A fine day of road racing in north Suffolk began with a win for Matthew Carter of Colchester in the race for lower category and entry-level competitors.

East Anglian Daily Times: Eventual winner Stephen Parsonage leads Barnabas Purbrook at Ringsfield. Picture: JOHN SWANBURYEventual winner Stephen Parsonage leads Barnabas Purbrook at Ringsfield. Picture: JOHN SWANBURY (Image: Archant)

Carter (Velo Schils) won from Sean Dunlea (Bloodwise/QSW) in a tight sprint finish. Third went to Darren Rutterford (Iceni Velo) and fourth to Matthew Watts (Strada Sport).

So tight was the finish in this 47 mile race that the first 20 competitors crossed the line within three seconds of each other, according to the electronic timing that - thankfully – was employed by organisers DAP CC.

The course was a ten mile circuit in the tree-lined country roads between Beccles and Halesworth and the race opened with Dunlea, from Chelmsford, and others, making several attacks during the first 20 miles. However none succeeded and soon rider’s minds seemed to focus on a seemingly inevitable sprint finish

It was nothing like that in the 76 mile afternoon race for higher category entrants where the race was hardly ever together. On the second lap Oliver Robinson (Team Wiggins) and Matt Clements (Richardsons/Trek) attacked and were chased by a group including Steven Parsonage (VC Norwich), Andy Taylor (DAP), Ben Thompson (LDN), and Oli Wood (Strada Sport), with Tommy Power (Richardsons/Trek) fighting to join them.

The race plunged into the remote lanes where half the villages are called Ilketshall – and emerged, overdue and fragmented, after a bizarre incident with a dog had split the main field.

East Anglian Daily Times: Third and fourth-cat riders take a corner in the DAP CC Road Races. Picture: JOHN SWANBURYThird and fourth-cat riders take a corner in the DAP CC Road Races. Picture: JOHN SWANBURY (Image: Archant)

By just after the halfway point that original lead group had grown to around 16 riders. On the climb past the finish Parsonage, who had only started racing this January and was undoubtedly an “unknown” to his companions, sprinted off the front to take bottle, and only Barnabas Purbook (Nuun Sigma Sport) bothered to chase him. The rest of the break never saw the pair again.

Parsonage and Purbrook worked together and drew away until with about six miles to go Parsonage, who is 23 and a former GB squad rower, opened a gap on Stone Street, the Bungay-Halesworth road, and rode away to win.

Just over a minute later Tom Fitzpatrick from Kenninghall outsprinted Oliver Robinson (Team Wiggins and Oliver Knight (HMT Hospitals) to take third, while Essex rider Matt Clements headed a group in for tenth place, three minutes down.

Following his win in the Plomesgate CC 10 last week, Andy Proffitt (Ipswich BC) set a new course record for the 20 mile circuit based at Debenham on Saturday.

He won the Orwell Velo’s Renny Stirling Memorial event in 42:04 – thanks to last minute help from previous record holder Ollie Jones on the start line.

East Anglian Daily Times: Fastest woman Becky Ridge (TPH) at the Orwell Velo 20. Picture: FERGUS MUIRFastest woman Becky Ridge (TPH) at the Orwell Velo 20. Picture: FERGUS MUIR (Image: Archant)

Proffitt found his handlebars coming loose and Jones, who was spectating, had a vital Allen key handy.

Next fastest was Lowestoft rider Lucas He (43:23) while last year’s winner Stuart Fairweather was third in 43:54.

It was a fine day with a gentle tail-breeze on the long lanes leg from Ashfield to Occold, while high hedges protected competitors on the potentially harder return miles back to Debenham

In the two-up team time trial section overall winners were Ruth Purbrook (Ful-on-Tri) and Barnabas Purbrook (Nuun-Sigma Sport) who finished in 45:09 and beating all the all-male teams. And, yes, Barnabas went on to come second in the road race next day.

Women’s winner was Becky Ridge of Hadleigh team TPH in 51:13.

East Anglian Daily Times: Andy Proffitt (Ipswich BC) on his way to the win at the Orwell Velo 20. Picture: FERGUS MUIRAndy Proffitt (Ipswich BC) on his way to the win at the Orwell Velo 20. Picture: FERGUS MUIR (Image: Archant)

The Chelmer Hardriders 26.6 mile hilly time trial at Finchingfield was won by Paul Hart (Southend Wheelers) in 54:52, from Colin Ward (Essex Roads, 55:16) Fastest woman was Diss Road Race star Mathilde Pauls (Sigma Sport) whose time was 1:05:55.

There were second places in the East London Youth Series for both Harley Gregory (West Suffolk Wheelers) in the Under 14s, and Sam Asker, also from Bury St Edmunds, in the race for Cat 2/3.4 riders.

Looking further afield, Ipswich rider Rebecca Johnson (TVC) took third place overall in the Tour of Cyprus.

RESULTS:

DAP ROAD RACES, Ringsfield near Beccles. National “B” 76 miles: 1 Steven Parsonage (VC Norwich), 2 Barnabas Purbrook (Nuun-Sigma Sports) @13 secs, 3 Tom Fitzpatrick (RTS Racing Team) @ 1min 22 secs, 4 Oliver Robinson (Team Wiggins/Le Col), 5 Oliver Knight (HMT Hospitals/ Giant), 6 Joseph Sutton (Richardsons-Trek), 7 Jim Bradford (ActiveEdge),8 James Jenkins (Richardsons-Trek), 9 Lawrence Carpenter (Team Wiggins/ Le Col) @ 1.36, 10 Matthew Clements (Richardsons-Trek) @ 2.58, 11 William Mapus-Smith (The Bike Bar RT), 12 Simon Alexander (Richardsons-Trek),13 Seb Herrod (Strada-Sport) @ 3:17, 14 Morris Bacon (DAP CC) @ 3:27 15 Timothy Torrie (Vitus Pro Cycling).

Regional “B”, 47 miles: 1 Matthew Carter (Velo Schils – Interbike), 2 Sean Dunlea (Bloodwise QSW), 3 Darren Rutterford (Iceni Velo), 4 Matthew Watts (Strada-Sport), 5 Ben Ewing (Iceni Velo), 6 Sam Baxter (DAP Cycling Club), 7 Tom Yiangou (Pro Cycle Hire), 8 Matt Day (Orwell Velo), 9 Lukasz Szeloch (Redbridge CC), 10 Caolan Stowe (VC Norwich) All same time

ORWELL VELO RENNY STIRLING MEMORIAL 20, Debenham: 1 Andy Proffitt (Ipswich BC) 42:04, 2 Lucas He (Cambridge University CC) 43:23, 3 Stuart Fairweather (VeloVelocity) 43:54, 4 Julian Bosley (Stowmarket & District) 46:07, 5 David Crisp (3T-RACING) 46:08, 6 Nick Partridge (VC Baracchi) 46:10, 7 Simon Daw (Datalynx-Parenesis) 46:25, 8 Barry Mcdonald (3T-RACING) 46:28, 9 John Bradbury (CC Sudbury) 47:03, 10 Adrian Pettitt (Stowmarket & District) 47:04.

Women: 1 Becky Ridge (TPH) 51:13,

Two-Up: 1 Ruth Purbrook (Ful-on-Tri) and Barnabas Purbrook (Nuun-Sigma Sport) 45.09, 2 Chris Crabtree and Nick Flexman (Orwell Velo) 47.24.