Feature: Adria Moreno Tops Points Table in Prems

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When the points are added up from the Prems held in 2016, Raleigh GAC rider Adria Moreno pips triple race winner Ian Bibby to the top of the table

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Feature: Adria Moreno Tops Points Table in Prems

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When the points are added up from the Prems held in 2016, Raleigh GAC rider pips triple race winner Ian Bibby to the top of the table …

A quick calculation from the two tables that are available from this year’s premier road races for Elite Men shows that Adria Moreno (Raleigh GAC) was the most consistent rider through the year with all but two top 10’s in each race and a worst of 13th. Hence, he tops the overall points tally.

Whilst Adria laments not winning a round, as does any rider who is keen to get their hands in the air, the fact is his name, deservedly so, goes on the list with all the others since 1959 who have had the best points tally over the course of a season.

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Evan Oliphant (Raleigh GAC) with the Star Trophy in 2013

In 1959, the Federation, when it gave a dam about road racing, created a series called the Star Trophy. What trophy riders were presented with then I’m unsure of as more research is needed on that but all the way to the 90’s the series was called the Star Trophy and the names on that trophy were of course top drawer riders.

John Perks was the first winner in 1959 and then others included (sorry for those not mentioned!), Les West, Hugh Porter, Peter Buckley, Phil Bayton, Phil Griffiths (who later sponsored teams in UK), Paul Sherwen, Steve Joughin, Malcolm Elliott, Paul Curran, John Tanner, Gordon MacAuley, Russell Downing, Scott Thwaites and in the last four years, four riders all from Raleigh GAC have topped the table, Evan Oliphant, Yanto Barker, Steve Lampier and Adria Moreno.

See the full table of the Star Trophy winners here

Then in the 90’s (1993), the British Cycling (Federation) started to mess with the series and called it the Premier Calendar but as far as I am aware from riders who won it, they were awarded (not to keep but to pose with!) the Star Trophy. Even last year, the winner, also from Raleigh GAC, Steve Lampier, got to pose with the trophy if not take it home. His name however is part of the history books and that is important to any sport.

For the first time though in 2016, the pen pushers at the Federation, in a kick in the teeth for the sport and the winner, decided not to have an overall for the season in 2016. No reason as yet has been given although President Bob Howden did put this on facebook which tells us what we know but not why they are messing with history. What is really perplexing is that Bob and many of the board members are through and through part of the road racing scene.

So why have they let this happen?

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As a decision by a governing body of a membership, it is beyond belief and shows just how out of touch not just the pen pushers at British Cycling are but anyone there who has the power to reverse this decision but hasn’t. It is stopping history and binning it …. And that is just Wrong.

The top 10 from the two halves of the season is as follows:
1 Adria Moreno (Raleigh GAC): 66 & 98 = 164
2 Ian Bibby: NFTO 93 & 57 = 150
3 Jonny McEvoy NFTO 38 & 88 = 126
4 Jack Pullar (Pedal Heaven) 60 & 64 = 124
5 Chris Lawless: JLT Condor 106
6 Erick Rowsell (Madison Genesis) 34 & 71 105
7 Tom Stewart (Madison Genesis) 66 & 30 96
8 James Gullen (Pedal Heaven) 93
9 Dexter Gardias (Pedal Heaven) 80
9 Russell Downing JLT Condor 80

Of the riders in that list, Ian Bibby won three of those prems which makes him the most prolific winner and is probably why he was snapped up by John Herety when things at Bibby’s 2016 team got a bit shaky and at the time of writing, their future is still in the balance.

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A rider who many feel should be World Tour, Ian Bibby – winner of three Prems in 2016 and second in the ‘series’

For Adria Moreno, his presence at the top of the points list is confirmation of how much progress he made after a few years in a small Elite team before going to UCI Conti team Raleigh-GAC in 2016.

Here’s a look at the season for Adria:

In the Chorley GP (March 26), with Adria’s Raleigh GAC team split between there and Normandy, it was a slow start for Adria despite a good showing in the Totnes Two Day and he was 13th at Chorley. Third placed in the year long series was Jonny McEvoy in 6th. The winner was Edmund Bradbury (gone to JLT Condor in 2017) from Dale Appleby and Dexter Gardias (Pedal Heaven).

The next event was the return of the Manx International (April 10) and being a mountainous course, it suited Adria who won the King of the Mountains prize and so was on the podium which is a goal for any team. That race was won by Ian Bibby from Erick Rowsell (Madison Genesis) and Sky pro Ben Swift. Adria was 9th.

