posing for the TV camera no doubt, Ian Wilkinson tucks down on a descent after fleeing the peloton.

 

A police motorcyclist came alongside and said he’d be in a box if he rode this hard for this long and that he preferred mountain biking to which I replied that the current leader was indeed a very good mountain biker!

 

Mark Perry gave chase alone but it was the move by Tom Southam, Jonathon McEvoy and Ali Carr that set the race alight. Neil Swithenbank was with them at the start but it was these three that rode clear of the peloton and soon joined Wilkinson. There was nothing in the race at this stage and chase groups were forming, being caught and new ones rising from the ashes of the old ones. Among those giving it a good go to get to Southam was Roger Hammond but nobody was able to close the gap which was only seconds. That is how much ‘on the limit’ the race was.

 

The circuit may not have had any mountains but the hills were dead grippy and fatal for Ian Wilkinson for a time as he was dropped by Southam and co but help was at hand and a chase group of five riders was on its way up and in it were Matt Stephens, Thomas Swift-Metcalf, David Cook, James Sharp and Ben Greenwood showing some good form. They picked up Wilkinson and carried on the chase of the leaders.

 

On the long straights, the peloton could see the groups ahead and with the frantic action at the front, the big group were all over the place on the rolling closed roads as one after the other, riders and groups slipped off the front before their legs popped and they went backwards again. One of the most significant attacks though came from Daniel Lloyd . On his wheel was Dean Downing and in the group were Peter Kennaugh and Rob Hayles among others and some daylight was starting to form between them and the peloton.

Lloyd pressed harder on the pedals and the group got smaller and the gap between them and the peloton got bigger. Riders in the group as well as Downing, Kennaugh, Hayles and Lloyd were Kieran Page and a Sport Beans rider Mark Perry who had been swept up after his lone effort to join the leaders failed. This was make or break time in the race and the damage was really done when Rob Hayles rode off the front of them and joined the break on his own. The man was on form!

 

The others except for Perry joined the leaders and the winning break had been formed. For a while, the break was looking ragged and not that committed as riders floated about in the group but the gap back to the peloton was still opening up and as time went on, they slowly got it together and riders started the through and off at the front and the break now looked cohesive and purposeful.

 

Slowly the gap to the peloton grew, a minute and the teams car were brought up behind the break, two minutes and then three and then we heard Dan Lloyd shout to one of the riders in the break, the gap was now four minutes. It was looking curtains for the peloton and when we went back to take a look, Plowman Craven and Pinarello had riders on the front.

 

The gap though was not coming down and we went back and stayed with the leaders. There were two races going on, both equally important and we had to make choices as to which we concentrated on. We chose the leaders which I knew from the form guide had possible winners in it.

 

News however came through the Cavendish had been on the front of the peloton and when we went back to look, the gap had come down and there was the young engine of Ian Stannard on the front for mile after mile, dragging the group along, working with David Millar, the defending champion. Stannard eventually popped and Millar then dragged the group along mile after mile and the gap to the break was under a minute and the team cars had pulled over.

The break knew it was now or never and the Halfords Bikehut riders started to work the rest over and it was Hayles who went first taking Downing with him. That shed a few of the riders and then Southam went. He was brought back and then Hayles went again but still the group was quite large with Wilkinson, Stephens, Kennaugh, Lloyd, McEvoy, Southam and Downing still with Hayles.

 

McEvoy buried himself to give the break chance of success and then Peter Kennaugh followed that up with a driving turned at the front that saw three go clear with Hayles and Downing on his wheel. Lloyd rode across to them as did Southam a few lengths adrift and the rest were going backwards as the pressure of four and half hours of racing was finally taking its toll.

 

The leaders, now down to five, continued to drive hard to resist the challenge from behind and then as the riders hit the hills halfway round the final circuit, Hayles made his move. The former World Champion was awesome. From a distance we’d see him attack and then he’d start to come at us at 45 mph or more on the tight, twisty and by now wet descents. His speed was too much for us and we had to let him go by and he over took the lead car as well. No-one, not us, the race convoy or the other riders were ready for this from the Halfords rider. He was motoring!

 

In the wind now, he tucked down and did what he does best, pursued the race title but the three chasers, Kennaugh, Downing and Lloyd were only 20 or so seconds down and it was challenge match between the leader and the chasers – who would break first.

