Super sixth for Sam
‘ATTRITIONAL’ was Sam Culverwell’s one-word summary of his impressive debut in National A series racing on Sunday.
The 18-year-old finished sixth in a South Coast Classic where all but a select few riders had helplessly dropped, with the sole ‘Team Estera’ name standing proud in a shortened results list of Continental and other highly reputable outfits.
A trio of earlier National B wins had elevated Culverwell’s status for the 156km race, coming a month after getting a taste for this level of competition at the National Championships.
The major climb of the Eastbourne-based course came with the after-shock of a strong crosswind, which had a near-instantaneous impact on the field.
After just a few laps of 13 total, Culverwell got away in a group of about 10 riders and closed down the big breakaway that was up the road. Only about 35 riders remained on the brutal parcours.
At about half-way, the Guernsey youngster attacked boldly at the base of the climb with one other rider, successfully breaking apart the main group even after being caught at the peak.
With a then 11-man group keeping the pace high despite the conditions, riders continued to drop off until only five remained at the front with three laps to go.
Eventual winner Jacob Scott of SwiftCarbon Pro rode away solo on the final climb, temporarily breaking the tired group, but the next four eventually got back together and Culverwell prepared for a close sprint.
As one Scott crossed the line in 3hrs 47min. 39sec., Team Wiggins’ Robert Scott had caught the group from behind on the downhill run to the finish and outsprinted Canyon dhb’s Ryan Christensen for second, both 12sec. back.
An exhausted but delighted Culverwell finished at the tail of what had been a five-man sprint and testified to the difficulty of the course.
‘The race was really attritional, with a fast tailwind climb which meant that you didn’t get as much benefit from sitting in, and the climb steepened at the top before a brutal cross-wind section that really strung the field out and did as much damage as the climb itself,’ said Culverwell.
‘I had nothing left for the sprint as it had been a really hard race, but absolutely over the moon with sixth at my first “Nat A” on a course on which under 30 people finished.’
