The Rain in Spain: Thrills and spills at the Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana

It was a case of ‘what might have been’ for Saint Piran in yesterday’s 2022 European road season opener in southern Spain.

New signing, Charles Page was well placed for a top-five finish in the 175km Classica Communitat Valencia event when he was brought down in a crash just 500 meters from the line. Minutes earlier, with five kilometres to go, Jenson Young was caught up in another incident and, although he made it to the finish, a trip to the hospital revealed a broken wrist that has ended his Continental training camp early.

Saint Piran raced alongside 14 other top-level Continental and British teams, with eight riders among the 119 starters on a course that started in La Nucia on the Costa Blanca and covers 175km to finish in the port city of Valencia.

For the team, who are spending a month on the Continent in preparation for the 2022 season, the race was about getting some miles into the legs. Team Manager Steve Lampier was pleased with the day overall, saying:

 “It’s right at the start of the season, so we didn’t go into it with any great expectations – anything we got out of it would have been an added bonus. We just wanted to ride the race professionally. Jenson got in an early break that was brought back, then worked for Charles for the whole race, keeping him in a good position.  Charles was in a fantastic position with less than 500m to go, getting ready to launch his sprint when, unfortunately, there was a touch of wheels and he was down.

 Ultimately though it was a really good showing from the boys, despite the bad luck. Many riders impressed – young rider Theo Obholzer among them - and it was a good first race at this level. There are lots of good signs.”

 Watching from Cornwall, Saint Piran Team Principal, Ricci Pascoe said:

 “It was a 175km race, with mountain climbs and fast run-ins on wet surfaces. When you have lots of young riders prepared to take risks to prove themselves, you can expect a fast, exciting race.”

 Commenting on where he sees Saint Piran now, Ricci says:

 “This is about our progression as a team. Just last year we were riding regional races in the UK and we’re now mixing it with teams that regularly ride at World Tour level. Watching the race, I feel immense pride. We feel that we have our structure right for 2022, together with the development of feeder teams and the Women’s teams. This is the start of another new chapter for the team.”

 Saint Piran will remain in Spain for the next few weeks, training and building fitness for the forthcoming season.