Every day will be a test at this Vuelta for Aqua Blue Sport. Yesterday the team came up with a plan and executed it; very nearly pulling off a huge result. In the end they were 3rd. But already they've show they are not out of place at a Grand Tour (Photo: Karen M Edwards)
Aqua Blue Sport master crosswinds in Vuelta
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Riding La Vuelta a España against many WorldTour teams expert at splitting bike races in crosswinds; Aqua Blue Sport did very well when the winds blew yesterday.
They specifically wanted to pull something off the finale and made a plan to do that. The fact it very nearly produced a victory is a great performance at this level.
It is proof already that Aqua Blue Sport warranted one of the coveted ProContinental team invites to this race.
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Obviously Adam Blythe, the team’s sprinter, made the first group yesterday. And he would come home 3rd in the dash to the finish line.
The only two men who beat him - Yves Lampaert and Matteo Trentin – are members of the best crosswind team in world cycling; QuickStep.
Blythe looks like he’s coming into good form exactly at the right time.
A top sprinter, he’s yet to win a race this year and he’ll be feeling that. But he’s come very close.
His 3rd place yesterday is his best result since pulling on an Aqua Blue Sport jersey at the start of this year.
He was 2nd in both Danilith-Nokere Koerse (1.HC) and Handzame Classic (1.1) back in March.
Last month he was 2nd on a stage of VOO-Tour de Wallonie (2.HC). More recently he was again runner-up on a stage of Vuelta a Burgos (2.HC).
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Adam Blythe in the bunch and Mark Christian leading Peter Koning; all three riding pictured by Karen M Edwards during stage 2 at the Vuelta.
A stage win at this Vuelta would be a seamless progression from those results. He handled himself very well yesterday to make the front group.
And he also put in a very good final sprint at the end of that hard work; which is much harder than it looks.
But Blythe was not the only one of the team to come to the fore yesterday.
When Team Sky put the hammer down about 6km out and the race split, Mark Christian made the front group with Blythe.
A little further up the road, with just 2km remaining, QuickStep would split the race apart in the crosswind after Team Sky softened everybody up.
And while Christian didn’t make it into the lead 10 with Blythe, the fact he was there a little earlier bodes well for the team.
This is Christian’s first Grand Tour and being in the mix at the front of the group on such a tricky finale is a great sign.
Aqua Blue Sport was undermined by a crash yesterday along the way; three of its riders falling off.
They remounted and there were no serious injuries to report. But it damaged their prospects on the stage.
The team would have loved a stage win yesterday, and its general manager Stephen Barrett before the race started had pinpointed stage 2 as one the squad was aiming for.
Blythe repeated that after the finish yesterday, saying he had studied the route and had planned to do something yesterday.
“It was good today; bit disappointed that we were so close but so far,” he said at the finish.
“I was feeling good today and I was really up for the stage. The team worked really well today and managed the crosswind sections really well.
“I have been looking at this stage for a while but you have to be happy with third really and I am looking forward to the next stages and getting that win.”
He clearly wanted to win. But the fact the team selected this stage as one where they wanted to excel and then executed their plan, coming so close to winning, is an excellent sign so early in the race.
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