Andy Tennant has taken his first big win for Rapha Condor Sharp at the Richmond Grand Prix – the final round and one of the most demanding courses of the Premier Calendar series. Despite recent illness, which had ruled him out of the recent team training camps, he out-classed and outmanoeuvred the field in the final 700 meters to take the win. Speaking after the event Tennant commented: “I am made up to win here. We did a race in France just after (my illness) and I really suffered, but winning here proves it was worth it…In the final few kilometres, the bunch was getting close, and Marcin started to sit on. I was forced to lead out but when Richardson went early he gave me the springboard I needed. It’s not a straightforward finish and I committed to my effort 100%. I thought if they come round me then so be it, but I just gave it everything”.
Team manager John Herety added “We dominated the Prems last year with Chris (Newton) and this year while we had an eye on the overall, the focus was for individual rounds – this way it worked out that we came away with different riders winning on different days, instead of having to defend for one rider. This gives me satisfaction as I can see the strength in depth that we have in our team”.
The Richmond Grand Prix marked the team’s final race before the focus switches to the Tour of Britain.
