Planned 19 truncated to 10 miles due to road works

The rescheduled Oswestry Paragon CC Hilly 19 fell victim to the blight of traffic lights on the course for the second time this season, and with available light fading for a re-run a truncated 10 mile event took place instead, comprising Round 10 of the SB Sport Injuries Series. Riders were clearly disappointed at missing the opportunity to tackle the tricky 19 miler, but that didn’t stop some great rides on a sunny evening, with Tomos Hales taking a solid win and extending his lead at the top of the standings. Hales stopped the watch on 21 minutes 18 seconds, 1:32 ahead of his nearest challenger in a dominant display on the rolling Queen’s Head to Gobowen course, and with five events left in the Series now has a lead of 72 points, putting the prize on the horizon. He stated: “It was gutting that the Hilly 19 was cut short due to traffic lights, I had my bigger cassette on ready. However we did the normal 10 mile course which I hadn’t done for a few years. It was a lot lumpier than I remember. Overall it was a good night, and Oswestry are a great club who put on great events – thanks to all involved”.

Taking the runner-up spot was Paramount’s Chris Riley with a good effort of 22:50, with the 18 points earned moving him up to joint second in the Overall SB Series level with Jonathan Mills-Keeling. Riley also took the Veteran’s win and extended his lead in this Series with a fine +4:28, edging out chasing Oswestry Paragon pair Helen Tudor and Rob Kerr, split by just a second on Standard with Tudor edging it in +3:18. Riley commented: “A real shame the 19 mile course wasn’t free of lights; I was looking forward to mushing a big gear over that hill and back from Ellesmere. It was a smashing evening otherwise and a lovely crowd taking part – many thanks Oswestry Paragon”.

Kerr took third spot Overall in 23:30 to see off the attentions of club mate Adam Riley by 42 seconds in his first appearance of the season, tinkering with a different setup on a new bike which appears to have worked, as he explained: “I was pleased with the result as well as being the first Oswestry Paragon finisher. It wasn’t a fast night and I didn’t expect to ride well as it was touch and go getting there for the start due to finishing work late. I’m glad I made it though – last month I finally took the plunge and purchased a Giant Trinity, which initially made me go slower than my old 13 year-old time trial bike, so I was keen to take any opportunity to get up to speed on it and get used to a new riding position”.

Tudor extended her lead in the SB Women’s Series to 42 points after pushing out club mate Vikki Jones in a head-to-head contest, with Tudor taking the Women’s win in 26:30 by 1:07. This was a rare outing on her own club’s 10 mile course as she is usually officiating, and she was rewarded with a course best on a less than perfect evening. Like many, her initial comments regarded the road works: “A shame the curse of the traffic lights hit again and stopped us running the 19. I don’t normally ride our club event, but was pleased with my ride and managed a course best”.

With no Juniors in competition Wrekinsport’s Ben Southgate can no longer be caught and took SB Junior Gold following this event. When told he commented: “I’m very happy that I have taken Gold, now I want to focus on training”.

Result:

Pos’n Name Club Cat Time Points
1 Tomos Hales Wrekinsport CC S 21:18 20
2 Chris Riley Paramount CRT V 22:50 18
3 Rob Kerr Oswestry Paragon CC V 23:30 16
4 Adam Riley Oswestry Paragon CC V 24:12 14
5 Neil Coles Oswestry Paragon CC V 24:34 12
6 Jack Young Oswestry Paragon CC S 24:44 10
7 Simon Evans Mid Shropshire Wheelers V 25:01 8
8 Andrew Davies Oswestry Paragon CC V 25:05 6
9 Helen Tudor Oswestry Paragon CC WV 26:30 4
10 Peter Everett Oswestry Paragon CC S 26:49 2
11 Darrell Walsh Oswestry Paragon CC V 27:01 2
12 Bruce Selby Oswestry Paragon CC V 27:13 2
13 Tony Parry Cyclo Cymru V 27:16 .
14 Mark Stocks Newport Shropshire CC V 27:21 2
15 Vikki Jones Oswestry Paragon CC WV 27:37 2
16 Alastair Woods Oswestry Paragon CC V 27:42 2
17 Stephen Davies Oswestry Paragon CC V 28:16 2
18 Alun Owen Oswestry Paragon CC V 30:36 2
19 John Rowlands Wrekinsport CC V 33:53 2

