We have greatly enjoyed our partnership with the team and its riders, and feel proud of its achievements. We wish all those who have been involved with Motorpoint’s Pro Cycling Team every success in their future endeavours.

The 19-year-old lead for most of the 33 lap race in Herne Hill, London aided by her pacer Peter Bäuerlein. She powered to victory, full of confidence. Corrine Hall of  Team Corridori and Clare Newland of Welwyn Wheelers seemed to be her closest rivals for the win, but she was able to pull away from the pair as the race went on.

Part way through the race Owen and her pacer Clive Sturgeon made a move and ghosted past Hall and Newland. She was eating up ground on her team mate Walker until her energy started to wain. Owen may well have been feeling the effects of the intense racing schedule that has seen her perform at the Commonwealth Youth Games in the past couple of weeks.

Despite a late push from Newland, Walker was able to hold firm and cross the line to claim another victory for herself and the Motorpoint Women’s team. Harriet Owen managed fourth place as Newland and Hall pipped her to the medal positions.

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Lucy, 16, from Leicestershire, is one of cycling’s rising stars and has excelled for Motorpoint this season along with the rest of the team who have all been in fine form.

As well as representing the UK in the UCI World Championships, Lucy was also selected to be part of the Great Britain team at the Youth Commonwealth Games in the Isle of Man, where she also won gold for the road race and her team-mate, Hannah Barnes, also a Motorpoint rider, won bronze.

Lucy, who came back in the UCI World Championships to secure the gold medal for the UK and be crowned 2011 Junior World Champion by several bike lengths after crashing earlier in the race, described her win as “amazing” and showed her patriotism by reportedly competing with her nails painted with the Union Jack flag.

The talented young rider is also part of the Olympic Development Programme, along with other members of the Motorpoint team, Hannah Barnes and Harriet Owen, meaning her star is sure to continue rising in the future.

Phil Griffiths, Team Owner, said; “It is an unbelievable win for Lucy, but in the same way, it is believable because she’s done it and we are so pleased with her success! It’s been great having Lucy on the team this year, as well as other young talent such as Hannah Barnes. We are immensely proud of Lucy’s achievement in becoming Junior World Champion!”

Well, 8 days of racing through Scotland, Wales and England saw Lars Boom of Rabobank awarded the IG Markets Gold Jersey.

Lars Boom, Rabobank, Winner of the IG Markets Gold Jersey

“It was awesome. London is a very nice city. It’s a lovely country, I didn’t expect that. Our team was very good this week, I was confident with them behind me so there was no problem. It’s different riding with six guys in the team. You see that HTC –  Highroad are a bit less strong than normally maybe. We had a really good team with the guys who were here and I was feeling confident everyday.”

Lars Boom (c) ckingimages

Tobyn Horton: Motorpoint Pro Cycling Team

“An amazing week. Lots of ups and downs really. The crowds in London were great today, in fact they’ve been great all week. The racing’s been hard, it was so cold the first day. Having (Ian) Bibby crash out was a blow, he was riding well and we were confident he could move up the GC. I got stuck in today and finished 7th, amazing sprinting down the finish line in front of those crowds.”

Tobyn Horton (c) ckingimages

Johnny McEvoy: Motorpoint Pro Cycling Team

I gave it everything in the Time Trial, you come in and don’t believe anyone can go faster as it just feels like you’ve given everything. Been a great week, we’ve enjoyed it as a team. Thanks to everyone who came out to support us, good to see so many Motorpoint Caps along the route.”

Johnny McEvoy

FINAL OVERALL IG Markets General Classification
1    Lars Boom    Rabobank
2    Stephen Cummings    Sky ProCycling
3    Jan Barta    Team NetApp
4    Linus Gerdemann    Leopard Trek
5    Jonathan Tiernan Locke    Rapha Condor – Sharp
6    Iker Camano    Endura Racing
7    Jelle Wallays**    Topsport Vlaanderen
8    Joost Posthuma    Leopard Trek
9    Leopold Koenig    Team NetApp
10    Daniel Lloyd    Team Garmin – Cervelo
11    Michael Rogers    Sky ProCycling
12    Geraint Thomas    Sky ProCycling
13    Mark Cavendish    HTC Highroad
14    Boy Van Poppel    UnitedHealthcare
15    Andrew Fenn**    An Post – Sean Kelly
16    Dominic Klemme    Leopard Trek
17    Jan-Bert Lindeman**    Vacansoleil – DCM
18    Dan Craven    Rapha Condor – Sharp
19    Bram Tankink    Rabobank
20    Rory Sutherland    UnitedHealthcare
21    Michael Matthews**    Rabobank
22    Lars Bak    HTC Highroad
23    Stijn Neirynck    Topsport Vlaanderen
24    Russell Hampton    Sigma Sport-Specialized
25    Mathew Hayman    Sky ProCycling
26    Alex Dowsett    Sky ProCycling
27    Jack Bauer    Endura Racing
28    Bartosz Huzarski    Team NetApp
29    Julian Dean    Team Garmin – Cervelo
30    Gabriel Rasch    Team Garmin – Cervelo
31    Alexandre Pichot    Team Europcar
32    Thor Hushovd    Team Garmin – Cervelo
33    Simon Richardson    Sigma Sport-Specialized
34    Gediminas Bagdonas    An Post – Sean Kelly
35    Anthony Charteau    Team Europcar
36    Jonathan McEvoy**    Motorpoint
37    Rene Mandri    Endura Racing
38    Zak Dempster    Rapha Condor – Sharp
39    Marcin Bialoblocki    Motorpoint
40    Liam Holohan    Team Raleigh

