Up to 10,000 people flocked to this year's HTC Smithfield Nocturne for a day of cycling entertainment. Among the crowds were Tour de France star Mark Cavendish, who had travelled straight to the event after dropping out of the Tour of Switzerland, and fashion designer Sir Paul Smith.
Highlights of the London event included a folding bike challenge, fixed gear skid competition and family Sky Ride, but it was the titular circuit race that provided the day's biggest thrills.
As night fell, HTC-Columbia’s Matt Goss was brought forward to the start line, where he was joined by a host of the UK's top racers. A predictably fast start saw riders being dropped from the off, but an early break of Darren Lapthorne (Rapha Condor Sharp), Ian Bibby (Motorpoint – Marshalls Pasta), Zak Dempster (Rapha Condor Sharp) and Jack Bauer (Endura Racing).
Various chasing groups weren’t quite strong enough to pull back the strong quartet, with even Yanto Barker (Pendragon – Le Col – Colnago) unable to prevent a gap opening of around 30 seconds. As darkness fell, spectators looked down the finishing straight in anticipation. In the end it was Bibby who took the closely contested sprint to the line. Dempster came in second, followed by Bauer.
The women’s criterium was convincingly won by Hannah Barnes (Motorpoint – Marshalls Pasta), making it a double win for the team, with Corrine Hall and Nicola Juniper finishing second and third respectively. The Cycling Weekly support race was taken by Wayne Crombie, while the folding bike race was won by Keith Henderson and yhe Architects and Developers race was won by James Waite of Land Securities.
The Nocturne Series continues on 3 July in Edinburgh, and then on 7 August in Blackpool. For full details, visit www.smithfieldnocturne.com.
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