Three winners from Wednesday’s Koppenbergcross headed to Tabor this weekend
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Helen Wyman (Great Britain)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Young cyclocross sensation Tom Pidcock already has an array of celebrations in his locker, such as this superman pose in the European champion's jersey(Image credit: SWpix.com)
Two-time European champion Helen Wyman (Kona Factory Team), who won elite women's Koppenbergcross in front of American Katie Compton (KFC Racing p/b Trek/Panache), will look to add to her 2012 and 2013 European titles this weekend in Tabor, leading a women's team that also includes Nikki Brammeier (Boels Dolmans), fourth on Wednesday, and Hannah Payton.
Tom Pidcock (Telenet Fidea Lions), the winner on Wednesday of the U23 men's race, is British Cycling's obvious choice for the team, which will also include Anna Kay and Harriet Harndon competing for the U23 women's crown.
Lewis Askey, Sean Flynn and Ben Tulett, who completed the British triple at Koppenbergcross with a win of his own, will compete in the junior men's race.
Wyman climbed away from Compton on the final ascent after reeling the American back on the penultimate lap, taking the win 16 seconds ahead of Compton.
Pidcock attacked rivals Eli Iserbyt (Marlux-Napoleon Games) and Jens Dekker (Beobank-Corendon) multiple times in the final lap but was unable to shake them. He eventually distanced them on the final trip up the Koppenberg to the finish, where he had four seconds on Iserbyt and seven on Dekker.
"It was really hard," Pidcock said in a statement posted on his team's website after the race. "I was quite far back at the start and was able to move forward with two laps to go. In the final lap, I decided to attack, but I couldn't shake them."
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"It was my first time at the Koppenberg, so it's special," he said, adding that the bumpy course made it very difficult.
"My weight is an advantage on the climbs, but on the bumps, it was less," he said. "I knew it would be a long race. I think I'll be recovered on Saturday; it's a matter of sitting around and watching TV."
British Cycling Roster for 2017 UEC Cyclo-cross European Championships:
Elite Women: Helen Wyman, Nikki Brammeier, Hannah Payton U23 Men: Tom Pidcock U23 Women: Anna Kay, Harriet Harndon Junior Men: Lewis Askey, Sean Flynn, Ben Tulett
