British Men's Junior and Espoir road championships - NE

Long Crendon, Great Britain, May 27-28, 2006

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Stage 2 - May 28: Espoirs, 155 km

Bissell sweeps clean

By Gerry McManus

Peter Bissell (Artic Shorter Rochford RT)
Photo ©: Gerry McManus

Peter Bissell (Arctic Shorter Rochford) swept all the contenders from his path to win the British U23 national men’s road race championship in Buckinghamshire on Sunday.

Bissell waited until the start of the last lap to make his move on the other four members of a breakaway group that originally numbered eight which escaped in the first lap of the 155km race. Bissell attacked his companions a kilometre from the one lap to go board with only James Spragg (Tarbes Pyrenees Cyclisme) able to temporarily hold onto his wheel. Spragg held on for a silver medal with Alistair Stoddart (Bouwel Cycling Team) pipping Thomas White (UVCA Troyes) for the bronze.

Tim Wallis (Arctic Shorter Rochford) had attacked on the first lap to gain a two minute lead. Another eight riders had joined him over successive laps before he fell back to the main field but the break set about opening up an unassailable lead over the slumbering peloton. Those who knew the route would not have believed that the leaders would stay clear on a tough and partly windswept course even with the favourable weather conditions.

A number of attempts were made to jump across to the leaders, including a valiant effort by Daniel Shand (West Pennine RC) who dangled between the key groups for many laps. Adam Norris (PCA) and Chris Doel (Pacific RT) joined forces in pursuit of the leaders but were unable to make significant inroads into their four-minute lead at around half distance.

Matt Brammeier (DFL / Cyclingnews.com)
Photo ©: Gerry McManus

The next few tough laps saw Ryan Bonser (Arctic Shorter Rochford) pay for the many efforts he made on the front when he was dropped. Andrew Wyper (Heinz von Heiden) and Thomas Murray (Batley CC/Hargreaves) had suffered the same fate. Bissell, Spragg, Stoddart, White and Sean Poison (VC Azurri) were left to test their strength and endurance in the lead group.

Action in the bunch had seen the main field split with Dale Appleby (Recycling.co.uk) and Steve Lampier (Tarbes Pyrenees Cyclisme) spearheading the chase group that included Matt Brameier (DFL/Cyclingnews/Litespeed). With one lap to go the fast finishing chasers had the lead down to four minutes but had left it too late. A fresh looking Appleby finished in sixth place taking 1:15 over the remainder of his group in the last lap leaving spectators wondering what could have been if he hadn’t missed the key early move.

Bissell’s joy at the finish was dulled with a severe attack of cramp but recovered in time for the podium presentation: “This is my first major victory but I would like to think that I have been knocking on the door for some time,” said 20-year-old Bissell. “In the past I was more of an all-rounder and better at time trials because the junior road race events were difficult to get to. I am now based near Cholet in France riding for the Albert Bigot 79 team. We are currently the fifth best team in France. I've spent a lot of time finding my feet and have ridden a lot of elite open races this year. They're a world apart from the races I've ridden before and they definitely prepared me for today. I have been there nine weeks and have ridden 25 races,” he explained.

The chase group
Photo ©: Gerry McManus

“On the penultimate lap I wasn’t feeling 100% but I knew the others were struggling so I put my foot down and opened up a lead taking James Spragg with me,” continued the youngster from Stevenage: “On the next lap I attacked again and kept it going on the flat section to the finish. I had thought James was going to beat me but when you think about winning the jersey it makes the pain go away.”

Photography

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by Gerry McManus/www.gerrymcmanus.co.uk

Dale Appleby (recycling.co.uk) leads the bunch in pursuit of the early break
Ryan Bonser (Artic Shorter Rochford RT) drives the 8 man break at the village of Chearsley
Ryan Bonser (Artic Shorter Rochford RT) leads team mate Peter Bissell at the head of the early 8 man break
Chris Doel (Pacific RT) heads off in pursuit of the leaders
Daniel Shand (West Pennine) stuck in no man's land between the break and the bunch for much of the race
Peter Bissell (Arctic Shorter Rochford RT) leads the race winning break
The chase group grind their way up the climb to Chilton led by Steve Lampier (Tarbes Pyrenees Cyclisme)
James Sampson (Stilton RT/Terry Wright/Specialised) climbs up Dorton Hill on the finishing circuit
Matt Brammeier (DFL / Cyclingnews.com) climbs up Dorton Hill with the chase group
The main field begins to wake with Steve Lampier (Tarbes Pyrenees Cyclisme) and Pete Williams
The chase group head up to Dorton on the first circuit chasing a lead of up to seven minutes
Adam Norris (PCA) and Chris Doel (Pacific RT) share the pace in thier attempt to cross over to the leaders
Peter Bissell (Arctic Shorter Rochford RT) puts the pressure on up Dorton Hill on the penultimate lap
James Spragg (Tarbes Pyrenees Cyclisme) takes the lead in the break
Peter Bissell (Artic Shorter Rochford RT) has time in had to celebrate his victory in the U23 chanmpionships
Peter Bissell (Artic Shorter Rochford RT) has time in had to celebrate his victory in the U23 chanmpionships

Results

1 Peter Bissell (Arctic Shorter Rochford R.T)                                  4.33.27
2 James Spragg (Tarbes Pyrenees Cylisme)                                          0.12
3 Alistair Stoddart (Bouwel Cycling Team)                                         0.53
4 Thomas White (UVCA Troyes)                                                      0.55
5 Sean Poison (V.C.Azzurri)                                                       2.15
6 Dale Appleby (Recyling.co.uk Race Team/Pinarello/RudyProj/DMT)                  3.43
7 Matthew Brammier (DFL-Cyclingnews-Litespeed)                                    4.58
8 Tomas Swift-Metcalfe (Centro de Cicllsmo de Loule st                                
9 Tobyn Horton (Guernsey Velo Club)                                               5.20
10 Steve Lampier (Tarbes Pyrenees Cylisme)                                        5.29
11 Pete Williams (Kinesis UK)                                                     5.36
12 James Stewart (Le Coq Sportif-Dolan-SIS)                                      10.04
13 James Sampson (Stilton R.T./Terry Wright/Specialized)                         11.09
14 Chris Bartlett (GlendeneCC/BikeTrax/Specialized/Bioracer/Maxim)               11.46
15 Ian Legg (Red Kite/TORQ Bar/Specialized)                                      12.14
16 Mark Thwaites (Kinesis UK)                                                    15.37
17 William Smyth (Team Milton Keynes/Phil Corley Cycles/Abbeygate/Bodylimits)    15.44
18 Sean Newington (Northbeach/Dooleys)                                           20.24
19 Adam Thomson (Unattached)                                                     25.53
20 Dafydd Dylan (Team Continental/Continental)