It was double delight for DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK in the women’s race as Tammy Miller won the road bike time trial on stage 1 of the Ronde van Wymeswold before her teammate took a sprint win on stage 2. Miller is the overnight race leader ahead of the final stage tomorrow.
In the open race, Seb Garry (HUUB-BCC RT) battled through horrendous weather conditions to triumph in the stage 1 road race, outsprinting his three breakaway rivals to take the general classification lead with two stages remaining.
The women’s 2024 CAMS Ronde van Wymeswold kicked off with a road bike time trial stage set around the Leicestershire villages of Willoughby on the Wolds and Widmerpool. The 7km course saw 41 competitors battle it out in the early morning, with Tammy Miller of DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK emerging victorious.
Miller – winner of the Yomp Bonk Crew’s Peaks 2 Day stage race in 2023 – delivered a stunning performance, clocking in at 09:31. Her closest rival, Lucy Harris from Pro-Noctis – 200º Coffee – Hargreaves Contracting Ltd, finished eight seconds behind at 09:39. Floren Scrafton of FTP-Fulfil The Potential-Racing – winner last weekend at the London Dynamo Summer Road Race – secured third place with a time of 09:45, rounding off a fiercely contested podium.
The narrow lanes and rolling terrain of the Leicestershire countryside provided a test of power and speed for the riders. Molly Patch of The Phoenix Collective came in fourth, just missing out on a podium spot with a time of 09:49. Lucy Lee, another strong rider from DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK, finished fifth at 09:53, demonstrating the depth of talent in her team.
“I haven’t raced in a few weeks so it was a good way to get my legs firing again,” said Miller after the race. “It was a short, fast and fairly flat circuit. I’d anticipated it being too short to play to my strengths but I’m glad I could do enough. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the race, we’ve got strength in numbers within the team so I hope we can keep hold of the lead.”
Stage 2 | Road race
Robyn Clay sprinted to victory in stage 2, executing a perfect DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK tactical performance with an assured uphill sprint to the finish line after 72km of flat out racing.
Raced on 8.5 laps of the same course the open race tackled in the morning, blue skies and warm temperatures greeted the 41 rider peloton as the flagged dropped, Lucy Lee (DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK), fresh off the back of an impressive performance in the Tour of Britain Women, leading the peloton through the finish line for the first time.
A lap later the attacks started with Floren Scrafton, third in the morning’s time trial, launching the first of her many moves off the front of the race on the climb to the finish line in an attempt to gain the 15 seconds she needed on race leader Tamsin Miller.
Scrafton would again attack on the next two laps in an identical place, first dragging Lucy Harris (Pro-Noctis 200 Degrees Coffee Hargreaves Contracting), who sat second on GC coming into the race, eventual winner Clay and her teammate Charlotte Hodgkins-Byrne with her, then, a lap later, following Helena Shapton (Contiki Velo Bavarian) alongside Keira Bond (Alba Development RT) and Lee, who ensured a DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK rider was constantly towards the head of affairs.
The moves struggled to stay away though as the headwind around the finishing line continued to effect the day’s racing, Lee again attacking with three laps to go with Gemma Mitchell (Team Boompods), with Bond sensing the danger and trying to jump across; the whole race separated by seconds as it had been all afternoon.
With two laps to go the situation had again changed, former National Circuit Race champion Jo Tindley (Pro-Noctis 200 Degrees Coffee Hargreaves Contracting) holding a slender advantage over the bunch with the ever vigilant Lee, who did her best to stick with Tindley throughout the next lap despite being stuck in a large gear, knowing the danger the rider from Lincoln posed as DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK kept a rider at the front of affairs throughout.
As riders approached the finishing line for the penultimate time the rain began to fall, the bunch back as one as Scrafton dug in for one last attempt at escape with Harris attached to her wheel as the pair looked to put Miller and her DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK team under pressure.
