Dexter Gardias revealed his relief after BIKE Channel Canyon‘s place in the Tour of Britain was confirmed.
And the 26-year-old, from Oxfordshire, has backed Tim Elverson’s troops to once again raise their game in the face of World Tour competition.
Gardias was among the stars of the team’s Tour de Yorkshire debut in April, clinching the combativity jersey on the final stage and finishing second in the mountains classification.
The squad mixed it with the likes of Team Sky, Dimension Data, Team Lotto NL Jumbo and Orica-Scott and came out with more than their share of plaudits.
Gardias reckons they are more than capable of claiming further honours as they prepare for the eight-day Tour of Britain, which begins in Edinburgh on Sunday, September 3.
“It is nice to get it done. Now we can go on holiday, get on the beers and put on three stone!
“I didn’t do it with ONE Pro, so it would be a debut for me, god-willing I make the team!
“Competition will be fierce for that but I guess it is the same story in any of the teams.
“We tend to up our game at these events. We have history of doing that. So it would be nice to do something, get another jersey or whatever.
“One of the stages comes pretty much past my house as well. It starts in Hemel Hempstead and comes through all my training roads, which will be cool.
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Gardias is enjoying a stunning season, which has included fourth place in the Chorley Grand Prix, fourth in the Tour of the Reservoir and fifth in the Ryedale Grand Prix.
The Witney-based rider notched two top-10 stage finishes in the An Post Rás before finishing 16th in both the UCI 1.2 Beaumont Trophy and the National Road Race Championship.
Gardias, who currently leads the British Cycling Grand Prix Series with only the Leicester Castle Classic on Sunday, August 13 remaining, also finished ninth in the National Circuit Race Championship.