Veterans:

Vets Pos’n Name Club Cat Vet +/- Vets Points
1 Chris Riley Paramount CRT V +4:28 20
2 Helen Tudor Oswestry Paragon CC WV +3:18 18
3 Neil Coles Oswestry Paragon CC V +3:17 16
4 Andrew Davies Oswestry Paragon CC V +2:46 14
5 Rob Kerr Oswestry Paragon CC V +2:40 12
6 Adam Riley Oswestry Paragon CC V +2:34 10
7 Simon Evans Mid Shropshire Wheelers V +2:23 8
8 Tony Parry Cyclo Cymru V +1:33 .
9 Vikki Jones Oswestry Paragon CC WV +1:25 6
10 Bruce Selby Oswestry Paragon CC V +1:09 4
11 Mark Stocks Newport Shropshire CC V +0:09 2
12 Alastair Woods Oswestry Paragon CC V -0:12 2
13 Darrell Walsh Oswestry Paragon CC V -0:25 2
14 Stephen Davies Oswestry Paragon CC V -0:39 2
15 Alun Owen Oswestry Paragon CC V -1:28 2
16 John Rowlands Wrekinsport CC V -3:33 2

Women:

Women’s Pos’n Name Club Cat Time Women’s Points
1 Helen Tudor Oswestry Paragon CC WV 26:30 20
2 Vikki Jones Oswestry Paragon CC WV 27:37 18

Cumulative Standings after ten rounds

Overall

Position Name Club Cat Best 12
1 Tomos Hales Wrekinsport CC S 162
=2 Chris Riley Paramount CRT V 90
=2 Jonathan Mills-Keeling Bridgnorth CC V 90
4 Ben Southgate Wrekinsport CC J 78
5 Dean Callister Revolutions Racing S 74
6 Phil Roberts Wrekinsport CC S 56
7 Mark Stocks Newport Shropshire CC V 34
8 Rich Smith Wrekinsport CC V 30
9 Ashley Kirkham Wrekinsport CC V 28
=10 Ben Wood Wrekinsport CC S 26
=10 George Coombes SCCA S 26
=10 Helen Tudor Oswestry Paragon WV 26
=10 Rob McGregor Paramount CRT S 26

Veterans

Position Name Club Cat Best 12
1 Chris Riley Paramount CRT V 124
2 Jonathan Mills-Keeling Bridgnorth CC V 100
3 Helen Tudor Oswestry Paragon WV 86
4 Mark Stocks Newport Shropshire CC V 74
5 Deb Hutson-Lumb Wrekinsport CC WV 50
6 Rich Smith Wrekinsport CC V 48
7 Les Boughey North Shropshire Wheelers V 46
=8 Ashley Kirkham Wrekinsport CC V 42
=8 Jan Davies Hafren CC WV 42
10 Mark Hill Hafren CC V 30

Women

Position Name Club Cat Best 12
1 Helen Tudor Oswestry Paragon CC WV 100
2 Deb Hutson-Lumb Wrekinsport CC WV 58
3 Jan Davies Hafren CC WV 52
4 Kathryn Rossiter North Shropshire Wheelers WV 24
=5 Hayley Wells Paramount CRT W 20
=5 Thea Osmund-Smith Paramount CRT W 20
7 Vikki Jones Oswestry Paragon CC WV 18
8 Jess Bufton Hafren CC WJ 16

Juniors

Position Name Club Cat Best 12
1 Ben Southgate Wrekinsport CC J 126
2 Jess Bufton Hafren CC WJ 20
3 Chester Romei Paramount CRT J 18