In fact, Vernon wasn't even initially planned to head to China for the Tour of Guangxi, but after Olympic disappointment the Brit decided to park his track ambitions for the meantime and focus on ending the road season on a high. “My original plan was to go to Track Worlds but after the Olympics, I was pretty down because it hadn’t gone to plan and really struggling. I started getting my rhythm back on the road and didn’t really fancy going back to the track and wanted to focus on the road. So I really pushed hard to be selected for the team here as I really believed that I could win a stage,” he explains. “I put some pressure on myself as I told the team this so I felt like I had to deliver.”
“We changed the tactic a bit from previous days. We were leading
Riley Pickrell out instead and I had a free card, which actually worked out really well as it ended up being an extended lead out," Vernon concludes. “There was a slight headwind and maybe Riley opened up a bit too early out of
Jake Stewart's wheel, which gave me the advantage. What we did was perfect, so everyone is really happy.”