Subscribe to L2P News London, UK. 01 June 2009
Sigma Sport riders, Jerone Walters and Wouter Sybrandy, took the top places in The Devil Takes the Hindmost race on the Donington Park track at BikeRadar Live on Sunday (May 31st). Canadian tri-athlete, Luke Dragstra, of Planet X, was third.
Australian Walters, three times holder of the yellow jersey in the London-Paris Cycle Tour, said: “It was a great circuit race, very demanding and a real change to the events I usually ride. The whole atmosphere at BikeRadar Live was terrific and I hope the event stays on the cycling calendar and gets bigger and better because it really encouraged people to get into cycling.”
Dutchman Sybrandy, who works as a city trader, said: “It was very windy and really hard going but it was a great to race on such a smooth circuit. The Devil was something really different for competitive cycling.”
Dragstra used the The Devil as part of his Iron Man and triathlon training. He said: “It was a real challenge out on the circuit and I had to work really hard. I really enjoyed the race because it tested my technical skills and was a really tough work out.”
The race for the women’s title was a battle between two HotChillee riders, Emma Davies and Alice Monger-Godfrey, with Davies just beating Monger-Godfrey on the finish line. She said: “It was great to be out there racing again and good to see the HotChillee women working together. The whole event was really enjoyable.”
Monger-Godfrey, who’s based in Belgium, said: “It was a very difficult circuit and tough going because of the strong winds. I loved the atmosphere of the race and it was good to be in a race with the men.”
HotChillee's Emma Davies takes the prize for first female
HotChillee team member Alice Monger-Godfrey is happy with second
Former Tour de France winner and ex-World Champion Stephen Roche was eliminated by The Devil with two laps remaining. He said: “I was hoping I’d be pulled out by the she-devil but it wasn’t to be! The Devil was a fantastic experience and a really competitive race. I’ll be polishing up my fitness for next year.”
Former England and Crystal Palace footballer, Geoff Thomas, who’s twice ridden the Tour de France route, struggled in the tough conditions having ridden the 100 mile sportive on Saturday. He said: “My legs were suffering a bit so unfortunately I couldn’t beat The Devil. It was a brilliant idea to race on the circuit and Team GTF will definitely be back next year.”
Organiser Sven Thiele, from HotChillee, said: “All the riders seemed to enjoy the experience of racing on Donington’s fabulous track. It was a really competitive race and the atmosphere was terrific.”
Results – Devil Takes The Hindmost, Donington Park
Category C+
Men
1st - J Walters
2nd - W Sybrandy
3rd - L Dragstra
4th - P Robertson
5th - S Pope
6th - T Lawson
7th - J Booth
8th - N Wakeling
9th - J Waite
10th - M Kelly
Women
1st – Emma Davies – HotChillee Challenge Team
2nd – Alice Monger-Godfrey – HotChillee Challenge Team
The winning riders shared a prize pot of £2,000, with the 1st place riders also winning a weekend’s accommodation for two at Stephen Roche’s Marina Hotel on Villeneuve-Loubet Beach in Nice.
See official BikeRadar report: http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/devil-takes-the-hindmost-jerone-walters-wins-it-21825/