Chris Latham timed his run to the line to perfection as he clinched victory in the East Cleveland Klondike Grand Prix.
The opening race of the HSBC UK | Spring Cup Series and a brand new addition to the elite road racing circuit, the Klondike Grand Prix was an eagerly-anticipated affair ahead of Sunday.
We have our #SpringCup round winner!
— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) April 2, 2017
@ChrisLatham9 (@OfficialWIGGINS) finishes first at the East Cleveland Klondike Grand Prixpic.twitter.com/67AcVaxE36
And it did not fail to live up to expectations as clear skies, enthusiastic spectators, thrilling breaks and a bunch sprint combined to produce a thrilling race.
As it was it proved to be Latham who came out on top to hand Team Wiggins their first win of the season.
The 92.5 mile race began in Guisborough with an early crash bringing a halt to the race before matters got underway again.
It was Team Wiggins’ Sam Harrison who made the first meaningful break before he was then joined by Dan Fleeman (Metaltek Kuota Racing Team) and Charlie Tanfield (Brother NRG Driverplan) with the trio completing the first lap 57 seconds ahead of the peloton.
They were then joined by Madison Genesis’ Matt Holmes who jumped the gap with the quartet moving into a 1.38 minute lead, before extending that to the 5.40 mark after two laps.
YES !! First win of the season for #WIGGINS with @ChrisLatham9 winning the Klondike GP. Great team effort. #SpringCup ##winningfeeling pic.twitter.com/wE40CMTZOh
— Wiggins (@OfficialWIGGINS) April 2, 2017
With less than 50km to go, Holmes opted to make his move, attacking the break in search of his first national series win.
But the peloton was giving chase and duly swallowed him up with a little over 10km to go. No other rider was able to make another decisive move leaving the bunch sprint looking increasingly likely.
Here's how the individual riders stand after a thrilling day of #SpringCup action! pic.twitter.com/9g7nDi5v0Z
— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) April 2, 2017
And that was the way it panned out with Latham showing patience and precision to come through on the line ahead of Enrique Sanz (Raleigh GAC) and Harry Tanfield (BIKE Channel Canyon)
With the race being the opening one of the series, victory sees Latham top the early individual standings with BIKE Channel Canyon leading the way in the team standings with 56 points from Metaltek Kuota Racing Team second on 45 points.
And a quick look at the team standings shows @BIKEChnlCanyon are flying the flag so far! #SpringCup pic.twitter.com/SAG7HWn9lW
— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) April 2, 2017
Latham said: "I'm really happy with that. These races are quite important for us to try and get in the Tour of Britain and score big points.
"I didn't really know what to expect. I've just been in Italy but it turned out alright in the end today."
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