South African Ryan Gibbons, who raced in the RideLondon-Surrey Classic in his neo pro year two years ago, is back for the 193km race in London on Sunday.
The 24-year-old, who placed 24th in 2017, felt it would be good to participate in the RideLondon again.
“After the last time I thought it was the type of race that would suit my abilities.
“The route is different now, though. It’s probably more difficult so it will be interesting to see how the peloton race it,” said the Dimension Data rider.
South African Ryan Gibbons will line up at this year’s RideLondon-Surrey Classic in London on Sunday. Photo: Stiehl Photography
For this year’s route the famous Box Hill will be taken on no fewer than five times.
This should present an interesting race as the sprinters will find it challenging to stay with the punchier cyclists, despite the still mostly flat last 50km to the finish.
“I still think with so many sprinters starting, the race could unfold similarly to what it has in the past: a selection after Box Hill with a few climbing-type sprinters pushing to stay clear but being chased by smaller groups with sprinters that have been dropped.
“Hopefully we have good legs on the day and find ourselves doing more of the pushing than the chasing,” said Gibbons, who came fourth in this year’s Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.
Last year’s third-place finisher Giacomo Nizzolo will also be at the start for the African team, together with Mark Renshaw, Tom-Jelte Slagter, Jay Thomson, Julien Vermote and Rasmus Tiller.
