SXC R1 - U12/U10s
Ben Gladwyn - Wed Apr 26, 2006 15:27:30 |
Steve Jones 26th April 2006
The Southern Cross Country Series kicked off on 23rd April at Checkendon in South Oxfordshire. The weather forecast had looked good all week for the early part of the day but the rain came early and settled in before the start. This may have deterred a few riders but for the 349 who made the effort to come the rain stopped on cue before the races got under way. The course had been very dry all week and soaked up the water well leaving conditions slightly slippery which was challenging and fun but not too muddy.
The Under 12?s were first away on a shorter course out to Hammond?s Wood and over the bridge, where they left the main course turning downhill to join the main course for the stiff climb up New Hill where they went back under the bridge heading back to the finish. We thought they would take 15 minutes but the winner Josh Parkin (Team Darenth) shot round in 10 minutes and could have easily done another lap. Second home was Liam Keynes (1st gear Cycles) and 3rd was Jonathon Marks (Leisure lake RT). In the girls race there were 6 starters and first back was Ellie Sykes (VC Deal/Hammonds/Activ) also going under 11 minutes fast enough for 2nd in the boys race. Her team mate Serena Butler was 2nd and Alice Barnes was 3rd.
In the under 10?s they had 4 laps of a mini course in the arena and Caroline Krutz (Kiwi Racing) was the only girl so got herself on top of the podium to receive her Gold medal. The boys race was won by Sam Wellard with Daniel Forster (Preston park YCC) 2nd and Sam Titmarsh (Team Darenth) in 3rd. Special mention must go to little George Onslow who completed 3 laps of the course, I did try to make his Dad push him round 4 times but I think they had enough.
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SXC R1 - Seniors Report
Ben Gladwyn - Wed Apr 26, 2006 15:26:16 |
Steve Jones 26th April 2006
The Southern Cross Country Series kicked off on 23rd April at Checkendon in South Oxfordshire. The early rain may have put off a few riders but for the 349 who made the effort to come the rain stopped on cue before the races got under way. Numbers in all cross country races in the South East seem to be on the increase so we could be heading towards a good summer?s racing. I don?t think we are attracting large numbers of new racers but many old faces seem to be making a return to racing after having some time off. The course had been very dry all week and soaked up the water well leaving conditions slightly slippery which was challenging and fun but not too muddy.
The Youths were first out onto the main lap and Alex Paton (VC Deal) was the only rider under 25 minutes for the opening lap. He continued the charge and had opened up over 2 minutes over tem mate Michael Butler who came 2nd with Luke Gray (Dorset Rough Riders) taking the final podium spot. Nat Jarvis (Team Darenth) took the win in the 1 lap Youth race closely followed by Ryan Keynes (1st Gear Cycles) with team mate Lee Fegrido joining him on the podium. Rebecca Thompson (Evans RT) won the 2 lap girls race with Hannah Barnes (Team Keyne) 2nd and Samantha Bryant (team Darenth) 3rd. In the 1 lap race Rachael Denman was the only rider so just had to finish to get the top prize.
The 2 lap womens races all started together as the numbers were quite low so they had a bit of a race amongst themselves. The winners were Claire Gaunt (Army Cycling Union) in the Sport race, Mandy Hibberd (pedalon.co.uk) Masters, Kate Wheeler (Climb on Bikes) Vets, Hannah Shelley (Beyond MTB/WDMBC) and Sally Harris (Newbury RC) Open. Deborah Sykes (VC Deal) won the fun race and Marcy Reinhart (Mountain High) took the Varsity Ladies Championship for Oxford University with Amber Tomas in 2nd re-enforcing the Oxford supremacy over the Cambridge girls.
The Junior race attracted 11 riders, which was up on previous years, Billy Joe Whenman (Marin UK/QT Cycles) set a fast first lap with a clear course in front and led through on the 1st lap. He was never troubled coming in a minute clear of Shaun Hurrell (Glendene CC/ Biketrax) in 2nd, Jake Moxham (Dysons Cycles.co.uk) was 3rd.
The Masters were up next with the top Masters racing the combined 4 lap Super Masters and Expert race the field was only 45 strong. Steven Richards (VC Meudon) was fastest at 1hr 20 with Will Thomas (Evans Cycles) 2nd and Allen Krutz (leisure Wheels) 3rd.
