National junior champion Jacob Vaughan (VC Londres) produced an impressive second place at the season-opening Perfs Pedal Race, his first senior road race, and only his third National B event.
The race, which was won by Chris Opie, saw aggressive racing from the start, as Opie's Bike Channel-Canyon team, the only UCI-registered team in the race, sought to force an early selection with 13 riders going clear.
Those 13 riders controlled the race, with a further split seeing Opie and Vaughan going clear with Opie's team-mates Rory Townsend and James Lowsley-Williams, and Jack Billyard (Zappi Racing Team).
The podium of the 2017 Perfs Pedal Race (Credit: Chris Lanaway)
(Image credit: Chris Lanaway)
Opie, a former winner of the race who rode at Professional Continental level with One Pro Cycling in 2016, jumped clear over the final rise to the finish, with Vaughan rolling in a few bike lengths behind.
However, with some riders complaining about a team of Bike Channel-Canyon's level turning up a relatively lowly National B race, it was Vaughan who took many of the plaudits on social media for his performance in his first senior road race.
Result
Perfs Pedal Race 2017 (76km)
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1. Chris Opie (Bike Channel-Canyon)
2. Jacob Vaughan (VC Londres)
3. Rory Townsend (Bike Channel-Canyon)
4. Jack Billyard (Zappi Racing Team)
5. Robert Partridge (Bike Channel-Canyon)
6. Michael Mottram (Morvelo Basso RT)
7. Matthew Clarke (Canyon UK)
8. Louis Rose-Davies (Canyon UK)
9. Chris McNamara (Nuun-Sigma Sport-London)
10. Elliot Porter (Neon Velo)
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