GLENN Stanford kept his head - and his shoes - to defeat all attempts to dislodge him from the front group in the fourth round of the EADT Cyclo-Cross League at Welwyn Garden City.

GLENN Stanford kept his head - and his shoes - to defeat all attempts to dislodge him from the front group in the fourth round of the EADT Cyclo-Cross League at Welwyn Garden City.

Leading challenger Andrew Griffiths (Glendene CC/Biketrax), national junior 10 and 25 mile time trial champion, had his cleat jam at a dismount and did a painful lap of the Stanborough Lakes course without a shoe, followed by a lap in a trainer begged from a surprised marshal.

He finally managed to get some spare footwear and put in a storming last lap to finish just 1:21 down.

Griffiths and Stanford - winner of the first round at Stevenage - had broken away and set the early pace. Nathan Miller, top points scorer in rounds two and three, got up to API/Metrow rider Stanford just as Griffiths' shoe problem struck.

With two laps to go Stanford attacked on the two-stage climb which was a feature of the course and got away, but Miller (53-12 Multisports) fought back and rejoined. Then, at the very last dismount of the race, Miller fell and Stanford had the race in the bag.

The course was set on a hillside and the climb, mostly grass but with a sandy section that only the strong could ride up, saw most of the attacks. Also included were two single-track stretches in woodland and a short piece of hard surface.

Nick Ainsworth took fourth place while Gavin Rumbles (Trek/VW) secured fifth place and the Veterans' prize, before heading off to Thetford Forest to race through the night in the Marin Dusk 'til Dawn mountain bike event. Julian Parker beat Ipswich BC clubmate Dave Copland in a tight sprint for the second veteran slot and eighth place overall.

In the Youth race Ipswich Bicycle Club riders Will Meadows and Hugo Robinson opened a gap on the field. Meadows made a break but was balked by a lapped rider and Robinson - not yet 13 years old - dashed to a two-second win to boost his confidence for the National Trophy race the next day.

A large field contested the race for the Under-12s where Sean Dunlea of PCA Ciclos Uno had a 35-second win over Joseph Fry, fastest of a large contingent of young riders from the promoting Welwyn Wheelers.

Robinson was on the podium again next day when he was an excellent third in the Under-14 category at the opening round of the National Trophy Series at Abergavenny in South Wales.

Working again with Meadows early on and then joining with Alec Briggs (Herne Hill Youth CC) and catching Mildenhall CC's Matt Cook, Robinson took 18th place overall, third Under-14.

Among the 15-year-olds in the same race, Tom Castle (Ipswich BC) took 10th place in this national field of 53 competitors, working his way up through the field as the race progressed to be the highest-placed Eastern League rider.

Luke Newby, defending EADT Youth League champion, had the best grid place, made a cracking start and was one of three who opened a small gap at the front. However he slid off on a tight corner and became badly entangled with the tapes marking the course. He chased hard, but came off again on another tight corner and eventually came in 21st.

Interbike RT's Jen Ives was sixth in the women's race, two places ahead of Susan Wood of Maldon & District CC.

Tim Butler showed how serious his National Trophy bid is this winter when he finished just two minutes down on Veteran 50+ winner Roy Hunt (Kinesis UK) but local riders did not figure highly in the top men's event. Nathan Miller, suffering from back problems, was the best Eastern rider, finishing 39th.

There is no EADT League cyclo-cross this weekend, but off-road enthusiasts have two slightly more relaxed events promoted by Suffolk CTC.

On Saturday there is a new self-guided ride starting from Knettishall Heath Country Park at 9:30am, while on Sunday the CTC's traditional marshalled “Roughstuff 25” starts between 9.30 and 10am from Butley Village Hall. Ten- and 30-mile variants are also available.

