SouthernXC 2015 Round 1 Race Report
Share on Facebook Share on TwitterBY: SMBC Crew
Published: 1st March, 2015
West Drayton MBC laid on a great course for the first round and the 430 entrants all seemed to have a good time - apart from Richard Irvine of UK-Biking who spent much of it in Wexham Park Hospital with a broken arm after tangling bars at the start of the Vet race - get well soon Richard!
With lots of riders switching categories from the dropping of the Masters race and the new year, there were some new faces at the head of the races. The tension on the start line was tangible as everyone prayed for a good race.
Phillip Pearce (Banjo Cycles) took his first win as Elite after dominating Expert last year. A visiting Nick Corlett (Manx MTB) and Jody Crawforth (Hargroves) gave Phil a hard race, with Nick settling for 2nd only 4 seconds behind and Jody fading on the final lap to take third.
Cat Ross (WDMBC) won the Elite Women's race on her home course. Cat lead from the off, fighting off a hard chasing Carla Haines (Torq) on the final lap. Merce Pacios rounded off the podium.
Ex Masters Paul Lloyd (Rides On Air), Simon Allard and Kim Little (Merida) dominated the first lap of the Expert race before Kim dropped back to allow a slow starting Will Taylor (Southdowns Bikes) to take third. Another Ex Master Paul Miller (WDMBC/Specialized Ruislip) dropped to Sport to take the win from David Pusey (Uk-Biking). First home of the old Sport riders was James Braid (Wiggle) in third.
Paul Hopkins (Merida) and Lewis King (Beeline) fought an epic battle in the Veteran race for 4 laps before Paul decided a sprint wasn't a good idea and opened a gap on the final lap to win. New vet, Rob Purcell (Neon-Velo) took a very creditable third moving up from Masters.
Mark Chadbourne (ridebike.co.uk) resumed duties at the head of the Grand Veteran race, with Steve Jones (Banjo) and an improved Clive Evans (Specialzed Ruislip) in second and third.
The SuperVet trio of Ian Pethrbridge, Andy Roberts and Gary Wallbridge made it feel like last year again.
Junior Male was won by Ollie Lowthorpe, with Sam Shepherd and Nicholas Try completing the podium. Junior Female was won by Abigail Van Twisk, with Holly MacMahon still behind in second.
In the Female categories, Danielle Petersman won the Veteran race, Jacqueline Roberts won the Grand Vet race, and Charlotte Cumming won the Sport race.
National Champions Daniel Tullett and Emily Wadsworth cleaned up the Youth races, while their younger siblings Ben Tullett and Maddie Wadsworth took the Juvenile wins. The Wadsworth clan also won the Under 13 races! Shame dad, Dave Wadsworth, could only manage 6th in Grand Vets!
So that was Round 1. Big thanks to WDMBC for the course and Specialized Concept Store Ruislip for the extra prizes. It got us back in the swing of race organisation. The new timetable made for a relaxed main part of the day and the later women's start worked well. It's still a bit too busy early on for the kids races which is stressful for everyone. We have a bit of a gap now to Round 2 at Crow Hill on the 26th April and we'll use the time to review how it went and tighten things up a bit for the rest of the year. See you all soon!
Images courtesy of Gareth Jones www.sports-alive.com And more from Kevin Sheldrake here on Flickr
With lots of riders switching categories from the dropping of the Masters race and the new year, there were some new faces at the head of the races. The tension on the start line was tangible as everyone prayed for a good race.
Phillip Pearce (Banjo Cycles) took his first win as Elite after dominating Expert last year. A visiting Nick Corlett (Manx MTB) and Jody Crawforth (Hargroves) gave Phil a hard race, with Nick settling for 2nd only 4 seconds behind and Jody fading on the final lap to take third.
Cat Ross (WDMBC) won the Elite Women's race on her home course. Cat lead from the off, fighting off a hard chasing Carla Haines (Torq) on the final lap. Merce Pacios rounded off the podium.
Ex Masters Paul Lloyd (Rides On Air), Simon Allard and Kim Little (Merida) dominated the first lap of the Expert race before Kim dropped back to allow a slow starting Will Taylor (Southdowns Bikes) to take third. Another Ex Master Paul Miller (WDMBC/Specialized Ruislip) dropped to Sport to take the win from David Pusey (Uk-Biking). First home of the old Sport riders was James Braid (Wiggle) in third.
Paul Hopkins (Merida) and Lewis King (Beeline) fought an epic battle in the Veteran race for 4 laps before Paul decided a sprint wasn't a good idea and opened a gap on the final lap to win. New vet, Rob Purcell (Neon-Velo) took a very creditable third moving up from Masters.
Mark Chadbourne (ridebike.co.uk) resumed duties at the head of the Grand Veteran race, with Steve Jones (Banjo) and an improved Clive Evans (Specialzed Ruislip) in second and third.
The SuperVet trio of Ian Pethrbridge, Andy Roberts and Gary Wallbridge made it feel like last year again.
Junior Male was won by Ollie Lowthorpe, with Sam Shepherd and Nicholas Try completing the podium. Junior Female was won by Abigail Van Twisk, with Holly MacMahon still behind in second.
In the Female categories, Danielle Petersman won the Veteran race, Jacqueline Roberts won the Grand Vet race, and Charlotte Cumming won the Sport race.
National Champions Daniel Tullett and Emily Wadsworth cleaned up the Youth races, while their younger siblings Ben Tullett and Maddie Wadsworth took the Juvenile wins. The Wadsworth clan also won the Under 13 races! Shame dad, Dave Wadsworth, could only manage 6th in Grand Vets!
So that was Round 1. Big thanks to WDMBC for the course and Specialized Concept Store Ruislip for the extra prizes. It got us back in the swing of race organisation. The new timetable made for a relaxed main part of the day and the later women's start worked well. It's still a bit too busy early on for the kids races which is stressful for everyone. We have a bit of a gap now to Round 2 at Crow Hill on the 26th April and we'll use the time to review how it went and tighten things up a bit for the rest of the year. See you all soon!
Images courtesy of Gareth Jones www.sports-alive.com And more from Kevin Sheldrake here on Flickr
Click any of the images below for a larger view / slideshow
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