The Vets with the biggest filed of the day at nearly 60 riders followed the Masters. With the top riders being over 15 minutes faster than the winning Master it is a good case for them to go first as there is a lot of overtaking to do which can shape the race. The leaders had to overtake every single Master despite them starting 4 minutes ahead. Mark Cracknell (AWCycles.co.uk) and Mark Chadbourne (Ride Cycleworks) pulled out an early lead and worked their way through the back of the Masters field. The chasers including me were held up at times and it was frustrating to see them open gaps on us. I punctured whilst lying 3rd on the last lap and feeling comfortable to up the pace, a flint split the sidewall so my race was over. Cracknell went on to win with Chadbourne 2nd and Roland Tilley (Ride Cycleworks) moved up to 3rd after my demise.
In the Grand Vets new boy Ray Crosthwaite (pedalon.co.uk) took another win pushing last years series winner Norman Butler (bikeguatemala.com) into 2nd. Carl McDonagh (Brixton Cycles had to settle for 3rd place today.
The Elite race lost some of the favourites early on in the 1st lap, all to punctures with sidewall cuts done on the fast approach to the bridge, exactly the same place I punctured. Notably Will Bjergfelt and Chris Minter were out leaving a few more top placings to be fought over. The damp conditions had exposed numerous flints on the braking area before the berm, I went down on the next lap and removed loads of razor sharp flints or we might not have any finishes, 3 Expert/Super Masters had gone out at the same spot too. With a big pile up in the Sport race here you had to wonder if it was a puncture that started it?
Steve Hambling (Activ Cycles) set the pace on the first lap and the fastest lap of the day with a time of 23:33 but last years series winner Duncan Jamieson (Felt Racing) was right on his wheel. Hambling was gone next time round though another victim of the Curse of Checkendon and Jamieson was now alone out front with Ian Legg (Red Kite/Torq bar) chasing him down. The pursuing group of Wood, Bowers and Mardle were together and slowly eating into his lead. On laps 4 and 5 though it was Jamieson and Legg who slowed leaving the other to battle it out for the podium places. Richard Wood (Torq) came out on top picking up the pace on the final lap, Stuart Bowers (Hargroves/Scott UK) was 2nd and Richard Mardle (Felt Racing) was 3rd.
The Expert/SuperMasters were led round lap one by Mark Russell (Torq) closely followed by Mark Hutt (AWCycles.co.uk). Jamie Norfolk (pedalon.co.uk) led the chasers through confident his consistent pace would reel in the early leaders. Hutt punctured but was able to repair it although he lost time which left Russell out alone. Norfolk caught Russell late in the race and opened up a comfortable gap on the final lap. This left Sam Gardner (Cannondale/Fat Face/ Maximuscle) to take 3rd.
In the ladies Elite races Gemma Collins (Activ Cycles) took the win over team-mate Nicky Hughes with a huge 11 minute gap. In the Expert/Super Maters young Amy Thompson (Evans RT) took the lead early on but Lydia Gould (Torq) showed her age is no barrier on a mountain bike and romped home to take the win. Jackie Roberts (Beyond Mountain Bikes/ Specialized/WDMBC) was 3rd.
In the Sport race Roger Browne was 3rd with Andrew Cockburn (Cambridge Uni) 2nd and Henri Turgoose (pro-cupmtb.com) got the win on his old club course. Another local rider David Lawrence (pedalon.co.uk) was surprised to get his first ever win in the Open race. In the Combined Services race Andy Plewes (RN RM) had a comfortable win 13 minutes clear of 2nd place Jonathon Sharpe. |
Southern XC Photos
Steve Jones - Wed Apr 26, 2006 11:13:09 |
If you raced on Sunday 23rd April at the Southern XC round 1 at Checkendon on the Ratz course you may have been captured by our photographer Dennis Sackett. Please follow the link to have a look at his galery where you can purchase your photo.
www.cyclingphotos.org.uk
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SouthernXC race report
Ben Gladwyn - Tue Apr 25, 2006 17:56:18 |
BikeMagic have posted a race report for round 1 of SXC, which was well attended at Checkendon on Sunday 23rd April.
Many thanks to all who helped organise the race. There was a big turnout, despite the moderately miserable weather in the morning and people kept on telling us how good the track was. Roll on the Rampages! |
