Samuel Nisbet (Reflex Racing) outmanoeuvred Cycling Sheffield riders Max Krasinski and David Hird to take stage 1 of the 360cycling Tour of the North West.
The opening stage of the inaugural 360cycling Tour of the North West took place on the Lazenby circuit near Penrith, with 33 competitors rolling out of race HQ looking to make their mark.
The first meaningful move of the day was by George Safranauskas of HIVE Racing, who broke clear on the second lap of seven. By the end of the lap he had a one minute lead over two chasers, Nathan Hardy (Team PB Performance) and James Hartley (Cycling Sheffield), with the bunch a further 40 seconds back.
On the following lap, however, it was all back together but the damage was beginning to tell at the back of the field, with several riders already jettisoned from the peloton.
Max Krasinski (Cycling Sheffield) launched the next major move during a lull in the pace and was joined immediately by Samuel Nisbet (Reflex Racing), with Ben Pierce (Bridgenorth CC) bridging across a little later. Combining well, the trio had a lead of 50 seconds by the end of lap 4.
On the following lap, Krasinski’s teammate David Hird jumped clear of the peloton with Jake Edwards (Cog Set Papyrus) and as they crossed the line with two to go, the pair had almost made it across, just 16 seconds back from the leaders. The peloton, which by now numbered just 15 riders, was two minutes back, with a lone rider, Cat Curtis-Roberts (360cycling) dangling in nomansland between the peloton and the chasing duo.
Hird and Edwards made it across towards the beginning of the sixth lap. A furious chase ensued, as the peloton, led by Saint Piran riders Rowan Baker and Dylan Hicks, setting to work on reducing the gap.
In the closing kilometres the two Cycling Sheffield riders, Hird and Krasinski, began the attacks, looking to use their numerical advantage. Edwards and Pierce were both dropped as a result, but Nisbet stubbornly remained as a dwindling peloton continued to reduce the leaders’ deficit.
Try as they might, however, they couldn’t quite catch the remaining trio of Nisbet, Krasinski and Hird.
Somehow, Nisbet outmanoeuvred the two Cycling Sheffield riders to take his first National B road race win, with Krasinski finishing second and Hird in third.
Baker led home a select chasing group of eight riders that also featured his teammate Hicks and Under-23 Open National Road Series leader Archie Peet (Reflex Racing).
“The first few laps felt very stop start which doesn’t suit me, so when I saw a Cycling Sheffield rider go as the pace lulled, I knew it would be an opportunity to go and roll the dice,” Nisbet told The British Continental after the stage.
“In the end, Cycling Sheffield used their numbers and began attacking,” he continued. “I was able to use the hills to my advantage to bring them back and after their first attack 7km from the line, it was just us three left. They attacked again and got a gap but I managed to close it on the final descent with about 1km to go. This put me in a good position to sprint where I went early and that paid off.”
Nisbet is the overnight race leader, tied on time with Krasinski and Hird, with eight riders within 14 seconds of the leading trio.
The race concludes with two stages tomorrow, a fast flat road road stage followed by a time trial.
Samuel Nisbet (Reflex Racing) outmanoeuvred Cycling Sheffield riders Max Krasinski and David Hird to take stage 1 of the 360cycling Tour of the North West.
Featured image: Emma Wilcock
Report
The opening stage of the inaugural 360cycling Tour of the North West took place on the Lazenby circuit near Penrith, with 33 competitors rolling out of race HQ looking to make their mark.
The first meaningful move of the day was by George Safranauskas of HIVE Racing, who broke clear on the second lap of seven. By the end of the lap he had a one minute lead over two chasers, Nathan Hardy (Team PB Performance) and James Hartley (Cycling Sheffield), with the bunch a further 40 seconds back.
On the following lap, however, it was all back together but the damage was beginning to tell at the back of the field, with several riders already jettisoned from the peloton.
Max Krasinski (Cycling Sheffield) launched the next major move during a lull in the pace and was joined immediately by Samuel Nisbet (Reflex Racing), with Ben Pierce (Bridgenorth CC) bridging across a little later. Combining well, the trio had a lead of 50 seconds by the end of lap 4.
On the following lap, Krasinski’s teammate David Hird jumped clear of the peloton with Jake Edwards (Cog Set Papyrus) and as they crossed the line with two to go, the pair had almost made it across, just 16 seconds back from the leaders. The peloton, which by now numbered just 15 riders, was two minutes back, with a lone rider, Cat Curtis-Roberts (360cycling) dangling in nomansland between the peloton and the chasing duo.
Hird and Edwards made it across towards the beginning of the sixth lap. A furious chase ensued, as the peloton, led by Saint Piran riders Rowan Baker and Dylan Hicks, setting to work on reducing the gap.
In the closing kilometres the two Cycling Sheffield riders, Hird and Krasinski, began the attacks, looking to use their numerical advantage. Edwards and Pierce were both dropped as a result, but Nisbet stubbornly remained as a dwindling peloton continued to reduce the leaders’ deficit.
Try as they might, however, they couldn’t quite catch the remaining trio of Nisbet, Krasinski and Hird.
Somehow, Nisbet outmanoeuvred the two Cycling Sheffield riders to take his first National B road race win, with Krasinski finishing second and Hird in third.
Baker led home a select chasing group of eight riders that also featured his teammate Hicks and Under-23 Open National Road Series leader Archie Peet (Reflex Racing).
“The first few laps felt very stop start which doesn’t suit me, so when I saw a Cycling Sheffield rider go as the pace lulled, I knew it would be an opportunity to go and roll the dice,” Nisbet told The British Continental after the stage.
“In the end, Cycling Sheffield used their numbers and began attacking,” he continued. “I was able to use the hills to my advantage to bring them back and after their first attack 7km from the line, it was just us three left. They attacked again and got a gap but I managed to close it on the final descent with about 1km to go. This put me in a good position to sprint where I went early and that paid off.”
Nisbet is the overnight race leader, tied on time with Krasinski and Hird, with eight riders within 14 seconds of the leading trio.
The race concludes with two stages tomorrow, a fast flat road road stage followed by a time trial.
Results
Stage 1 results
General classification
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