Simon Romei headed back to the top of the Friction Hydraulics Series in Round 9 with a strong win in the West Cheshire TTCA 50 over two laps of the Prees – Battlefield course as the Series hots up. Romei finished over three minutes clear of the chasing pack to open up a 65 point lead with a fabulous effort of 1 hour 56 minutes 28 seconds as he and Paramount team mate Chris Riley were the only two to beat the magic two hour/25mph mark, leading the club to a huge 235 point addition to their Top Club Award tally, and now hold an impressive 635 point lead.
Romei still holds the lead in the Friction Veterans Series but swapped places with Riley when the age related Standards were applied, Riley registering +21:40 and Romei taking runner-up spot with +19:59. Conditions were not as conductive to fast times in this quick return to the same circuit used in Round 6, but Romei was satisfied with his efforts against a nagging crosswind, commenting: “Really pleased to take the County winner and Veteran’s runner-up places at the WCTTCA 50. It felt a lot tougher that the previous 50 on this course due to the wind hitting you from all directions, along with it being a chilly morning. it was just a case of keeping aero for the entire race and riding hard. A big thank you to Paul Modern and all the marshals for making this race happen”.
Riley was off the start line just five minutes ahead of Romei, and that was enough incentive to pedal hard to post a fine 1:59:34 effort, as he explained: ”I rode to a ‘Don’t get caught by Simon Romei’ plan, which paid double dividends when I managed a sub-two hour ride, I was chuffed with that – thanks to the WCTTA for another excellent event”.
Taking third spot in both Overall and Veterans with 2:03:15 and +15:03 respectively, Aerologic’s Jonathan Mills-Keeling seemed to suffer in the conditions, which on longer rides can wear a rider down. Mills-Keeling beat off the challenge from another Paramount rider Rob McGregor overall by 29 seconds, and in the Veterans from Hafren CC’s Bryn Davies by 1:07. He appeared to be glad just to get through the experience, stating: “Not my best race, glad to get it over with! I really struggled to get into it, but well done to Simon, a great time on the day”.
In the Female Series Hayley Wells continues to dominate with a fabulous 2:08:06, 1:58 down on her Round 6 time reflecting conditions. She commented: “The crosswinds certainly made this course a lot more challenging, and it was rather chilly as well. I was a little slower than the last 50 here, but super chuffed to have taken the win – an awesome effort by everyone, a tough morning in the saddle”. Wells extended her Series lead to exactly 100 points on the strength of this ride.
Wells isn’t the only rider putting in a strong challenge for a Series as Mark Fenn continues to make progress in the inaugural Friction Road Bike Series, extending his lead to a huge 180 points after this race with an adjusted 2:12:12. His game plan appears to have been to ride to a constant pace rather than a split strategy some prefer and that saw him 1:24 faster than in Round 6 – impressive given less favourable conditions. He commented: ”Happy to have achieved my target of even splits and how I compared to the aero category, I was over a minute quicker than a few weeks earlier”.
SCCA:
| Pos’n | Forename | Surname | Club | Time | Points |
| 1 | Simon | Romei | Paramount CRT | 01:56:28 | 70 |
| 2 | Christopher | Riley | Paramount CRT | 01:59:34 | 65 |
| 3 | Jonathan | Mills-Keeling | Aerologic RT | 02:03:15 | 60 |
| 4 | Robert | McGregor | Paramount CRT | 02:03:44 | 55 |
| 5 | Bryn | Davies | Hafren CC | 02:03:51 | 50 |
| 6 | Alvydas | Janusauskas | Paramount CRT | 02:05:21 | 45 |
| 7 | George | Coombes | Newport (Shropshire) CC | 02:07:46 | 40 |
| 8 | Hayley | Wells | Wrekinsport CC | 02:08:06 | 35 |
| 9 | Mark | Fenn | Shropshire CCA | 02:14:19 | 30 |
| 10 | Jamie | Rossiter | North Shropshire Wheelers | 02:30:39 | 25 |
| 11 | Helen | Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | 02:36:00 | 20 |
| 12 | Ashley | Kirkham | Wrekinsport CC | 02:36:27 | 15 |
| . | Deb | Hutson-Lumb | Wrekinsport CC | DNF | . |
| . | Victor | Chetta | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | DNS-A | . |
| . | Les | Boughey | North Shropshire Wheelers | DNS | . |
| . | Neil | Wilson | Paramount CRT | DNS | . |
| . | Ben | Wood | Wrekinsport CC | DNS | . |
