News: Get Connected Wales Open Criterium

Series leader Graham Briggs heads up the field for the Get Connected Wales Open Criterium in Abergavenny

The next round of the Elite Circuit Series (round four of seven) is in Abergavenny and leading the series is winner of two rounds and second in the other, Graham Briggs (Raleigh GAC). Briggs heads up an eight man team from Raleigh-GAC in a field of only 52 riders where the notable absentee is Endura Racing who are heading to Europe for a series of stage races to prepare for the Tour of Britain in early September.

Graham Briggs (Raleigh GAC) wins round 1 at Brighouse. Photo Joolze Dymond.

Rapha Condor Sharp have a strong team and they’ll be looking to bounce back and into the winners circle for the series and repeat the success of Aussie Richard Lang in the Leazes Park criterium (not part of the series) a few weeks ago. Marcel Six meanwhile, third in the prem at the weekend, is one of two from Scott Metaltek.

Will Bjergfelt is the only rider from Cycle Premier Kovert whilst Node4 Giordana have four entered including their sprinter Rico Rogers from Down Under as well as their Tour Series round winner (Torquay) Marcin Bialoblocki. UK Youth have a strong team with riders capable of winning the race such as Yanto Barker and Chris Opie and IG Sigma Sport two have riders capable of being on the top step of the podium.

Event Press Release – Dean Downing Hopes to be fit for Abergavenny

Defending Elite Series champion Dean Downing is facing a race to get over a bout of illness before hitting the road in Abergavenny on Friday. The Rotherham racer made a decent start to his defence last month with a second place in Brighouse but has been struck by laryngitis over the last week and only just managed to get a full training session in on Monday (July 9).

Dean Downing racing hard at Stafford where he had a breathing problem but finished the race in 7th.

Downing, 37, is going to travel down from Yorkshire and give the Wales Open Criterium a go as he looks to get much-needed points to challenge current leader Graham Briggs with only three more races in the Series to go after Friday’s Welsh date. The Rapha-Condor-Sharp ace, who rode away from the opposition in Abergavenny last year and win the race on the way to the overall title, said: “It’s really frustrating. I came second in the first race in the series (Brighouse) but I picked up this laryngitis a week ago and I just cannot breath properly.”

Downing gave it a go in last week’s second and third rain-soaked rounds at Stafford on Wednesday and Stockton-on-Tees last Friday. However, he was seven seconds off Briggs, who won again in Stafford, and only lasted 25 minutes of the hour-long race in Stockton.

Those results have pushed him down to fifth in the current standings before the Abergavenny race, with Guernsey’s Tobyn Horton in second place and Matt Cronshaw in third. Downing added: “I’ve been through it a bit this year. I had a tough Tour Series and then I had a stomach bug after the Nationals (road championships). Now this. It is just bad timing. I’m not 100 per cent healthy but I’m going to come down to Abergavenny and give it a go.”

It has not helped any of the riders this year that the downpours have made the circuits tricky to negotiate. Last Friday night in Stockton was particularly tough, said Downing. ”It is a quite difficult circuit as well, which is very tight and has cobbles in some places, so it was slippery and a few people came off their bikes. But I tend to do well in Abergavenny. This new circuit, with the dead-stop, hairpin bend, means that, if you can get a good line and get away from there quickly, you can open a gap.”

“I also liked the old circuit as well, though, which was down the side-streets and through some narrow roads.” Local interest should centre around Pontyclun’s Dale Appleby, who was 14th in Stockton, and Welsh international and Commonwealth Games rider Yanto Barker.

This year’s Welsh Open Criterium is being covered by Sky TV on all their channels over the week following Friday’s event.

