Kristian House of Rapha-Condor won the British Road Championships 2009, we gave Chris Froome our “man of the match” award and there was plenty of sunshine.
That’s the British Champs in a nutshell, it really was a great day.
We thought we’d bring you a photo-rich piece from the race, since we took so many pics, and because over 11 hours in a car in one day has somewhat dulled our senses!
Laydeez an Genulmen…your new champ, Kristian House! Photo©Martin Williamson Kristian took a very fast downhill sprint through the narrow, barriered streets, from Dan Lloyd and Peter Kennaugh. You can see Chris Froome in the background, disappointed with 4th after all his attacking riding. Photo©Martin Williamson Chris Froome checks his computer to see how long a lap of the finishing circuit is taking. It was taking him less than nine minutes to do the four hilly miles! Photo©Ed Hood The Tumble
Before that though, he and Wiggins blasted the race to bits on the Tumble. We couldn’t believe how fractured it was this early in the race, and discussed whether it added to the race, or helped it reach it’s conclusion prematurely. Photo©Martin Williamson 20 seconds after Wiggins and Frooms, Millar sauntered past looking like he was on the way to the shops for the rolls. We were convinced that he was the man for today, and Wiggins was doing the “softening up”. Later though, he said that it was all “smoke and mirrors”. Photo©Martin Williamson Ian Stannard and Cav came by, with several others tucked in, including Evan Oliphant. Photo©Ed Hood At this point on the Tumble, Russ Downing was in the group with Cavendish, but looked to us as if he was struggling to stay in contact. Photo©Ed Hood Chris Newton. Photo©Martin Williamson Our pal Matt Brammeier chats to Phil Griffiths. Photo©Martin Williamson Suddenly, there’s Hamish Haynes, and he’s going pretty fast! Martin needs to run to make sure he gets his two bottles. Photo©Ed Hood Jon Bellis, here with Deano Downing, found it tough today, and didn’t feature in the second half of the race. Photo©Ed Hood Jez Hunt rode well to get in the chase group, but before that, he suffered like everyone else on the Tumble. Photo©Ed Hood Dan Fleeman spots us and pulls across to say hi. We think he was looking for an expresso. Photo©Ed Hood Another returnee from the continent, Ben Swift, found it a brutal race. Photo©Ed Hood Ex-champ and recent Tour Series winner Rob Hayles didn’t see the front half of the race again after the Tumble. Two months of riding one hour criteriums aren’t the best preparation for this. Photo©Ed Hood Finishing Circuit
Once on the finish circuit, Kristian House (front) and young Peter Kennaugh, fresh from a stage win and third overall at the “baby Giro” made the final selection of four riders. Photo©Ed Hood It was a little odd seeing Mark fend for himself, without a brace of teammates alongside. Photo©Martin Williamson Hugh Porter did a great job of whipping up the crowd’s excitement throughout the day. Photo©Ed Hood Cav leads Evan Oliphant, with Ian Stannard still there at this point. Photo©Ed Hood Chris Froome attacked the lead group and got clear three times, building a healthy lead of over 30 seconds with 8 miles to go. Photo©Ed Hood Lap after lap, Chris came past us at the Feed Station on his own, time trialling to the win, or so it seemed. Photo©Martin Williamson Riders who had packed today still wanted to help their teammates, rather than slink off to the showers. We liked that. Photo©Ed Hood Here’s Emma Pooley, who finished third yesterday in the Women’s Champs, and won the recent Grande Boucle Feminine Internationale, not to mention 2nd in the Olympics last year. Photo©Martin Williamson Froome really attacked the circuit, and took a lot of risks with his cornering, trying to stay clear. A very impressive bike rider. Photo©Martin Williamson Having said that, House, Lloyd and Kennaugh weren’t hanging around either. Photo©Martin Williamson Organiser Gary Baker and his team worked on the preparation for this weekend’s racing for over nine months, and it showed. It was clear that everything had been thought about, and it all went very smoothly. We anticipated the usual “getting creds” issues, á la Tour de France, but Gary made it very easy for us. We have never seen so many motos on a race outside of the Tour, it was all very thorough and professional, and did British Cycling and the competitors proud. Photo©Ed Hood Cav and Hammond came across the line smiling and resigned to 5th and 6th place. Photo©Ed Hood
