Cummings beats Dowsett for British Time Trial title; Latour takes surprise win in France

Stephen Cummings (Dimension Data) is the new British Time Trial champion after beating Alex Dowsett (Movistar) on the Isle of Man.

It was a close race between Cummings and defending champion Alex Dowsett but the Dimension Data rider ended up beating his key rival by eight seconds to take the title. JLT Condor’s James Gullen finished in third place.

An emotional Cummings, who recovered from a serious shoulder injury to take the start line, said: “I haven’t really had time to think over the last few months – I haven’t left myself think. I’ve just been trying to get back, and today’s the perfect confirmation of what I’ve being seeing in training. It wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t pretty, but it was as much as I could do today and it was good enough.

“I wasn’t so good on the corners, I was losing time, but that’s normal – you’re going to be a bit cautious and out of practice. It was a tough course but I just concentrated on going as hard as I could on the climbs and recovering a bit on the downhill.

“It’s pretty cool to be national champion. It’s been really nice to be here this year – I haven’t been to the Isle of Man for 17 years I don’t think, but you see the same people and hey have welcomed me back and it’s been really nice.”

Pierre Latour (AG2R) claimed a surprise win against the clock in France. Latour needed 27 seconds less to complete the course than Silver medalist Yoann Paillot. Bronze went to Anthony Roux while defending Time Trial champion Thibaut Pinot failed to impress this time and clocked the 13th time.

“After turning pro in 2015, I have done several pretty long time trials, but none ever as long as today (51.6km). I didn’t think my intermediate times were so great; there were a lot of little climbs and changes in pace.

“This was a very demanding course. It’s a special day for me. I have never been a Champion of France.  My best place before this was a silver medal in 2011 as a junior behind my cousin Romain Faussurier.

“I want to enjoy this moment, I know it does not happen often. I am proud to win this title in a discipline that I have always loved. It will be a real pleasure to race my first Tour de France and be able to wear this distinctive jersey in Düsseldorf. I will keep my feet on the ground, since I know the level at the WorldTour is very high, but I will certainly fight.”