Outgoing British champion philosophical over losing his title, while sprinter Ben Swift looks back on a battling seventh place
Sunday’s Great Britain championship road race was, as expected, just like the 2010 edition, totally dominated by the Sky Procycling team. Victory went to Critérium du Dauphiné winner Bradley Wiggins, after he dropped teammates Geraint Thomas, the defending champion, and Peter Kennaugh in the closing kilometres.
Thomas managed to outsprint Kennaugh in the race for the silver medal, but the Welshman loses his distinctive champion’s jersey to Wiggins.
“Well it’s has been a great year wearing the national champs jersey,” said Thomas the following day. “To wear the red, white and blue stripes all over the world, representing the UK, has been an honour.
“Yesterday was a hard race but I wanted to try everything to keep the jersey,” he explained. “In the end I gambled a bit which didn’t pay off. I was hoping to leave the majority of the chase to Pete [Kennaugh] as I knew he wanted it desperately.
“Unfortunately, I had to settle for the silver,” he added, “but Brad is a classy bike rider and there’s no shame in losing to him. I’m sure he will keep the jersey ‘out there’ this next year. He better make the most of it because I want it back!
Although he missed the original twelve-man, young Team Sky sprinter Ben Swift managed to take seventh place as part of the first group to follow Wiggins in; more than eight minutes behind the new champion.
“I had a decent race but I was hoping for better,” he said afterwards, “but it’s all about combinations and being in that front move, and I made a mistake. The legs weren’t all that good at the start but I felt myself getting better and better as the race went on.
“I had my best two laps right at the end,” he added. “The circuit was great, a real racing circuit, really hard roads and a tough, rolling terrain.”
Once the original twelve-man break had gone early in the race, it was already obvious that the race winner would come from that group. Having missed out Swift, who like Thomas recently became an ‘ambassador’ for Team Sky’s nutrition sponsor CNP Professional, set about trying to get the best out of the race that he could.
“With the added wind it made for a very hard day,” he explained. “Once I knew my race was over for the win I then concentrated on making the most of it and having a good solid 200km day.
“I managed to work my way up to 7th on the day but just couldn’t quite catch the two boys for 5th in the end,” he concluded. “But I am really happy with how the condition is and now it is time to freshen up and get myself to France.”
Wiggins, Thomas and Swift will all be representing Team Sky in the Tour, which starts this Saturday; Kennaugh will sit the race out, having raced the Giro d’Italia. The new British champion will be bidding to become the first British rider to get on to the podium of the sport’s biggest race.