Stars of the Tour Series – Chris Lawless

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One of the most consistent riders in the Pearl izumi Tour Series is a 19 year old Team Wiggins rider; Chris Lawless, winner at Barrow

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Stars of the Tour Series – Chris Lawless

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A 19 year old who has done all the Pearl Izumi Tour Series rounds so far in 2015 is Chris Lawless of Team Wiggins. He was third at Durham but even before that, had impressed with his attacking riding at the front.

So, at Barrow, I went looking for the rider I had last seen winning the Youth circuit race championship in Bradford a few years ago. Little did I know that Chris later that evening would win the Barrow round of the Tour Series in some style after a two up break with Will Bjergfelt in a move that defeated the sprinter teams.

“I knew I had the form and have been performing consistently” Chris explained after the race in Barrow. “It was just a matter of how the races panned out especially with the team format. It’s hard getting an individual win on your own but tonight it all came together for me and I managed to clip off.”

“We both rode flat out and I felt I was the stronger rider so I was pretty confident in my finish. With half a lap to go, I started bluffing and didn’t do a turn and I knew with a tailwind, I could go early even though it’s a slight drag and I could gap him and he wouldn’t be able to catch me.”

“The only times I have ridden in front of big crowds are races like Revolution and Tour of Yorkshire and Tour of Britain but I weren’t winning there! Doing this was a pretty different experience!”

Chris is not new to the Pearl izumi Tour Series having done a few as a first year junior and then a few more rounds last year. He explained though this year is the first time he has been finishing consistently in decent positions.

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“It’s a good confidence booster to be in the mix all the time and feels pretty good. I have been a bit unlucky so far with mechanical and had a crash that was my fault as well going into a corner too hot at Aberystwyth in the rain.”

The night before the win at Barrow, there was no soft pedalling for Chris when he was third at Durham after chasing Richard Handley (JLT Condor) with Kristian House, also of JLT Condor. “I was lucky to get back to the front there after a bike change”.

“I had a mechanical quite early on when I must have hit quite a big cobble on the descent and cracked a rim so I had to get a bike change and was chasing for quite a while. When I got back on, Richard had already gone up the road and it was always going to be hard to cross to him as he’s such a strong rider”.

“The course was whittling people down in the group and me and Kristian got away from Tom Scully (Madison Genesis) and Mouldy (Jon Mould, One Pro Cycling). I was then in a difficult situation as Richard wasn’t coming back and Kristian was working with me but didn’t really need to and it was never going to be easy to get rid of him on that course because he always rides well there. ”

There is no doubt having seen Chris climb with the best and sprint with the best in the Tour Series in 2015, there is some serious talent in those legs of his and a good future in cycle racing beckons. Asked what he is looking for in the sport, he replies “hopefully turn pro in the next few years which will be a big step up but I just have to keep hacking away and see what the big races bring”.

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“We have RideLondon coming up and Tour of Britain but getting selected will be pretty hard as we have such a strong squad. Hopefully I can make them teams and go to them races even if it’s just doing a job for the team, it will help.”

“Last year was about getting round the senior races and so far this year, I had a pretty bad crash at the Under 23 Tour of Flanders which put me out for some races. Hopefully though I can get some decent results in the big races coming up, top 10s would be pretty good”.

Chris explained how the racing and work on the track helps when it comes to having to put out the big numbers for extended periods in races and when asked how the crits compare to other races he does on the road, he replied “they are just flat out from the gun. It’s all about how hard you can go for an hour and stay in that front group.”

“You have to be able to go flat out from the start, corner well and recover quickly because the race may briefly sit up but within a lap or two, it will be back to being flat out again. So you have to learn how to recover quickly, when to sit in the wheels, when not to pedal and so on.”

Riding for Team Wiggins, says Chris, means there are a lot of people looking at him in races. “We already have quite a good following so obviously we want to make the fans proud. We have mostly a young squad except for the track guys and Brad and the team just want to see us progress.”

Chris says he expects to do most of the remaining rounds which unlike the first half of the series which has seen a lot of hilly races, will now see many flatter events. “The latter races should suit me more coming from the track if anything especially the quick courses when you’re on top of the gear and spinning”.

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At Motherwell, Chris was third in the bunch sprint to Steele Von Hoff (NFTO) and Ed Clancy (Kristian House won solo from Chris Opie (One Pro Cycling) and Mike Northey (Madison Genesis). “They put a bike length or so into me but finishing that close to them feels quite good especially considering I’d led the sprint out from 300 to go.”

“I was hoping Steele would run underneath me in the last corner as I was going into it quite slow, but he wasn’t having any of it and was waiting for me to go. Sprinting against guys like that helps me get experience watching how they sprint and I’m learning all the time.”

Good luck to Chris in the races to come in the Series that he races.

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