Mower Mec 2-Up Series R1: Paramount CRT 10

Just four seconds separated first from second in the opening round of the 2026 Mower Mec 2-Up Series as riders took their partners in this team competition. Promoted by Paramount CRT on the Westbury – A5 – Ford – Shoot Hill course, the promoting club’s Chris Riley took the victory with team mate Rob McGregor in 22 minutes 10 seconds to hold off the attentions of Dave Scott Coaching’s Jack Young and Dave Scott. Riley registered a unique feat in the process: heading up the Mower Mec, Friction Hydraulics and SB Sports Injuries Series all at the same time.

Riley was generous in his comments about the tight competition and his team mate, stating: “McGregor, man and machine towed me to my fastest 10 this year. A rapid night on Westbury; and a ridiculous quick road bike team unlucky to be a handful of seconds in arrears. Top marshals, and thanks to Bob at The Lion and Westbury who is most accommodating to us cyclists”. Circumstances meant the pair, who were 2022 Champions only raced together once in 2025, but they soon got back into the swing of things, with McGregor adding: “I enjoyed teaming up with Chris again for a 2-Up. It felt like a fast evening and we made the most of it. We had a good battle with Dave and Jack, and were really pleased to take the win”.

Young had been 2025 Silver medallist, but here teamed up with a new partner and his team’s owner for the first time, stopping the watch on 22:14. As usual, his post-race comments were succinct: “It was a well organised event, I was happy with the time. I’m looking forward to doing some more”. Scott was more effusive, adding: “The 2-Up was fantastic fun with Jack, my first in about five years. I forgot how hard they were, and Jack was a fantastic match in power for me. We swapped one minute turns the whole way, and by Shoot Hill I was clinging on to Jack’s wheel as he stormed up the final ramp. We were very happy with the time on what we thought was going to be a relatively slow evening without a decent south westerly”.

In the Mixed Team competition husband and wife Mitchell and Evie Fletcher took the win in 24:38, beating Stuart Proctor and Claire Blackwell-Smyth who finished in 25:10. For Evie this was only her second experience of the format, and she described the experience of riding at someone else’s speed fairly graphically: : “The 2-Up was only the second one I’ve ever done, so I was mainly just hoping to survive trying to stay on the wheel of my partner and husband, Mitch. Thankfully, he did most of the hard work, dragging me round while I tried my best to look like I was contributing. Somehow, between his strong pulls and me hanging on for dear life, we managed to take first place for mixed pair. A great, fast and flat route; and sharing the victory with Mitch made all the pain worthwhile”.

Mitchell however was very complementary about Evie’s contribution, adding: “A 2-Up time trial is always a daunting prospect as you aren’t just responsible for your own performance, but the performance and result as a team. Fortunately my partner and wife, Evie and I ride together a lot with our training schedules, instilling a lot of confidence in one another to push at an event like this. Evie is a super strong rider, with this being our second official 2-Up event together. I am super pleased to come away with the mixed team victory and third overall; and look forward to building on this performance in future races within this Series”!

It was another first-time partnership in the Female Team category, with Thea Osmund-Smith and Sophie Edge working well together to cross the line in 25:20 and take the maximum 20 points on offer. Both seem to have clicked instantly, with some teams taking a little time to get used to each other’s style and strengths this wasn’t an issue here. Both are newcomers to this format, with Edge having made her first ever appearance in an SCCA Series just four days earlier. Osmund-Smith appeared to have really enjoyed the challenge, stating: “The course didn’t disappoint. The sun came out, the wind was almost in the right direction, and I found my dream team mate in super strong Sophie Edge. We executed our race plan really well and left plenty in the tank for Shoot Hill and a sprint finish. It would have been great to see more women on the start line, but a win is a win – thanks to Paramount CRT for hosting the event”. Edge added: “This was my first 2-Up, and I had a great team mate in Thea. We had practiced earlier in the week, so we were well drilled and this really paid off – we were very happy with our time”.

Full

Mixed Team

Female Team

Private solo time trials