Cleansweep for CyclePremier.com – Metaltek
Story posted May 4, 2010; by Gerry McManus
Team take the clean sweep at Mallory Park after Kettering Tour Series launch
The CyclePremier.com – Metaltek team showed it’s readiness for the forthcoming Halfords Tour Series when it filled the first four places at the mid-week road race at Mallory Park in Leicestershire last Thursday (April 29th). Ashley Finn (Lancaster) won his first race of the year when he crossed the line ahead of teammates Tony Gibb (Wooburn Green), Simon Wilson (Burnley) and Andy Magnier (Stoke).
The riders had been presented at the launch of the Kettering round of this year’s Halfords Tour Series on Thursday afternoon and were fired up at the evening race. Ben Price (Peterborough) also finished high up in the results by winning the bunch sprint for 7th place to show that his form is coming together at the right time.
The Halfords Tour series Kettering round launch was held at the Alfred East Art Gallery in the Northamptonshire Town and a packed room was welcomed by Alistair Grant from the race organisers Sweet Spot, David Cook (CEO Kettering Borough Council), Cllr Ruth Groome (Kettering Mayor), John Parkes (CEO Northampton NHS) and Simon Evans (CEO North Northants Development Council.
The Kettering Tour Series criterium will be held on a tight town centre circuit on Thursday 10th June and is round six of the ten race series that kicks off in Canary Wharf, London on May 25th.
“It was great to see so many people at the presentation,” said team manager Rod Freeman: “Everybody is looking forward to the race being in Kettering and we are definitely aiming to win it. Then we had an amazing evening’s racing at Mallory Park. We picked up our 10th win of the season but the team performance was exceptional which is exactly what we need for the Tour Series where the emphasis is on a team performance. It’s a points competition where points are awarded for the first three riders across the line but obviously it would be even more prestigious if one of our riders crossed the line with his arms aloft as the race winner too.”
“I must thank everybody that made us feel welcome at the launch last week and I know there has been a lot of work behind the scenes to support the race and cycling in general in Kettering and Northamptonshire,” continued Freeman. “A number of children from local schools came out to see what cycling racing was all about and we were impressed with the questions they put to the team in a Q and A session. There is no doubt that the town centre series has captured the public’s imagination and thousands turned out to watch each round last year. Some of the kids even gave Andrew Magnier a good challenge on the stationery Watt Bikes that were set up for the kids to try.”
“We were also able to confirm that ‘Beet It’ would be an additional sponsor for the team during the series which is being shown on ITV4 again this year. ‘Beet It’ is the latest organic fruit juice produced by James White Drinks. The Beetroot juice is already used in the sports arena by teams like the England Rugby squad and our rider Ben Price is already a big advocate of the product and introduced the team to it this year.”
“The team were wearing the new skins suits which have been specially produced for us by MS Tina Cycling Wear and they look fantastic. The team will be wearing these in all the Tour Series events. MS Tina makes our complete range of racing and training cycling gear, but we gave them a real challenge when we asked them to turn the new kit around in just two weeks and thankfully they delivered on time.”
Finally the last word goes to Ashley Finn who won the race at Mallory Park. “It’s great to get my first win of the season and for my new team,” said the 20-year-old from Lancaster. “We had four riders in a break of six that had got away and the pace was red hot. I was feeling the pressure a little when our group eased up a little so I shot straight through and went clear with three laps to go. Tony Gibb got across to me and we worked together to hold off the chasers and I just got the verdict on the line.”
“I have done a lot of hard work this winter and got the cyclo-cross bike out to ride when the snow came down heavily and now my form is coming along nicely," continued Finn. “There are only five places available for each Tour Series race. I hope this win will boost my team selection chances as much as it has boosted my confidence. We have got a great team spirit and a lot of talent but we are still relatively new team and we will continue to build on our overall team performances.”
Finn also confirmed his improving form when he finished fifth in the 95-mile Drummond Trophy in Scotland on Sunday 2nd May. Finn was the only CyclePremier.com – Metaltek rider in the field with Evan Oliphant winning the race as part of the eight-man Endura pro continental team.
More details of the Halfords sponsored race series can be found at www.tourseries.co.uk
