Mountain bike racing returned to Hill Farm, Hintlesham, where the high speed, power-demanding conditions were quite different from the mud-plug riders faced when the MSG Series was last there in March 2016.
There was a cornfield descent – at 30 mph for the bravest – as well as climbs and dives along the wooded valley of the Belstead Brook.
Among a swathe of class results Ipswich rider Dan Howe marked his recovery from crash injuries with a win in the Vets 40-49, putting over four minutes into second-placed Paul Groombridge.
Richard Muchmore from Honington and Mark Wingar (Ipswich) were the closest rivals to 50-plus winner Jimmy Piper.
Ross Fawcett (Pedal Power, Ipswich) took the Ken Lush Memorial Road Race in Hertfordshire after a long break with Tommy Power, Josh Haasz and Chris McNamara.
Winner of the VC Baracchi Road Race on a Ringsfield, Ilketshall, Redisham circuit was Bungay rider Morris Bacon (Strada Sport).
He outdistanced Andrew Taylor (VC Norwich) and Ian Perry of Colchester club Velo Schils after the trio had maintained a precarious lead for the last 80 minutes of the 68-mile race.
Bacon and Sam Toy (Velo Schils) had made an earlier unsuccessful breakaway attempt. Liam Gentry (VCB) then initiated a seven-man escape. As this was caught, the winning three made their successful attack.
In the Eastern Youth Circuit Series on a windswept Alconbury airfield there were wins for Ipswich rider Abbey Thompson in the Under Eights and Colchester U14 Jodie Taylor.
East District CA 100 competitors were slowed by a brisk wind in their faces combined with unwanted shelter when the wind was at their backs winner was Steve Ayres of Bronte Wheelers (3:45:16).
Top Suffolk rider were Chris Tye (Plomesgate CC, 3:58:30), Dale Sturman (3:59:00) and John Bradbury (CC Sudbury). Bradbury must be wondering if he could have saved just two seconds somewhere – his time was 4:00:01.
Notable times by local riders in the Shaftesbury CC 50 on the Newmarket bypass included 1:36:37 that put Matt Smith in second spot, 1:37:41 by Colin Ward (Essex Roads CC) and 1:35:02 from tandem winners Mark Arnold and Glenn Taylor.
Meanwhile, week four of the Suffolk Cycle Race Series at Trinity Park saw a new name top the winner’s podium for the E123 Category race.
Elite rider Lloyd Chapman (Catford CC/Banks) beat his training partner, Ross Fawcett, in a two up sprint, having overturned a one minute handicap for the Elite and Category 1 and 2 riders, to win by 30 seconds from the main field.
Fawcett’s team mate Liam Manser filled the final podium spot ahead of a full field of 45 riders from across East Anglia.
The win was down to a pre-race plan, Lloyd revealing that as “Ross (Fawcett) and I train quite regularly, we had a little chat in the morning at a café about what we could do ahead of the race.
“And we pulled it off perfectly. I knew I would have him in the sprint and left it until then, rather than attacking him in the closing stages”.
Rebecca Johnson (Aprire/HSS) continued her winning form in the women’s race taking her fourth straight win from Gemma Melton (Pedal Power Ipswich) in their closest finish yet – less than a second separating first and second place – with Tanya Griffiths (Ipswich Bicycle Club) in 3rd place.
Johnson said: “Our race was a tactical battle last week, with me and Gemma putting in lots of digs, but ultimately no one could get away, it was the same this week, and it came down to a sprint.”
The Fourth Category race was won by Christopher Booth (Army CU) in a tightly contested three way sprint to the line with Booth pipping Scott Campbell (Velo Schils) and Chris Whitby (RAF CA) to win by the narrowest of margins - 500th of a second.
RESULTS
East District CA 100, Morley: 1 Steve Ayres (Bronte Wheelers) 3:45:16, 2 Ben Stancombe (King’s Lynn CC), 3:52:18, 3 Dan Bromilow (Ely & District CC) 3:56:57- VTTA EA Champion, 4 Ben Keeley (VeloVelocity) 3:58:05, 5 Chris Tye (Plomesgate CC) 3:58:30, 6 Dale Sturman (West Suffolk Whs) 3:59:44, 7 John Bradbury (CC Sudbury) 4:00:01, 8 Edward Renwick (Oxford City RC) 4:00:45, 9 Paul Vickers (West Suffolk Whs) 4:02:10, 10 David Pugh (Stafford RC) 4:04:04.
VC Baracchi Road Race, Ringsfield: 1 Morris Bacon (Strada-Sport),
2 Andrew Taylor (VC Norwich), 3 Ian Perry (Velo Schils) 4 Ben Thompson (CC London), 5 Gary Freeman (Fast Test RT), 6 Vincent Christan (ELV), 7 Ben Howell (Strada-Sport), 8 William Drury (PCH), 9 Nick Esser (VC Baracchi), 10 Sam Toy (Velo Schils).
Ken Lush Road Race, Great Chishill: 1 Ross Fawcett (Pedal Power Ipswich), 2 Chris McNamara (Sigma Sport), 3 Joshua Haasz (Catford CC/Banks), 4 Tommy Power (Strada-Sport), 5 James Rix (TAAP), 6 Jordan Peacock (Wellingborough Cycles) 7 Oliver W Bates (Wellingborough Cycles), 8 Ken Buckley (Spokes BPC),
9 Michael Burke (Welland Valley), 10 Robert Ormond (Morvelo Basso).
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