However, after a heavy deluge, the large peloton would contest the finish together, with Robyn Clay, in her first race back from a broken back and collarbone after a nasty crash in Belgium last month, powering up the long finishing drag to take a commanding victory, sitting up with her arms aloft as she savoured the moment as the sun once again began to shine. Second was Brother UK-On Form’s Lotty Dawson and third was Harris, who finished with a strong sprint after riding an aggressive race.
“I didn’t expect that at all,” Clay told The British Continental after the race, reflecting on her comeback win. “I hoped to be on decent form of course but I really didn’t know where I was at especially in terms of race fitness.
“Lucy had planned on being up the road, yes. We didn’t necessarily have one particular rider in mind for the win but after I gave the sprint laps a go I was pretty keen to go for it.”
Clay and Lee are now tied for the points classification, each with 5 points, one ahead of Scrafton, while Miller keeps her overall lead courtesy of her phenomenal time trial this morning. Harris sits just 8 seconds back, with Scrafton at 14 seconds.
Tomorrow sees a 80km mid-morning road race to decide the outcome with a number of riders still in touch of overall victory.
Robyn Clay wins stage 2. Credit: Yomp Bonk Crew
Open race
Stage 1 | Road race
Amid sunny skies the 12.5 lap race got underway after a lengthy neutralised section on the same course used for the morning time trial. Le Col RT, Stolen Goat and Spectra Racing all made themselves present at the head of affairs as the flagged dropped on the fastest part of the course.
The race would be punctuated by constant attacks, riders struggling to get away on the short circuit with long sections of false flat into a stiff headwind followed by long flowing descents.
Alex Dowsett, riding for the composite CAMS team, found himself in an early move with Tony Barnes (Spectra Racing), although their time out front was short lived, James Hartley (Cycling Sheffield) taking maximum points at the first intermediate sprint from a further three man break.
With the rain beginning to fall the peloton were strung out in their pursuit of Hartley, Matt Lord (Richardsons Trek-DAS) and Dean Watson (Wold Top The Edge Pactimo), although the trio were joined by four more riders as the race split into three groups as the pressure mounted.
The gaps remained small however and as the race reached the halfway point the riders were all together, the aggressive Toby Barnes joined by his brother Dan (Spectra Racing) in the next move as they jumped away on the fast tailwind section of the course, only to be caught past the finish line as the race took on a sustained false flat into the wind.
Ross Lamb (CAMS) attempted to light up the race the following time up the climb to the finish, dragging away a small group as Matt Ellis (Thriva-SRCT) took the points on the line with six laps to go.
With their move thwarted, the race followed a familiar pattern as heavy rain continued to fall, no group able to gain a large gap as riders continually launched themselves off the front; most favouring the fast tailwind section, Lamb trying again on the climb.
With less than four laps remaining, a 13 man group containing the likes of Dylan Hicks (Saint Piran) and all four Spectra riders managed to create a gap of 22 seconds, their advantage holding for almost two laps, with the peloton chasing hard behind. Will Truelove (Thriva-SRCT) struck out on an audacious solo move from the break, getting a gap of around ten seconds as the other riders in the original move lent on each other to chase.
With less than two laps remaining the race was back together, although mirroring the previous ten laps, the status quo never held for long and on the fastest part of the course four riders escaped – Toby Barnes, Seb Garry and the Stolen Goat duo of Oliver Hurdle and Josh Housley, who was guesting for the orange and black clad team, visibly agreeing to go all in together as they approached the climb and bell signalling the final lap.
With a 15 second gap midway through the final lap the race remained in the balance, the peloton spread out behind in hot pursuit as the rain belted down putting a number of riders out the back of the race.
The four escapees entered the climb together with the race sewn up, Garry perhaps dealing with the freezing conditions the best as he sprinted to the line ahead of Housley, with Barnes rounding out the podium.
The four riders carry a slender lead on GC heading into tomorrow, with a 13.2km time trial kicking off proceedings before the pivotal Stage 3 road race. Garry takes an overnight lead in the general classification, with Matt Ellis wearing the points classification jersey.
