Alex Dowsett (Movistar)
Alex Dowsett (Movistar)
British time trial champion Alex Dowsett lit up last year’s Tour of Britain after a stunning breakaway on stage six into Hemel Hempstead.
The end product of the collective efforts of the Movistar man, IAM Cycling’s Matthias Brandle and young Brit Tom Stewart (Madison-Genesis) was Dowsett pulling on the leader’s jersey.
And while he couldn’t carry it to London, losing time into Brighton the following day, it was a marker of what Dowsett can achieve in the race.
Dowsett’s recovery from the injury which ended his Tour de France stepped up a notch with fourth place in the time trial at the Tour du Poitou Charentes and if he can escape the bunch in a strong breakaway again on a stage this year, we will likely get to see the Essex powerhouse at his best again.