An injury-interrupted 2018 could only slow down Matt Holmes so much – an attacking performance in the Tour of Britain reminded the peloton of his talents.
An injury-interrupted 2018 could only slow down Matt Holmes so much – an attacking performance in the Tour of Britain reminded the peloton of his talents.
Having finished fifth overall at the 2017 Tour de Yorkshire, Holmes was hoping to return to the race and even improve his position.
However an injury ruined the first half of the year for Holmes, who was forced to take a month off in the peak of the season.
Holmes showed his tenacity by taking a measured approach to his return. Returning at the British Championships and making the lead group, he went on to place second at the GP Lucien van Impe and then picked up the combativity jersey at the Tour of Britain.
With the team since 2014, Holmes is still a young rider with good potential and one to watch in 2019.
If I was on any other team and I had that injury, it would have been the end of the world. But at Madison it was no stress and that was nice, to feel secure in your job. Instead of rushing back for the sake of it, I was able to take my time and do something good.
For 2019 I think I would definitely go for the GC again at the Tour de Yorkshire. It’s simpler there, it’s a harder race and the peloton gets thinned out because there are hard climbs all day.
At the Tour of Britain, I would go for breaks again - I could target both the KOM and the red jersey if I did it from day one. This year I started a few days late, tried for everything and ended up with nothing.
Read the full off-season interview with Matt Holmes.
DOB: 8 December 1993
Nationality: British (Wigan)
Joined Madison Genesis: 2014
Rider type: Climber
Favourite coffee stop: Roberts and Co, Mawdesly
Favourite training road: The mountain road from Pollensa to Andratx, Mallorca.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
2018
2nd - GP Lucien van Impe
2017
2nd - Ryedale GP
6th - Tour of the Reservoir, stage two
3rd - Lincoln GP
5th - Tour de Yorkshire
2016
1st - Totnes Vire
7th - An Post Ras, overall
3rd - Wiltshire GP
4th - Manx GP
19th - Tour de Yorkshire, overall
2012
2nd - British Road Race Championships, under-23
2011
2nd - Junior Tour of Wales
