Oswestry Paragon CC 25

A bike tweak made all the difference to Matt Davies as he took the win by over two minutes in Round 13 of the Friction Hydraulics Series, Oswestry Paragon’s 25. Originally scheduled as a 10 the event was reformatted following a truncation of the earlier Hafren CC round, giving many riders a first chance to test themselves on the best local surface available between Berriew and Four Crosses.

Davies has been runner-up in all three previous rounds he has entered as he continues his comeback, but here went one better with an excellent time of 53 minutes 47 seconds. However with a roaring tailwind pushing riders to the turn and a gale to fight his way back through judging effort was not easy as Davies explained: “I had a great ride in a newish position. I found it difficult to pace with the massive tail wind on the way out, then trying not to overcook it before the return leg although I was running on fumes by the end. I am so pleased to have won out of the county riders. The team from Oswestry Paragon CC put on a really great event on a very fast course“.

Davies’ closest challenge came from 18 year-old Junior Kieran Morris, who took both Overall runner-up spot and the Junior win by a second under 56 minutes. Morris opened up his Friction Junior lead to 80 points and moved up to 7th in the Overall standings on the strength of his ride despite a hold up on a course he has found difficult to adapt to. He stated: “I aimed to hit it harder than last time. I was going well but unfortunately got held up at Arddleen to Four Crosses and this played with my mind for rest of ride. I couldn’t get comfortable. Well done to Matt on his ride. Thank you to organisers, marshals and everyone involved. I’m finally starting to like this course“.

Morris wasn’t the only rider cursing his luck, although Friction Sries leader Ian Nisbett’s hold up wasn’t for traffic but a mechanical which saw him stuck at the side of the road desperately trying to untangle his chain. Despite this hold up the Hafren CC rider used local knowledge to good effect and still finished third Overall in 57:03 to stretch his lead at the top of the standings. He wasn’t finished their either as he retained his lead of the Friction Veterans Championship after taking 4th spot with a Standard +10:13, with Nova raiders’ Dean Dovey finishing one place higher in +11:06 reducing Nisbett’s advantage to just 10 points in a fierce battle for supremacy. Nisbett explained: “I should have been on a low ’55’ and a course PB. Unfortunately my chain came off on the fastest part of the course. I lost two minutes on the side of the road untangling the mess and getting it back on. I tried to settle in and recover from there but had to limit gear changing in case it went again. Very frustrating – but pleased to get to finish and surprised to still get third“.

Nisbett and Dovey are looking over their shoulders as Deb Hutson-Lumb continues to make inroads into their advantage in the Veteran’s Series with her 6th win in this Championship with a fine +14:06 to see off a strong challenge from Tony Harvey. The Nova Raider again doubled-up with a fabulous win in the Women’s Championship too, stopping the watch on 1:00:38 for a big Course personal best, 33 seconds ahead of Hafren CC’s Emma Serjeant. Like Nisbett she also had mechanical issues but was spurred on by an amusing incident during the race, as she explained: “With over a minute off my PB for the course I was really pleased with the ride. I had ‘fun’ with jumping gears, which I now know was due to a bent rear mech hanger, and the cross wind was very scary on the exposed sections. The best bit of the ride was when a box of Budweiser appeared out of the passenger window of a passing car – like a carrot to a donkey. I’ve never laughed in the final three miles of a 25 before! If it had been a bottle of New Zealand red I may well have been motivated enough for a sub hour. A great event, and thanks to everyone involved“.

Harvey also set a Course PB of 58:19, which when converted to Veteran’s Standard saw him take Veteran’s Runner-up with +11:25, moving him into the Veteran’s Top 10 for the first time in 7th place. He gave his all, suffering as many in the final few miles into the teeth of the wind but was pleased with his efforts, commenting: “I paced it really well, I thought I might sneak a ’57’, but those last few miles took their toll. A Course PB though“!

Result

Friction and Hydraulic Services Shropshire Championship Points Series – Round 13

Pos’n Name Club Cat Time Points
1 Matthew Davies Holohan Coaching RT S 0:53:47 60
2 Kieran Morris SCCA Private Member J 0:55:59 55
3 Ian Nisbett Hafren CC V 0:57:03 50
4 Dean Dovey Nova Raiders V 0:57:45 45
5 Jack Morris Oswestry Paragon CC S 0:57:56 40
6 Henri Bedford Revolutions Racing J 0:58:04 35
7 Tony Harvey Mid Shropshire Wheelers V 0:58:19 30
8 William Baugh Ludlow CC V 0:59:55 25
9 James Neale North Shropshire Wheelers S 1:00:19 20
10 Deb Hutson-Lumb Nova Raiders WV 1:00:38 15
11 Emma Serjeant Hafren CC W 1:01:11 10
12 Gareth Brookes North Shropshire Wheelers V 1:02:08 5
13 Jason Arnold Hafren CC V 1:03:03 5
14 Simon Evans Mid Shropshire Wheelers V 1:03:18 5
15 Neil Coles Oswestry Paragon CC V 1:03:42 5
16 Simon Brown Ludlow Brewery Race Team V 1:04:59 5
17 Les Boughey North Shropshire Wheelers V 1:06:48 5
18 David Gostelow Wrekinsport CC V 1:06:51 5
19 Helen Tudor Oswestry Paragon CC WV 1:07:49 5
20 Bob Elliott Wrekinsport CC V 1:08:07 5
21 Mark Stocks Newport (Shropshire) CC V 1:09:15 5
  Bryn Davies Hafren CC V DNS-A  
  Dave York Mid Shropshire Wheelers V DNS-A  
  Jenny York Mid Shropshire Wheelers WV DNS-A  
  Jenny Newton Nova Raiders WV DNS-A  
  Stephen Humphreys Oswestry Paragon CC V DNS-A  
  Gino Trasatti North Shropshire Wheelers V DNS  
  Ed Middleton Nova Raiders V DNS  
  Rob Kerr Oswestry Paragon CC V DNS  
  Ronald Perks Wrekinsport CC V DNS  

