Seamless success for the Dartmoor Classic

‘Absolutely seamless’ was the verdict of one impressed rider after a successful 16th renewal of the Mid-Devon Cycling Club’s Dartmoor Classic sportive.

Former Tour de France and Vuelta winner Pedro Delgado was the star of the show.

Delgado, 64, greeted many of the thousand riders at the Newton Abbot Racecourse start/finish ‘village’, rode the 70-mile ‘Medio’ route and encouraged several flagging entrants through difficult spells.

Torbay’s current WorldTour pro Harrison Wood (Team Cofidis), who is having a mid-season break, dropped in to lend his support at the event, which is backed by more than a hundred volunteer staff.

The weather – cooler than expected, not too windy with only occasional light drizzle – was also near-perfect.

And the day was capped by news that former MDCC starlet Pfeiffer Georgi, who now rides for leading Dutch WorldTour squad dsm-firmenich PostNL, had also won the British Road Race Championships in Yorkshire.

It was Pfeiffer’s second successive title and her third in four years.