Bauer saves Endura's bacon

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Jack Bauer stormed to a dominant solo win in Chester, crossing the line clear of Endura Racing teammates Ian Wilkinson and Rob Hayles, who came in at the head of the main field, for a first ever one-two-three finish by a team in the Halfords Tour Series.

Behind this trio Halfords Tour Series leaders Motorpoint-Marshalls Pasta took second place, so their overall lead was only reduced by one point, while Rapha-Condor-Sharp's chances of the Series win were shattered as a last lap crash put them out of contention.

For the second year running the Chester round of The Halfords Tour Series ended with an Antipodean winner on the podium, but rather than an Australian it was New Zealand national champion Bauer who took the honours, Endura's second individual win of the series.

Large crowds lined the historic streets of Chester, particularly along Northgate Street and Eastgate Street in the heart of the city, under clear blue skies and in warm conditions.

Once again the Halfords Tour Series race started off at a fierce pace, as both Endura and Rapha-Condor-Sharp looked to put Motorpoint-Marshalls Pasta on the back foot as they sought to defend their overall lead.

First up the road with a significant lead was Kristian House, but Endura and Motorpoint were reluctant to see him escape and so rode him down at the first Boardman Bikes Sprint. House though crossed the line first, setting him up for victory in the evening's Boardman Bikes Sprint competition, and ensuring that barring a final round disaster, that competition will be won by a Rapha-Condor-Sharp rider in Woking.

Several probing attacks came and went as various combinations of riders tried their luck off the front of the peloton and eventually a four-man move stuck. In it were Hayles, Darren Lapthorne, Ed Clancy and Yanto Barker, with the quartet working hard to build a lead that lasted through until approaching the third and final Boardman Bikes Sprint.

Initially the four were caught by a group of around ten riders, but this then formed into the night's main bunch containing the majority of those still in the race.

From this group Bauer leapt clear with around ten minutes of racing to go. At first the Kiwi was pursued by House and a Motorpoint rider, but by the next lap the Endura rider was alone and distancing the peloton at some rate.

Each lap his advantage seemed to grow, so much so that as the peloton crossed the line, Bauer had long since turned right into George Street at the top of the circuit. With his batteries full, Bauer was able to stay clear through the final laps and take the victory alone, arms aloft.

Behind though things weren't as simple, as a large crash in the final corner caused chaos, splitting the peloton and bringing down a number of riders, with the worst affected being Pendragon's Casey Munro and the Rapha duo of Zak Dempster and Lapthorne, while Stephen Adams and Andrew Magnier both crossed the line on foot.

The disruption meant the sprint for second was an unusual affair with Wilkinson crossing the line directly ahead of Hayles and Barker, giving Endura a crushingly dominant team win thanks to the 1-2-3 on the road.

Top Motorpoint finisher was Malcolm Elliott in sixth, followed directly by Andy Tennant, while Clancy's 13th was lucky as it ensured the Staffordshire based team took second and only lost a point to its Scottish rivals.

Heading into Woking's final round the riders will be aiming to recharge their batteries ahead of one final push. The chaos of Chester means Rapha-Condor-Sharp is almost out of contention for the overall, which comes down to a shootout between Motorpoint-Marshalls Pasta and Endura Racing two points further behind.

The battle for fourth is also tight, with Sigma Sport-Specialized, Pendragon Le Col Colnago and Team Raleigh separated by just four points. Lower down the standings Kuota-road.cc enjoyed their best night of the Halfords Tour Series so far, finishing a crash aided fourth to boost their points total to 25.

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