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| Alex Dowsett stakes claim to Tour de France spot in Abergavenny time trial | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The last competitive pedal strokes on the road to the Tour de France will be turned in the next few days at national championships around the world, and in South Wales on Thursday evening the British time trial title will offer a glimpse of which riders are in form and hints at who may – or may not – get the call to ride. Sunday’s elite men’s road race at Abergavenny should also prove an intriguing battle, with Mark Cavendish defending his title six days out from the opening stage of the Tour. | The last competitive pedal strokes on the road to the Tour de France will be turned in the next few days at national championships around the world, and in South Wales on Thursday evening the British time trial title will offer a glimpse of which riders are in form and hints at who may – or may not – get the call to ride. Sunday’s elite men’s road race at Abergavenny should also prove an intriguing battle, with Mark Cavendish defending his title six days out from the opening stage of the Tour. |
| Sky have yet to reveal their nine riders for the Tour, so on Thursday the form of Geraint Thomas, Bradley Wiggins and Peter Kennaugh will be scrutinised – the former seen as a shoe-in for the Tour, the latter two further to the margins. David Millar also rides, and a fourth successive title for the Essex rider Alex Dowsett will do his cause no harm when the Spanish squad Movistar select their nine for Leeds. Wiggins has stated that he wants the British title as part of a possible full house of golds with the Commonwealth and world championships to come later this year, but Dowsett is the man most likely to get in his way. | Sky have yet to reveal their nine riders for the Tour, so on Thursday the form of Geraint Thomas, Bradley Wiggins and Peter Kennaugh will be scrutinised – the former seen as a shoe-in for the Tour, the latter two further to the margins. David Millar also rides, and a fourth successive title for the Essex rider Alex Dowsett will do his cause no harm when the Spanish squad Movistar select their nine for Leeds. Wiggins has stated that he wants the British title as part of a possible full house of golds with the Commonwealth and world championships to come later this year, but Dowsett is the man most likely to get in his way. |
| “It will be an interesting face-off,” acknowledges the 25-year-old, winner of a time-trial stage in the Giro d’Italia last year. “I’m in good form, Brad’s clearly in incredible form, it’s going to be a very tough ask for me.” Thomas will be another favourite over the 42km course around Celtic Manor, near Newport. To add extra spice, both Wiggins and Dowsett have been named in the England squad for the Commonweath Games in Glasgow, with Dowsett aiming to improve on the silver medal he took in Delhi. | “It will be an interesting face-off,” acknowledges the 25-year-old, winner of a time-trial stage in the Giro d’Italia last year. “I’m in good form, Brad’s clearly in incredible form, it’s going to be a very tough ask for me.” Thomas will be another favourite over the 42km course around Celtic Manor, near Newport. To add extra spice, both Wiggins and Dowsett have been named in the England squad for the Commonweath Games in Glasgow, with Dowsett aiming to improve on the silver medal he took in Delhi. |
| The national title intrigues partly because it pits WorldTour professionals such as Dowsett and Wiggins against national specialists who spend their racing lives in the obscure reaches of British time trialling. Dowsett makes occasional forays into British local events to hone his speed, and in one recent outing, he pulverised the British record for 10 miles, posting 17min 20sec, slashing 25sec off the previous best. “I’d always wanted it, but the stars needed to align – a fast course, a fast day and feeling good. What it did confirm was my progress in the last two years, I did one in my second year with Sky [2012] and I’m a minute faster now.” | The national title intrigues partly because it pits WorldTour professionals such as Dowsett and Wiggins against national specialists who spend their racing lives in the obscure reaches of British time trialling. Dowsett makes occasional forays into British local events to hone his speed, and in one recent outing, he pulverised the British record for 10 miles, posting 17min 20sec, slashing 25sec off the previous best. “I’d always wanted it, but the stars needed to align – a fast course, a fast day and feeling good. What it did confirm was my progress in the last two years, I did one in my second year with Sky [2012] and I’m a minute faster now.” |