It was double delight for DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK in the women’s race as Tammy Miller won the road bike time trial on stage 1 of the Ronde van Wymeswold before her teammate took a sprint win on stage 2. Miller is the overnight race leader ahead of the final stage tomorrow.
In the open race, Seb Garry (HUUB-BCC RT) battled through horrendous weather conditions to triumph in the stage 1 road race, outsprinting his three breakaway rivals to take the general classification lead with two stages remaining.
See the race preview here.
Featured image: Emma Wilcock
Report
Women’s race
Stage 1 | Time trial
The women’s 2024 CAMS Ronde van Wymeswold kicked off with a road bike time trial stage set around the Leicestershire villages of Willoughby on the Wolds and Widmerpool. The 7km course saw 41 competitors battle it out in the early morning, with Tammy Miller of DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK emerging victorious.
Miller – winner of the Yomp Bonk Crew’s Peaks 2 Day stage race in 2023 – delivered a stunning performance, clocking in at 09:31. Her closest rival, Lucy Harris from Pro-Noctis – 200º Coffee – Hargreaves Contracting Ltd, finished eight seconds behind at 09:39. Floren Scrafton of FTP-Fulfil The Potential-Racing – winner last weekend at the London Dynamo Summer Road Race – secured third place with a time of 09:45, rounding off a fiercely contested podium.
The narrow lanes and rolling terrain of the Leicestershire countryside provided a test of power and speed for the riders. Molly Patch of The Phoenix Collective came in fourth, just missing out on a podium spot with a time of 09:49. Lucy Lee, another strong rider from DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK, finished fifth at 09:53, demonstrating the depth of talent in her team.
“I haven’t raced in a few weeks so it was a good way to get my legs firing again,” said Miller after the race. “It was a short, fast and fairly flat circuit. I’d anticipated it being too short to play to my strengths but I’m glad I could do enough. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the race, we’ve got strength in numbers within the team so I hope we can keep hold of the lead.”
Stage 2 | Road race
Robyn Clay sprinted to victory in stage 2, executing a perfect DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK tactical performance with an assured uphill sprint to the finish line after 72km of flat out racing.
Raced on 8.5 laps of the same course the open race tackled in the morning, blue skies and warm temperatures greeted the 41 rider peloton as the flagged dropped, Lucy Lee (DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK), fresh off the back of an impressive performance in the Tour of Britain Women, leading the peloton through the finish line for the first time.
A lap later the attacks started with Floren Scrafton, third in the morning’s time trial, launching the first of her many moves off the front of the race on the climb to the finish line in an attempt to gain the 15 seconds she needed on race leader Tamsin Miller.
Scrafton would again attack on the next two laps in an identical place, first dragging Lucy Harris (Pro-Noctis 200 Degrees Coffee Hargreaves Contracting), who sat second on GC coming into the race, eventual winner Clay and her teammate Charlotte Hodgkins-Byrne with her, then, a lap later, following Helena Shapton (Contiki Velo Bavarian) alongside Keira Bond (Alba Development RT) and Lee, who ensured a DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK rider was constantly towards the head of affairs.
The moves struggled to stay away though as the headwind around the finishing line continued to effect the day’s racing, Lee again attacking with three laps to go with Gemma Mitchell (Team Boompods), with Bond sensing the danger and trying to jump across; the whole race separated by seconds as it had been all afternoon.
With two laps to go the situation had again changed, former National Circuit Race champion Jo Tindley (Pro-Noctis 200 Degrees Coffee Hargreaves Contracting) holding a slender advantage over the bunch with the ever vigilant Lee, who did her best to stick with Tindley throughout the next lap despite being stuck in a large gear, knowing the danger the rider from Lincoln posed as DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK kept a rider at the front of affairs throughout.
As riders approached the finishing line for the penultimate time the rain began to fall, the bunch back as one as Scrafton dug in for one last attempt at escape with Harris attached to her wheel as the pair looked to put Miller and her DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK team under pressure.
