Colchester rider Cam Hurst led the Bloodwise/QSW team to a double win at the Amis Velo cyclo-cross, taking the Senior Men’s race himself while new Bloodwise recruit Max Bolton was top Junior – Junior being the 16/17 year-old category, writes Fergus Muir.
Hurst recovered from being caught behind a first-lap crash to catch and overhaul mid-race animator Kieran Jarvis (Team OnForm). Altogether a highly satisfactory result for Bloodwise, considering they were without team member and last year's champion James Madgwick, who is currently racing in China.
New for this opening event of the season was a completely separate race for women, as opposed to sharing the course with the Veteran men as previously.
Lauren Higham - Junior League Champion last year enjoyed a clear course ahead and opened her first Senior campaign with a win, 49 seconds up on Gemma Melton.
Ipswich rider Melton was having her first outing in Elmy Cycles colours, while Harley Pell, third overall and top junior is now racing under the Hargroves umbrella - a team that has nurtured some famous champions.
Taking fifth place in a field of 32 was Elvita Branch, a consistent winner in regional mountain bike races, but new to cyclo-cross and certainly a name to watch.
Iceni Velo riders took the top two places in the Under 16s race with Callum Laborde winning from teammate Joseph Smith. The Vets 50-plus saw Ian Newby (Diss & District), newly "promoted" to this age-group, a clear winner, from Clive Harrison (second) and Adrian Healey - who could not be separated on time.
Cyclo-cross has a strong and growing following among very young racing cyclists - there were 39 finishers (and no non-finishers) in the combined Under 10s and Under 8s race, while a further 29 raced in the Under 12s.
Full details and results from the Eastern League can be found at www.easterncross.org.uk/
- Riders in the Plomesgate CC 10 near Wickham Market enjoyed relatively quiet roads but because of the alignment of the road felt rather more of the headwind on the outward leg and rather less of the tailwind on the return. Winners were Lloyd Chapman 19:53) and Denise Hurren (24:10)
Just one second separated the top two women in the Norwich ABC 10 based at Redenhall. Fastest was Kerry Tate (Newmarket T&CCC) who covered the Waveney Valley course in 24:32. One second slower was Cindy Beynon, formerly Cindy Berry, while third went to Jan Smith (Great Yarmouth CC).
Fastest man was triathlete Joe Skipper (20:18) with Mark Richards (20:41) and Jordan Black (21.02) next.
The Amateurs themselves provided the winners in two categories: Road Bike - Ollie Cozens (23:44) and Novice Women: Katie Eager (30:40).
- Patrick Biel (Zero BC) took the win In the Orwell Velo Road Race after striking out on his own with about 10 miles to go.
Held on a six mile circuit just north of Ipswich which featured a short sharp hill near Otley the race proved remarkably fast, in part due to the tailwind leg being more exposed while the headwind sections around Helmingham ran between hedges full leaf.
Forty-five minutes in, the race split, for reasons that were not at all clear. The gap was not large to start with, but it never closed, though several crossed the gap.
This made a group 20 in front, who in spite of apparently unwieldy numbers worked well together and stayed away..
Beil, a Polish rider from Leighton Buzzard, attacked near the gates of Helmingham Hall with a lap and a half to go and opened a 30 second gap before the race reached Ashbocking, three miles later.
Stephen Fuller (Cambridge CC) and Martin Smith (London Phoenix) also made lone bids to take second and third places while Harrison Mayo (Lee Valley Youth) won the sprint for fourth spot. Top Essex finisher was Leighton Oxley-Crisp (Velo Schils, 10th) while the best from a Suffolk club was 14th-placed James Sherwood of the promoting Orwell Velo.
RESULT - ORWELL VELO ROAD RACE:
1 Patrick Biel (Zero BC), 2 Stephen Fuller (Cambridge CC), 3 Martin Smith (London Phoenix), 4 Harrison Mayo (Lee Valley Youth), 5 James O'Connell (Regents Park Rouleurs), 6 James Dent (Team PB Performance), 7 Oliver Wood (Strada Sport), 8 Liam Fenner (API), 9 Simon Robinson (FietsenTempo), 10 Leighton Oxley-Crisp (Velo Schils), 11 Paul Miller (Maldon & District), 12 Matthew Carter (Velo Schils), 13 Benjamin Beynon (Strada Sport), 14 James Sherwood (Orwell Velo), 15 Jake Towler (Strada Sport), 16 Colin Peck (Chelmer CC), 17 Tom Andrews (B38), 18 Tim Allen (Team LDN), 19 Louis Julian (DAP CC), 20 Michael Bell (Fast Test).
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