Veterans:
| Vets Pos’n | Forename | Surname | Club | Cat | Vet +/- | Vets Points |
| 1 | Christopher | Riley | Paramount CRT | V | +21:40 | 70 |
| 2 | Simon | Romei | Paramount CRT | V | +19:59 | 65 |
| 3 | Jonathan | Mills-Keeling | Aerologic RT | V | +15:03 | 60 |
| 4 | Bryn | Davies | Hafren CC | V | +13:56 | 55 |
| 5 | Mark | Fenn | Shropshire CCA | V | +2:08 | 50 |
| 6 | Helen | Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | FV | -4:49 | 45 |
| 7 | Jamie | Rossiter | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | -7:18 | 40 |
| 8 | Ashley | Kirkham | Wrekinsport CC | V | -20:00 | 35 |
Females:
| Female Pos’n | Forename | Surname | Club | Cat | Time | Female Points |
| 1 | Hayley | Wells | Wrekinsport CC | F | 2:08:06 | 70 |
| 2 | Helen | Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | FV | 2:36:00 | 65 |
| . | Deb | Hutson-Lumb | Wrekinsport CC | FV | DNF | . |
Road Bikes:
| RB Pos’n | Forename | Surname | Club | Cat | RB Adj Time | RB Points |
| 1 | Mark | Fenn | Shropshire CCA | V | 2:12:12 | 70 |
Top Club Award:
| Pos’n | Club | Points |
| 1 | Paramount CRT | 235 |
| 2 | Aerologic RT | 60 |
| 3 | Hafren CC | 50 |
| 3 | Wrekinsport CC | 50 |
| 5 | Newport (Shropshire) CC | 40 |
| 6 | North Shropshire Wheelers | 25 |
| 7 | Oswestry Paragon CC | 20 |
Cumulative Standings after nine rounds
Friction and Hydraulic Services Shropshire Championship Points Series
| Position | Name | Club | Cat | Best 12 |
| 1 | Simon Romei | Paramount CRT | V | 400 |
| 2 | Tomos Hales | Wrekinsport CC | S | 335 |
| 3 | Bryn Davies | Hafren CC | V | 315 |
| 4 | Jonathan Mills-Keeling | Aerologic RT | V | 255 |
| 5 | Dean Callister | Aerologic RT | S | 235 |
| 6 | Robert McGregor | Paramount CRT | S | 215 |
| =7 | Christopher Riley | Paramount CRT | V | 200 |
| =7 | Paul Horton | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | S | 200 |
| 9 | Hayley Wells | Wrekinsport CC | F | 175 |
| 10 | Alvydas Janusauskas | Paramount CRT | S | 165 |
Friction and Hydraulic Services Veterans Championship
| Vets Position | Name | Club | Best 12 |
| 1 | Simon Romei | Paramount CRT | 480 |
| 2 | Bryn Davies | Hafren CC | 430 |
| 3 | Christopher Riley | Paramount CRT | 335 |
| 4 | Jonathan Mills-Keeling | Aerologic RT | 320 |
| 5 | Mark Fenn | Shropshire CCA | 205 |
| 6 | Colin Wells | Paramount CRT | 200 |
| 7 | Helen Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | 190 |
| 8 | Ian Connolly | Ludlow CC | 165 |
| 9 | Ashley Kirkham | Wrekinsport CC | 140 |
| 10 | Deb Hutson-Lumb | Wrekinsport CC | 105 |
Friction and Hydraulic Services Female Championship
| Female Pos’n | Name | Club | Best 12 |
| 1 | Hayley Wells | Wrekinsport CC | 440 |
| 2 | Helen Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | 340 |
| =3 | Deb Hutson-Lumb | Wrekinsport CC | 55 |
| =3 | Emma Brown | Paramount CRT | 55 |
| 5 | Thea Osmund-Smith | Paramount CRT | 50 |
| 6 | Jan Davies | Hafren CC | 45 |
| 7 | Kathryn Rossiter | North Shropshire Wheelers | 35 |
Friction and Hydraulic Services Road Bike Championship
| Road Bike Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Best 12 |
| 1 | Mark Fenn | Shropshire CCA | V | 285 |
| 2 | Ashley Kirkham | Wrekinsport CC | V | 105 |
| 3 | Ian Townsend | Paramount CRT | V | 85 |
| 4 | David Cannell | Paramount CRT | V | 65 |
| =5 | Jonathan Goh | Paramount CRT | V | 60 |
| =5 | Matthew Garthwaite | Newport (Shropshire) CC | S | 60 |
| =5 | Sam Holwill | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | S | 60 |
| 8 | Thomas Herbert | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | S | 60 |
| =9 | Chris Childs | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | S | 55 |
| =9 | Paul Bailey | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | V | 55 |
| =9 | Scott Palmer | Aerologic RT | V | 55 |
| =9 | William Preston | Paramount CRT | S | 55 |
Friction and Hydraulic Services Junior Championship
| Junior Pos’n | Name | Club | Best 12 |
| 1 | Ben Southgate | Wrekinsport CC | 120 |
Top Club Award
| Position | Club | Total Points |
| 1 | Paramount CRT | 1240 |
| 2 | Wrekinsport CC | 705 |
| 3 | Aerologic RT | 595 |
| 4 | Hafren CC | 385 |
| 5 | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | 315 |
| 6 | Newport (Shropshire) CC | 235 |
| 7 | Oswestry Paragon CC | 165 |
| 8 | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 160 |
| 9 | North Shropshire Wheelers | 95 |
| 10 | Ludlow CC | 65 |