Rory Townsend sprinted to a brilliant second place in the Midden-Brabant Poort Omloop in Holland.
The 22-year-old, from Addlestone in Surrey, spent much of the UCI 1.2 contest in the breakaway before a reduced group kicked for glory in Gilze.
He was agonisingly close to a first Europe Tour win for BIKE Channel Canyon but the result remains a major landmark in the team’s maiden campaign.
Dutchman Jaap Kooijman edged Townsend to the victory, while German Alexander Krieger, of Leopard Pro Cycling, completed the podium positions.
Sam Lowe and Matt Nowell had suffered early punctures but the pair shrugged them off to rejoin the peloton for the 200km battle.
With the hammer down from the flag drop, Townsend escaped in a group of 18 as the riders tackled narrow roads and cobbles on a 37km circuit.
And that move proved decisive, with small groups of attackers – one including both Nowell and Harry Tanfield – trying but failing to bridge the gap as the race wore on.
When that front group split as the contest headed towards its finale, Townsend was caught behind a leading bunch of six. However, he refused to panic and dug deep to bridge the 10-second gap alone.
And as they rode into town once more for the finale, he powered to second place on the line. Tanfield finished 44 seconds adrift of the winner in 18th, while Nowell was a few second further back in 23rd.
Lowe and Mitchell Webber crossed the line in the peloton, 1min 45sec down. George Atkins was at 1.57, while Alex Richardson did not finish. Click here for the full result.
Meanwhile, Dexter Gardias and Max Stedman made the decisive selection at the Velothon Wales before finishing inside the top 20. Click here to read more.