The TfL London Stage Circuit Race:

10 laps of an 8.8kms Circuit (88.8kms)

Cavendish Takes The Win (c) ckingimages

1    Mark Cavendish    HTC Highroad        1h 59′ 13”
2    Mark Renshaw    HTC Highroad        st
3    Robert Förster    UnitedHealthcare        st
4    Geraint Thomas    Sky ProCycling        st
5    Ben Swift    Sky ProCycling        st
6    Giacomo Nizzolo    Leopard Trek        st
7    Tobyn Horton    Motorpoint        st
8    Andrew Fenn    An Post – Sean Kelly        st
9    Dan Craven    Rapha Condor – Sharp        st
10    Stijn Neirynck    Topsport Vlaanderen        st
11    Cesare Benedetti    Team NetApp        st
12    Michael Matthews    Rabobank        st
13    Johnny McEvoy    Motorpoint        st
14    Iker Camano    Endura Racing        st
15    Linus Gerdemann    Leopard Trek    at    0′ 5”
16    Roger Hammond    Team Garmin – Cervelo        st
17    Boy Van Poppel    UnitedHealthcare        st
18    Marcin Bialoblocki    Motorpoint        st
19    Daniel Lloyd    Team Garmin – Cervelo        st
20    Jelle Wallays    Topsport Vlaanderen        st
21    Gediminas Bagdonas    An Post – Sean Kelly        st
22    Chris Jones    UnitedHealthcare        st
23    Stijn Joseph    Topsport Vlaanderen        st
24    Karl Menzies    UnitedHealthcare        st
25    Mark McNally    An Post – Sean Kelly        st

Mark Cavendish, Team HTC – Highroad, Winner of TfL London Stage 8b

“I didn’t want to take too many risks today with the Worlds coming up. It was a wet finish and I saw Ben Swift lose his wheel on the second last corner so I backed off on the last corner and ended up 20 metres behind coming out the last corner. I thought it was too far back to get it but I went for it anyway and I came through on the line. It’s been really good to come away with three stage wins this week, can’t get much better. Not only that we go three first and second placings which is superb. Since 2007 and this year, to see how much The Tour has grown is amazing. It’s great to see all the support. It’s been perfect preparation for me for next week. The Vuelta looked too hard with too many crashes. I was able to control my training and I won two stages which was good.”

ITT Stage 8a (c) ckingimages

Results Stage 8a: Individual Time Trial

1 Alex Dowsett  (GB, Sky Procycling)  10:14:73

2 Lars Boom  (Ned, Rabobank)   @ 0:05

3 Lieuwe Westra  (Ned, Vacansoleil DCM)  same time

4 Steve Cummings  (GB, Sky Procycling)  @ 0:09

5 Geraint Thomas  (GB, Sky Procycling)  @ 0:16

6 Alex Wetterall  (Swe, Endura Racing)  @ 0:19

7 Michael Rogers  (Aus, Sky Procycling)  same time

8 Thor Hushovd  (Nor, Garmin Cervelo)  @ 0:23

9 Damien Guadin  (Fra, Europcar)   @ 0:25

10 Joost Posthuma  (Ned, Leopard Trek)  @ 0:26

Alex Dowsett (Sky Procycling) Winner TfL London Stage 8a Individual Time Trial

“Everything just clicked. I recceed the course twice and even when I got up this morning I knew that my legs weren’t going to feel as bad as they had done the last few days. It’s been a hard tour for all of us, always trying to put Lars Boom on the back foot so we’ve been attacking all the time and it takes it out of you. Yesterday was a slightly easier stage, being flat and quite controlled gave my legs a chance to come round. Once I got going I knew my legs were good and I could do a good ride. It’s amazing; it’s one of those things I would hopefully tell my children in years to come. It’s going to take a while to sink in. London has been pretty kind to me, it’s amazing.

