EXCLUSIVE Harrison Wood has been part of the Tour of Britain peloton this week – but the young Brit is part of a Portuguese squad after his World Tour contract expired
Harrison Wood was thousands of miles from home when he received the news he’d been waiting for.
High in the Sierra Nevada mountains, word reached the Anicolor/Tien-21 squad that they had secured a late invitation to the Tour of Britain.
“It was last-minute and expensive – flights, hotels, Eurotunnel, ferries,” Wood told Daily Star Sport ahead of the first stage.
“But the team brought in three or four extra sponsors to make it possible. It was really nice to see people step in and help us get to the start line.”
That English touch was evident from the outset, with the Portuguese outfit even recruiting a soigneur from Yorkshire to support them across the six stages in the UK.
For a Continental-level team, these little details matter; the Tour of Britain sits at a level just below the sport’s marquee races, but for squads like Anicolor/Tien-21, it’s a rare chance to ride in front of TV cameras.
It’s the second time the third-tier outfit has appeared at the Tour of Britain – but, for Wood, it’s the first time he will pull on their jersey at his home race.
Wood, 25, was racing for World Tour outfit Cofidis last season, when he was told the team wouldn’t be renewing his contract.
“It’s a strange one…I worked for the team all year, doing what was asked of me, and at the end of the season, the manager told me I’d have another year’s contract.
“But a week later, he changed his mind, and I was left without a team; other teams weren’t interested because I didn’t have standout results.”
It’s the reality of cycling for many domestiques – a rider who works in the service of their chosen team leader – as they bury themselves for others without headline results to show recruiters.
A chance social media exchange offered a route back: “Ruben, the director of my current team, followed me on Instagram, and we started chatting. The move went from there.”
Wood added it wasn’t a “last-minute decision”, but joked he didn’t know a lot about Portuguese cycling.
The move meant embracing a very different calendar: Portuguese racing is smaller in scale than the World Tour, but no less demanding.
Wood said the races, which often unfold on mountainous routes under searing heat, are more chaotic than the top division – but still boast the passionate fans at the roadside.
However, it’s his homecoming that has Wood excited for his new calendar: “The team did well there last year, winning a jersey and placing in the top ten. I saw that and thought it would be a great opportunity.
“But at first the organiser told us there wasn’t space for us in this year’s race. That was a huge disappointment because it would have been my first Tour of Britain.”
However, a last minute change by organisers allowed Anicolor/Tien-21 the chance to line up in front of British crowds as part of a stacked field.
Remco Evenepoel, the double Olympic champion, Julian Alaphilippe, three-time World Champion, and Geraint Thomas, the 2018 Tour de France winner, are all on the start line.
“It’s probably the strongest ever. Jumbo-Visma, UAE, all the big teams are coming,” Wood said, before admitting: “The only sad thing is the lack of British Continental teams.
“Ten years ago, you had Rapha Condor–Sharp, Madison Genesis, the Downing brothers – a proper British scene,” and it’s the lack of domestic British teams that led Wood to Portugal.
He’s not alone in that sentiment – the Tour of Britain was once a showcase for Britain’s development squads as young riders performed in the shop window.
Now, with those teams folded, many have had to look abroad – Portugal, France, Belgium – just to keep racing. “It’s a shame those teams no longer exist, especially since British riders are still performing exceptionally well internationally.”
However, there’s one British rider who stands above all for the race: Geraint Thomas.
“He’s always been one of my idols,” Wood added. Sunday (September 7) will mark Thomas’ final race before retirement as the peloton rolls into his hometown in Cardiff.
“It’ll be very special for him to finish in his hometown, starting or finishing at his velodrome.
“For me, it’s the end of an era.”
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