The conditions were pretty bad for all the teams. Towards the end the rain cleared up but the head wind became a much bigger factor. Although we were always confident of the win the gap to the 2nd team was over a minute and a half and in under 10km's that’s pretty impressive in any ones eyes!
The conditions were pretty bad for all the teams. Towards the end the rain cleared up but the head wind became a much bigger factor. Although we were always confident of the win the gap to the 2nd team was over a minute and a half and in under 10km's that’s pretty impressive in any ones eyes!
Despite the big lead, we stuck to our plan of making the race fast and aggressive. Stage 1 was completed at 38km's per hour, with the pace clearly taking it's toll on the field. A move by Sarah Storey with 1 lap to go split the heavily reduced peloton to leave just 5 riders including Sarah Storey and Dani King. With the perfect lead out Dani was able sprint to clear win, with her arms in the air. Hannah Rich rode a great race to retain 3rd overall, while Penny Rowson held the lead in the junior race.
Stage 3 was an individual time trial. With plenty of time in hand over the chasing pack, it wasn't necessary for our riders to give 100% in the time trial, so they could keep themselves fresh for the very tough stage ahead. This didn't stop Sarah from winning the stage. Dani also finished well in 5th.
Meanwhile, Hannah had to finish the last 2km's with a flat front tyre making her ride even more impressive. The final stage was a tough hilly lap, with a total of 20 climbs. The ever impressive Cath Williamson went away early and her break gained 1.20 over the peloton. With 4 laps to go, Sarah and Dani called time on the move, pulling back the 1 minute advantage in just 6km's. Then it was time for Dani to execute a perfect finish. With Sarah's lead out reaching 40mph, Dani came around with just 100 metres to go to complete the clean sweep for the team.
Despite Penny feeling ill and injuries by Annie and Ella the team of 6 pulled together perfectly. They raced as a team from start to finish and raced well beyond their years. With a few more races together they are going to be a massive force in women's cycling. It's clear we are going to have to step up our plans to take the team forward for 2011. This group of riders is very impressive.
Paralympic champion Sarah Storey said, “I am delighted with the team's performance and how well we pulled together.
"To get Dani to win the two road stages and getting top two on the GC is amazing. We controlled every stage!
 

"This is a dream result for us and we are really looking forward to our next race."
Dani King added, “What a fantastic weekend! It was the first time the whole Horizon team were together and what a weekend it turned out to be! We couldn't of got on any better and our results showed that. The team time trial worked really well, 4 of us finished 1.34 up on the next team which put us in a great position going into stage 2. It was a good race! Me and Sarah were able to get away with 3 others which was the perfect scenario for us. Sarah gave me the best lead out I've ever had and I was able to power up the climb to win the 2nd stage. All the girls worked really well together. The individual tt was our 3rd victory out of 3! Sarah won and we were able to hang on to 1,2,3 on GC!
“Going into stage 3 we had a plan to let any early breaks go knowing we could work together to get them back quickly and then counter attack to form a split. This worked and there ended up with a break of 6 up the road with Sarah and I both in it. Sarah worked hard protecting me and keeping me fresh for the sprint finish! Going into the bowl for the last time I knew if I could hang on to Sarah's wheel I would win the race. She got the speed up to 60kph with 1k to go and was yet again the perfect lead out!
Horizon won 4 out of 4 stages so it was the perfect 1st race! I'm really looking forward to getting together again and performing in the same way.”
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