“This means a lot to the team. Especially to be in London and pull off a stage win. We can leave this stage with our heads held high because we’ve thrown everything at Lars Boom.  We’ve got a strong team here but hats off to the guy. He’s even taken us on himself at time without his team which shows what a rider he is and a true deserved winner of this Tour. We have all done pretty much everything we could to get one over on him. Today has really shown that I can mix it with the top guys and onwards and upwards hopefully.”

Alex Dowsett (c) ckingimages

Instead it was left to HTC Highroad to try and close the gap with Sky Pro Cycling also moving forward towards the latter stages of the race. Everyone however had underestimated the determination of the group who rode well together to maximise their chance in staying away.

In front of a large crowd in Sandringham Estate, AN Post’s Gediminas Bagdonas held off Endura Racing’s Ian Wilkinson to take the win.

Motorpoint Pro Cycling Team (c) ckingimages

Motorpoint Pro Cycling Team all finished safely and agreed that it had been another tough stage with some fast riding. The race had started and finished in sunshine but had a seen a sudden heavy downpour that saw temperatures drop quickly.

Ian Bibby got in touch to say how he is getting on after his crash in yesterdays stage:

I don’t feel too bad, just really stiff everywhere, even my jaw for some reason. I’m getting a bit more movement in my shoulder though, which is good. I’ve been following the race on Twitter but I’d rather be there racing it for sure. Thanks to everyone for the get well messages.”

Bibbys Wheel (c) ckingimages

Stage Seven, Bury St Edmunds to Sandringham, 199.7km

Stage Result

1 Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu, AN Post – Sean Kelly) 04:33:17

2 Ian Wilkinson  (GB, Endura Racing)  st

3 Mathieu Claude  (Fra, Team Europcar)  st

4 Stijn Neirynck  (Bel, Topsport Vlaanderen) st

5 Richard Handley  (GB, Team Raleigh)  @ 0:04

6 Wouter Sybrandy  (Ned, Sigma Sport-Specialized) @ 0:11

7 Mark Cavendish  (GB, HTC Highroad)  @ 1:23

8 Andrew Fenn  (GB, AN Post – Sean Kelly) st

9 Giacomo Nizzolo  (Ita, Leopard Trek)  st

10 Geraint Thomas  (GB, Sky ProCycling)  st

For the Tour of Britain, the Motorpoint Pro Cycling Team have two soigneurs; first to be introduced is Paul Drinan.

Paul Drinan (c) ckingimages

Paul Drinan: Soigneur

“The word ‘Soigneur’ is French and means a person who cares for others, and that is what we do, we care for the riders so they can concentrate on their riding.

The role is very varied but during a typical stage on the Tour of Britain my day starts at around 6.30am where I get a quick breakfast before starting on the days preparations. I’ll have prepared the bottles the night before so it’s a case of making sure they are distributed correctly among the two team cars, the van and of course the riders bikes, it’s a lot of bottles! Next to be sorted is the musettes, these are the small bags we pass to the riders at the feed zone which contain some food, usually a bit of sandwich, banana and cake. The riders laundry is washed each day and this is sorted out and handed back. I’ll check the riders are all ok and not had any pain or problems during the night that need to be dealt with. We have a staff meeting about the stage ahead; who needs to be where and when.

Bottles waiting to be filled (c) ckingimages

Once everything and everybody is ready it’s a case of bringing it all down into the team vehicles. I’ll carry down the riders bags for them too, making sure they have everything to hand for before and after the race. At the start venue I’ll get coffee for the lads and then start on the pre race warm up, this is a fast paced rub which stimulates the muscles. I’ll then travel onto the Feed Zone to be in place to hand out the musettes to the riders.

At the end of the race I’ll be be standing at the end of the finish line to guide the riders to the team vehicles and hand them a drink. The riders will have a quick wipe down and some recovery drink, I make this about half an hour before the finish.

Back at the hotel I’ll move their bags into their rooms and then start on the post race massage. Each rider will have about half an hour on the massage table. After that I make the drinks for the next stage, do the laundry, buy the shopping for the next day and basically make sure everything is sorted for the day ahead.

Post Race Massage (c) ckingimages

Why do I do it? I love the buzz of being part of the team, it’s fantastic to contribute to the team’s success. Sure its hard work, some riders need a little more care than others but they are a great bunch of lads. I genuinely enjoy doing this”.

The door to Paul’s room opens and one of the riders appears with a question for him, our chat is over, he’s back to work.

Paul Drinan. Feed Zone Stage 4. (c) ckingimages

Ian Bibby:

“I’m pleased with my ride today. The plan is to get through tomorrow, keeping my 4th place in the GC. I think for the next few stages after that the positions will stay roughly the same. Then my aim is to do a good time trial on the final stage. Being in 4th place it would be great to move into the top three, it’s going to be hard but we have a good team and I’m confident I can ride a good time trial”.

