Horton & co. target return to the top of the podium
SO FOCUSED is he on the task in hand that Tobyn Horton needed reminding that today is Liberation Day.
It was only when it was put to the Sarnian professional rider that victory for him in the opening round of the OVO Energy Tour Series tonight in Redditch would be a great way to mark Guernsey’s big day did he realise that the two coincided.
‘It would be nice,’ said Horton, but such is the modesty of the 32-year-old that he quickly emphasised that a team victory would give him as much satisfaction.
‘Redditch is a pretty hard circuit, it’s one of the longer ones, so it will be quite an interesting one to start with. I was second there last year by a hair – on the line there were three of us all together.
‘But you have always got to think of the team. To try and win a round as an individual would be nice, but you cannot always race for that because the team is so important.
‘Every race we do as a team is part of the qualification process for the Tour of Britain, so that makes it all the more critical to be part of the team.’
Horton is now in his sixth season with Madison Genesis and the team have strengthened significantly over the winter, with Tour Series stars Jon Mould and Ian Bibby among the five new signings they made for 2019.
With the roster they have at their disposal, plus the return of Roger Hammond as team manager after a spell as sports director for Team Dimension Data working with the likes of Mark Cavendish, it is hardly surprising Horton agreed that their aim is to regain the Tour Series title.
‘We really have the riders to do that [win it],’ he said.
‘It’s not going to be easy because there is strength in depth, too, in the likes of Canyon, Swift, Vitus – everyone seems to have a strong squad.
‘The thing with crits is that you never really know (a) how you’re going and (b) how the other teams are going until you have raced.
‘We have got the luxury of having a fresh-legged squad. We might take a round to get up to speed, but we are going to get stronger as the series goes on.’
Horton admitted that on a personal level it has been ‘a quiet season so far’ with his participation in the Tour du Loir-et-Cher stage race over Easter hampered by an ill-timed flu bug.
He revealed that he is fully over that now, though, and is raring to go.
‘Now the circus comes around again and I’m all in for the Tour Series.
‘Everyone is fresh and champing at the bit to get going.
‘Crits are so different to road racing that even if a rider has done well in the Tour de Yorkshire, it does not necessarily mean that form will translate to the Tour Series.’
Although the second round of the series does not take place until Tuesday, the races then come thick and fast until the Grand Final, which is the seventh round, on Saturday 25 May.
‘It works well because you’re going to places like Motherwell, Aberdeen and Durham, so it makes sense to stay on the road during that time.
‘We have got some new rounds to look forward to, too, in Birkenhead and Brooklands.
‘But, because we have got the luxury of having such a strong team that people can be put in and taken out wherever necessary, I’m not certain I will be doing all of the Tour Series rounds.’
One thing is for sure, though, and that is that Horton is loving his time with Madison Genesis and hopes it will continue for as long as possible.
‘Madison are such a good company to ride for because the company is directly involved with us as a team and that makes for such a great atmosphere – why would I want to leave?’
