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Garner And Moses Claim Stage One Victories By A Wheels Length In The 2016 Tour Of The Reservoir.
Podium Ambition P/B Club La Santa’s Grace Garner and JLT Condor’s Thomas Moses both win the first Tour of the Reservoir stage by a narrow margin in a last effort kick for the line.
The Alexandra Tour of the Reservoir’s Women’s Race started the days action off, after an hours delay due to the return of more overnight Wintery weather.
Four girls made an initial break once they were on the Kermese Style circuit course of the Dam Wall. The main group then reformed by lap three in this reduced ten-lap race.
This second in the Women’s Road Series event had attracted an twenty-percent more field than the Men’s event, but the promise of harsh conditions and poor health had reduced the sign-on to eighty-one riders starting the day.
It all came down to the final big bunch sprint across the Dam Wall with Garner just edging out Lowther across the line.
It’s Grace Garner’s first visit to the Tour of the Resevoir, and she’ll start stage two in the Pink Champion System’s leaders Jersey.
Tom Moses victory came after a gruelling seven lap circuit of Derwent Water Reservoir.
An active Peloton from the start saw a lone escapee after the official Start. Neon Velo’s Jeremy Durrin attacked on the first lap, but got reeled back for the start of lap two.
Madison Genesis’s Matt Cronshaw broke free soon after and gained around a minute, taking the first Prime of the race.
A second rider bridged across Harry Tanfield, Pedal Heaven, followed by a third, Tom Moses. With eight more trying to bridge. The lead had been reduced to 20s according to race radio.
Moses took the second Prime and the trio had build a 1.23s lead.
Cronshaw drifted back towards the Peloton as the time gap reduced to 20s once more.
Over the third Prime, the original break-away had all but been caught, but a five man group counter-attacked on the far-side of the Reservoir, Moses being one of them, they soon had a three minute lead.
As the race drew to it’s conclusion, it looked like the Winner would come from this group of five with Adria Moreno Sala, Raleigh GAC, Jonny McEvoy, NFTO, Joe Fry, Pedal Heaven and Taylor Gunman, Madison Genesis making up the other four places.
A hard fought reverse climb to the finish-line saw Moses clinch the victory narrowly from McEvoy, who will wear the Champion Systems Yellow Jersey on stage two.
Alexandra Tour of the Reservoir
1: Grace Garner, Podium Ambition P/B Club La Santa
2: Melissa Lowther, Team Breeze
3: Charline Joiner, Team Ford Ecoboost
Motorpoint Spring Cup
1: Tom Moses, JLT Condor
2: Jon McEvoy, NFTO
3: Joe Fry, Pedal Heaven
