Third time lucky for IPT in China: having come close in the opening two stages of the Tour of Guangxi, the team’s riders dominated the stage 3 finish on Thursday. Ethan Vernon took his first UCI WorldTour victory in the team’s colors and Riley Pickrell finished third after a strong lead out from Jake Stewart.
Victory in Bama was Vernon’s second win of the season; it also moved him into the lead of the GC, points and best young rider standings.
The win was deserved reward for the British rider’s determination to end the road season on a high after he missed four months of it to focus on the track at the Olympic Games. Vernon and the GB team pursuit squad narrowly missed out on winning the gold medal in Paris.
“I’m really happy,” he said. “I’ve been struggling a bit after the Olympic Games to get back into it. In training, my shape is getting better and better but I just haven’t really had the results to prove it. I’ve had a good week so far and a few close calls so I’m really happy that I could end the season with a win.
“My original plan was to go to Track Worlds but after the Olympics, I was pretty down because it hadn’t gone to plan and really struggling. I started getting my rhythm back on the road and didn’t really fancy going back to the track and wanted to focus on the road. So I really pushed hard to be selected for the team here as I really believed that I could win a stage. I put some pressure on myself as I told the team this so I felt like I had to deliver.”
Vernon, who placed fourth in Tuesday’s opening stage and seventh yesterday, revealed that the team’s strategy for the day was a two-pronged attack to maximize the chances of winning, either with him or his Canadian teammate Pickrell.
He added: “We changed the tactic a bit from previous days. We were leading Riley Pickrell out instead and I had a free card, which actually worked out really well as it ended up being an extended lead out.
“There was a slight headwind and maybe Riley opened up a bit too early out of Jake’s wheel, which gave me the advantage. What we did was perfect, so everyone is really happy.”
In addition to being Vernon’s second victory for IPT, following on from his triumph on the opening day of Tour des Alpes – Maritimes in February, it also continued a run dating back to 2022 that many riders would wish to have against their name.
“It’s my third WorldTour win,” Vernon added. ”I’ve had one each year so I didn’t want to lose that streak. I hope I can continue it in 2025.”
Third represents the best UCI WorldTour result of Pickrell’s career to date, coming at the end of a neo-pro season that also includes a win at the Sibiu Cycling Tour in Romania.
“We came here with two main goals: getting a stage win with either Ethan or Riley and going for a good GC result with Joe [Blackmore],” explains Sports Director Sep Vanmarcke.
“After the first two stages we were confident our guys could win today and achieve that first objective. Riley and Ethan are very fast, Jake is a great last man, and everybody played their part.
“Everything went perfectly. It was close: Ethan maybe left it a little bit late but it’s good he’s got long arms to stretch out at the finish. It’s a sweet victory; he was looking for that for a while, and we’re super happy that he’s done it. Now he will get a lot of confidence from this win.
“This is also the same for Riley: it’s his first WorldTour podium, and that’s a big thing.”
