Peter Hawkins, second from right, in the breakaway in Britain yesterday before a crash took him out of what looked like a potentially race-winning escape (Phot0: Guy Swarbrick)
Peter Hawkins has endured a day he will want to forget as quickly as possible, crashing out of what looked like a race-winning breakaway in the latest round of the British Elite Series.
The Madison-Genesis rider from Belfast was left with road rash and damage to his overall chances in the series when he rubbed wheels and hit the deck in an established breakaway at the Cycle Wiltshire Grand Prix.
Hawkins missed the original breakaway of 19 riders but on the second lap of four large circuits with the climb of Fovant Down each time, the Irish international got clear in a 10-man group that joined with the leaders on 65 miles completed.
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With the group out front far too big to succeed, those present started attacking each other and when a move of six finally pulled clear Hawkins was there as the riders moved onto a smaller finishing loop to be tackled three times.
However, as the lead reached 50 seconds, Hawkins rubbed wheels with some 16 miles remaining and came down, his bid for a good finish over.
Realising their man was out of the shake-up, Madison-Genesis went to the front of the bunch and closed down the escape, setting the scene for a sprint finish from a depleted peloton.
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That was won by Polish powerhouse Marcin Bialoblocki (Velosure Giordana), who was quickest in the sprint to the line in Wilton.
The crash was unfortunate for Hawkins who began the series with second on a stage and runner-up overall at the two-day Tour of the Reservoir three weeks ago. He is now 5th in the series on 52 points, with Bialoblocki leading on 69 points.
The result is, however, proof that Hawkins is in very good shape with the An Post Rás now just two weeks away. He crashed out of last year's event with a broken collar bone with the leader’s jersey on his back on stage 3.
A bloody arm and ripped shorts tell the story of Peter Hawkins' day out in the British Elite Series yesterday (Photo: Guy Swarbrick)
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