 

As it happens Hayles did, and he started to throttle back and let them catch him only to attack them again on a descent as they approached Helmsley. Kennaugh joined him but through the twists and turns as they came into Helmsley, and into Duncombe Park, Hayles skill and speed was too much for the youngster and Hayles held the small gap up the hill and all the way to the finish line.

 

Dean Downing managed to put some distance between himself and Dan Lloyd whilst the fifth placed rider, Mark Cavendish won the sprint between himself and former champion Russell Downing. The gap at the end was 46 seconds which shows that the leaders did maintain their lead for a long time at the end as a result of all the attacks.

Talking to Gerry McManus of CyclingNews.com afterwards, Cav pretty much summed up what he told British Cycling last week (interview here) about how he thought the race would go "I knew it was going to be frustrating race. You can be sitting there doing 20mph and suddenly an attack goes. It is the most unpredictable type of racing imaginable. We nearly got the break back."

 

On Cav’s side was his teammate Roger Hammond who had been active for a lot of the race and Millar and Stannard who worked themselves for a long time at the front but for Mark, the most frustrating was the lack of help from the British based riders in the group "Unfortunately the big teams with nine riders didn't seem interested in bringing the break back even though they had no riders in it. That was very frustrating."

 

Mark though has bigger things on his mind as he goes to the Tour de France to try and put his name among the greats of sprinting with a Tour de France stage to his name and looking back over his career in Britain, his ride in North Yorkshire was probably one of his best ever in a British race, a ride he told CyclingNews he didn’t have to go too deep with.

The day though belonged to a good friend of Mark’s, a mentor in his early years, Rob Hayles and I suspect that although Mark wanted that jersey for himself to take to the Tour, he’ll be pleased that the race went to a good friend instead.

 

I have seen Rob Hayles win World titles, two in one year, but you could tell this British championship really meant something to him. He was ecstatic! Congratulations came to him from everywhere including his wife Vikki and daughter and afterwards had this to say: "This was a long time coming! A couple of occasions I have been near and I have known I was capable of it for a long time. I said this morning I am going to go out and try and win."

 

"I was cramping for the last 20k and couldn’t stand up on the hills". Rob had attacked the group, not for the first that day I might add, and was going solo 20k out and riding like the proverbial motorbike and a large capacity one at that. No matter how he tried though, he couldn’t shake off the three chasers, Dean Downing, Peter Kennaugh and Daniel Lloyd.

 

He did though say "I enjoyed that moment on the line! When they started to bring me back I realised I’d gone too early. Out in the wind was difficult and it was more hilly than I thought it was. Because I knew they were bringing me back, I cruised a bit, tried to recover and I was able to sit on for a few k. I could see everyone was a bit legless so I had confidence I could do it."

 

"I made my move on the descent and was panicking because Peter (Kennaugh) was behind and he was going really well but I managed to hang on. It was great to have Tom (Southam) in the break with me, he’s a fantastic rider (twice a Silver medallist in the British Champs) and I think we compliment each other really well."

 

Asked was this a statement to the GB team about his form and how he is as good as he has ever been? "Yeah. They know I am going well and I can’t do any more".

 

Peter Kennaugh was quite subdued by the result and whilst a Silver medal from someone so young is an awesome result, he wanted the big one and to go from Junior to Senior champion in one year. He went close that is for sure. Whilst watching him from the motorbike, you could see the impatience he had out there by the amount of work and effort he was putting in and perhaps a little more saved on the road would have resulted in that Gold medal.

"I don’t know what to say right now as there were so many emotions going through me up that finishing straight. I genuinely thought it was mine. If you had said at the start you’ll get second I would have been happy but the way it turned out, I am quite disappointed. Fair play to Rob who was so strong up that last climb. He attacked down that last descent and I went straight after him and just got into his wheel but then his cornering outclassed me through the village."

 

"He gapped me and I was chasing him all the way up the climb".

 

"100% ME all rode so well and I’m happy. Jonny Mac committed totally to the break and was always pulling. We were aware the peloton was pulling us back and Rod said it was down to a minute and you need to start trying some attacks to split the group up to a select few who are willing to commit totally to it. I felt strong up a bit of a drag headwind section and put in a few attacks there and maybe in hindsight, I put in a few too many. I felt good and went with it and could see everyone was hurting with 30k to go."

