Halfords Tour Series kicks off in Kirkcaldy with first visit to Scotland and a win for…

The 2012 Halfords Tour Series got under way in Kirkcaldy last night on its first ever visit north of the border, the honours on the evening going to Scotland’s own Endura Racing, which took the team win with Scott Thwaites also getting the individual victory after outsprinting Bernard Sulzberger of Team Raleigh-GAC and Rico Rogers from Node4-Giordana Racing.

Besides Thwaites’ win, Dean Windsor and Jonathan MvEvoy placed fourth and eighth respectively for Endura Racing, while Team UK Youth also put in a strong performance, getting four riders into the top ten to taken second place in the team-based series.

Windsor had got into an early break with former team mates Kristian House and Ed Clancy of defending champions Rapha Condor Sharp, but they were pulled back as the race headed towards the climax with Yanto Barker and Team UK Youth leading the charge, before Thwaites went from a few hundred metres from the line to take the win.

Thwaites, winner of the Stoke-on-Trent round in last year’s Halford Tour Series, said:
“It’s a good race, the circuit’s really good.  I think everyone was a bit shocked with it being the first crit of the season.  It was tough so got the heart going.

“We (Endura Racing) said that we weren’t going to go for a leadout, as that automatically writes one guy off, so it was all four of us trying to stay on the front.

“I was second and thought I might as well take it up now, about 500 metres out.  You’ve got to take a few risks to win, and I took a few.  I absolutely ragged it all the way to the finish.”

Highlights of the race will be shown on ITV4 this evening, while tomorrow the action resumes south of the border in Durham. Full details can be found on the Halfords Tour Series website.

The Halfords Tour Series, Round One, Kirkcaldy

Individual Result, Round One

1     Scott Thwaites           Endura Racing
2     Bernard Sulzberger       Team Raleigh-GAC
3     Rico Rogers              Node4 – Giordana Racing
4     Dean Windsor             Endura Racing
5     Chris Opie               Team UK Youth
6     Yanto Barker             Team UK Youth
7     Niklas Gustavsson        Team UK Youth
8     Jonathan McEvoy          Endura Racing
9     David McGowan            Team UK Youth
10    Graham Briggs            Team Raleigh-GAC

Team Result, Round One

1     Endura Racing
2     Team UK Youth                      
3     Team Raleigh-GAC               
4     Node4-Giordana Racing        
5     Rapha Condor Sharp               
6     Metaltek Scott                        
7     Team IG-Sigma Sport           
8     Cycle Premier-Kovert            
9     Team Hope Factory Racing      
10    Herbalife LeisureLakesBikes     

Team Standings, post-Round One

1     Endura Racing                   10pts
2     Team UK Youth                    9pts
3     Team Raleigh-GAC                 8pts
4     Node4-Giordana Racing            7pts
5     Rapha Condor Sharp               6pts
6     Metaltek Scott                   5pts
7     Team IG-Sigma Sport              4pts
8     Cycle Premier-Kovert             3pts
9     Team Hope Factory Racing         2pts
10    Herbalife LeisureLakesBikes       1pt

Boardman Bikes Sprint Competition 

Round Winner: Marcel Six (Metaltek Scott)

Boardman Bikes Sprint Standings, post-Round One

1     Marcel Six              Metaltek Scott     10pts
2     Bernard Sulzberger      Team Raleigh – GAC  8pts
3     Kristian House          Rapha Condor Sharp  6pts

2012 Halfords Tour Series Calendar

Round One    Tue 15th May   Kirkcaldy, Fife
Round Two    Thu 17th May   Durham, County Durham
Round Three  Tue 22nd May   Oxford, Oxfordshire
Round Four   Thu 24th May   Redditch, Worcestershire
Round Five   Fri 25th May   Aberystwyth, Ceredigion
Round Six    Tue 29th May   Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
Round Seven  Thu 31st May   Canary Wharf, London
Round Eight  Tue 5th June   Torquay, Devon
Round Nine   Thu 7th June   Colchester, Essex
Round Ten    Tue 12th June  Woking, Surrey
Grand Final  Thu 14th June  Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire