It wasn’t a day for personal bests, but nobody seemed to have told Ross Fawcett, writes Fergus Muir.
The Pedal Power Ipswich rider put in his fastest-ever 10 mile time of 19:59 to win the DAP CC event on the single-carriageway Wortwell-Bungay road.
It was a pleasant and sunny afternoon in the Waveney Valley but it was the wind direction that made it hard - competitors felt the full blast of a head/crosswind from the right on the outward leg to Bungay. On the return, which was in any case slightly shorter, they were partly sheltered from the tailwind by roadside hedges.
Suffolk super-veteran Martin Pyne tellingly commented that even on the tailwind leg, he never got into top gear.
Fawcett was well clear of the second-placed Gavin Lewis (Velo Schils, 21:16).
The blue colours of Newmarket Cycling and Triathlon Club were much in evidence with Kerry Tate winning the top women's award with 24:02 and David Halliday and Martin Smith seventh and eighth in 22:06 and 22:15 respectively.
- Katie Scotter from Ipswich and Colchester rider Cam Hurst were the Senior winners at the Eastern League cyclo-cross at Northlands Park, Basildon.
Scotter, clearly well recovered after successfully completing the classic Three Peaks cyclo-cross the previous week, set the pace in company of Elvita Branch, an MTB specialist who is rapidly adapting to 'cross.
Nevertheless it was slips by Branch that allowed Scotter to take a lone lead. Successfully coping as rain began to transform the previously dry course, Scotter went on to score her first CX win since 2016.
Junior winner Martha Lebentz (Hadleigh CC) took third place overall, her best result of the season, as was Rebecca Johnson's - The XRT/Elmy rider finishing fourth .
The Northlands course featured a ditch which only the most skilled competitors could hop across without dismounting and it was here that former MTB international Ross Tricker opened a gap on the whole Senior Men's field especially as it gave him a flying start up the hill that followed.
However he was reeled in by Cameron Hurst (Bloodwise) and Kieran Jarvis (OnForm) and these two young men opened a small gap, which soon became a large one.
But Tricker was not done - in final laps he found second wind and closed to just five seconds behind the leading pair with a lap. However that was as close as it got and Hurst took the win from Jarvis with Tricker third.
Under 16 winner Callum Laborde was another who bunny-hopped over the ditch and into the lead. Racing barely 24 hours after an outstanding podium finish in the National Trophy at Derby, Laborde won from Euan Woodliffe and Laborde's Iceni Velo clubmate Joseph Smith.
In the Vets 50-Plus last season's champion Jimmy Piper made his 2019-20 season debut. The first two rounds had been won by Ian Newby who is new to the age-group.
Newby led for the first few laps with Piper watching and biding his time. Then Piper (Renvale RT) put in a surge on a long gravel climb which successfully secured him the lead, which he held to the finish.
Visitor Matt Holmes (Arctic/Aircon) took the Vets 40-49 while local winners in the youngest age-groups included Under eights Elizabeth Whall (Colchester Rovers) and Callum Thompson (Suffolk Youth).
At the National Trophy races Callum Laborde's third place was the outstanding Eastern ride. Other local results included Jo Newstead's 22nd place in the Vet women while Ian Newby was 16th and Dave Copland 31st in the V50 race.
- In the Godric CC 25 on the Waveney Valley road, triathlete Davina Greenwell of Suffolk coast club Plomesgate CC was women's winner in 1:01:15, while King's Lynn rider Ben Stancombe was top man in 51:45.
VC Baracchi's Nick Partridge (52:37).was second and took the top veteran's award, while third was Mark Richards - organiser of the previous days DAP event - who covered the 25 in 53:25.
Result DAP CC 10, Wortwell:
OVERALL: 1 Ross Fawcett (Pedal Power Ipswich) 19:59, 2 Gavin Lewis (Velo Schils) 21:16, 3 Bob Richardson (Bournemouth Jubilee Whs) 21:18, 4 Ben Kenneally (Zero BC) 21:22, 5 Lucas He (Cambridge University CC) 21:25, 6 Dan Blackburn (VC Norwich) 21:35, 7 David Halliday (Newmarket Cycling & Triathlon Club) 22:06, 8 Martin Smith (Newmarket C&TCC) 22:15, 9 Terry Garlinge (Easterley RC) 22:22, 10 Mark Saunders (VC Baracchi) 22:24, 10 Gary Pamment (3T-RACING) 22:24, 12 Ben Keeley (VeloVelocity) 22:47.
WOMEN: 1 Kerry Tate (Newmarket C&TCC) 24:02, 2 Julia Freeman (Easterley RC) 25:09, 3 Jan Smith (Great Yarmouth CC) 25:09, 4 Linda Hones (Newmarket C&TCC) 26:30, 4 Jenny Anderson (Great Yarmouth CC) 26:3, 4 Michelle Sayer (Beccles Tri Club) 26:35, 5 Jo Fisk (Ride Harder) 27:13, 6 Donna Hayman (Newmarket C&TCC) 29:06,7 Tracey Jermy (Great Yarmouth CC) 29:29, 8 Jodie Lee (VC Baracchi) 32:28.
TANDEM: 1 Mark Eastwood & John Steed (West Suffolk Wheelers) 24:23.
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