Following a strong result in La Cote Picarde on Wednesday, the Great Britain Cycling Team heads for the Netherlands for round three of the UCI Under-23 Nations’ Cup, the ZLM Roompot Tour fro 17-18 April.
The race comes hot on the heels of La Cote Picarde where Owain Doull took a fine second place supported by Germain Burton, Jon Dibben, Chris Latham, Mark Stewart and Oliver Wood, who will all race again in the Netherlands.
The team
Owain Doull saw his great early season form bear fruit in France, solid support from his team netting the 21-year-old his first podium finish of the 2015 Nations’ Cup series.
The result came after strong results in the early season preparation races and a frustrating tenth place at the under-23 Tour of Flanders after a late puncture.
Doull and the team tried to make the selection in the final finishing circuit in Picardie but the pack was too strong, resulting in a bunch sprint into Mers-les-Bains and second place for the Briton.
Germain Burton has been impressing road manager Keith Lambert in the build-up to the Nations Cup, borne out by the 20-year-old from London finishing in the bunch in Picardie on the same time as Doull.
Oliver Wood adds further firepower for Britain, his fourth place at the under-23 Scheldeprijs support race on 8 April evidence of his ability in the finish.
Mark Stewart will ride despite suffering the after effects of a heavy crash on the finishing circuit at Picardie on Wednesday. The 19-year old from Dundee showed his skill and desire a week earlier at Scheldeprijs, almost pulling off a solo victory into Schoten.
Chris Latham and Jon Dibben complete the team, having ridden in support of Doull’s podium ambition in Flanders.
The race
The ZLM Roompot Tour is the third stop on the season-long UCI Nations’ Cup for under-23s, which sees riders compete for national, rather than trade teams in a series of events from April to August.
Following two single-day UCI 1.Ncup events, the Ronde van Vlaanderen Beloften and La Cote Picarde, the ZLM Roompot Tour is the first multi-stage UCI 2.Ncup event of the series, featuring three stages over two days.
The event takes place in the province of Zeeland in the south west of the Netherlands. Stage one on 17 April sees riders tackle 122-kilometres from Kamperland to Zierikzee before a 24.8-kilometre team time trial back at Kamperland later in the same day.
A final 177.2-kilometre stage starting and finishing in Goes on 18 April will decide overall honours, the looping route taking in a number of Zeeland’s islands and peninsulas. The area’s flat topography and exposed location means that wind conditions always play a major role in the event.
Zeeland’s coat of arms bears the Latin slogan, “I struggle and emerge” and the province’s race for emerging riders has twice seen British success, with Luke Rowe topping the podium in 2009 and 2011 while the 2014 edition saw France’s Thomas Boudat take top honours.
How to follow the race
- A report and results will appear on the British Cycling website
- You can follow the live ticker at the ZLM Roompot Tour website or the event Twitter account.
