Culverwell a brilliant 12th at Nationals
BRUISED and sore after falling off, Sam Culverwell headed back to Guernsey yesterday with a grin as wide as the Condor Liberation bringing him and his race bike home.
Twenty-fours earlier Culverwell, 18, had beaten a string of the UK’s most notable professional riders – including Mark Cavendish – in finishing a brilliant 12th at the National Road Race Championships in Norfolk.
In a race outstripping anything the Estera rider had previously experienced, both in terms of distance (196 kilometres) and quality, Culverwell turned many heads with his unexpectedly brilliant performance.
But he still thinks it could have been better.
‘I’d like to think that without the crash a top 10 finish would have been possible,’ he said, reflecting on a race in which at one advanced point he was riding briefly at the front.
‘I was really happy with that, absolutely over the moon,’ he said after finishing fourth wheel of a bigger group chasing ninth spot, just over three minutes behind the winner, Team Ineos star Ben Swift.
But for the crash it might have been better. He was making a break from Swift, Ian Stannard and co. when he it happened.
‘Alex Richardson attacked, I went with him and we both overshot the corner. He managed to avoid the road furniture, but I slid into it. At 55 kilometres per hour it was quite a shock to the system.’
Already a winner of three National B victories this season, Culverwell had headed to Norwich with excitement but playing down his prospects.
‘I would definitely like top-10 U23 – that would be nice, but it’s difficult to set a standard when you’re up against a [past] junior world champion.’
Well, as it happens, he beat that junior world champion, Tom Pidcock, who was 43rd.
