Cycling Weekly September 16, 2021

Hold the bells! We might have another one to add to the ‘incredible young riders set to lead the next generation’ list. Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar were the three twentysomethings seemingly untouchable in that category before Tom Pidcock added his name with his Spring Classics performances. Now Ethan Hayter has made his bid to be added. Coming second at the Tour of Britain doesn’t gain anyone automatic addition, but going mana-a-mano with van Aert and beating Julian Alaphilippe suggests his name could be added soon. And take a look through all Hayter’s 2021 results. In a year when he has focused on the team pursuit, an event just 4,000 metres in length, he has ridden six stage races, won one, come second in two…

Generational shift At the Tour of Britain, young fan Xander Graham takes a bidon from Jumbo-Visma rider Pascal Eenkhoorn having raced the lead group up the hill. The following day the Edinburgh RC rider was invited onto the stage at the team presentation as part of Jumbo-Visma’s squad. He said he dreams of becoming a pro when he grows up. Eenkhoorn was among those impressed: “We were riding fast but he was completely sprinting and he looks like a talented kid.”…

Ethan Hayter put himself at cycling’s top table with an impressive performance at the Tour of Britain that saw him only beaten to overall victory by Wout van Aert in the final metres. The Jumbo-Visma leader was level with Hayter as the pair opened their decisive final sprint in the knowledge that whoever won was likely to take the overall title due to the bonus seconds on the line. But the Londoner was overpowered by the Belgian, who found his way through the pack to claim the stage victory as well. Van Aert said: “It’s fantastic to win the general classification as well as the stage. On the line, I saw that Ethan was not on the front row. It’s nice that it went exactly in the right direction today.”…

The day after the Tour of Britain finished, Hayter was named among the British squad for the upcoming road World Championships in Leuven, Belgium. He will form part of a strong elite men’s road race team and will also ride the time trial. British Cycling performance director Stephen Park said: “It will be interesting to see how the elite men’s road race plays out. We’ve made the decision not to go with one team leader, giving us a number of options as the race plays out. The race really could belong to anyone.” Hayter added: “We’ve got a good team for the road race so it’s going to be fun I think.” The wider squad contains medal prospects in multiple categories including Lizzie Deignan in the women’s road race and…

ELITE WOMEN’S ROAD RACE Lizzie Deignan, Anna Shackley, Alice Barnes, Anna Henderson, Pfeiffer Georgi, Joss Lowden ELITE WOMEN’S TT Joss Lowden, Pfeiffer Georgi ELITE MEN’S ROAD RACE Tom Pidcock, Luke Rowe, Fred Wright, Jake Stewart, Connor Swift, Ben Swift, Mark Cavendish, Ethan Hayter ELITE MEN’S TIME TRIAL Ethan Hayter, Dan Bigham UNDER-23 MEN’S ROAD RACE Ethan Vernon, Sam Watson, Oliver Stockwell, Robert Donaldson, Lewis Askey UNDER-23 MEN’S TIME TRIAL Ethan Vernon JUNIOR WOMEN’S ROAD RACE Maddie Leech, Millie Couzens, Flora Perkins, Zoe Bäckstedt JUNIOR WOMEN’S TIME TRIAL Zoe Bäckstedt, Maddie Leech JUNIOR MEN’S TIME TRIAL Max Poole, Finlay Pickering, Joshua Tarling, Jack Brough JUNIOR MEN’S TIME TRIAL Finlay Pickering, Joshua Tarling MIXED TEAM TIME TRIAL Dan Bigham (team leader), Alex Dowsett, John Archibald, Joss Lowden, Alice Barnes, Anna Henderson…

Ribble-Weldtite battled valiantly against mechanicals and crashes to make James Shaw the best-placed rider of the Tour of Britain’s Continental teams. The squad had a tough opening two stages, with four riders crashing and one suffering from stomach issues. They had pinned hopes on a strong ride in stage three’s team time trial. Manager Colin Sturgess was confident the squad could place on the podium, while rider, aerodynamicist and WattShop owner Dan Bigham even felt a win was possible, but it wasn’t to be. Powerhouse rider Simon Wilson suffered a break in his chain within the first few minutes and was swiftly left behind. They struggled home in eighth Then, the next day, Matt Gibson used his prodigious power to drag James Shaw, who is set to return to the…