Finsbury Park CC Road Race

Ruth Shier of Hutchinson-Brother UK wins the Finsbury Park CC road race after a tough attacking race.

After a tough weekend of racing the Zuiderzeeronde in Holland, Hutchinson-Brother UK went on to take the win at the Finsbury Park CC Road Race. The Dutch race had four of the team racing against the pros on a 119km course. Battling dirt roads, cobbles and headwinds obviously did the trick for Ruth Shier and the team as she took first place at the following weekend’s Finsbury Park CC Road Race.

This is how the race went according to Ruth on the team’s facebook page.

Finsbury Park CC Road Race

“The course with a long drag finish and fast back section suited us well. We’ve built some good early momentum this season, and treated this race no differently.

We knew the drag would be a good spring board to launch a break, so after a frantic first lap of riders fighting for the front, @thenorthpol took command and drove into the bottom of the climb, stringing the bunch out and offering a platform for Sannah Zaman and I to attack. We went clear for half a lap but the bunch didn’t let us go and we were soon caught.

The bunch kept a high pace in the early laps, shelling half the field, until Jessica Prior from @ldn_academy saw an opportunity and attacked the back end of the course, given Jess’s form I knew this could be a winning move and bridged across. Again we were brought back in less than a lap.

Next it was Danni Watkinson’s turn, as a team we were really bringing the fight to this race, but the bunch was able to put the fire out again.

Finally the break is clear!

Finally with a few laps to go, Jess went again, she was on fire this race, and I dug in to follow her wheel. Finally our attack stuck.

We worked well together and kept an honest gap, going to the line with another rider from the LDN family would have been a dream, but Jess’s earlier attacks had begun to catch up with her. I went solo for the last lap for the win and as a team we all finished well.”

Next race for Hutchinson-Brother UK is the Dave Peck Memorial Road Race. This is round one of the British Women’s Team Cup. The British Women’s Team Cup is a series of races run throughout the year. Teams of six riders compete to score points for the overall team prize.

All photos are courtesy of Oliver Brookwell