Ian Bibby riding to sign in for Stage 4. (c) ckingimages

The team once again had a huge amount of support from the fans.

Tobyn and Marcin inspiring the next generation. (c) ckingimages

For more photos please visit the Motorpoint Flickr site.

Thursday sees Stage 5 of the Tour of Britain, from Exeter to Exmouth in Devon.

We hope to see you there.

Stage Results

1) Thor Hushovd (Nor, Garmin Cervelo)  4h 32m 22s

2) Lars Boom (Ned, Rabobank)   same time

3) Cesare Benedetti (Ita, Team NetApp)  same time

4) Ian Bibby (GB, Motorpoint)   same time

5) Boy Van Poppel (Ned, UnitedHealthcare)  same time

6) Jan Barta (Cze, Team NetApp)   same time

7) Stijn Neirynck (Bel, Topsport Vlaanderen) same time

8) Leopold Koenig (Ger, Team NetApp)  same time

9) Iker Camano (Spa, Endura Racing)  same time

10) Linus Gerdemann (Ger, Leopard Trek)  same time

Combativity Award: Kristian House (GB, Rapha Condor Sharp)

Overall General Classification, after Stage Four

1) Lars Boom (Ned, Rabobank)   12h 36m 51

2) Geraint Thomas (GB, Sky Procycling)  @ 0.12

3) Boy Van Poppel (Ned, UnitedHealthcare)  @ 0.14

4) Ian Bibby (GB, Motorpoint)   @ 0.19

5) Linus Gerdemann (Ger, Leopard Trek)  same time

6) Daniel Lloyd (GB, Garmin Cervelo)  same time

7) Steve Cummings (GB, Sky Procycling)  same time

8) Jan-Bert Lindeman (Ned, Vacansoleil DCM) same time

9) Jan Barta (Cze, Team NetApp)   same time

10) Jelle Wallays (Bel, Topsport Vlaanderen) same time

The Prostate Cancer Charity Points Classification, after Stage Four

1) Lars Boom (Ned, Rabobank)   37pts

2) Geraint Thomas (GB, Sky Procycling)  29pts

3) Mark Cavendish (GB, HTC Highroad)  26pts

4) Ian Bibby (GB, Motorpoint)   25pts

by Cheryl King, www.ckingimages.co.uk

After yesterdays cancellation due to the weather, the start of Stage 3 saw blue skies and sunshine greet the riders. Starting from the beautiful Trentham Gardens and finishing in Stoke on Trent the riders would complete 140 km’s of racing. Though certainly not as wild as yesterday, it was still very blustery on high ground and the riders experienced a strong cross wind on the exposed moorland tops.

As this was the home stage for the team, Motorpoint were out in force handing out caps to the spectators lining the course. Andrew Magnier expertly negotiated the Motorpoint car to the first sprint in Stone and to the top of Gun Hill; the second KOM. Support for the team was high and hopefully fans have gone away with not only a souvenir from the race but some good memories.

Caps, lots of caps. (c) ckingimages

Ian Bibby rode a gutsy race, riding strongly up and over Gun Hill  to join the leading group. With around 15 km’s to go, Team Sky’s Alex Dowsett attacked and soon had a lead on his chasers. However, the early effort may have been too much as he faded and was swallowed up by the group in the closing stages of the race. From here it was a scrap with the riders fighting for position. Team Sky had the numerical advantage but despite their best efforts it was a one – two for Rabobank with Lars Boom claiming the win and teammate Michael Matthew in second. Ian Bibby showed he can mix with the best as he kept his cool amongst the chaos and finished in a fine sixth place, moving him to 7th in the GC.

Ian Bibby (c) ckingimages

Lars Boom, Stage Three winner and IG Markets Gold Jersey

“With 200 metres to go I managed to jump over (Steve) Cummings and (Geraint) Thomas and then the corners started so they couldn’t pass us anymore.  My first aim was to pull for Michael (Matthews) and then I felt good so I am happy to win. We knew that you can’t bring HTC and Cavendish or the Sky boys to the finish.  We knew we would have to surprise them, and we managed to do that. I know that it is always tricky with the wind when you are in England.  I saw the Sky guys move up to the front and there was point that there was a lot of wind.  It was a good point to go and we managed to get away. It is nice to win.  It’s nice to win before the World Championships.  I am to trying to defend the jersey and win the overall, that is the goal now.”

Lars Boom on the podium (c) ckingimages

Ian Bibby: Motorpoint Pro Cycling Team. 6th Place Stage 3

Ian Bibby being interviewed before the start (c) ckingimages

If you were out cheering for the team today, have a look at our Flickr Photos site where you may just see your photo.

Report by Cheryl King, www.ckingimages.co.uk