Zak Dempster led a clean sweep of the awards for his Rapha Condor Sharp team as The Halfords Tour Series got off to a spectacular start in front of a large crowd in Durham.
Dempster, Kristian House (6th), and Andy Tennant in twelfth also gave Rapha Condor the lead in the teams competition edging out Endura Racing who took third, eighth and ninth through Scott Thwaites, Ian Wilkinson and Evan Oliphant.
Thanks to their team win the men in black are the first team to pull on the five Halfords orange jerseys as Halfords Tour Series leaders, their lead over Endura stands at just a solitary point going into round two.
The tough cobbled climb at the heart of the Durham course took its toll on riders, splitting the field up and producing an entertaining start to the Series. Following a sedate few early laps the race quickly began to evolve, with a strong eight rider group going clear that included House, Ian Bibby and Thwaites, who took 1-2-3 at the opening Boardman Bikes Sprint of the season.
This set up things up for a select group to contest the sprint finish after an entertaining evening of racing. Dempster proved the strongest, exiting the final corner expertly to edge Bibby and Thwaites on the line.
Round #2 of the Halfords series takes place Thursday 26th May in Aberystwyth.
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