 

"I’d put this ride well up with the best rides I’ve done on the road".

 

Rod Ellingworth: "It was good! From a coaches perspective, they are preparing for the Europeans next week and although this was a big target, the Euros is a big big target and they are all in good form. Swifty had problem with his rear wheel at the end and Jonny Bellis broke a spoke and so they had a few issues but form wise, it was good. Peter did everything he wanted to do and we knew a group was going to go and it was up to them to get in it and float around. Jonny McEvoy rode fantastic".

 

Dean Downing: Asked if he likes the circuit now after his momentous crash last year, Dean replied "I had a bit of a flash back first time round Deano corner from last year where I ran into Harry Lodges car!"

 

"I was in good form today and little disappointed I didn’t win but its gone full circle. I was in agony last week but after three visits to Simeon Hempsall (Osteopath) and I was back on track today and all totally changed today. It was a long old day after 140k in the break and the break was perfect. Everybody working well and when it came down again, we were still working good and I think we opened it back up at the end."

"Everybody was attacking but working as well to hang on. Rob did a fantastic ride and he was flying today and he deserves it. I had some doubts about my form after last week but after talking to John Herety about how I had done the work, trained hard, raced hard I felt more confident even though last week was a big disappointment. Simeon said I was the worst I had ever been pain wise so I think I proved today I am among the top riders in the UK."

 

David Millar: On all the work he was doing at the front, he explained "I had to get something out of the race. I tried to get in the moves and the one that went was kind of a soft tap off the front one by one and two by two and the riders like Cav and me can’t just slide into moves like that."

 

"When it eventually formed, it was like, well that is gone, and then when it got to three and half minutes, I thought I may as well start riding. Ian Stannard and Dave then brought the gap down to 40 seconds or so. "It got a point then that Ian was a bit tired and I was left on my own and Ian had done a great job. I thought if I carry on and we do get them insight, I’m just giving it to everyone else and then no one tries. It wasn’t hard enough for me to go away on my own. Headwind and the hills were not hard enough otherwise I would have tried to get away on my own."

On whether doing this race interrupted his preparation for the Tour de France, he replied "it’s added to it in fact. I worked on it at home and it was good for me. I made the travelling as easy as possible and relaxed yesterday and tomorrow."

 

"I head back to Girona (Spain) tomorrow and then we fly out on Tuesday to France and look at the time trial course on Wednesday and then we arrive in Brest for the team presentation on Thursday so basically its all go from now on."

 

Asked if he was disappointed there was no prologue, he says "Not really because I’m not as specialised on that as I was when I was younger. It is not now so much my forte so it kind of suits me to have this stage 4 time trial and could play into my favour."

 

With a Slipstream team of experience and youth David says "that is always the format we wanted where it remains an American team and vehicle for young American talent to kind of make it in the European scene and we’re hoping we can keep providing that. All the guys we sign we tell we want them to help these younger guys and its worked well so far."

 

And speaking of young guys, David was at the time we approached him talking to the 100% ME lads who had done so well. Giving his verdict on their performance David told us "we are finally getting a wave of gifted bike riders coming through. It is one hell of a group and will be great to watch over the next five or ten years."

 

Ian Stannard: On whether he felt at home driving the bunch along at the front, like he does in Belgium for his pro team, Ian replied "with the weather it did! It was okay but frustrating because we couldn’t get away. When the break went, it went easy for a bit and then I was in two minds as to whether to ride or not. I was talking to Cav and thought why not, if it comes down enough, it could work to my advantage if I sit back and recover but I got a bit carried away."

 

"It was quite tough and the roads are pretty heavy but I wasn’t going to come all this way and not get a good workout."

On his racing in Europe, he explained "It was quite hard at first adjusting to the Belgium style of racing after Italy but I am getting it used to it and hopefully I’ll get a result or two in the second half of the season in the shorter stage races with a stage win or that. It is not easy being a pro but its good and hard but Belgium is windy and horrible where as at least in Italy you have some sun! As a job goes though I love it though and there is nothing better.

 

 

Our thanks to organiser Bob Howden, Pete Sutton and all the other people who helped us bring you the story of a great race!

 

Note: To view a race report in pictures, plus photo albums, click here