Kate Richardson opened her season road racing account on Sunday at the Tour of the Reservoir, one of the most demanding events in the British scene.
The Handsling Alba Development rider harnessed the strong gusts in the North Pennines, where she attacked at the top of the final climb and surfed a tailwind solo to the line to win by 17 seconds.
The victory, Richardson told Cycling Weekly, was plotted the night before with her team-mates. “We knew the course [two laps of a hilly circuit – 96km with 1,447m elevation] definitely suited a break,” she said. “We wanted to get numbers up the road, because it would be pretty hard to bring it back, particularly with the winds.”
In the end, it was the numbers that made the difference. Handsling Alba turned up to the race in County Durham with a full contingent of eight riders, and placed three of them, including Richardson, in a seven-rider breakaway. DAS-Hutchinson, the National Road Series leaders, only started with three riders.
“I felt like I was on a good day, so I wanted to make the most of that,” Richardson said of her race-winning attack, which came with 12km to go. “I would have backed myself in a sprint, but if you feel like you can get off the front and not risk anything, that’s always a good option.
“With the way the roads are, you can’t really see behind you, so I couldn’t really see anyone. I couldn’t look back at that point. I just had to commit to that move… I felt like I was the strongest by the end of the race.”
Richardson topped the podium ahead of DAS-Hutchinson’s Lucy Lee (left) and Great Britain’s Peggy Knox (right).
(Image credit: Olly Hassell/SWpix)
A former winner of the prestigious Lincoln GP and current European team pursuit champion on the track, Richardson has spent much of this year racing across Belgium and France, gaining experience with her team in higher-level UCI races, and scoring a handful of top-10s.
“I feel like I’ve had my most consistent season yet,” she said. “When you get your first win of the season, it solidifies your form and confidence in general. I felt like it had been building for a while.”
The 23-year-old is now hoping to carry that same form into the British Road Championships, set for 25-28 June in Ceredigion, Wales. She won the circuit race title and finished 11th in the road race last year. “It’s really nice to see where you stand with the other British girls,” she said.
Richardson will then turn her attention to August’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, her hometown, where she will represent Scotland on the track.
It was the same championships in 2014 that “kick-started” her sporting career, just 11 years old at the time. “It feels really, really special that I’m now getting to do that,” Richardson said.
“Ever since 2014, I’ve always been obsessed with sport. I started out in tennis, then I went into running, then triathlon, and I found myself in cycling. It’s very much a full-circle moment.”
Looking ahead to her next races, Richardson added: “I think things are tracking in a really good direction, and I’m really happy with how it’s going so far. Hopefully the second half of the season is even stronger.”
