Cornwall’s Saint Piran Pro Cycling have crossed into the Scottish Borders for the second round of the Sportsbreak Tour Series, writes Colin Bradbury.
As in Round One, two Saint Piran men’s teams and one Women’s team will line up in Galashiels this evening for just over an hour’s racing each around a tight, twisty course of just under 1km in length.
There’s just one change in the lineup for the flagship men’s Continental team. Bradley Symonds comes in for Tom Mazzone who is being rested this round as he continues to recover from a crash in the Rutland CiCLE Classic eleven days ago. The team lies in fifth place out of 13 after Round One, with six points. Saint Piran’s development team, 05/03 will field the same riders as in Round One, with the team lying in 11th spot.
Wiv SunGod lead the men’s points standings after Round One, thanks to an audacious first lap attack that saw Thomas Mein and Matthew Bostock break clear and almost lap the entire field by the end of the race. With their team-mates providing an effective block to prevent other teams from bridging the gap. While they are unlikely to be able to pull off the same trick in Round Two, with the rest of the field’s guard now well and truly up, the short, twisty circuit will suit their style.
Saint Piran Team Manager, Steve Lampier, expects a couple of teams – Ribble Weldtite and Canyon (Tour Series winners in 2019 and 2021 respectively) – to ride especially aggressively to rein in Wiv Sungod. For Saint Piran, Lampier says:
“The plan is still basically the the same and we’ll ride with renewed vigour tonight. Leon Mazzone and Charles Page are going particularly well.”
In the women’s race, there is also one change to the Saint Piran line-up, with Jenny Bolsom in for Emily Chilton. The team lies in tenth place overall, with one point. In Round One, Pro-Noctis took first place in the team standings, with a second place for Jo Tindley and a third for Lucy Ellmore, behind stage winner Sophie Lewis of CAMS-Basso.
The men’s race gets under way at 5.30pm this evening, with the women’s event following at 7.30pm.
The livestream can be viewed on the official You Tube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheTourCycling
Highlights will also be broadcast on ITV4 tomorrow evening.
After today’s race, the Series moves on to Round Three in Sunderland on Tuesday 10th May and Stranraer on Thursday 12th May.