Friction and Hydraulic Services Veterans Championship – Round 13

Vets Pos’n Name Club Cat Vet +/- Vets Points
1 Deb Hutson-Lumb Nova Raiders WV +14:06 60
2 Tony Harvey Mid Shropshire Wheelers V +11:25 55
3 Dean Dovey Nova Raiders V +11:06 50
4 Ian Nisbett Hafren CC V +10:13 45
5 William Baugh Ludlow CC V +8:20 40
6 Gareth Brookes North Shropshire Wheelers V +6:07 35
7 Helen Tudor Oswestry Paragon CC WV +6:02 30
8 Neil Coles Oswestry Paragon CC V +5:34 25
9 Simon Evans Mid Shropshire Wheelers V +5:08 20
10 Bob Elliott Wrekinsport CC V +4:44 15
11 Jason Arnold Hafren CC V +4:25 10
12 David Gostelow Wrekinsport CC V +3:39 5
13 Simon Brown Ludlow Brewery Race Team V +2:52 5
14 Les Boughey North Shropshire Wheelers V +2:28 5
15 Mark Stocks Newport (Shropshire) CC V -0:37 5

Friction and Hydraulic Services Women’s Championship – Round 13

Women’s Pos’n Name Club Cat Time Women’s Points
1 Deb Hutson-Lumb Nova Raiders WV 1:00:38 60
2 Emma Serjeant Hafren CC W 1:01:11 55
3 Helen Tudor Oswestry Paragon CC WV 1:07:49 50
  Jenny York Mid Shropshire Wheelers WV DNS-A  
  Jenny Newton Nova Raiders WV DNS-A  

Friction and Hydraulic Services Junior Championship – Round 13

Junior Pos’n Name Club Cat Time Junior Points
1 Kieran Morris SCCA Private Member J 0:55:59 60
2 Henri Bedford Revolutions Racing J 0:58:04 55

Top Club Award – Round 13

Pos’n Club Points
1 Hafren CC 65
=2 Holohan Coaching RT 60
=2 Nova Raiders 60
4 Oswestry Paragon CC 50
=5 Mid Shropshire Wheelers 35
=5 Revolutions Racing 35
7 North Shropshire Wheelers 30
8 Ludlow CC 25
9 Wrekinsport CC 10
=10 Ludlow Brewery Race Team 5
=10 Newport (Shropshire) CC 5

Cumulative Standings after thirteen rounds

Friction and Hydraulic Services Shropshire Championship Points Series

Position Name Club Cat Best 12
1 Ian Nisbett Hafren CC V 560
2 Victor Chetta Mid Shropshire Wheelers V 445
=3 Bryn Davies Hafren CC V 385
=3 Dean Dovey Nova Raiders V 385
5 Kirk Vickers Holohan Coaching RT S 305
6 Matt Davies Holohan Coaching RT S 285
7 Kieran Morris SCCA Private Member J 260
8 Chris Halford Wrekinsport CC V 210
9 Dean Callister Nova Raiders S 200
10 Ed Middleton Nova Raiders S 190

Friction and Hydraulic Services Veterans Championship

Position Name Club Best 12
1 Ian Nisbett Hafren CC 570
2 Dean Dovey Nova Raiders 560
3 Deb Hutson-Lumb Nova Raiders 525
4 Victor Chetta Mid Shropshire Wheelers 410
5 Bryn Davies Hafren CC 360
6 Chris Halford Wrekinsport CC 220
7 Tony Harvey Mid Shropshire Wheelers 180
8 William Baugh Ludlow CC 170
=9 Gareth Brookes North Shropshire Wheelers 160
=9 Helen Tudor Oswestry Paragon CC 160

Friction and Hydraulic Services Women’s Championship

Women’s Pos’n Name Club Best 12
1 Deb Hutson-Lumb Nova Raiders 535
2 Helen Tudor Oswestry Paragon CC 410
3 Charlotte Chapman Nova Raiders 355
4 Emma Serjeant Hafren CC 335
5 Jenny Newton Nova Raiders 200
6 Alison Dockney SCCA Private Member 105
7 Jenny York Mid Shropshire Wheelers 100
8 Natalie Brooks Paramount CRT 95
9 Jane Chapman Nova Raiders 80
=10 Elaine Langley North Shropshire Wheelers 45
=10 Louise Downward Hafren CC 45
=10 Milly Deer North Shropshire Wheelers 45

Friction and Hydraulic Services Junior Championship

Junior Pos’n Name Club Best 12
1 Kieran Morris SCCA Private Member 415
2 Henri Bedford Revolutions Racing 335
3 Sam Holwill Hafren CC 110
4 George Mills-Keeling Cycle Club Bridgnorth RWG 60
5 George Coombes Evolve 55
6 Alex Hart Mid Shropshire Wheelers 45
7 Rebecca Woodvine Mid Shropshire Wheelers 40
8 Charlie Price Mid Shropshire Wheelers 35

Top Club Award

Position Club Total Points
1 Nova Raiders 1245
2 Hafren CC 1115
3 Mid Shropshire Wheelers 690
4 Holohan Coaching RT 650
5 North Shropshire Wheelers 540
6 Wrekinsport CC 525
7 Ludlow Brewery RT 280
8 Revolutions Racing 235
9 Oswestry Paragon CC 195
10 Ludlow CC 150
11 Clee Cycles 80
12 Newport Shropshire CC 70
13 Cycle Club Bridgnorth RWG 65
14 Paramount CRT 40
15 Evolve 5