EASTERN Area teams won two sets of bronze medals at the Inter-Area Team Championships, though the second set, for the women's team, only came after a re-count as the points system took a bit of working out.

EASTERN Area teams won two sets of bronze medals at the Inter-Area Team Championships, though the second set, for the women's team, only came after a re-count as the points system took a bit of working out.

The London team took third spot on the podium, but as our East team members were arriving home news came through that, upon re-checking the points, the women's bronze medals were heading for East Anglia, as well as those won by the Youth “A” team

East teams were among the underdogs at the event, unmentioned in national previews, but they made sure this will not be the case next year.

Jen Ives, from Saffron Walden, made an excellent start in the women's race, coming through on the first lap among the leading six. Rachel Moss made steady progress but Rachel Fenton had a bad first lap crash and had to work her way up through the field. At the finish the counting riders were neatly packed - Ives eighth, Moss 10th and Fenton 12th with back-up available in the form of Susan Wood, 18th, and Andrea Halman 21st.

In a fast Youth race Luke Newby was always in contention and took fourth place. Tom Castle had one slip on a reverse-camber corner on grass but recovered to finish sixth, only 10 seconds down on Newby.

The other two “A” team members, Will Meadows and Matt Cook, were held up by a large pile-up on the first lap. With points scored by all the team members equally important they were faced with a vital chase, both passing many riders to take 18th place (Cook) and 25th (Meadows), important positions that helped get the team on the podium.

The EADT League had enough strength in depth to field a Youth “B” team. Hugo Robinson, though caught up the first lap crash, led the B team home, finishing 19th ahead of Will Adams (40th), Robert Green (43rd) and Josh Green (44th).

The course at Misterton Hall near Lutterworth met with much praise, essentially twisty and technical, it also included tricky gravel paths and strength-sapping climbs on chewed up grassland.

The East entered two teams of Senior riders, each of the bare minimum of four riders. Best placed individuals were Glenn Stanford (20th) and Nathan Miller (30th), but when David Nichols was forced to retire with a back problem the team was out of the reckoning. The senior “B” team finished 13th overall, with Ben Spashett 75th, Craig Beech 67th, Nick Ainsworth 49th and Shaun Aldous, returning after injury, taking 35th place as well as managing the successful women's team and, most importantly as it turned out, knowing clearly what their points score added up to.