In his first race after a mid-season break, Sam Bennett got close to a big win when he animated the RideLondon Classic. In the end, however, he was unable to keep up with the best classics riders and had to settle for sixth.

Adam Blythe (NFTO) has won the Prudential RideLondon Surrey Classic. After 193 kilometers he held off fellow Briton Ben Swift (Team Sky) and Julian Alaphilippe (Omega Pharma – Quickstep) in the sprint by a five-man leading group. Sam Bennett arrived at the finish with the pursuing trio and took a good sixth place.

"Right from the outset it was our intention to shape the race for Sam – which is no easy matter with 25 teams and only six riders per team. But the guys put that into practice really well today. They always remained alert and particularly in the critical section 60 kilometers before the finish, they stayed out in front. Consequently, there were still three of us in the deciding group at that point. This group was composed of some real talent, primarily of riders who are outstanding in the classics. And in the section from 60 to 140 kilometers the race was indeed a classic – narrow roads, uphill and down. Unfortunately, Scott [Thwaites] and Sam were not able to keep up in the attack that decided the race. We will analyze the reasons for that. Perhaps they invested too much effort early on in this strong group. Sam's sixth place was good and we are happy with it – but even more should have been possible today. Sam is in good form and for that reason we are optimistic about the coming races," said Enrico Poitschke, summing up after the race.