Amy Roberts took home a win in her first Matrix Grand Prix event of the year earlier this month. The young Wiggle Honda rider came in well clear of Lydia Boylan and Sarah Storey in the GP’s fourth event at Redditch.
Roberts, age 19, has shown her skill for years at junior level track events. In 2014, though, she seems determined to demonstrate her skill in road races. Robert’s victory in Redditch comes just two days after winning the Hillingdon Grand Prix, part of the West London Cycle Circuit.
The two different races had vastly different finishes, showing that Roberts, showing that Roberts has a strong road race IQ and knows how to find her way to the podium.
At Hillingdon, Roberts needed to keep herself in position to attack on a crowded sprint finish, hitting the line with speed just ahead of Harriet Owen and Abigail Dentus.
At Redditch, the race conditions precluded any kind of a hard sprint finish, according to Roberts. According to a quote on Wiggle Honda’s website, Roberts knew that “the conditions played into my hands as I knew there wasn’t much chance in trying to sprint too early on that last corner in the wet.”
Roberts was right to avoid that last corner, as a crash there claimed Charline Joiner and Helen Wyman, allowing Roberts to finish the race essentially unchallenged. This run of good road form is a great sign for Roberts’ future, and we’ll all be watching to see what else she can do this season.
Photo credit: James Shepherd
Last Updated on April 29, 2023
Leave a Reply