| Dowsett is, however, a contender for a place on a far larger stage. He is waiting to find out whether he will get a “once-in-a-lifetime” chance to ride the Tour de France on his home roads through Essex; he has been named in Movistar’s squad of 13 – final places will not be decided until next week. “It’s all looking good, but you don’t truly know you’re going until you’re on the start line and the gun goes off. I’m a bit disappointed the Tour doesn’t start with a prologue time trial, because it would be nice to be competitive on home soil, but I’ll be doing my job for the team.” | Dowsett is, however, a contender for a place on a far larger stage. He is waiting to find out whether he will get a “once-in-a-lifetime” chance to ride the Tour de France on his home roads through Essex; he has been named in Movistar’s squad of 13 – final places will not be decided until next week. “It’s all looking good, but you don’t truly know you’re going until you’re on the start line and the gun goes off. I’m a bit disappointed the Tour doesn’t start with a prologue time trial, because it would be nice to be competitive on home soil, but I’ll be doing my job for the team.” |
| If the Essex man goes to the Tour, the penultimate day’s time trial should suit him, but there will be no sense in saving himself for it. Dowsett found his niche at Movistar at his first race with them last year, when he offered to assist the team’s sprinters Francisco Ventoso and Alejandro Valverde, getting a chance to demonstrate his skill at guiding a leader up through a fast-moving peloton. | If the Essex man goes to the Tour, the penultimate day’s time trial should suit him, but there will be no sense in saving himself for it. Dowsett found his niche at Movistar at his first race with them last year, when he offered to assist the team’s sprinters Francisco Ventoso and Alejandro Valverde, getting a chance to demonstrate his skill at guiding a leader up through a fast-moving peloton. |
| “The sprinters and general classification riders have realised I’m good at being around the front of the bunch, keeping them protected without putting my nose in the wind, so they want me for that,” he said. “I’m not scared to go through a gap, but it’s about picking a gap you know your team-mate can get through. I’m not sure where it comes from, I learned a few tricks riding for the Great Britain academy under Rod Ellingworth, and being at Sky was a big education on working as a team.” | “The sprinters and general classification riders have realised I’m good at being around the front of the bunch, keeping them protected without putting my nose in the wind, so they want me for that,” he said. “I’m not scared to go through a gap, but it’s about picking a gap you know your team-mate can get through. I’m not sure where it comes from, I learned a few tricks riding for the Great Britain academy under Rod Ellingworth, and being at Sky was a big education on working as a team.” |
| At the end of 2012, Dowsett left Sky for Movistar in order to gain precisely the kind of opportunity that may beckon this July, and he has observed the contrast between the Spanish squad – which has roots going back over 30 years to the Reynolds squad – and the British outfit: “The way Team Sky do it isn’t always the best way. At Movistar in [the Italian stage race] Tirreno–Adriatico, the team time trial felt disorganised – at Sky it’s all planned ahead, how long our turns on the front will be, what wattage.” | At the end of 2012, Dowsett left Sky for Movistar in order to gain precisely the kind of opportunity that may beckon this July, and he has observed the contrast between the Spanish squad – which has roots going back over 30 years to the Reynolds squad – and the British outfit: “The way Team Sky do it isn’t always the best way. At Movistar in [the Italian stage race] Tirreno–Adriatico, the team time trial felt disorganised – at Sky it’s all planned ahead, how long our turns on the front will be, what wattage.” |
| He added: “With Movistar we looked at the course, rode round quicker than we should have done, the warm-up wasn’t structured, suddenly we had a few minutes until the start, and we were told our riding order at the start line. We came in second, and after that I thought, ‘this works despite how disorganised it appears’ – everyone knew how to ride, there were no egos, no one doing longer turns than they should. It was different but potentially better.” | He added: “With Movistar we looked at the course, rode round quicker than we should have done, the warm-up wasn’t structured, suddenly we had a few minutes until the start, and we were told our riding order at the start line. We came in second, and after that I thought, ‘this works despite how disorganised it appears’ – everyone knew how to ride, there were no egos, no one doing longer turns than they should. It was different but potentially better.” |