Preview – Cycle Wiltshire Grand Prix

Third round of the Elite Men’s National Road Series for the Star Trophy is in Salisbury this Sunday before finishing in Wilton where the sprinters will be ready for a gallop

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Preview – Cycle Wiltshire Grand Prix

The third round of the Elite Men’s National Road Series for the Star Trophy is in Salisbury this Sunday where the sprinters will be ready for a gallop at the finish in Wilton. Last year it was Marcin Bialoblocki (below) who was fastest to the line in a bunch kick and he returns this year in the One Pro Cycling colours and will wear number 1.

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Backed by a strong team with the likes of Yanto Barker and Peter Williams who have both figured a lot in the previous two rounds, it is a surprise that there is no Chris Opie on the list but that may change as teams are allowed to change their riders.

If it does come down to a sprint as it did last year and has done before that, then the team most will look to for the victory will be NFTO. Their team features Aussie Steele Von Hoff (below) who won the CiCLE Classic prior to racing the Tour of Yorkshire. He also won the Jock Wadley. Von Hoff will be backed up by a team that showed themselves well in the Tour of Yorkshire with Ian Bibby making the podium on the final day in the Most Aggressive riders jersey.

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Unlike the Tour of Reservoir and the Chorley Grand Prix, this race doesn’t have the climbing those races did but there are some lumps and bumps and one team who have already showed they can take full advantage of tired legs at the end of a long race are Madison Genesis. Erick Rowsell, the country’s top rider in the Tour of Yorkshire in 8th, is in great form and is a worthy favourite as is Tom Stewart and Mark McNally who both featured in long breaks in the Yorkshire race.

In a sprint though, it could be Kiwi Tom Scully or Matt Cronshaw who lead the way for Madison Genesis.

The Series is led in both the individual and team standings however by Raleigh-GAC and Steve Lampier. The team have made some great signings this year such as Karol Domagalski who has been at the sharp end at races all season. Their French World Champion Morgan Kneisky, who rode in the colours in 2014 as well, will be a threat in a bunch kick.

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The men in black of JLT Condor are an unknown and it will depend on who from their entry they line up with. There is no Harry Tanfield who has shown he can sprint with the best but he’s been a reserve for recent races and ended up getting a ride in both Yorkshire and the CiCLE Classic.

If not, Graham Briggs should be back to good form after taking a hammering in the Tour of Yorkshire on his return from illness. The team have also entered both the Moses brothers, Joe and Tom. Team Wiggins could be a real threat if they line up with Owain Doull who is sprinting well or perhaps Jon Dibben will use all that horsepower he has from the track to good effect.

Those are the UCI teams but as we have seen in the racing, there are plenty of other teams able to spring a surprise.

Pedal Heaven are a force to be reckoned with and Alex Paton (below left)  is looking particular strong especially at the back of a hard race as he was in the CiCLE Classic. Polypipe Racing Team kitted out in Bioracer clothing have a master sprinter in the team car in Dean Downing who was second last year.

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Whether they have the legs for a sprint in the line-up who knows but this is British racing and whilst a bunch kick is the favourite option, a break going clear late with a rider like Russell Hampton is not out of the question as we saw at Stockton last year, another ‘sprinter’s race.

SportGrub KUOTA Cycling Team are another non-UCI team who have the riders to be in the mix with the likes of Will Bjergfelt, Dan Fleeman and a quick sprinter in Richard Hepworth. Another strong team is Velosure Starley Primal with the likes of James Gullen and Jack Pullar. Adria Moreno Sala has shown he can mix it at the sharp end but whether this course is hard enough for him, we shall see.

In all, 120 riders will start and we have heard that the reserves, or many of them, will get a ride as one team may not be starting but no word as yet as to which team that is. The favourites for the podium are though among the main teams but racing can be unpredictable and the standard is so high, that a rider from the smaller teams getting in a break and surprising at the finish is what makes the racing so great here.

The Cycle Wiltshire Grand Prix is the final major road race before the Pearl Izumi Tour Series starts on Thursday. The next major road race after that will be the Velothon event in Wales in June followed by the Beaumont Trophy and then the National Road Race Championships at Lincoln.

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Tom Moses and Kristian House of JLT Condor on the attack on the main climb on the circuit around Wilton.

The Course
There are a few changes to the race in 2015 and the most significant is that the race will start in the most holy and historic of cities, Salisbury.

