Winners! Ribble Outliers Latvian Triple!

Battling Ribble Cycles Outliers Latvian Triple! #winners Ribble Outliers stormed to victory in the Latvian Prologue on Friday evening with Jenson Young winning the men’s, and Sophie Wright the women’s elite tests.

Winners! Ribble Outliers Latvian Triple!

TEAM NEWS: #WINNERS! Battling Ribble Cycles Outliers Latvian Triple! #winners Ribble Outliers stormed to victory in the Latvian Prologue on Friday evening with Jenson Young winning the men’s, and Sophie Wright the women’s elite tests. Next day Sophie kept up her recent winning habit with a victory in the overall on her Ribble Ultra-Grit team issue bike, while Harry Tanfield and Jensen both had great rides in their main event.

THE BIKES: Bikes are the all Ultra-Grit team issue – more here: https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-ultra-grit-team-edition-red-xplr-axs-e1/?country=GB

REPORT: Coming off the back of a victory in Lithuania, you might be expecting another win in Latvia for our Outliers. Winning is a good habit, and it’s what every rider sets out to do each time they sit on a bike at the start of a race. Getting that first win can take years, and when it finally happens, it’s great, and you feel like you finally cracked the code, but it can make things harder too, because if you keep winning, you become a marked rider.

Everyone is watching you! #target

Despite the psychological challenges, the single-minded determination and focus that prepares you for the test ahead remains unchanged. You prepare the way you know how, apply the same rules, follow the same routine, and leave no stone unturned to achieve the next win. The Outlier’s had two tests at a Gravel Weekend, deep in the forests of Latvia. The first was a short, sharp punch up on Friday evening, with the main event following on Saturday.

Unusually for a gravel event, the organisers included a Friday prologue, something generally reserved for stage races on the road. This gave the riders a chance to test their legs against each other for around four minutes on a twisting technical cyclo-cross style course, and who better to take it on than our two CX champs Sophie and Jenson. Harry was first in the team off the line though, and despite a tough baptism to gravel prologues, he managed a decent time.

Step up Jenson, who showed the field how it’s done taking first place by 2 seconds and beating two World tour riders as well as the rest of the stacked men’s field. And so it was that Sophie Wright did the same by a 3 second margin, her winning habit continuing.

The Outliers were now the team to beat, with a victory in both elite races to start the weekend. #RibbleWinningBikes

Having raced well the previous week, Sophie was feeling confident, as were Jenson and Harry. All set off mid-field at the gun, the day already getting hot as I drove through the woods to the first feed. Everyone passed through, first Jenson and Harry together in a large front group then Sophie about 45 mins later in a leading bunch in the women’s elite.

The races were both going to plan when Toms Skujinš (pronounced Squinch) from Lidl Trek World Tour team took off up a long drag. Skujinš is very good, not just any WT rider, but one of the best around right now. Jenson and four other riders were the only ones who could stay on his wheel, and as they stretched the elastic ahead, the break was made.

Skujinš’s break ultimately created a 2-minute gap that held until km 110 when they began to tire. Jenson was strongest in that group though, attacking a few times but not able to get a willing accomplice to go with him. The race came back together when a chasing bunch including Harry joined them to form a large group of 14.

And that’s how it stayed until 10km to go when in a tough, sandy, wooded section, Jenson got a front wheel puncture and saw his dream of winning fade. He knew he had the legs and just needed to stay in the group to win, with his 2 second lead from Friday’s prologue, but again, it was not to be.

So over to Harry, who took up the baton and pushed hard, and in a breakaway group that went clear, he crossed the line in 4th place. A great result for him after a lot of difficult races. He’d finish delighted with his 5th place overall (on combined times) while not far behind a disappointed Jenson finished 13th.

In the women’s elite race, Sophie sat in the lead group, now sharing the lead with the 5 strongest riders in the race. She too, only needed to stay in the group to complete back-to-back wins, and that she did. Despite her attempts to go clear with 10km to go, the chasers reeled her back in, and she crossed the line 2nd on the stage, but took the overall to go with her prologue victory!

So, all in all, a great 2-week trip to the green forests of East of Europe for the battling Ribble Outliers!

The next race will be in Belgium at Houffalize where Metheven and Ben will be back in action at the end of August.