Archer Grand Prix - 1.5
Great Britain, April 9, 2000
1999 results Results
Hammond triumphs in Archer
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Roger
Hammond wins
Photo: © Howard Waller
The Archer Grand Prix departed from Penn Village on the B474 after
a neutralised ride from the HQ in Hazlemere. The hilly 11 miles (17.6km)
circuit took in a number of pictureseque villages in the English county
of Buckinghamshire. These included Winchmore Hill and Penn Street. The
finish was on the A355.
What a weekend! On Saturday I had the pleasure of doing a short ride
with the Collstrop/de Federale team after they had arrived from Belgium
and was given a a detailed description of the week's big talking point,
the Gent Wevelgem by the current UK hero, Roger Hammond. We also spoke
about the Archer Grand Prix to follow the next day and pre-race, Roger
was saying he was quite happy for any of his Collstrop team mates to
win.
But come the race and after an awesome display again by last weekend's
Tour of Flanders hero, Eric De Clerq (Collstrop), Roger showed how much
he wanted the race with an ever aggressive style that riders in the
UK could do well to emulate.
There simply could not have been a more popular winner when Roger
Hammond Collstrop/De Federale) crossed the line well clear of his Irish
breakaway companion to win one of the few British UCI races this year.
After finishing the race, Roger was swamped not only by the cycling
media, his mum and dad but also by well wishers wanting to shake the
man's hand and get his autograph.
Hammond however was quick to praise his teammate Eric De Clerq because
without him, Roger felt he may not have won the race and that he felt
a little embarrassed to take the podium instead of Eric. Hammond went
on to say "I seem to be going well. One of the things in my favour is
that my winter preparation was different. Cyclocross for instance, and
the team are treating me with respect so I can ride harder. All these
little things coming together have helped. I mean, I'm not riding that
much faster than last year, perhaps only 1 per cent, but that can be
the difference between top 10 and winning."
When asked about being closely marked, Roger said "I was closely marked
but we (Collstrop) were in the driving seat because we had a guy in
the front and so they could mark me as much as they like, but they were
not going to win the bike race. They had to race and all I had to do
was be patient."
After Roger's 10th place in Gent-Wevelgem, one of the best placings
by a UK rider in a semi-classic for many years, the win in the Archer
was not a surprise although it was by no means easy for him. Gordon
McCauley (Oleum.co.uk), last year's UK number 1 and Premier calendar
winner, described the race afterwards as one of the hardest he could
remember. "I've never ridden a whole race on the rivet like that. The
heart rate was 180/190 all day. I always seemed to be going across gaps."
If any proof was needed about how hard the race was, all anyone had
to do at the finish was look around and see the number of top riders,
a winner of a premier event this year among them, who were pulled out
of the race after being shelled out.
The man of the race for the crowd, other than local rider Roger of
course, was Tour of Flanders lone breakway hero Eric DeClerq (Collstrop/De
Federale) who in partnership with Irishman Brian Kenneally, led the
race for a number of laps. It was only when De Clerq was about to be
reeled in that Hammond went onto the attack again and took another Irishman,
David McCann, with him. Behind, the chase was lead by two UK based riders:
Huw Pritchard (Linda McCartney) and Kevin Dawson (Peter Read Racing)
who managed to get a gap on the main chase group. That group contained
two of Hammond's team mates, De Clerq and a first year pro, Bert Scheirlinckx.
All this came after a race that was on before the flag had even dropped.
Held in windy but dry conditions after rain in the morning, even the
neutralised section saw riders struggling to keep up. That said, the
race did not start to split big time until the riders had covered around
three laps of the 11 mile circuit.
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Podium:
McCann, Hammond and Pritchard
Photo: Larry Hickmott
This was around the time when the chase after an early breakaway saw
one group after another make it across to the leaders. One of the last
to do so was Hammond who when riding up one of the short steep climbs
where we were perched for much of the race, looked very comfortable.
This was noticed not just by me but by many of the enthusiasts looking
on.
What was even more noticeable however was that each time a group went
across to the front, a Collstrop rider was in it. Quite simply, they
along with the Irish riders, were the strongest teams and made sure
they placed riders in all the decisive moves. Hammond's experience racing
in Europe also showed when he constantly attacked the riders towards
the end into the crosswinds past the start finish area and onto the
long climb of the race, Gore Hill. This in reality was no more than
a long drag but with the wind it soon started to take its toll.
One of the notable absentees for the race was Premier Calendar leader,
Chris Newton who had car trouble and was unable to make it to the event.
