Stage Two Sprint Finish… Mould V’s Oliphant

Tightly packed peleton on lap one, TOR 2014…

Rain Soaked first ascend up Bale Hill, TOR 2014…

Tour of the Reservoir 2014 | Overall Podium

Rolling around to the start of Stage Two, Madison Genesis’s Bialoblocki leads-out.

Staying in the bunch on the first ascend of Bale Hill for Stage One Victor, Alex Peters, Madison Genesis.

Leading Group of Nine go on to contest Stage One.

Early Mechanical for Catford CC Equipe/Banks puts James Walsby out of contention before the rolling start on Stage Two!

Author: Chris Maher, Pictures courtesy of: Chris Maher | Photography

Spring Cup

Saturday 12th April & Sunday 13th April

Tour of the Reservoir 2 Day

A very blustery & drizzly day greeted the start of the 2014 Elite Road Series out of Blanchland, Northumberland. A five lap, 104 Km circuit through the low clouds of Bale Hill, saw a nine man group form early in the race that stayed away till the finish, on the wall of Northumbrian Water’s Derwent Reservoir dam. Alex Peters of Madison Genesis outsprinted team mate Peter Hawkins & Team Raleigh’s Yanto Barker to claim the first victory of the series.

Stage One

Alex Peters Madison Genesis
Peter Hawkins Madison Genesis
Yanto Barker Team Raleigh
Marcin Bialoblocki Velosure – Giordana
Tom Moses Rapha Condor JLT
Graham Briggs Rapha Condor JLT
Steve Lampier Velosure – Giordana
Mathieu Boulo
Mike Northey Madison Genesis
Adam Blythe NFTO Racing

Menacing sky’s once again blighted stage two, with Madison Genesis leading the Peloton out of Blanchland and along to the rolling start.

By the time the first lap of the eight lap, 165 Km circuit had passed, a five man group had formed with the chasers two minutes behind and the Peloton another thirty seconds down.

A strong tail wind helped push the riders up the climb of the Manor House Inn.

Dexter Gardias, Josh Hunt, Grufford Lewis, Rob Partridge & Mark Christian maintained their lead through most of the race with three more riders dangling in-front of the Rapha Condor JLT, Madison Genesis controlled race.

An incident out of Edmondbyres halted the race for over thirty minutes as a precautionary Air Ambulance arrived, to attend a concussed Peter Williams. Pete walked to the Ambulance that arrived shortly afterwards and was whisked off to Hospital for check-ups.

The race resumed with the five break-away rides followed by the rest of the Peloton, but the impetus had drained from the original escapees and the Peloton once again reformed by the 78 mile marker.

With two laps left to go, the Peloton were down to about forty riders contesting the finish.

Tom Moses from Rapha Condor JLT took the bell lap over the dam wall at Derwent Reservoir, clipping off the front of the Peloton, but once again had been reeled in on the run in to Edmondbyres.

Approaching the final kilometres and the ascend up to the finish line, it was a two man sprint with Team Raleigh’s Evan Oliphant taking stage two from NFTO’s Jon Mould.

Stage one victor, Alex Peters headed the bunch safely into fifth and overall lead with team mate Peter Hawkins on his tail in sixth. Team Raleigh’s Yanto Barker followed in at eighth to retain the third slot overall, and a podium finish.

Stage Two