Rob Britton’s Tour de Utah win a career in the making
Rally Cycling deliver 32-year-old to the team's biggest stage race win in it's 11 year history
Look at Rob Britton’s palmares and you get the sense he was knocking on the door of a big North American stage race win for some time. The winner of the 2017 Tour of Utah left with the victory that was a long time coming for the 32-year-old.
“This win means the world to me. I have been working toward this my entire career,” Britton said after sealing the victory in Salt Lake City on Sunday.
Britton’s previous biggest win was at the UCI 2.2 Tour of the Gila the same year he finished third overall at the now-defunct USA Pro Challenge behind BMC teammates Rohan Dennis and Brent Bookwalter.
“To pull off a win at the Tour of Utah is huge. I don’t know what I can say about the team; they were perfect,” Britton said about the squad that helped him retain the yellow jersey since the Stage 3 ITT when he took it on the uphill time trial to Brighton. “They never missed a beat and took care of me from day one. The team showed they are one of, if not the strongest, squads in North America. I just can’t thank them enough.”
In 2017, Britton showed form early in the season coming second in the ITT at the Joe Martin Stage Race behind teammate Adam de Vos. He also won the mountains classification at Gila and finished second on a stage at the WorldTour Tour of California while helping American teammate Evan Huffman to two stage wins. Britton also took the last stage of the Tour de Beauce before heading to nationals where he came third in the time trial.
“The guys had a fantastic week, and Rob is on the form of his life,” explained Rally performance manager Jonas Carney. “We brought the best possible team to defend the jersey if he could take the lead. As well as Rob is riding, he couldn’t have done it without the team. The guys just stepped up day-after-day and turned themselves inside out so that Rob could win this thing overall. I am super impressed with the way everyone on the team rode. All the guys gave up their chances at any result to make sure we took home the yellow jersey.”
Britton’s teammate Eric Young explained the confidence they had in him and the dedication Rally had to delivering him to the win. “Rob is one of the hardest working guys on the team,” said Young. “Day in and day out, every day we train together he is the one pushing the pace. When we had an opportunity this week to put ourselves on the front for him, we all wanted to do it because he deserves it.”
Rally have had an amazing 2017 season. The men’s team claimed the Canadian national title with Matteo Dal-Cin in June. Rally dominated the Tour of the Gila where they won four stages and the overall. They have had success at virtually every North American stage race they have lined up to in 2017 taking two stage wins at the Joe Martin Stage Race, the Tour de Beauce, the Cascade Cycling Classic and the Tour of California which for the first time was a WorldTour event in 2017,
Rally Cycling’s overall win at the UCI 2.HC ranked Tour of Utah is the squads biggest stage race victory in it’s 11 year history. The team now turns to the inaugural edition of the Colorado Classic where they will look to continue their impressive season.
