Adam Blythe proved that he deserves to return to the WorldTour when he beat the stars to win the RideLondon Classic. The result was an important boost of confidence for the Brit who has now realized that he can mix it up with the best.

After several years at the WorldTour level, Adam Blythe found himself getting ousted from the most prestigious races when the BMC team decided not to renew his contract after the 2013 season. As no other team decided to sign him, he had to step down to continental level with the NFTO team where he has been riding for the last 6 months.

Today, however, he proved that he is definitely strong enough to be riding the biggest races when he took a hugely impressive win in the second edition of the RideLondon Classic. The young Brit beat his compatriot Ben Swift and Julian Alaphilippe in a sprint from a five-rider group that arrived on the Mall in London to battle it out for the win.

What made the win really impressive was the fact that it was not taken in the usual bunch sprint. Instead, hard pace by the Sky and Orica-GreenEDGE teams and bad weather made it a race of attrition and Blythe showed enormous strength by joining some of the best classics riders in the elite selection that was created in the windy hilly zone at the midpoint of the race.

“It’s hard to say how much this means to me,” said Blythe afterwards. “But you could see how emotional it was as my face said it all.

“OK, it’s not like I won the worlds or anything, but this is very big race for a British rider to win, especially in this setting in front of the Queen’s house. I hope she was watching.

“In the last kilometre I knew I had plenty in the tank. I just wanted to make sure I got everything out and didn’t leave it too late to make my move.

“I knew that if I was close to Swifty I’d have a chance. I hugged close to the barriers and had a go. Now I feel like I can mix it with the big boys.”