11:05am Thursday 18th March 2010
THUNDERSLEY'S Jason White of the CyclePrem-ier.com — Metaltek team was denied a race-winning opportunity on Sunday when he missed the key break of the day in the Jock Wadley Memorial Road Race in Colchester.
Four riders had escaped early in the race and built up a lead of 1min. 30secs before eventual race winner Jona-than Tiernan-Locke (Rapha Condor Sharp) attacked the main field along with Dan Staite (Cycles Dauphine) and they made it across to the leaders.
The six-man group contained one member of all the other key teams and this rendered many of the riders in the bunch unwilling to chase.
The Rapha Condor Sharp team lined themselves out across the front of the bunch and reacted to every attacking move.
Rapha Condor rode the event as training for next week’s Tour of Normandy and their strong line-up contained two current and one former national road race champions.
The peloton eventually put the hammer down on the small climb up to the finish and the bunch split with White and Raphael Deinhart (CyclePremier.com – Metaltek) making the cut.
The gap to the leaders was cut to 20 seconds with two of the 12 laps remaining, but it increased again. Tiernan-Locke launched a solo attack and held out to take the chequered flag.
White was disappointed in the result. “I felt really good all day,” he said.
“When the break got away, we didn’t think they posed much of a threat and the bunch just sat up for six laps.
“Eventually the hammer went down and the race split up and I got in the first group.
“There were a few Rapha Condor riders in our group and no one was really working.
“Me and Raph (Deinhart) did a few turns and then in the last couple of laps it was just me. All the other guys were just sitting on. We had a nice little group and could easily have caught the leaders if everyone had done a bit.
“I attacked a couple of times on the last lap, but I knew I wouldn’t have got across on my own.
“It didn’t help that one of the Rapha Condor riders flicked me in the sprint and I ended up in the ditch.”
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