Harrison pedals to another milestone in Switzerland

An impressive 54th place out of 144 finishers was a good way for Harrison Wood to round off the first half of what is shaping up as an increasingly strong season for Torbay’s WorldTour pro cyclist.

Wood (Team Cofidis), who celebrated his 24th birthday last Friday, had been a late call-up for the mountainous Swiss tour after completing his first Grand Tour, the Giro d’Italia, recently.

He built on his 66th place overall in the Giro with another spirited performance over eight spectacular stages in Switzerland, where fellow Brit Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) triumphed.

Wood will now have a proper break before building up to a late summer campaign, which may well include Spain’s Vuelta in August.

Fellow Mid-Devon CC member Ewan Warren (Brocar-Ale) also continued his fine form when he was pipped for third place from a five-man breakaway in the GP Mungia in northern Spain.

Warren, 20, now heads for the Eire National Championships on Sunday.

MDCC Junior George Watch clinched his second victory of the season when he won the Gillingham Road Race on his own in Dorset.

All local cycling eyes this weekend will be on Newton Abbot Racecourse, the two-day HQ of the 16th Dartmoor Classic.

Nearly 2,000 riders from home and abroad are expected to take part in the South West’s biggest bike marathon on Sunday.