This left the door open to the other riders and the only one to take
real advantage was Andy Lyons, one of the many top riders in the UK
who are unsponsored. Andy finished 5th in the Archer which was enough
to take him to the top of the Premier calendar table by only 3 points
from Chris Newton who is now second. These are strictly provisional.
Report and picture courtesy of Larry Hickmott, www.echelon-velo.co.uk
Results
- 171 km
1 Roger Hammond (GBr) Collstrop-De Federale 4.01.37 (42.21 km/h)
2 David McCann (Ire) Ireland 0.06
3 Hugh Pritchard (GBr) Linda McCartney 0.36
4 Kevin Dawson (GBr) Peter Read Racing 0.37
5 Andy Lyons (GBr) Private Member 0.59
6 John Tanner (GBr) Pro Vision-Planet X
7 Stuart Dangerfield (GBr) Private Member
8 Bert Scheirlinckx (Bel) Collstrop-De Federale
9 Eric DeClerq (Bel) Collstrop-De Federale
10 Julian Winn (GBr) Private Member
11 Mark Lovatt (GBr) Pro Vision-Planet X
12 Danny Axford (GBr) www.real cost car imports
13 Brian Kenneally (GBr) Ireland
14 Gordon McCauley (GBr) Oleum.co.uk
15 Sylvain Beauchamp (Can) Shaklee
16 Eugene Moriarty (GBr) Ireland 3.21
17 Tony Bracke (Bel) Collstrop-De Federale 5.02
18 Duncan Urquart (GBr) Scotland
19 Rob Hurd (GBr) RCS Bio Agrico 5.26
20 Robin Sharman (GBr) Alysys-Bradgate-CRT
21 Antony Malarczyk (GBr) WWW.Real Cost Car Impo 5.45
22 Hamish Haynes (GBr) Prickett Atom Elite 6.45
23 Roddy Riddle (GBr) Scotland (SCU)
24 Tommy Evans (Irl) Ireland
25 Chris Anelay (GBr) Prickett Atom Elite
26 Chris Young (GBr) Team Marie Curie
27 Julian Ramsbottom (GBr) Pete Reade Racing
28 Philip Cassidy (Irl) Cidona/Carrick/Ireland
29 Bill Moore (Irl) Cidona/Carrick/Ireland
30 Lee Davis (GBr) Amore & Vita
31 Jonathan Muir (GBr) Scotland (SCU)
32 Grant Bayton (GBr) Team Total Fitness
33 Stephen Stoneman (GBr) WWW.Real Cost Car Impo
34 Peter Murdock (GBr) Scotland (SCU)
35 Simon Richardson (GBr) Norwood Paragon
36 Robert English (GBr) Cambridge University Club
37 Ian Gilkes (GBr) GS Strada/Afford
96 starters
37 finishers
Results courtesy of Tony Asplin, results service
Premier Calendar Overall:
1. Andy Lyons (GBr) Terry Wright Cycles 83 pts
2. Chris Newton (GBr) Middridge RT 80
3. John Tanner (GBr) Pro Vision-Planet X 70
4. Wayne Randle (GBr) Pro Vision-Planet X 65
5. Gordon McCauley (GBr) Oleum.-co.uk 58
6. Kevin Dawson (GBr) Pete Read Racing 55
7. Huw Pritchard (GBr) Linda McCartney-WCU 54
8. Jon Clay (GBr) PM 50
9. Mark Lovatt (GBr) Pro Vision-PLanet X 49
10. Steve Stonham (GBr) Real Cost Car Imports 42
Premier Calendar Races in Series :
* 1. 12th March Oleum-Starlight Grand Prix
* 2. 19th March Grand Prix of Essex Road Race
* 3. 26th March Romford-Harlow Road Race
* 4. 1st - 2nd April Europa 2 Day Stage Race
* 5. 9th April Archer International Grand Prix RR
6. 16th April Lancaster Mercedes Grand Prix RR
7. 22nd - 24th April Girvan Stage Race
8. 7th May Lincoln International Grand Prix RR
9. 14th May Chairman's Silver Spoon Road Race
10. 20th-21st May East Riding of Yorkshire Classic
11. 27th - 28th May Tour of the Kingdom Stage Race
12. 10th - 11th June Robert Hobbs Memorial Stage Race
13. 23rd June Manx International Road Race
14. 9th July Five Valleys Road Race
15. 30th July International Tour of the Cotswolds RR
16. 6th August Havant International Grand Prix
17. 13th August Glasgow - Dunoon Hayward Tyler Classic
18. 10th September International Tour of the Peak RR
19. 17th September Gun Hill Premier Race
* RACES COMPLETED
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