Belfast's Peter Hawkins took 5th and 3rd on stages at the Tour of the Reservoir; good enough for a 3rd place finish overall
IG Sigma Sport professional, Peter Hawkins has put in a very strong ride in the opening race of the British Premier Calendar series, posting strong performances on both stages of the Tour of the Reservoir at the weekend and taking third overall.
The Belfast man has had a quiet start to the year, but revealed his good form the weekend before last when taking 11th in the CiCLE Classic and showed that form is progressing well again yesterday and Saturday. He was fifth on the opening stage on Saturday before taking third on stage 2 on Sunday and ending the race in third place overall.
Having finished second last year, he said the addition of a second stage this time around and the fact it was the first Premier Calendar race of the year meant it was a key early season goal for him, and one that he had prepared for during the winter in the hopes of getting his season off to a strong start.
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On the opening 75-mile stage – five laps of a Northumberland circuit with some very steep climbs – Hawkins made it into the 14-man breakaway very early in the day that would stay away to the finish.
“I quite fancied my chances for the finish but when the sprint came I was a bit boxed in and I didn't quite have the power that I was hoping for and ended up 5th. Chris Opie (Team UK Youth) won. I was pretty disappointed with it; but with another stage to come I felt I was still well in contention for the overall and obviously had another chance for a stage.”
The second stage was a longer affair, some 105 miles in windy conditions. Having escaped in a group of six on the first lap, the tough conditions meant staying away to the finish was always going to be an outside shot. However, while the breakaway was caught by the bunch with two laps remaining, the peloton had been whittled down to 25 riders.
“UK Youth controlled the race the whole way through but by the last few laps they were starting to weaken and lose riders,” said Hawkins.
“There were a lot of riders close on the overall so they were really under pressure and the race became very aggressive. I was feeling pretty wrecked in the latter stages but I think everyone was in the same boat.”
When the lead group split in two, Hawkins found himself in the wrong half and with 5km remaining made it across to the leaders with stage 1 winner Opie for company. However, as they were getting back on terms, Raleigh’s Evan Oliphant made a stage-winning move and got a gap that he held to the finish, taking stage honours by 13 seconds from the remainder of the breakaway.
On the uphill sprint to the line, Opie proved too strong and took second with Hawkins one second back in third; enough to also move him up to third overall.
“Considering how hard the race had been I was pretty satisfied with how it went,” he said.
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“It was good for the team to get a podium place and it also shows that my form is there for the hard races to come. The race was blown to pieces with pretty massive time gaps so to be right at the front is good for my confidence. It's not the euphoric experience of getting second last year, which was a bit of a breakthrough for me. But I'm pleased because it shows that after a difficult start to the season I should be able to do the business again this year.”
Next weekend Hawkins travels to Holland for the Ronde van Overijssel and then the Circuit de Wallonie, both UCI 1.2 races. Then it's back to the UK for the Lincoln GP, followed by the An Post Rás.
Hawkins's team mate Ryan Mullen was 30th on stage 1 at the weekend but was not listed as a finisher yesterday.
Tour of the Reservoir Stage 1
1 Chris Opie Team UK Youth 02:55:00
2 Simon Yates 100% Me 02:55:01
3 Nikolas Gustavsson Team UK Youth 02:55:02
4 Tom Stewart Team Sportscover 02:55:02
5 Peter Hawkins Team IG Sigma Sport 02:55:02
6 Mike Northey Node Giordana Racing 02:55:03
7 Andrew Tennant Madison Genesis 02:55:03
8 Rob Partridge Team UK Youth 02:55:04
9 Rob Britton Team Raleigh 02:55:04
10 Steve Lampier Node Giordana Racing 02:55:05
Tour of the Reservoir Stage 2
1 Evan Oliphant Team Raleigh 04:22:03
2 Chris Opie Team UK Youth 04:22:16
3 Peter Hawkins Team IG Sigma Sport 04:22:17
4 George Harper Felt Colborne Hargroves 04:22:18
5 Tom Stewart Team Sportscover 04:22:18
6 Lachlan Norris Team Raleigh 04:22:20
7 Andrew Tennant Madison Genesis 04:22:23
8 Steve Lampier Node Giordana Racing 04:22:25
9 Mike Northey Node Giordana Racing 04:22:26
10 Rob Partridge Team UK Youth 04:22:32
Tour of the Reservoir - Final Overall
1 Evan Oliphant Team Raleigh 07:17:09
2 Chris Opie Team UK Youth 07:17:16
3 Peter Hawkins Team IG Sigma Sport 07:17:19
4 Tom Stewart Team Sportscover 07:17:20
5 Andrew Tennant Madison Genesis 07:17:26
6 Mike Northey Node Giordana Racing 07:17:29
7 Steve Lampier Node Giordana Racing 07:17:30
8 Rob Partridge Team UK Youth 07:17:36
9 Ben Greenwood Team Hope Factory Racing 07:18:07
10 Rob Britton Team Raleigh 07:18:26
11 Marcin Bialoblocki Team UK Youth 07:23:56
12 Pete Williams Team IG Sigma Sport 07:24:12
13 James Moss Team IG Sigma Sport 07:26:32
14 Nicholas Gustavsson Team UK Youth 07:27:06
15 Joseph Kelly 100% Me 07:28:17
16 Ian Bibby Madison Genesis 07:29:00
17 Declan Byrne MG Maxifuel Pro Cycling 07:30:45
18 Perry Bowater MG Maxifuel Pro Cycling 07:33:02
19 George Harper Felt Colborne Hargroves 07:33:29
20 Andrew Hawdon Herbalife Leisure Lakes Bikes.com 07:34:25