Series so far

1 Graham Briggs Team Raleigh – GAC 192
2 Tobyn Horton Team Raleigh – GAC 117
3 Matt Cronshaw Node4 – Giordana Racing 96
4 Rico Rogers Node4 – Giordana Racing 83
5 Dean Downing Rapha Condor Sharp 82
6 Daniel Holloway Team Raleigh – GAC 80

Riders
1 Dean Downing Rapha Condor Sharp Elite
2 Felix English Rapha Condor Sharp U23 1st
3 Ben Grenda Rapha Condor Sharp U23 Elite
4 Luke Grivell-Mellor Rapha Condor Sharp U23 1st
5 Richard Handley Rapha Condor Sharp U23 Elite
6 Richard Lang Rapha Condor Sharp Elite
7 James McCallum Rapha Condor Sharp Elite
8 Oliver Rossi Rapha Condor Sharp U23 Elite
9 Zachery May Cardiff JIF J 2nd
10 Will Bjergfelt Cycle Premier – Kovert Elite
12 Marcel Six Metaltek – Scott Elite
13 Dale Appleby Metaltek-Scott Pro Cycling Team Elite
14 Marcin Bialoblocki Node4 – Giordana Racing Elite
15 James Moss Node4 – Giordana Racing Elite
16 Matt Higgins NODE4 Giordana Racing Elite
17 Rico Rogers NODE4 Giordana Racing
18 Matthew Jones Team Corley Cycles/Blue Elite
19 Liam Stones Team Corley Cycles/Blue 1st
20 Dan Craven Team IG Sigma Sport Elite
21 Thomas Last Team IG Sigma Sport Elite
22 Wouter Sybrandy Team IG Sigma Sport Elite
23 Jake Hales Team IG Sigma Sport U23 Elite
24 Simon Gaywood Team IG Sigma Sport Elite
25 Tom Murray Team IG Sigma Sport Elite
26 Jeroen Janssen Team Raleigh Elite
27 Graham Briggs Team Raleigh – GAC Elite
28 Russell Hampton Team Raleigh – GAC Elite
29 Daniel Holloway Team Raleigh – GAC Elite
30 Simon Holt Team Raleigh – GAC Elite
31 Tobyn Horton Team Raleigh – GAC Elite
32 Evan Oliphant Team Raleigh – GAC Elite
33 Bernie Sulzberger Team Raleigh – GAC Elite
34 Edward Laverack Team Tredz J 2nd
35 Magnus Backstedt Team UK Youth (UCI Team) Elite
36 Yanto Barker Team UK Youth (UCI Team) Elite
37 Niklas Gustavsson Team UK Youth (UCI Team) 1st
38 Greg Mansell Team UK Youth (UCI Team) 2nd
39 Gruffudd Lewis Team UK Youth Pro Cycling 1st
40 Chris Opie Team UK Youth Pro Cycling Elite
41 James Stewart Team UK Youth Pro Cycling Elite
42 James Williams Team UK Youth Pro Cycling U23 2nd
43 Ben Simmons Team Wiggle 1st
44 Jacob Tipper Teamwallis CHH Racing Team U23 Elite
45 Steven Clarke WHEELBASE.co.uk/MGD 2nd
46 Liam Glen WHEELBASE.co.uk/MGD U23 2nd
47 William Penn WHEELBASE.co.uk/MGD U23 1st
48 Jack Pullar WHEELBASE.co.uk/MGD 1st
49 Stuart Reid WHEELBASE.co.uk/MGD Elite
50 Jack Adams Zappi’s Cycling Club 1st
51 Will Fox Zappi’s Cycling Club Elite
52 Lukasz Borysiuk Elite

Schedule
5.30 p.m. Youth Races Presentation immediately after race
7.15 p.m. Carnival Race
7.30 p.m. Traders Race (open to businesses in Abergavenny)
8.00 p.m. Signing On and Presentation of Professional Riders for the Get Connected Wales Open Criterium on the start line
8.15 p.m. Race Start
8.35 p.m. First sprint lap – points awarded 1st 5pts 2nd 3pts 3rd 2 pts. 4th 1pt
8.55 p.m. 2nd Sprint lap- points awarded 1st 5pts 2nd 3pts 3rd 2 pts. 4th 1pt
9.15 p.m. Race Finish
9.20 p.m. Presentation of Winners 1st 2nd & 3rd plus U 23 winner