Round 13 of The Friction Hydraulics Series proved unpopular with County riders, taking place the morning after Round 12 and attracting just five entries from Shropshire riders – only four of whom started. A rare outing for the once heavily-used Prees–Tern Hill–Hodnet 25 mile course meant that finishers were guaranteed big points in the Birkenhead North End 25 – with Tim Beardmore making hay whilst the sun shone to extend his lead at the top of both the Friction Series and the Friction Veterans Series.

Beardmore took the win in a stunning 53 minutes 19 seconds, a victory of over eight minutes clearly showing he is on form in spite of a double-header weekend. This added a further 60 points to his Overall Friction Series lead – but only 55 to his Veteran’s Series lead after being pushed out by Deb Hutson-Lumb on age-related Standard. He stated: “I went out pretty steady as I could feel the previous days time trial in my legs. I pushed hard on the drags and tried to recover a bit where possible. The course felt fast on the day, and I seemed to pace it really well. Super happy to take the overall win; thanks to all at Birkenhead North End for organising”.

Hutson-Lumb took the Overall runners-up spot in 1:01:33, but came out on top in the Veteran’s Series with her +15:04 just pushing Beardmore out by 13 seconds. She also added another 60 points to her Friction women’s Series lead in a good morning for the Wrekinsport rider despite suffering from hay fever. She commented: “I rode a very conservatively paced 25 as still battling with the high pollen. I had too much left in the tank at the end, but pleased with my time – many thanks to BNECC for organising”.

Just four seconds took third spot as Hafren CC’s Simon Jones just pushed out North Shropshire Wheelers’ Les Boughey with a fine 1:05:19. Unusually the A41 was quiet and Jones took full advantage of the rare chance to ride this course, stating: “It went well. The early start helped with the traffic being quite quiet; and better than when part of it was used on the 50 last year”. Boughey meanwhile was delighted to take advantage of the glorious conditions and ended up celebrating his second fastest ever ride at the distance, showing that age doesn’t have to be a barrier: “With light winds and feeling good after the Battlefield 25 I set off hard and held on all the way with my second fastest 25 ever – even at 60”!

Friction and Hydraulic Services Shropshire Championship Points Series – Round 13

Position Forename Surname Club Cat Time Points
1 Tim Beardmore Bridgnorth Cycling Club V 53:19 60
2 Deb Hutson-Lumb Wrekinsport CC WV 1:01:33 55
3 Simon Jones Hafren CC V 1:05:19 50
4 Les Boughey North Shropshire Wheelers V 1:05:23 45
. Terry Price North Shropshire Wheelers V DNS .

Friction and Hydraulic Services Veterans Championship – Round 13

Vets Pos’n Forename Surname Club Cat Vet +/- Vets Points
1 Deb Hutson-Lumb Wrekinsport CC WV +15:04 60
2 Tim Beardmore Bridgnorth Cycling Club V +14:51 55
3 Les Boughey North Shropshire Wheelers V +5:09 50
4 Simon Jones Hafren CC V +2:00 45

Friction and Hydraulic Services Women’s Championship – Round 13

Women’s Pos’n Forename Surname Club Cat Time Women’s Points
1 Deb Hutson-Lumb Wrekinsport CC WV 1:01:33 60

Top Club Award – Round 13

Position Club Points
1 Bridgnorth Cycling Club 60
2 Wrekinsport CC 55
3 Hafren CC 50
4 North Shropshire Wheelers 45

Cumulative Standings after thirteen rounds

Friction and Hydraulic Services Shropshire Championship Points Series

Position Name Club Cat Best 12
1 Tim Beardmore Bridgnorth Cycling Club V 685
2 Jonathan Mills-Keeling Bridgnorth Cycling Club V 455
3 Tomos Hales Wrekinsport CC S 310
4 James Neale North Shropshire Wheelers V 295
=5 Christopher Riley Paramount CRT V 235
=5 Deb Hutson-Lumb Wrekinsport CC WV 235
7 Paul Duncan Mid Shropshire Wheelers V 215
8 Robbie Disney Ludlow CC S 205
9 Victor Chetta Mid Shropshire Wheelers V 190
10 Dean Callister Revolutions Racing S 180

Friction and Hydraulic Services Veterans Championship

Vets Position Name Club Best 12
1 Tim Beardmore Bridgnorth Cycling Club 700
2 Deb Hutson-Lumb Wrekinsport CC 485
3 Jonathan Mills-Keeling Bridgnorth Cycling Club 465
4 Christopher Riley Paramount CRT 290
5 James Neale North Shropshire Wheelers 275
6 Helen Tudor Oswestry Paragon CC 245
7 John Westhead Paramount CRT 215
8 Paul Duncan Mid Shropshire Wheelers 210
9 Victor Chetta Mid Shropshire Wheelers 175
10 Bryn Davies Hafren CC 165

Friction and Hydraulic Services Women’s Championship

Women’s Pos’n Name Club Best 12
1 Deb Hutson-Lumb Wrekinsport CC 490
2 Helen Tudor Oswestry Paragon CC 405
3 Hayley Wells Paramount CRT 295
4 Victoria Doran Wrekinsport CC 160
5 Linda Beckett North Shropshire Wheelers 155
6 Bethan Till Wrekinsport CC 115
7 Catherine Coley Bridgnorth CC 60
8 Thea Osmund-Smith Paramount CRT 55
9 Helen Blake Wrekinsport CC 50
10 Jayne Powell Paramount CRT 45

Friction and Hydraulic Services Junior Championship

Junior Pos’n Name Club Best 12
1 Chester Romei Paramount CRT 120
2 Ben Southgate Wrekinsport CC 115
3 Tristan Harvey Ludlow CC 60

Top Club Award

Position Club Total Points
1 Bridgnorth Cycling Club 1215
2 Wrekinsport CC 1050
3 Paramount CRT 875
4 Mid Shropshire Wheelers 565
5 North Shropshire Wheelers 455
6 Hafren CC 325
7 Ludlow CC 300
8 Oswestry Paragon CC 200
9 Revolutions Racing 180