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Adria going for KoM points in the Manx International

Round 3, the Tour of the Reservoir on April 16/17 was better for Adria and he finished third overall behind a youngster Joe Fry of Pedal Heaven and Jonny McEvoy again showing well. The race, over two stages in an ice cold Northumbria, saw Adria fourth on stage 1 and eighth on stage 2.

Into May, and on the 8th, Adria was 10th in the Wiltshire Grand Prix won by Ian Bibby from Will Fox (Pedal Heaven) and Matt Holmes (Madison Genesis). The final round of the Prems before the crits kicked off was the monument, the Lincoln Grand Prix and this was won by Tom Stewart (Madison Genesis) from Russell Downing and that man Ian Bibby. Another top 10 though for Adria (7th) saw him top the points table for the Spring Cup despite the two wins and third by Ian Bibby.

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Ryedale GP Podium with Ian Bibby (centre) the winner from Jack Pullar and Adria Moreno

So, in five races, Adria was 13th, ninth, third, tenth and seventh and he was the winner of the Spring Cup.

The season then went mad for the crits with the Tour Series mixed with just the Velothon road race where Adria was in a lone break before Tom Stewart (Madison Genesis) won the race.

Post national road race championships at the end of June in Stockton, the prems returned (along with the Elite Circuit Series crits) and on July 2nd, six weeks after the Lincoln GP, the Staffordshire Kermesse was won by Tom Moses with a super effort to go solo from a long long way out. Russell Downing was second and Chris Lawless third. Unsurprisingly, Adria Moreno was in the top ten again, this time in 8th.

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The GP of Wales was a major triumph for Madison Genesis duo, Tom Stewart and Erick Rowsell

One of the grippiest races, the Ryedale GP followed the week after (July 10) and Ian Bibby won his third Prem of the year from Jack Pullar (Pedal Heaven) and in third was Adria. Two more races to go and in the GP of Wales it was a triumph for Madison Genesis with Tom Stewart winning from Erick Rowsell whilst Chris Lawless was third.

Adria was 13th. The final race, a short kermesse at Leicester , the winner was Chris Lawless from Russell Downing and Rory Townsend (Pedal Heaven) and to finish the season, Adria was 8th. That put him third in the rankings for the Prems held in the second half of the year but his consistency in the top 10 with a worst placing of 13th (twice), meaning his tally of points had him topping the overall from all the prems held in 2016.

So, in all the Prems, Adria had two podiums; Tour of Reservoir and Ryedale within the top 10s. Even if you include the two stages in the Tour of Reservoir, it means in 11 events, Adria was top 10 in nine of them. It means that Adria joined the likes of Evan Oliphant, Yanto Barker and Steve Lampier who have all proved to be the most consistent through a season and won the overall points tally for the season.

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A big disappointment for Adria was losing the yellow jersey in the Totnes 2 Day on the second day.

Talking to Adria about his season, he explained how it was a big step up to ride for Raleigh – GAC in 2016 after his time with the smaller Starley Primal team. “I knew the races, but it was a step up to get the results because I was in a big UCI team. It was though a good decision to go to the team”.

“I am very happy with my year and with my victory in the Spring Cup as well as third in the Grand Prix series. There was though just one thing missing and that was a race victory!”
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Adria, went on to add that he feels every year he is training better and getting better results and is hoping that 2017 is even better again. Talking us through his year, he says “I started the season as a helper but each race, I felt very good and confident and was getting better results. I soon got to lead the team and Chez (team boss) had confidence in me and so did my teammates”.

“Next year the team will be supporting me again and this gives me more confidence and responsibility”.

He says his favourite races were the Lincoln Grand Prix and the Manx International but wants to also focus on getting better results in the UCI races. “The Tour of Yorkshire was very hard because the weather was horrible and I make some wrong moves. On the first stage I was in the last break and on the third stage I was in the first group until Sky pushed on. Next year if we are selected, I want to focus on the overall.”

To prepare for the coming season, Adria says he’s kept fit in October and will continue to do that in November before pushing on in December with more miles and intensity. Whilst he is from the Catalonia region of Spain and spends time there in Girona as well as his home town, he also likes coming back to Derby.

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Adria in a grim Tour of Reservoir which will be in July in 2017

“I train a lot in Girona, training all the time in the mountains and I see a lot of British riders on the same climb as everyone knows the best places to train there. Girona has fast roads which is good for training and the traffic is okay. The weather too but I like England as well because there are a thousand roads. More roads than Girona and I am always exploring and discovering new roads. Sometimes I get lost and end up doing a lot of hours on the bike but it is good.”

Adria will again ride for Raleigh GAC in 2017 whilst Ian Bibby moves to JLT Condor and Jonny McEvoy, Madison Genesis.

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