Harriet Owen wins Johnson HealthTech Round 2

Harriet Owen

Node4-Giordana's Harriet Owen fought hard on a challenging Peterbourough parcours to win Round 2 of the Johnson HealthTech GP last night after getting away early in a three-rider break and then beating Oxford winner Annie Simpson (Matrix-Prendas) to the line.

"I just went eyeballs out and hoped that someone would come with me, and it stuck," the 19-year-old explained after the race. "We all worked really well together so got quite a good lead. I knew I felt quite good, but I knew Hannah Barnes had a good sprint and Annie would go for a long one as well, so I had to chance it and go for a long one as if I could get the gap I’d be able to hold it, and it paid off."

"With a big lead on the peloton, it was important for me just to focus on the finish and retaining my overall lead," Simpson said. "We’d already taken the sprint points on the night, and after the last one we’d got 50 seconds, so it was all focus on crossing the line ahead of Hannah Barnes." She now has sixteen points in the Sprints competition, Owen has eight for second place and Barnes seven.

Annie Simpson

Hannah Barnes arrived in third place and is now only two points behind Simpson in the series leadership. Node4 team mates Lucy Garner and Corrine Hall are third and fourth while 2011 overall champion Helen Wyman (Kona Factory Racing, guest-riding for Matrix-Prendas), who is today celebrating her wedding anniversary with directeur sportif Stef Wyman, is in fifth place. With Garner finishing fourth yesterday and Hall tenth, the squad takes over leadership of the team rankings with an advantage of sixteen points; but with three rounds to go (Colchester 07.06, Woking 12.06, Stoke-on-Trent 12.06), the eventual outcome of what has become the premier women's racing series in the United Kingdom is far from decided.

Matrix-Prendas' Sarah Reynolds crashed badly and was rushed to hospital, where it was initially feared she may have suffered serious injury. After being kept in overnight, tests revealed bruising to her lungs and kidney and some damage - but not, as first thought, a rupture - to her spleen. She thanked fans for their messages on Twitter.

Owen was interviewed by a BBC East news crew minutes after her victory - evidence that fast, exciting city centre criterium races running alongside established men's events such as the Halfords Tour Series are successful in bringing women's competitive cycling to a wider audience.

Short highlights of the race will be shown as part of ITV4's Halfords Series coverage tonight (30th May) at 8pm, repeated tomorrow morning at 08:30.

Best wishes for a recovery that's as
fast as you are, Sarah Reynolds

Round 2 Top Ten 

1. Harriet Own, Node4 - Giordana Racing
2. Annie Simpson, Matrix Fitness - Prendas
3. Hannah Barnes, Team Ibis Cycles
4. Lucy Garner, Node4 - Giordana Racing
5. Amy Roberts, Scott Contessa Epic
6. Lydia Boylan, Look Mum No Hands!
7. Louise Mahe, Mule Bar Girls
8. Emily Kay, Scott Contessa Epic
9. Helen Wyman, Kona Factory Racing
10. Corrine Hall, Node4 - Giordana Racing

Overall Top Ten
1. Annie Simpson, Matrix Fitness - Prendas, 39pts
2. Hannah Barnes, Team Ibis Cycles, 37pts
3. Lucy Garner, Node4 - Giordana Racing, 32pts
4. Corrine Hall, Node4 - Giordana Racing, 28pts
5. Helen Wyman, Kona Factory Racing, 26pts
6. Harriet Owen, Node4 - Giordana, 25pts
7. Lydia Boylan, Look Mum No Hands, 25pts
8. Amy Roberts, Scott Contessa Epic, 22pts
9. Jo Tindley, VC St Raphael, 18pts
10. Louise Mahe, Mule Bar Girls, 18pts

Johnson Health Tech Grand Prix returns for 2012

Helen Wyman, winner of the 2011
Johnon Health Tech Grand Prix
(image credit: Thomas Ducroquet
CC BY-SA 3.0) 

It's a sad but true fact that there aren't as many women's bike races as there are men's - and those that do take place are often under-funded, small-scale affairs that most of us never even get to hear about apart from a brief mention in the cycling press.

Hence, the news that the Johnson Health Tech Grand Prix Series - the nearest thing to a Women's Tour of Britain - will be run for a second time alongside SweetSpot's Halfords Tours series for one month this coming summer is very welcome indeed. The series, which organisers are working to make an even bigger success than in 2011, offers the best chance to see the enormous talent and potential of Britain's female cyclists: "The 2011 Johnson Health Tech Grand Prix was a fantastic showcase for women’s cycling in the UK," says winner and multiple cyclo cross champion Helen Wyman. "The Series provides a wonderful opportunity for developing riders to battle against some of the UK's best, wheel for wheel, and above all they do it in front of the TV cameras. I'm already looking forward to defending my title in 2012."

The four rounds will be held in towns and cities around the country - meaning that the majority of fans will have a round within easy traveling distance - and use the same closed road circuits as the men's races, which are organised with one eye firmly on increasing awareness of competitive cycling. This means that television crews will be in place for each event, helping to raise the profile of women's cycling - a method that has worked well at large European races such as the Tour of Flanders.

Halfords Tour Series Dates

Round One Tuesday 15th May
Round Two Thursday 17th May
Round Three Tuesday 22nd May
Round Four Thursday 24th May
Round Five Tuesday 29th May
Round Six Thursday 31st May
Round Seven Tuesday 5th June
Round Eight Thursday 7th June
Round Nine Tuesday 12th June
Round Ten Thursday 14th June

The locations and details of the Johnson Health Tech Grand Prix will be announced soon.