Day one of the Tour Of The Reservoir saw the riders tackle a brutally hard 14 mile circuit on exposed moors around the Derwent reservoir in Northumberland.
Day one of the Tour Of The Reservoir saw the riders tackle a brutally hard 14 mile circuit on exposed moors around the Derwent reservoir in Northumberland. With wind, hail and sometimes sun exaggerating the severity of the climbs on the circuit, the stage was always going to be aggressive from the start. The 10th edition (a two day stage race for the first time) didn’t disappoint. From the first moments the main bunch splintered into several parts with 14 riders prising clear from the front.
Andy Tennant representing Madison Genesis in the front group was heavily outnumbered by Team UK Youth making it very difficult to win from that situation. Meanwhile, Ian Bibby after having to make a bike change, made an incredible effort going from the third to the second group, before attacking that group and very nearly joining the front of the race falling just 100 yards short. This would have changed the face of the race for us however it wasn’t to be.
It was up to Andy to take on his 14 breakaway compatriots to the finish. Surviving several attacks on the last lap, Andy was able to stay in contention until the final sprint where he finished a very respectable seventh. Without losing time to his rivals Andy is very much still in contention for the classification.
"Today we were caught off guard at the start of the race and were playing catch up all day. Fortunately Andy was on a fantastic day riding strongly in the front group to save the day for us. Tomorrow is another day and we try to make amends!" Team Manager - Roger Hammond
Click here for a full race report
Photos by Andy Jones