Tag: Rutland - Melton International CiCLE Classic

Scottish rider Finn Crockett took victory on Sunday at the Rutland–Melton CiCLE Classic at Melton, sprinting clear of a small break of three other riders to take his first UCI road race win, with fellow Scot and team mate Stuart Balfour in fourth. Ribble-Weldtite DS Colin Sturgess takes us behind the scenes and into the team car to hear all about the strategy and build up to this unique event, and how the team executed the plan on the day.

Apart from the Tours of Yorkshire and Britain we only have one UCI race in the UK, ‘The Rutland CiCLE Classic,’ an event which anticipated the current ‘gravel craze’ by a decade and more. We thought it would be interesting to talk to the man behind the race, Colin Clews.

VeloVeritas first got to know Neah Evans (Storey Racing Team & Scotland) at the Berlin Six Day, a year or two ago, since then she’s built an impressive track palmarès with success at national, UCI and Commonwealth levels. And now she’s added Britain’s toughest road event to her roll of honour; the CiCLE Classic at Melton Mowbray, also known as ‘The Rutland’.

Alejandro Valverde winning his fourth Doyenne as last Sunday’s hi-lite? Well, we were expecting that – the Movistar Spaniard and Sky’s Polish flyer Kwiatkowski were ‘super favourites’ and delivered two of the three podium places. But what we weren’t expecting was the phone call from VeloVeritas soothe sayer and mentor, Viktor on Sunday evening; ‘your man Dan Fleeman’s just won The Rutland!’ Now, that was a surprise!

We always like to celebrate great rides by great riders, particularly when they're friends or we feel a connection with them for one reason or another, so when VeloVeritas regular James McCallum (Rapha Condor Sharp) bagged third place in the super-tough UCI Europe Tour-ranked Rutland - Melton International CiCLE Classic yesterday, we knew we had to find out what happened.

"The 'Rutland' is a bit of lottery!" That's what many riders say; but not 2010 winner Michael Berling. He's been top four three times in the last three years - we thought we best have a word with the man VeloVeritas works for every year at the Six Days of Copenhagen.