A first entrance to the 2024 SB Sports Injuries paid immediate dividends for Mid Shropshire Wheelers Devon Round as he took a fine win on a glorious evening. Round coped best with the tough challenge of Oswestry Paragon’s Hilly 19, Round 6 of the Series. This offers a T-shaped diversion of the club’s normal 10 mile course, with a lung-bursting trip through Welsh Frankton to the edge of Ellesmere and back. Round beat off a strong challenge from Chris Riley by 1:56, stopping the watch on 43 minutes 35 seconds to take the win, and was pleased with his evening out, stating: “I enjoyed the course and was happy with my pacing. The climbs were tough, but a chance to recover on the fast descents – thanks Oswestry Paragon for organising”.

Riley doubled up his overall runner-up spot with a convincing win in the SB Veterans Series, recording 45:31 on actual and +6:53 on Veteran’s Standard. In both cases he beat Paramount team mate Rich Nickless, returning to time trialling after 10 years away but proving that muscle memory exists. Riley was experiencing the Oswestry 19 for the first time and went home impressed, stating: “A cracking course for the Oswestry 19 that I haven’t ridden before, brilliant downhill runs and a real buzz to be riding that quickly. It was an excellent performance from Devon; and as ever a well organised event – thanks Oswestry Paragon. The SB events are so friendly and welcoming; I just wish I had the time to ride more in the Series”.

Nickless registered his first points in many years with a fine 48:39 to take third spot, and +2:43 to take Veteran’s runner-up, with a new bike seemingly reinvigorating his passion for the sport and with a promise of more to come as he regains his top end fitness: “It’s been a while if you consider nearly 10 years as a break – an itch i just had to scratch! A new bike, so finding the blend between comfort and power; and of course the specific training required is all going to take a bit of time. It’s been a steady return, but I’m happy to be back amongst the time trialling scene in Shropshire. The Oswestry 19 is a technical profile course, with the two lumps particularly lumpy! The Weather held out, and luckily the tractors were off the road on the blast back through Welsh Frankton”.

Event organiser Helen Tudor made up some ground in the SB Female Series with a solid effort of 56:37 for 9th spot overall, but rued that more females didn’t take on the challenge, stating: “Despite not liking hilly courses I do enjoy our 19. Considering the weather so far this summer it was a decent night: not too windy, and dry. Shame I was the only female”.

One competition that did gain some interest was the new Road Bike Championship with five riders eschewing aero aids. Times are age and gender-adjusted to level the playing field, with Oswestry Paragon’s Adam Riley coming out on top in an adjusted 49:09 in his first appearance, beating club mate Jack Young by 59 seconds. Riley managed this despite a hard day, which can easily affect performances in evening races, but was pleased with the win, commenting: ”I came in pretty fatigued as work has been flat out, and my watts reflected that being about 10% down on my Functional Threshold Power, but I was very happy to be able to grind out an OK result”.

Full:

Pos’nNameClubCatTimePoints
1Devon RoundMid Shropshire WheelersS43:3520
2Chris RileyParamount CRTV45:3118
3Richard NicklessParamount CRTV48:3916
4Jack YoungOswestry Paragon CCS50:0814
5Adam RileyOswestry Paragon CCV50:2312
6Phil GardnerMid Shropshire WheelersV51:0910
7Luke BlythUnattachedV55:08.
8Darrell WalshOswestry Paragon CCV56:028
9Helen TudorOswestry Paragon CCFV56:376
10Ashley KirkhamWrekinsport CCV56:454
11Bruce SelbyOswestry Paragon CCV58:182
12Stephen DaviesOswestry Paragon CCV58:272

Veterans:

Vets Pos’nNameClubCatVet +/-Vets Points
1Chris RileyParamount CRTV+6:5320
2Richard NicklessParamount CRTV+2:4318
3Phil GardnerMid Shropshire WheelersV+1:1516
4Adam RileyOswestry Paragon CCV+0:4814
5Helen TudorOswestry Paragon CCFV-0:3112
6Bruce SelbyOswestry Paragon CCV-3:2110
7Darrell WalshOswestry Paragon CCV-5:108
8Luke BlythUnattachedV-5:11.
9Stephen DaviesOswestry Paragon CCV-5:186
10Ashley KirkhamWrekinsport CCV-6:024

Female:

Female Pos’nNameClubCatTimeFemale Points
1Helen TudorOswestry Paragon CCFV56:3720

Road Bike:

RB Pos’nNameClubCatRB Adj TimeRB Points
1Adam RileyOswestry Paragon CCV49:0920
2Jack YoungOswestry Paragon CCS50:0818
3Darrell WalshOswestry Paragon CCV55:0716
4Luke BlythUnattachedV55:08.
5Ashley KirkhamWrekinsport CCV55:5914

Cumulative Standings after six rounds

Overall

Position Name Club Cat Best 12
1 Tomos Hales Wrekinsport CC S 96
2 Jonathan Mills-Keeling Aerologic RT V 80
3 Hayley Wells Wrekinsport CC F 46
4 Oil Freeman Wrekinsport CC S 44
5 Dean Callister Aerologic RT S 40
6 Mark Pritchard Aerologic RT S 32
7 Chris Riley Paramount CRT V 26
=8 Mark Hill Hafren CC V 24
=8 Scott Palmer Aerologic RT V 24
=10 Ben Southgate Wrekinsport CC J 20
=10 Devon Round Mid Shropshire Wheelers S 20

Veterans

Position Name Club Cat Best 12
1 Jonathan Mills-Keeling Aerologic RT V 100
2 Mark Hill Hafren CC V 42
3 Chris Riley Paramount CRT V 38
4 Jan Davies Hafren CC FV 36
5 Scott Palmer Aerologic RT V 34
=6 Ashley Kirkham Wrekinsport CC V 32
=6 Rob Kennard Aerologic RT V 32
8 Geoff Edgerton North Shropshire Wheelers V 28
9 Helen Tudor Oswestry Paragon CC FV 26
10 Rob Garbett Wrekinsport CC V 24

Females:

Position Name Club Cat Best 12
1 Hayley Wells Wrekinsport CC F 100
2 Jan Davies Hafren CC FV 54
3 Helen Tudor Oswestry Paragon CC FV 52
4 Emma Brown Paramount CRT F 14

Road Bike:

Position Name Club Cat Best 12
1 Matt Muir Propel CC V 46
2 Mark Fenn SCCA 1st Claim Member V 40
3 Peter Everett Oswestry Paragon CC V 34
4 Ashley Kirkham Wrekinsport CC V 26
=5 Adam Riley Oswestry Paragon CC V 20
=5 Steve Minton Ludlow Brewery RT V 20
=7 Jack Young Oswestry Paragon CC S 18
=7 Stacey Morgan Ludlow Brewery RT V 18
=7 Tim Mayo Propel CC S 18
=10 Anthony Corbutt Ludlow CC V 16
=10 Darrell Walsh Oswestry Paragon CC V 16

Juniors

Position Name Club Cat Best 12
1 Ben Southgate Wrekinsport CC J 60