Tour of Britain News – Madison Genesis

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Lincoln and Velothon winner Tom Stewart leads Madison Genesis at the Tour of Britain

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Tour of Britain News – Madison Genesis

Alex Blain, Matt Cronshaw, Taylor Gunman, Matt Holmes, Erick Rowsell and Tom Stewart are the riders selected to compete in Britain’s biggest stage race of the year. Starting on Sunday 4 September in Glasgow, the event finishes one week later in London, crossing Scotland, England and Wales en-route to the capital.

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As one of only five domestic squads to earn selection for the race, the team takes to the line following its strongest season to date, with wins in the Lincoln GP, Velothon Wales, GP of Wales, Tour of the Reservoir, Tour Series and Totnes-Vire.

Speaking ahead of the race team manager Mike Northey confirmed the squad was ready for their biggest test of the year. “All year the Tour of Britain has been our primary focus – from earning our place, to training camps and our recent block of racing in Belgium and the Netherlands. We’re now counting down to the start on Sunday.”

“Every year the team has tried to animate the race and this time will be no different and I believe we are going in with a group capable of doing something special.”

AlexBlain

Alex Blain: The most experienced rider on the squad, this will be Blain’s third Tour of Britain. His years of stage racing knowledge, man-management and motivation will be critical as he takes the role of team captain.
Season highlight: Tour Series victory, Portsmouth
Best Tour of Britain stage result: 8th (2010)

Matt Cronshaw: Lining up in his fourth Tour of Britain makes Cronshaw the most seasoned rider in the squad. With a feel for what it takes to make the finish at such an unforgiving race, breakaway experience and local knowledge of stages two and three adds depth.
Best Tour of Britain stage result: 17th (2013)

Taylor Gunman: Now fully recovered from a niggling mid-season knee injury, Gunman will be looking to get back to what he does best – providing first class support on the road. His first Tour de Yorkshire gave him an appetite to make the team for September and he achieved it despite adversity.

Matt Holmes: Enjoying his best season to date, Holmes has worked to carve out opportunities in 2016. Riding strongly in the break at the RideLondon-Surrey Classic, Holmes alerted the attention of the pundits with his strong riding, which had surfaced earlier with a top-20 finish on GC at the Tour de Yorkshire.

Erick Rowsell: Last year, Rowsell was forced to miss the Tour of Britain with a broken elbow and unfortunately more bad luck beset the rider who in 2015 finished top-10 at the Tour de Yorkshire. A crash at the An Post Ras – in which he sustained broken ribs – somewhat derailed Rowsell’s season, but a result on his Tour of Britain debut would be the perfect antidote to a challenging 12-months.

Tom Stewart: Stewart has enjoyed a breakthrough season, proving himself domestically with victories at the Lincoln GP, Velothon Wales and the GP of Wales. Landing a top-10 in the semi-classic Dwars Door Het Hageland underlined Stewart’s capabilities in the toughest conditions. Finishing as the best British-based rider at the Tour de Yorkshire – 12th on general classification – showed he had the consistency to compete on consecutive days. The Tour of Britain is the next step up, with the challenge of avoiding the pitfalls of stage racing over one week.

Last year: Stewart was involved in a battle royale for the king of the mountains jersey, which went down to the final climb. In a show of strength the whole team took to the front of the race and although the jersey wasn’t captured, there was no doubt about the commitment shown.
Best Tour of Britain stage result: 3rd (2014)

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