Manchester cycling star Chris Latham believes racing the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic was one of his toughest experiences, but insists he’ll be better in the future because of it.
The Team Wiggins rider endured a couple of stutters along the way, causing him to lose valuable race speed which he was unable to fully recover from.
Tour de France winner Chris Froome was amongst those vying for glory in the capital for Team Sky, but Belgium’s Tom Boonen took the honours after a 200km run from Horseguard’s Parade, out into the Surrey countryside, and back into central London for a finish on The Mall.
And for Latham, the presence of some of the world’s best for one of the most anticipated races in the calendar presented the 22-year-old with mixed emotions.
“It was a pretty tough day, everyone went flat out and the pace at times was relentless,” he said.
“I thought I had a good bit of form coming into the race, but just got a bit stuck on Box Hill and couldn’t really recover from that – racing is very much a momentum thing.
“RideLondon is a very good race, it’s tough and attracts the best competitors around but I’m certainly glad to have taken part in it.”
The race was the fourth edition of the Classic and sees riders go over Surrey’s infamous Leith Hill and Box Hill, in what is fast becoming a haunt of the best competitors world cycling has to offer.
It culminated a three-day festival of cycling, which also included a FreeCycle around the traffic-free streets of the capital, while the London-Surrey 100-mile and 46-mile races also took place.
And despite a tough race for Latham, who finished around ten seconds behind Boonen, the support of the home crowd and the chance to ride with the home crowd ensured there were still plenty of highlights to take from the day.
“I do a lot of track racing and it’s like having that track crowd with you the whole way making so much noise. The support is fantastic – I wish it could ease the pain in your legs – but it’s great to have them there,” he added.
“I didn’t see much of the landmarks, I had my head down and focused but it was a really good opportunity.
“It was great fun to be here and it’s great for all the families and kids to come down show their support, have a go on a bike and you never know they could be taking part and riding one day.”
Prudential RideLondon was developed by the Mayor of London and his agencies in 2013, and was designed to be a world class festival of cycling, as well as providing a tangible legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Prudential RideLondon is the world’s largest festival of cycling. Prudential is proud to support people’s ambitions. Visit www.pru.co.uk/ambitions
Image courtesy of Chris Latham via Instagram, with thanks.
