THE Bungay round of the East Anglian Daily Times-sponsored Eastern Cyclo-Cross League featured a shoulder-to-shoulder battle in the early stages between Shaun Aldous (Interbike RT) and Ipswich coach Nathan Miller.

THE Bungay round of the East Anglian Daily Times-sponsored Eastern Cyclo-Cross League featured a shoulder-to-shoulder battle in the early stages between Shaun Aldous (Interbike RT) and Ipswich coach Nathan Miller.

Aldous, already assured of the League Championship, crashed on a slippery bend on the first lap, letting Miller into a lead that he did not give up without a spirited fight.

Just before half distance Aldous succeeded in getting ahead and opened up an eventual two-minute margin, while Miller found himself pipped on the line by Nick Ainsworth (Fat Birds CC) who put in a storming last lap.

A bright winter sun shone across the mossy surfaces of this former sand and gravel pit, where sandy run-ups and steep climbs force several dismounts, not to mention any unintentional partings with the bike. Perhaps as a consequence, several competitors were troubled by cramp, including fourth-placed Ian Newby (Diss & District CC).

“This is the one I really wanted,” said Aldous, holding the winner's Joe Waller Memorial Cup afterwards. Joe had been, before his death in a car crash two years ago, a friend and cyclo-cross rival of Shaun's as well as a colleague on the same shift at Clays, the Bungay printers.

Tim Bonnett from the promoting VC Baracchi, who trains with Aldous on this heath, took fifth place just ahead of Mark Farrow (API/Metrow), who was first veteran home.

Craig Beech from Coggeshall, who finished 11th, is another up-and-coming rider who benefits from Aldous' experience, the two Interbike club-mates checking out the course together before the start.

In the youth race Tom Castle (Ipswich BC) put in his best ride of the season finishing second, just 38 seconds down on winner Luke Newby (Diss & District CC) and ahead of rivals Matt Cook (Mildenhall CC) and Dominic Schils (Interbike). Schils was first to make an impression but faded in the later stages while Cook was slower off the mark and trailed Castle by 20 seconds or so for most of the race.

In the under-12s it was Alan Trolove of West Suffolk Wheelers who broke into the established order by taking third place, 53 seconds behind winner George Wood (Southend Wheelers).

