Rory Townsend saluted the BIKE Channel Canyon team for bouncing back immediately from their Tour of the Wolds disappointment.
The 21-year-old won the king of the mountains prize and finished sixth overall at the Chorley Grand Prix on Saturday.
Dexter Gardias was fourth behind JLT Condor’s impressive winner Ian Bibby, ONE Pro Cycling’s Kamil Gradek and Bibby’s team-mate Ed Laverack.
And capping a superb day for Tim Elverson’s men was Rob Partridge, who crossed the line seventh.
With three riders in the top seven and a trip to the podium to show for the third round of the HSBC UK Spring Cup, it represented a big improvement on the previous weekend.
Townsend had finished fifth in Lincolnshire, while James Lowsley-Williams was 13th but that was all the team could muster as they were left short of numbers for the finale in Louth. Talking to VeloUK.net, Townsend said:
“The team were really good. We obviously had Dex up the road and we were a bit disappointed when Ed went. We should have tried to go with that move.
“But Rob took a real flyer on the last lap, he was really strong at the end. And then I took the kick ahead of Mouldy.
“It was a much better performance than last week by the team. I’m really chuffed.”
Now firmly back on track, BIKE Channel Canyon are second in the team standings, while Townsend only trails Team Raleigh’s Enrique Sanz by eight points in the individual competition.
Last season’s sprints jersey champion in the Tour Series is better known for his bunch kicks than his climbing abilities, so the KOM prize was an extra bonus. Townsend added:
“It was just me and Tristan (Robbins, Team Raleigh) going for the first one and then we came back down and he was taking the sprints.
“After that I was just pushing on over the top of the climb each time to take the rest of them. I know it is not like me but there we are!”
The final round of the series is the Lincoln Grand Prix, which takes place on Sunday, May 14.
