Coaching Revolutions 2-Up Series R1 – North Shropshire Wheelers 10

North Shropshire Wheelers 2-Up

Three new pairings made the running in the opening round of the Coaching Revolutions 2-Up Series in less than ideal conditions as riders endured cold, sleet, a tough wind and standing water in pursuit of points. North Shropshire Wheelers’ 10 at Prees saw 20 riders test their fitness – and their endurance – in this fast and furious pairs format, with first-time entrants Tim Beardmore and Dean Dovey making an immediate impression to take a fine win by  minute and a half.

Beardmore had signalled his strength in the first round of the Friction Hydraulics Series eight days earlier and is evidently in superb form as he and Nova Raiders’ partner Dovey flew around the course in 22 minutes 41 seconds to set the early benchmark in this Series. Starting two-thirds the way down the field they seemed to hit a sweet spot in the weather judging by Beardmore’s comments: “My first time riding with Dean in a 2-Up, so very happy with our time and the win. It was very cold but mainly dry for the race, and we were finished before the wind got up thankfully. Well done to all at North Shropshire Wheelers for organising and braving the weather“. Dovey added: “A cold, wet morning soon warmed up trying to stay with a super strong Tim, who was awesome. Big thanks to organisers and volunteers as it was awful for them, and well done every one who turned up in those conditions“.

Beardmore and Dovey beat off a fine challenge from another new pairing of SCCA Private Members Ollie Atkin and Phil Birch, stopping the watch on 24:11, 8 seconds ahead of 2018’s bronze medallists Andy Maxwell and Andy Rose – and all the more powerful a performance due to using road bikes. Both seemed to enjoyed their first experience of this Series, with Atkin commenting: “Despite it being colder than the souls of those daft enough to turn up, Phil and I were in a jovial mood and enjoyed the ‘fun’ conditions. Our first race of the year, so we warmed up into it to aim for a negative split and used the cross-tailwind final few miles to give it the beans. Thanks to North Shropshire Wheelers for their warm reception and organisation as always“! Birch added: “Despite the conditions, Ollie and I thoroughly enjoyed our first race of the season. Good communication meant that we managed to pace our effort reasonably well over the course and we were very pleased to sneak into second spot. Many thanks to North Shropshire Wheelers  for another friendly, well organised event“.

Yet another new pairing struck immediate dividends with experienced Hafren CC riders Emma Sarjeant and Mark Hill making their first entry into the Mixed Team category. Sarjeant took Bronze in last year’s Women’s Championship whilst Hill finished 4th in the Overall standings, but their 24:59 ride saw the pair take the Mixed Team win and promises good things for the rest of the Series. Sarjeant stated: “It was so cold! I had a bad start as I struggled to clip in because I couldn’t feel my feet from the cold, but I soon settled into it. Mark and I worked well together. I was pleased with our result given that it was our first 2-Up together, hopefully lots of room for improvement. Thank you to all the marshals for standing out in the cold wind“.

Hill meanwhile had plenty of praise for his new riding partner, adding: “A pity about the weather  – it was grim. The warm up was bad enough with sleet and standing water across the road! I’d not ridden with Emma before and was impressed with her power and determination. By mile seven my arms and fingers had gone so cold they were very painful. On the first turn off the main road we turned into the headwind and fought hard to keep our pace up. Crossing the finish was a relief! Many thanks to North Shropshire Wheelers for the event“.

Serjeant wasn’t the only woman posting an impressive time with another Nova pairing Jenny Newton and Jane Chapman setting out to defend the Women’s Championship they have held for the last two years. With the weather putting off anticipated competition Newton and Chapman could have had an easy time of it – but couldn’t help themselves as Newton explained after recording a time of 28:03: “Cold, wet, windy – I couldn’t feel my fingers on the start line! As the only Women’s team we thought we’d just go steady and enjoy it – it turns out neither of us can do that we beat last year’s time! It’s great to have some early points, a big thanks to all involved for putting race on in horrible conditions“. Chapman added: “Interesting start to the 2-Up – cold ,wet and windy but we kept on smiling through it. Big thank you to the organisers and marshals, they must have been so cold“.

Coaching Revolutions 2-Up Series – Round 1

Overall

Mixed Team

Women’s Team