The newborn XRS-ZTR DeCat race of March 13th took place on the fast London Classique course. Adam Webb (Vision) was the fastest to cross the finish line after 5 laps of the flat English course. Quentin Lafaye (Vision) took 2nd and Aarron Locks (Vision) completed the podium.
Right from the gun, the race went fast and furious. Over the first climb up to Trafalgar square, the first selection was made and 12 riders formed the first peloton: Gama (PTz), Fabes (Team X), Marcher, Henderson, Bank (BRTeam), Stellings (BRTeam), Whiteley (BRTeam), Locks (Vision), Lafaye (Vision), Webb (Vision), Roberts and Watson. The Portuguese rider from PTz was one of the most attacking riders during the race, even if he got dropped from the pack at times, always managing to find his way back, and earned himself the q/l Report-Combativity Award of the day. As the race went on, the Vision climbers made the pack grow thinner every lap.
Coming into the last lap, 8 riders were still in contention for the win: the 3 Vision riders, Whiteley and Stellings (BRTeam), Marcher, Roberts and Gama (PTz). The last climb up to Trafalgar saw Aarron Locks leading Adam Webb out of the pack, and allowing him to go alone for the win. “I love team racing, says Locks. Sacrificing yourself to help a teammate get the win, even it it means destroying yourself, is worth every effort.” Taking his first official win of the month, Adam Webb (Vision) managed to keep a 5-second gap between himself and the pack. “The team effort today was just amazing, says Webb. Having climbers on that course helps grinding down the guys, and allows to focus on controlling. As long as they were in the pack with me, I knew I’d be fine.”
“They don’t need Discord to know what the other thinks”
The bunch sprint, coming a few seconds after the winner, was won by Lafaye (Vision), with Locks (Vision) “locked” in his wheel, and barely holding the 3rd place over Phil Whiteley (BRTeam). “The real strength of this team is that riders know each other so well that they don’t need Discord or text to know what the other is up to, and that might’ve made the difference today” appreciates Vision team manager. Taking 2nd place in the B category, Jens Rasmussen was also committed to his “task” as he explained it: “I got dropped coming into the first lap, but I hung on to allow the team to get first place in the team ranking as well. That’s something we value a lot, and I wanted to do my part.”
Even though it was a “DeCat” Race, meaning no categories were involved, it’s only fair to take a look at the B, C and D winners. Holding on to the first pack for a long time, Travis Henderson was the first B to cross the line. Swedish rider Daniel Ahlin took the “win” in the C category and Carl Jobling, out of Great Britain, did the same in the Ds.
Check out full results on ZwiftPower.com >>>
XRS-ZTR DeCat Race – March 13th:
1- A.Webb (GBR-Vision)
2- Q.Lafaye (FRA-Vision)
3- A.Locks (GBR-Vision)
4- P.Whiteley (BRTeam)
5- R.Gama (POR-PTz)
6- M.Roberts (GBR-U/A)
7- S.Stellings (GBR-BRTeam)
8- J.Banks (USA-BRTeam)
9- J.Watson (GBR-U/A)
10- M.Sirbu (MOL-BRTeam)
q/l Report-Combativity Award : R.Gama (POR-PTz)
-the q/l Report-
