WHEN British UCI Continental cycling outfit Rapha Condor signed up Bathurst talent Dean Windsor for the 2010 season they made no secret that his strength in criterium riding was what attracted them – a strength which took him to a silver medal the Australian Open Road Championships last week.
After four days of criterium riding as part of the Jayco Bay Classic, where his best finish was a fifth on stage three, Windsor had little time to rest as he headed to Ballarat to contest the 44-kilometre national title the following day.
Up against a field which included defending national criterium champion Bernard Sulzberger and former Tour de France green jersey winner Robbie McEwen, his task was not going to be any easier than what he had faced in the classic, but Windsor demonstrated exactly why Rapha Condor were happy to secure his signature.
He won the Wattbike Sprint Championship that was contested as part of the criterium and in the final sprint to the line with no team-mates there to offer assistance, Windsor was only beaten out for an Australian title by Fly V rider Aaron Kemps.
In the end all that separated them was a bike-length.
“With three Fly V and two Drapac riders in the breakaway it made it quite difficult being by myself but I just made sure I jumped with everything that went,” Windsor told cyclingnews.com.
“It used a lot of my energy but I just couldn’t afford to miss the winning break. Unfortunately my legs were a little tired in the final sprint,” he added.
As a a large group of interested spectators, including Tour Down Under winner André Greipel, watching on any hopes of an easy start soon disappeared.
It took all of one lap before the first breakaway took hold as David Pell (Drapac-Porsche) and Cameron Jennings (Team Budget Forklifts) broke away.
When Pell and Jennings were caught by the peloton, Sulzberger started to show Fly V Australia’s card by making a solo attack. McEwen spent much of his time pulling Sulzberger’s move back, while the Tasmanian grimaced as he increased pressure on the riders behind to chase.
When Sulzberger was caught it just sparked more action with an eight man break-away forming and they would go on to lap the rest of the field, including McEwen.
Despite being heavily outnumbered by the domestic teams, Windsor was one of the animators of the eight-man breakaway group which included three members of the Fly V Australia team and two of his former Drapac Porsche team-mates.
It was Windsor who tried to then split this group of eight as he increased the tempo of an already aggressively riding group and when it came time for the final sprint the Bathurst talent was once more the man leading out.
Unfortunately he couldn’t hold off Queenslander Kemp but no doubt his efforts pleased Rapha Condor team manager John Herety.
As part of the prize for winning, Kemps will now get the honour of wearing the Australian Criterium Champion jersey in the United States this year.
“I am very happy with this win and very thankful for Fly V, a new team for me this year, and very happy for the first race of the year and to get a win for them,” Kemps said.
“It is a team for Australians and I’m proud to be in an Australian team and now I am proud to take this jersey overseas and represent Australia.”
Windsor, who yesterday was expected to contest the 163.2km elite men’s road race in Buninyong as the Australian Open Road Championships concluded, will leave for England at the end of the month.
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