Details from Mike Remblance at mrremblance1331@hotmail.com

Round-up of results

EADT Cyclo-Cross League, Welwyn

Seniors, Juniors, Veterans and Women: 1 Glenn Standford (API/Metrow) 10 laps in 55:18; 2 Nathan Miller (53-12 Multisports) +0:19; 3 Andrew Griffiths (Glendene CC/Bike Trax) +1:21; 4 Nick Ainsworth (Private Member) +1:46; 5 Gavin Rumbles 1st Vet (Trek VW) +2:29; 6 Steven Griffiths (Glendene CC/Bike Trax) +3:39; 7 Stuart Chatting (Angliasport) +4:26; 8 Julian Parker Vet (Ipswich BC) +5:14; 9 Dave Copland Vet (Ipswich BC) +5:14; 10 Kevin Wilby (Ipswich BC) +5:31; 11 Ben Paton (Angliasport) +5:35; 12 Craig Beech (Interbike RT) +1 lap +0:11; 13 Bruce Robinson Vet (Shaftesbury CC) +1 lap +0:17; 14 Geoff Bores Vet (Ford CC) +1 lap +0:26; 15 Adam Keer (Ipswich BC) +1 lap +0:47; 16 Clive Ling Vet (Diss & District CC) +1 lap +0:57; 17 Mark Thomson (St Ives CC) +1 lap +1:29; 18 Bob Pisolker Vet (Finsbury Park CC) +1 lap +2:07; 19 Alan Lovegrove Vet (North Road CC) +1 lap +2:09; 20 Russell Cook Vet (Ford CC) +1 lap +2:12; 21 Philip Peacock Vet (St Ives CC) +1 lap +2:53; 22 Phil Lisher 1st Jun (Team Welwyn) +1 lap +2:56; 23 Kevin Barker (PCA Ciclos Uno) +1 lap +3:25; 24 Gary Wood Vet (Maldon & District) +1 lap +3:48; 25 Tom Gosbee Jun (Team Welwyn) +1 lap +4:03; 26 John Batchelor Vet (St Ives CC) +1 lap +4:16; 27 Duncan Crossley (Unattached) +1 lap +4:28; 28 John Gabriel Vet (Hinckley CRC) +1 lap +4:33; 29 Robert Smith Vet (Ipswich BC) +1 lap +5:10; 30 Martin Graves Vet (Newmarket Tri) +1 lap +5:23.

Youths: 1 Hugo Robinson Yth/U14. (Ipswich BC) 5 laps in 31:18; 2 William Meadows 1st Youth. (Ipswich BC) +0:01; 3 Robert Green (Ipswich BC) +1:03; 4 Scott Palmer (API/Metrow) +1:41; 5 William Adams (Mildenhall CC) +3:17; 6 Joseph Magnus (Team Welwyn) +3:44.

Under-12s: 1 Sean Dunlea (PCA Ciclos Uno) 8 laps in 15:24; 2 Joseph Fry 1st U10 (Welwyn Wheelers) +0:35; 3 Emily Wilkins (Chelmer CC) +1:19; 4 Will Street (Welwyn Wheelers) +1:23; 5 James Arden (Norwich ABC) +2:06; 6 James Jackson U10 (Colchester Rovers) +1 lap +0:06.

National Trophy Cyclo-Cross, Round 1 Abergavenny

Seniors 1 Paul Oldham (Hope Factory Racing) 59:30, 39 N Miller Ipswich BC @7:30, 42 B Spashett (XRT/Elmy Cycles), 45 I Newby (Diss & District) both @ 1 lap.

Women: 1 Amy Hunt 37:53, 6 Jen Ives (Interbike RT) @2:43, 8 Susan Wood (Maldon & District) @ 7:29.

Vets 50+: 1 Roy Hunt (Kinesis UK) 42:36, 8 T Butler (Ipswich BC) @2.00 mins, 16 J Terrell (IBC) @3:52, 17 C Gooch @5:10.

Juniors: 1 Scott Thwaites (Crosstrax) 40:58, 7 D Nichols (Glendene) @1:55.

Youths: 1 Daniel McLay (Leicestershire RC) 27:24, 10 T Castle (Ipswich BC) @1:44, 17 M Cook (Mildenhall) @2.34, 18 H Robinson (IBC) @2:34, 21 L Newby (Diss) 2:57, 22 W Meadows @ 3:50.