The prettiest – and toughest 10 mile circuit in Shropshire was the setting for Tomos Hales to finally take the SB Sports Injuries title thanks to a nine second victory in Round 11, the Ludlow Scenic 10. The extra two points gained for taking top place were the margin by which the Wrekinsport rider can no longer be caught after charging around this most technical and plain outright fun Long Meadowend – Purslow – Hoptonheath – Clungunford circuit; which routinely sees riders 2-3 minutes off their standard on any other 10 mile course. Hales stopped the watch on 23 minutes 56 seconds, coping best with the regular changes of gear, cadence, pace and direction on a course infamous for its many swoops and turns. He commented: “I do really enjoy the Scenic 10; it is a course where you have to put a lot of efforts in with some fast flowing corners. I’m happy to seal the SB Series with a win too – thanks to Ludlow CC for hosting and putting on the event”.

Hales’ nearest challenge came from Ludlow Brewery rider Jack Wilson, who crossed the line in 24:05 for the runner-up spot. But he went one better in the SB Veterans race as after the age adjusted Standards had been applied he beat Veterans Series leader Chris Riley into second place by five seconds with a fine +2:01. Beating Standard on this course is the mark of a solid over-40’s rider, and Wilson was pleased with his efforts on a beautiful evening, stating: “I was happy with the Veterans win! This is one of my favourite time trial courses, and I was not far off my personal best around there”.

Taking the final podium spot with a rare outing on a time trial bike and the honours for the promoting club was Robbie Disney, setting a good time of 24:45 to push Revolutions Racing’s Mark Pritchard out by 19 seconds. Disney is more normally spotted competing on a road bike but here chose to ride father Dover’s old time trial bike. He did not have the best preparation for the race however; and perhaps unwisely had a sub-optimal gear choice to contend with, as he explained: “I’d had a tough day so I wasn’t feeling up for it, but it actually felt pretty good when racing. This was only my second proper time on my dad’s time trial bike that I have just built back up for me to use. Given how tired I was I think I measured my effort well, but maybe it’s not the kind of course to use a 60 tooth chain ring on…”

Riley extended his SB Veteran’s Series lead to 42 points thanks to that runner-up spot with +1:56, but it was a close call as he only beat another Ludlow Brewery rider Steve Minton by a single second. Disney wasn’t the only rider feeling tired however as Riley had heavy legs from previous flat out racing efforts, but clearly enjoyed his trip south: “I used all of my reserves during the previous week’s 4-Up fun. But what’s not to like on the most scenic 10 course in Shropshire. I really enjoyed the friendly event on a brilliant circuit – many thanks to Ludlow CC”.

Result:

Pos’n Name Club Cat Time Points
1 Tomos Hales Wrekinsport CC S 23.56 20
2 Jack Wilson Ludlow Brewery RT V 24.05 18
3 Robbie Disney Ludlow CC S 24.45 16
4 Mark Pritchard Revolutions Racing S 25.04 14
5 Steve Minton Ludlow Brewery RT V 25.12 12
6 Chris Riley Paramount CRT V 25.22 10
7 Dan Cutting Ludlow CC V 25.45 8
8 Ian Connolly Ludlow CC V 27.02 6
9 Anthony Corbett Solihull CC V 27.08 .
10 Will Baugh Ludlow CC V 28.57 4
11 Ashley Kirkham Wrekinsport CC V 30.31 2
12 Mark Stocks Newport Shropshire CC V 30.52 2

Veterans:

Vets Pos’n Name Club Cat Vet +/- Vets Points
1 Jack Wilson Ludlow Brewery RT V +2:01 20
2 Chris Riley Paramount CRT V +1:56 18
3 Steve Minton Ludlow Brewery RT V +1:55 16
4 Dan Cutting Ludlow CC V +0:42 14
5 Ian Connolly Ludlow CC V +0:10 12
6 Anthony Corbett Solihull CC V -1:02 .
7 Will Baugh Ludlow CC V -1:33 10
8 Mark Stocks Newport Shropshire CC V -3:22 8
9 Ashley Kirkham Wrekinsport CC V -3:59 6

Cumulative Standings after eleven rounds

Overall

Position Name Club Cat Best 12
1 Tomos Hales Wrekinsport CC S 182
2 Chris Riley Paramount CRT V 100
3 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 Jack Wilson Ludlow Brewery RT V 36
=7 Mark Stocks Newport Shropshire CC V 36
9 Robbie Disney Ludlow CC S 32
=10 Ashley Kirkham Wrekinsport CC V 30
=10 Rich Smith Wrekinsport CC V 30

Veterans

Position Name Club Cat Best 12
1 Chris Riley Paramount CRT V 142
2 Jonathan Mills-Keeling Bridgnorth CC V 100
3 Helen Tudor Oswestry Paragon WV 86
4 Mark Stocks Newport Shropshire CC V 82
5 Deb Hutson-Lumb Wrekinsport CC WV 50
=6 Ashley Kirkham Wrekinsport CC V 48
=6 Rich Smith Wrekinsport CC V 48
8 Les Boughey North Shropshire Wheelers V 46
9 Jan Davies Hafren CC WV 42
10 Jack Wilson Ludlow Brewery RT V 36

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