Results from Ditchingham

Seniors, Juniors, Veterans, Women: 1 Shaun Aldous (Interbike RT) 10 laps in 57:20; 2 Nick Ainsworth (Fat Birds) +2:20; 3 Nathan Miller (Ipswich BC) +2:20; 4 Ian Newby (Diss & District CC) +3:19; 5 Tim Bonnett (VC Baracchi) +3:34; 6 Mark Farrow first veteran (API/Metrow) +4:45; 7 Ben Spashett (XRT/Elmy Cycles) +4:56; 8 Stuart Chatting (Angliasport) +5:07; 9 Dave Copland Vet (Ipswich BC) +5:43; 10 Clive Ling Vet (Diss & District CC) +1 lap +0:17; 11 Tom Stephenson (Ipswich BC) +1 lap +0:27; 12 Chris Pedder (Cambridge Uni) +1 lap +0:28; 13 Craig Beech (Interbike RT) +1 lap +0:28; 14 Philip Hargreaves Vet (VC Norwich / Fitt Signs) +1 lap +0:38; 15 Ben Paton (Angliasport) +1 lap +0:52; 16 Julian Parker Vet (Ipswich BC) +1 lap +1:19; 17 Patrick Harbord (VC Baracchi) +1 lap +1:20; 18 Chris Guy (Interbike RT) +1 lap +1:31; 19 Martin Carter +1 lap +1:45; 20 John Terrell Vet (Ipswich BC) +1 lap +2:33; 21 Adam Keer (Ipswich BC) +1 lap +2:34; 22 Jim Hardwicke Vet (Plomesgate CC) +1 lap +2:51; 23 Neil Stevens (VC Norwich / Fitt Signs) +1 lap +3:24; 24 Robert Smith Vet (Ipswich BC) +1 lap +3:31; 25 Kieron Dunlea Vet (PCA Ciclos Uno) +1 lap +3:38; 26 Gary Wood (Southend Wheelers) +1 lap +5:19; 27 David West (Angliasport) +1 lap +5:36; 28 Colin Newstead Vet (Ipswich BC) +1 lap +5:49; 29 Carl Harris first junior (Fat Birds) +1 lap +5:50; 30 Colin Cracknell Vet (Ipswich BC) +1 lap +5:52; 31 Chris Gooch Vet (Private Member) +1 lap +6:19; 32 David Constable Vet (Ipswich BC) +1 lap +6:21; 33 John Gabriel Vet (Hinckley RC) +1 lap +7:12; 34 Mark Wyer Vet (CC Ashwell) +2 laps +0:05; 35 Richard Dunnett (Diss & District CC) +2 laps +0:10; 36 Chris Jillings Vet (Ipswich BC) +2 laps +1:18; 37 Alan McLaren (Norwich ABC) +2 laps +1:41; 38 James Hewitt Jun (Fakenham Premier) +2 laps +2:24; 39 Dominic Castle Vet (Ipswich BC) +2 laps +2:40; 40 Stephen Dunnett Vet (Diss & District CC) +2 laps +2:49; 41 Paul Harris Vet (Fat Birds) +2 laps +3:07; 42 Stephen Green Vet (PCA Ciclos Uno) +2 laps +3:53; 43 Alastair Main Vet (Godric CC) +2 laps +4:03; 44 Michael Sheridan Vet (Newmarket Tri) +2 laps +4:49; 45 Richard Jackson Vet (Colchester Rovers) +2 laps +4:54; 46 Alan French Vet (Interbike RT) +2 laps +5:11; 47 Nathan Simmons (Kings Lynn CC) +2 laps +6:13; 48 Ian Hayward +2 laps +6:27; 49 Pat Tozer (VC Norwich / Fitt Signs) +2 laps +6:53; 50 Jen Ives first woman +2 laps +6:55; 51 Lawrence Gibbons (Fat Birds) +2 laps +7:40; 52 Paul Millard Vet (Team Cambridge) +2 laps +7:50; 53 Andrew Arden Vet (Norwich ABC) +3 laps +1:00; 54 Thomas Walker (Ipswich BC) +3 laps +1:08; 55 Susan Wood Woman (Southend Wheelers) +3 laps +1:10; 56 M Hewitt Vet (Fakenham Premier) +3 laps +1:53; 57 Richard Little (GMC Bikes.co.uk) +3 laps +2:15; 58 Daniel Williams +3 laps +2:26; 59 Paul Moss +3 laps +3:01; 60 Rachel Fenton Woman (Cambridge Uni) +3 laps +3:40; 61 Stephanie Wyer Woman (CC Ashwell) +3 laps +5:26; 62 Paul Gilson Vet (Ipswich BC) +3 laps +7:22; 63 Brian Foster Vet (Fakenham Premier) +4 laps +4:05; 64 Luke Fletcher Jun +4 laps +10:20.

Youth: 1 Luke Newby (Diss & District CC) 5 laps in 31:45; 2 Tom Castle (Ipswich BC) +0:38; 3 Matthew Cook (Mildenhall CC) +1:06; 4 Dominic Schils (Interbike RT) +1:36; 5 Elliot Brooker (CC Ashwell) +1:51; 6 William Meadows (Ipswich BC) +1:52; 7 David Nichols (Chelmer CC) +3:25; 8 Jake Hales (Interbike RT) +4:08; 9 Andrew Constable (Ipswich BC) +6:42; 10 Robert Green (Ipswich BC) +1 lap +0:47; 11 Matthew Constable 1st Yth/U14. (Ipswich BC) +1 lap +2:17; 12 Joshua Green Yth/U14. (Lee Valley Youth CC) +1 lap +2:56; 13 Lewis Parker Yth/U14. (Ipswich BC) +1 lap +5:27; 14 Ian Millard (Team Cambridge) +1 lap +6:28; 15 Frazer Wood Yth/U14. (Angliasport) +1 lap +6:56; 16 Jenny Hardwicke Yth/U14. (Plomesgate CC) +1 lap +7:48; 17 Daniel Brill +1 lap +8:57; 18 Calvert Churchill Yth/U14. (API/Metrow) +1 lap +10:21.

Under-12: 1 George Wood (Southend Wheelers) 5 laps in 11:47; 2 Sean Dunlea (PCA Ciclos Uno) +0:21; 3 Alan Trolove (West Suffolk Whls) +0:53; 4 James Arden 1st U10 (Norwich ABC) +1:23; 5 Alwyn Newstead (Ipswich BC) +2:18; 6 James Jackson U10 (Colchester Rovers) +1 lap +0:19; 7 Kieran Hayward (Unattached) +1 lap +1:33; 8 Sam Parker (Team Cambridge) +1 lap +1:35; 9 Peter Millard (Team Cambridge) +1 lap +2:00; 10 Katy Parker (Team Cambridge) +1 lap +2:11; 11 Danielle Parker (Team Cambridge) +1 lap +2:15.