The Cycle Wiltshire Grand Prix takes in a route through the Salisbury Cathedral grounds before heading along the A36 to Wilton – the race will be neutralised for this section. The neutralized section will be at a controlled pace as there are a number of narrow sections which require caution, in particular the entrance to Salisbury Cathedral and Main Street.

Once in Wilton, the race is de-neutralised and racing takes place over two different loops, firstly the main, larger loop of 26.9km repeated five times, followed by the smaller finishing circuit of 8.8km, repeated four times. Both of these loops pass through Wilton, the location of the finish.

Each lap does not however pass through the finish line which is just off circuit.

The circuits
The main obstacle of the bigger laps is Fovant Down, a deceptively long and sapping climb that will likely thin out the bunch and offer a springboard for attackers in the early laps of the race. From the top of the climb, the race descends toward Broad Chalke and Bishopstone where narrower roads will encourage attacking riding as the race approaches the smaller climb of Windwhistle before returning to Wilton to complete the lap.

Finishing Circuit
After completing four laps of the longer circuit and with eight climbs and 107km in their legs, the race will move onto a shorter and flatter finishing circuit that shares its initial phase with the big lap before turning left just after Barford St Martin to trace a parallel route back toward Wilton.

Any breakaway groups will need a substantial lead on this circuit to be out of sight of the main bunch and stand any chance of retaining their lead till the finish, the long straight roads and flatter profile enabling any teams that still have strength in numbers at this stage to control the main bunch. The finishing circuit will be tackled a total of four times, giving the crowd in Wilton a total of 10 opportunities to see the race.

At the end of the race the riders continue straight on from South Street to North Street and finish at the gantry.

VeloUK.net will be there, posting live photos and updates from the race.

DETAILS
Cycle Wiltshire Grand Prix | Sunday 10 May 2015
Race Headquarters: Signing on and Race HQ: The Guildhall, Market Place, Salisbury, SP1 1JH
Post Race: Wilton Community Centre, West Street, Wilton, Salisbury SP2 0DG

RIDERS
1 Marcin Bialoblocki One Pro Cycling
2 George Atkins One Pro Cycling
3 Yanto Barker One Pro Cycling
4 Thomas Baylis One Pro Cycling
5 Dexter Gardias One Pro Cycling
6 Joshua Hunt One Pro Cycling
7 Peter Williams One Pro Cycling
8 Samuel Williams One Pro Cycling
9 Graham Briggs JLT Condor
10 Michael Cuming JLT Condor
11 Luke Grivell-Mellor JLT Condor
12 Richard Handley JLT Condor
13 Kristian House JLT Condor
14 Edward Laverack JLT Condor
15 Joseph Moses JLT Condor
16 Thomas Moses JLT Condor
17 Matt Cronshaw Madison Genesis
18 Matthew Holmes Madison Genesis
19 Liam Holohan Madison Genesis
20 Mark McNally Madison Genesis
21 Mike Northey Madison Genesis
22 Erick Rowsell Madison Genesis
23 Thomas Scully Madison Genesis
24 Thomas Stewart Madison Genesis
25 Dale Appleby NFTO
26 Ian Bibby NFTO
27 Edmund Bradbury NFTO
28 Eddie Dunbar NFTO
29 Samuel Harrison NFTO
30 Jonathan McEvoy NFTO
31 Robert Partridge NFTO
32 Steele Von Hoff NFTO

33 Calvin Beneke Raleigh GAC
34 Karol Domagalski Raleigh GAC
35 Morgan Kneisky Raleigh GAC
36 Steve Lampier Raleigh GAC
37 Sam Lowe Raleigh GAC
38 Evan Oliphant Raleigh GAC
39 Liam Stones Raleigh GAC
40 George Pym Raleigh GAC

