Having rounded out a solid Tour de Suisse with the climbers' jersey today, Aqua Blue Sport has now taken a one-day victory with Adam Blythe.
Video Adam Blythe sprints to win Elfstedenronde
Former British national champion Adam Blythe has taken his first victory in the colours of Aqua Blue Sport.
The sprinter was best in the bunch gallop that settled honours in Elfstedenronde; a UCI 1.1-ranked event. The 196.3km race started and finished in Brugge, with 19 cobbled sectors.
Blythe left his effort late, coming off the wheels in the final hundred metres for what was a clear victory in the end.
He claimed the win from Coen Vermeltfoort (Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij). Hugo Hofstetter (Cofidis) was next followed by QuickStep's young Colombian sprinter Álvaro José Hodeg (21).
? Mathieu van der Poel rode the hole day in the breakaway, while Marcel Meisen gave the best of himself in the bunch sprint! ? Strong team performance! ?? Soon more! #elfstedenronde #brugge pic.twitter.com/BvFGKNQTKx
— Corendon-Circus (@CorCirCT) June 17, 2018
"It feels smashing to have finally got the win for the team. We've not had a lot of wins this year,” Blythe said.
“And we've had a lot of close calls. So to finally get one under the belt will gives a strong boost in motivation for the rest of the season.
"It was quite a chaotic day out there. And in one sense it was a question of every man for himself for much of the race.
"I didn't make things easy for myself - I wasn't the best-positioned all day.
“So I had to do quite a bit of work and spend a lot of time riding on the front in order to make up some gaps.
"It was good that I was able to do that because it shows that my condition is good after a particularly intense block of training.
"When it came down to the sprint it looked like I went from quite a long way out. But I just waited as long as I could and it was perfect in the end.
"We have Halle Ingooigem on Tuesday. And then I'll be looking at targeting a result in the national champs.
"Today's win is a positive sign of building form ahead of that race so I'm very pleased."
The only Irishman in the race, Conor Dunne, came home in 24th place having worked to set up team mate Blythe.
More to follow.
La toma aérea del trinunfo de Adam Blythe #Elfstedenronde pic.twitter.com/7mIi2v4Jqn
— Alpe d'Huez B&T (@Alpe__dHuez) June 17, 2018
