JLT Win The Tour Series

Last updated : 10 June 2016 By Tour Series

JLT Condor presented by Mavic secured their third overall Pearl Izumi Tour Series crown in Portsmouth on Thursday evening with Jon Mould, Graham Briggs, Alex Frame, Alistair Slater and Chris Lawless doing enough to wrap up the 2016 title.

The men in black weren't the only team celebrating a third title, as Podium Ambition presented by Club La Santa overturned Drops Cycling to claim their third straight Matrix Fitness Grand Prix Series title with the race win going to Jess Roberts.

In the men's event there was no clean sweep of the individual wins for JLT Condor presented by Mavic however, as Madison Genesis' Alex Blain took the win, his first in the Series since 2010 in Southport.

The Frenchman headed Felix English for a 1-2 for his team, but it was the race's most local team, Fleet's Pedal Heaven who took the round victory in Portsmouth, the second of their season.

That win gave them a one-point advantage over Team Raleigh GAC for third overall, with Madison Genesis finishing five points back from JLT Condor presented by Mavic.

The South Division competition for Guest teams also came to a close, with a third win from four races helping Richardsons Trek to that success and a podium visit.

Pedal Heaven's Rory Townsend held on to the Chain Reaction Cycles Points Jersey which he first pulled on after the Edinburgh round, successfully fending off Lawless, with the JLT Condor man winning the competition on the night to finish 11-points down.

There was no fairytale finish for JLT Condor presented, who until Portsmouth had swept the board with every individual race.  The team lost Jon Mould mid-race to a crash, and despite putting three men in the top 10, the all-important fourth man left them fifth on the night, but with enough of an advantage to take the title.  That also makes team manager Dean Downing the first man to win the Pearl Izumi Tour Series as both a rider and manager.

In the Brother Fastest Lap there was further success for JLT Condor, with their New Zealand former World Track Champion Alex Frame clocking a 1:24.250 for the honours, averaging 51.28kph around the city streets.

For full results and final standings from the Pearl Izumi Tour Series, please click here.

Once again the women's Matrix Fitness Grand Prix proved a thrilling opening to the evening's elite racing, with a fast paced round won by youngster Jess Roberts, who yesterday was named in the Great Britain squad for the UCI Junior Track World Championships.

Roberts completed an incredible hat trick of wins for younger siblings, following Alice Barnes (Stevenage) and Grace Garner (Croydon) in winning rounds of the Matrix Fitness Grand Prix Series, emulating elder sisters Amy Roberts, Hannah Barnes and Lucy Garner.

Riding as an individual, Roberts put in an impressive ride on her second appearance in the 2016 Series to win by 20-seconds, with Grace Garner leading teammate EJay Harris for second and third from the bunch sprint.

Also impressing in the race were Aprire HSS Hire's Louise Laker and Team WNT's Jo Tindley who both came to the forth without the pressures of the team competition surrounding their performance.

Garner's run of consistent finishes that saw her place 3rd, 4th, 5th, 1st and 2nd in the final five rounds of the six event Series helped her overturn Nikki Juniper at the top of the standings.  The Podium Ambition rider finished ahead of Juniper and her Team Ford EcoBoost teammate Charlotte Broughton.

Those consistent finishes for Garner and her, Harris and Gabriella Shaw's top eight positions helped their team to the title.

A last lap spill for Drops Cycling Rebecca Durrell on the final lap, and the double-points final round, contributed to a rare off-night for her team, allowing Podium Ambition to finish 30-points clear to add the title to their 2014 and 2015 wins.

For full results and final standings from the Matrix Fitness Grand Prix Series, please click here.

Highlights of the men and women's races in Portsmouth will be shown on ITV4 at 20:00 on Friday 10 June with a repeat the following morning at 10:20.  Programmes from all ten rounds of the Pearl Izumi Tour Series are available on demand via the ITV Hub catch-up service.

Next week sees the Aviva Women's Tour race into action, with ITV4 again screening highlights every evening from Wednesday 15 June of the five stage race, which will feature stars of the Matrix Fitness Grand Prix Series like Grace Garner, Alice Barnes and Annasley Park.