However, after a heavy deluge, the large peloton would contest the finish together, with Robyn Clay, in her first race back from a broken back and collarbone after a nasty crash in Belgium last month, powering up the long finishing drag to take a commanding victory, sitting up with her arms aloft as she savoured the moment as the sun once again began to shine. Second was Brother UK-On Form’s Lotty Dawson and third was Harris, who finished with a strong sprint after riding an aggressive race.
“I didn’t expect that at all,” Clay told The British Continental after the race, reflecting on her comeback win. “I hoped to be on decent form of course but I really didn’t know where I was at especially in terms of race fitness.
“Lucy had planned on being up the road, yes. We didn’t necessarily have one particular rider in mind for the win but after I gave the sprint laps a go I was pretty keen to go for it.”
Clay and Lee are now tied for the points classification, each with 5 points, one ahead of Scrafton, while Miller keeps her overall lead courtesy of her phenomenal time trial this morning. Harris sits just 8 seconds back, with Scrafton at 14 seconds.
Tomorrow sees a 80km mid-morning road race to decide the outcome with a number of riders still in touch of overall victory.
Open race
Stage 1 | Road race
Amid sunny skies the 12.5 lap race got underway after a lengthy neutralised section on the same course used for the morning time trial. Le Col RT, Stolen Goat and Spectra Racing all made themselves present at the head of affairs as the flagged dropped on the fastest part of the course.
The race would be punctuated by constant attacks, riders struggling to get away on the short circuit with long sections of false flat into a stiff headwind followed by long flowing descents.
Alex Dowsett, riding for the composite CAMS team, found himself in an early move with Tony Barnes (Spectra Racing), although their time out front was short lived, James Hartley (Cycling Sheffield) taking maximum points at the first intermediate sprint from a further three man break.
With the rain beginning to fall the peloton were strung out in their pursuit of Hartley, Matt Lord (Richardsons Trek-DAS) and Dean Watson (Wold Top The Edge Pactimo), although the trio were joined by four more riders as the race split into three groups as the pressure mounted.
The gaps remained small however and as the race reached the halfway point the riders were all together, the aggressive Toby Barnes joined by his brother Dan (Spectra Racing) in the next move as they jumped away on the fast tailwind section of the course, only to be caught past the finish line as the race took on a sustained false flat into the wind.
Ross Lamb (CAMS) attempted to light up the race the following time up the climb to the finish, dragging away a small group as Matt Ellis (Thriva-SRCT) took the points on the line with six laps to go.
With their move thwarted, the race followed a familiar pattern as heavy rain continued to fall, no group able to gain a large gap as riders continually launched themselves off the front; most favouring the fast tailwind section, Lamb trying again on the climb.
With less than four laps remaining, a 13 man group containing the likes of Dylan Hicks (Saint Piran) and all four Spectra riders managed to create a gap of 22 seconds, their advantage holding for almost two laps, with the peloton chasing hard behind. Will Truelove (Thriva-SRCT) struck out on an audacious solo move from the break, getting a gap of around ten seconds as the other riders in the original move lent on each other to chase.
With less than two laps remaining the race was back together, although mirroring the previous ten laps, the status quo never held for long and on the fastest part of the course four riders escaped – Toby Barnes, Seb Garry and the Stolen Goat duo of Oliver Hurdle and Josh Housley, who was guesting for the orange and black clad team, visibly agreeing to go all in together as they approached the climb and bell signalling the final lap.
With a 15 second gap midway through the final lap the race remained in the balance, the peloton spread out behind in hot pursuit as the rain belted down putting a number of riders out the back of the race.
The four escapees entered the climb together with the race sewn up, Garry perhaps dealing with the freezing conditions the best as he sprinted to the line ahead of Housley, with Barnes rounding out the podium.
The four riders carry a slender lead on GC heading into tomorrow, with a 13.2km time trial kicking off proceedings before the pivotal Stage 3 road race. Garry takes an overnight lead in the general classification, with Matt Ellis wearing the points classification jersey.
Results
Women’s race
Stage 1 | Time trial
Stage 2 | Road race
General classification
Open race
Stage 1 | Road race
General classification
As above.
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