The Tour Doon Hame

07-04-2010 04:30:52

Chris Newton (above) was the winner of the inaugural Tour DoonHame in Dumfries (Scotland) on Monday after a wet windy final stage. Winner of the first two stages, Newton’s team, Rapha/Condor/Sharp, controlled the race well on the third and final race around Dumfries and Newton crossed the line as overall winner after the stage had been won by Jack Bauer (Endura Racing).

The race
Very wet and windy conditions greeted the riders on day 3 of the event as they assembled in Dockhead Park (Dumfries) for the start of stage 3 of the Tour DoonHame in Scotland. At 11am, as the riders rolled out of the Scottish town, they were warned of flooding in places like Wallacetown with a race distance of 81 miles lying ahead of them.

Wearing the yellow jersey of tour leader was Chris Newton (Rapha/Condor/Sharp) but with only a lead of 18 seconds over two riders from the powerful Endura racing squad, Evan Oliphant and former Girvan winner, Ian Wilkinson , an attacking stage lay in wait.

With no let up in the rain, the pace of the race gradually heated up and while the peloton remained largely intact, a small group of riders were dropped and left to fend for themselves with still well over half the stage to go. After the Endura Hot Spot sprint at Moniaive (won by Pete Williams from Newton), three riders managed to break clear, last year’s winner Marcin Bialoblocki (Willer/Big Magys.com/Prendas), Johnny McEvoy (Motorpoint / Marshalls Pasta) and former Olympic medallist and world champion Rob Hayles (Endura).

A quality trio for sure, each one a winner in their own right but the team of race leader Chris Newton controlled the tempo of the chase well and before the first King of the Mountains at 26 miles (Arndarroch Hill), the leaders were reeled in. A fierce sprint then ensued for the KOM points won by Steve Lampier of Pendragon - Le Col – Colnago ahead of Raleigh’s Liam Holohan and King of the Mountains leader Ian Bibby (Motorpoint / Marshalls Pasta).

Another small group including Hayles again then escaped the peloton on the approach to Dalry and while the team of Rapha/Condor/Sharp continued to control the race for their man Chris Newton, the leaders ploughed on through the rain and managed to slowly increase their lead.

Hayles punctured and rejoined the break whilst his teammate Jack Bauer also bridged to the group with Stephen Adams making six out front. After a quick chat between the two Endura riders, Bauer attacked and was soon opening up a big gap on the riders chasing

Bauer picked up the Hot Spot at Dalbeattie and the bonus seconds that went with it and then at the King of the Mountains at Auchenhay Hill, the Endura rider had increased his lead to over a minute. Bauer recently finished 12th in the time trial in the Tour of Mercia, within 20 seconds of Lance Armstrong, a sure sign of Bauer’s strength in racing alone.

At the top of the final King of the Mountains sprint at Auchenhay Hill, Bauer continued to lead the race alone as behind him, the rest of the break were caught. In the sprint for the minor final places at the KOM, Ian Bibby was second from Liam Holohan with British Road Race Champion Kristian House and race leader Chris Newton next across the line.

Into the final 10 miles, and the race was really hotting up and Bauer’s lead was coming down now as the bunch sensed another bunch kick to decide the stage. With only a mile to go though, Bauer still had a lead of 16 seconds and whilst perhaps an overall victory was out of reach, the stage victory was tantalising close for the New Zealander who did manage to hold on and win from Steve Lampier.

Post Race Reaction (from Cyclevox) "Were pretty happy all round", said a satisfied Bauer after the stage. "We actually set out to get yellow today, so to finish second overall is pretty good. I had a good day out there, and when I was in the break I was thinking of a win for myself, and even yellow. I had my money on Wilko (Ian Wilkinson) earlier, and we thought that he might be ready to go for it after Haylesey was away – whatever happened, the idea was to put Rapha through some pain and launch Ian. Still, it didn’t quite happen that way, and when I went, I just put my head down."

"The only thought then was the stage win, but after I won an intermediate sprint which got me 3 seconds I started to think that yellow was on. It was always going to be tough in those conditions though as the Rapha guys were very organised, plus the conditions and course made it even harder. The course today was kind of rolling which isn’t great when you are away, but I felt good and I’m pleased with the win."

Speaking about his baptism into British road racing over the last couple of weeks, Jack said: “I’m just finding my feet really, each race is a stepping stone. The racing over here is really organised, and very different from Belgium. It’s team based and the likes of Rapha and others are super organised so you have to think what you are doing. Also in Belgium, I was pretty much out there on my own, so didn’t have to think too much about the team aspect, whereas over here I really need to think that the team and team racing means that it isn’t just about having a dig every weekend for myself! But hey, I am enjoying it and really looking forward to the season…"

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