Linda McCartney Weekend Action
A mixed few stages for the Linda McCartney Foods Cycling Team in Spain, where
they continue to contest the Circuito Montanes under-26 event. There were
excellent 5th places on Friday and Saturday for Tayeb Braikia and Ciaran
Power respectively, but Bjornar Vestol lost his high overall placing.
The team's attacking riding has brought them plaudits and good results, but
sometimes it can backfire, like on Friday. The constant aggression had split
the field down to around 30 riders on the day's big climb, but Bjornar had
dug deep into his reserves to force the selection, and he paid the price. He
was dropped from the group containing all his main rivals, and could only
watch as they sailed clear.
Ciaran and Tayeb both showed excellent form by taking good results despite
the work they were doing for Bjornar to protect his position. Matt De Canio
is riding into good condition, impressing team manager Chris Lillywhite with
his form and Huw Pritchard is enjoying his first taste of riding with the
elite team. More Circuito Montanes...
The UK saw Matt Stephens return to action after his enforced lay-off since
the Giro d'Italia. The former British Champion took his recovered knee to
Birmingham for the National Criterium Championships, but the race was marred
by a scandalous overturning of the result by an over-zealous commissaire.
Circuit race specialist and champion for the past two years, Linda McCartney
old boy Chris Walker was first over the line for the third year in
succession. However, the coveted white jersey would not be his this time.
Whilst leading the race with Dean Downing, Chris had crashed and been forced
to take the legal "one-lap-out" and wait for the bunch to come round. Whilst
pushing their damaged bikes to the pits to rejoin the race, they cut across a
barrier, meaning that 200 metres of the circuit were missed out. They
re-entered the race with around 8kms of the scheduled 60 remaining, their 15
second lead lost. Not to be beaten, Chris forced the race once more, and won
the final sprint from Rob Hayles, Dean Downing and John Tanner.
"I was just about to walk on to the podium, when this commissaire pulled me
to one side and told me he was disqualifying me for not completing the
course," explained a distraught Walker. "Nobody complained, no riders raised
an objection - I wasn't even in the race when it happened! I'm absolutely
gutted. I felt as though I had justified the faith my sponsors Extran had
showed when they took me on this season, and now it's all come to nothing."
His fellow competitors were embarrassed and bemused by the decision, National
Road Champion John Tanner saying, "I don't want this medal. It was Chris's
race."
Keith Lambert was delighted with his own team's performance, but shocked at
Chris's disqualification. "What a shambles. Great circuit, lovely weather,
big crowds - and they've ruined it for everyone as far as I'm concerned,"
said the McCartney manager. "Matt rode really well, and so did Tom Barras, to
finish four riders out of only 17 finishers was great. But the commissaries
didn't have a clue; there were lapped riders everywhere, people taking laps
out left, right and centre for no reason, and then Chris has to carry the can
when he's done nothing wrong as far as I can see. If they were going to pull
him out, they had to do it straight away, because it's affected the whole
result. You don't know how the sprint would have gone if he hadn't been in
there. Poor old Dean Downing had a bronze medal taken away, too."
Matt Stephens - 5th, Tom Barras - 7th, Martin Lonie - 14th, Mark Kelly -
15th.
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