41 Steven Burke Team Wiggins
42 Mark Christian Team Wiggins
43 Jonathan Dibben Team Wiggins
44 Owain Doull Team Wiggins
45 Luc Hall Team Wiggins
46 Chris Lawless Team Wiggins
47 Daniel Patten Team Wiggins
48 Andrew Tennant Team Wiggins
49 Lawrence Carpenter Catford CC Equipe/Banks
50 Ashley Dennis Catford CC Equipe/Banks
51 Christopher Fennell Catford CC Equipe/Banks
52 Harry Godding Catford CC Equipe/Banks
53 Josh Green Catford CC Equipe/Banks
54 Henry Latimer Catford CC Equipe/Banks
55 Jez McCann Catford CC Equipe/Banks
56 Tom Neale Catford CC Equipe/Banks
57 Will Fox Pedal Heaven RT
58 Simon Holt Pedal Heaven RT
59 Gruffudd Lewis Pedal Heaven RT
60 David McGowan Pedal Heaven RT
61 Alex Paton Pedal Heaven RT
62 Mitchell Webber Pedal Heaven RT
63 Stephen Williams Pedal Heaven RT
64 Declan Byrne Polypipe Cycling Team
65 Russell Hampton Polypipe Cycling Team
66 Tom Mazzone Polypipe Cycling Team
67 Dominic Smith Polypipe Cycling Team
68 Connor Swift Polypipe Cycling Team
69 Simon Wilson Polypipe Cycling Team
70 William Bjergfelt SportGrub KUOTA Cycling Team
71 Ryan Davis SportGrub KUOTA Cycling Team
72 Dan Fleeman SportGrub KUOTA Cycling Team
73 Richard Hepworth SportGrub KUOTA Cycling Team
74 Adam Kenway SportGrub KUOTA Cycling Team
75 Adam Martin SportGrub KUOTA Cycling Team
76 Ben Stockdale SportGrub KUOTA Cycling Team
77 Stephen Bradbury Velosure Starley Primal
78 Josh Burns Velosure Starley Primal
79 James Gullen Velosure Starley Primal
80 Cordier Marius Velosure Starley Primal
81 Adrià Moreno Sala Velosure Starley Primal
82 Jack Pullar Velosure Starley Primal
83 Deacon Cutterham CGC Army Cycling Union
84 Ryan Perry Army Cycling Union
85 Alexander Royle Army Cycling Union
86 Oscar Hutchings Bikeshed – Exeter Uni
87 Joshua Jones Bikeshed – Exeter Uni
88 Peter Medhurst Bikeshed – Exeter Uni
89 Martin Ford BowlPhish BONTRAGER Racing
90 Greg Mansell BowlPhish BONTRAGER Racing
91 Alexander Simmons BowlPhish BONTRAGER Racing
92 George Fowler Easton Ritte
93 Alexander Murison Easton Ritte
94 Ioannis Spanopoulos Easton Ritte
95 Thomas Bustard Giordana-Mitsubishi Electric RT
96 David Clarke Giordana-Mitsubishi Electric RT
97 Nathan Edmondson Giordana-Mitsubishi Electric RT
98 James Local Neon-Velo Cycling Team
99 James McCallum Neon-Velo Cycling Team
100 Alex Minting Neon-Velo Cycling Team
101 Peter Murdoch Neon-Velo Cycling Team
102 Jacob Tipper Neon-Velo Cycling Team
103 Kieran Brady Richardsons-Trek RT
104 Jamie Caldwell Richardsons-Trek RT
105 Lloyd Chapman Richardsons-Trek RT
106 Andrew Hastings Richardsons-Trek RT
107 Rhys Howells Richardsons-Trek RT
108 George Wood Richardsons-Trek RT
109 Thomas Bowering Ride 24/7
110 Colin Parry Ride 24/7
111 Mark Perry Ride 24/7
112 Henry Hunter Team Moda-Anon
113 Joshua Lawless Team Moda-Anon
114 Zack Williamson Team Moda-Anon
115 Ryan Visser Danny Shane – Storck Racing
116 Steven Lawley KTM road-and-trail.com
117 Simon Coles Norwood Paragon CC
118 Ben Simmons Team Wiggle
119 Sean McGovern Teamwallis Racing Team
120 Liam Walsh VC St Raphael

Reserves
121 James Davey Velosure Starley Primal
122 Owen Lake Richardsons-Trek RT
123 Joe Barry Performance Cycles
124 Daniel Guest Performance Cycles
125 James Stewart Performance Cycles
126 Michael Ward Performance Cycles
127 Ashley Martin Easton Ritte
128 Sam Redding Easton Ritte
129 Joseph Henstridge NFTO Race Club
130 Calum Croft Primera-Sports.Com
131 Andrew Syme Primera-Sports.Com
132 Adrian Lawson Ride 24/7
133 Harrison Fielding Bournemouth Jubilee Wheelers
134 Robert Ward Danny Shane – Storck Racing
135 Sol Warwick Penzance Wheelers
136 Anthony Moye Easton Ritte
137 James Lowden Neon-Velo Cycling Team
138 Tony Kiss Performance Cycles
139 Hugo Robinson Neon-Velo Cycling Team
140 Rory Gilling Performance Cycles
141 David Lowe BowlPhish BONTRAGER Racing

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