School of hard knocks for Saint Piran rider in the HSBC Road Series

If you needed any further proof that cycling is a brutally demanding sport, take a look at the photo of Saint Piran rider Will Harper’s race suit after last Sunday’s Beaumont Trophy.

The race, the sixth in the 10 round HSBC National Road Series, is notoriously tough and features Sir Bradley Wiggins among its previous winners.

Will crashed with about half of the 187km race still to go, with the damage to his skinsuit showing the result of the impact. The Saint Piran man chased back to the group over the brutal Ryals climb – which features a lung-busting 22% maximum gradient – only to puncture.

The race itself provided plenty of controversy, with a delay about halfway through thanks to a tractor that had strayed onto the course. In the end, Rory Townsend (Canyon DHB) took the win in a sprint finish ahead of Pete Williams (SwiftCarbon).

Six seconds separated the first seven riders, with Saint Piran’s Joe Evans, Steve Lampier, Ollie Maxwell and Cameron Jeffers coming in 36 seconds down on the winner. There were 96 finishers in total.

The result leaves Steve Lampier in eighth place in the individual overall series with Saint Piran seventh in the team standings. Next up in the HSBC Road Series is the Stockton Grand Prix on Sunday 14th July.