World Tour win for Ethan Vernon

Victory on stage 3 of the Tour of Guangxi in Bama was Ethan Vernon’s second win of the season; it also moved him into the lead of the GC, Points and Best young rider standings.

World Tour win for Ethan Vernon

Team report … Third time lucky for IPT in China: having come close in the opening two stages of the Tour of Guangxi, the team’s riders dominated the stage 3 finish on Thursday. Ethan Vernon took his first UCI WorldTour victory in the team’s colours (Ethan’s third WT win) and Riley Pickrell finished third after a strong lead out from Jake Stewart.

Getty Images

Victory in Bama was Vernon’s second win of the season; it also moved him into the lead of the GC, Points and Best young rider standings.

The win was a deserved reward for the British rider’s determination to end the road season on a high after he missed four months of it to focus on the track at the Olympic Games. Vernon and the GB team pursuit squad narrowly missed out on winning the gold medal in Paris.

“I’m really happy,” he said. “I’ve been struggling a bit after the Olympic Games to get back into it. In training, my shape is getting better and better but I just haven’t really had the results to prove it. I’ve had a good week so far and a few close calls so I’m really happy that I could end the season with a win.

“My original plan was to go to Track Worlds but after the Olympics, I was pretty down because it hadn’t gone to plan and really struggling. I started getting my rhythm back on the road and didn’t really fancy going back to the track and wanted to focus on the road. So I really pushed hard to be selected for the team here as I really believed that I could win a stage.”

“I put some pressure on myself as I told the team this so I felt like I had to deliver.”

Vernon, who placed fourth in Tuesday’s opening stage and seventh yesterday, revealed that the team’s strategy for the day was a two-pronged attack to maximize the chances of winning, either with him or his Canadian teammate Pickrell.

He added: “We changed the tactic a bit from previous days. We were leading Riley Pickrell out instead and I had a free card, which actually worked out really well as it ended up being an extended lead out.

“There was a slight headwind and maybe Riley opened up a bit too early out of Jake’s wheel, which gave me the advantage. What we did was perfect, so everyone is really happy.”

BRITS

1. Ethan Vernon
11. Jake Stewart
32. Joe Blackmore
39. Max Poole
75. Oscar Onley
88. James Knox
89. Finlay Pickering
94. Chris Froome
98. Jack Rootkin Gray
108. Oliver Knight