R16 Friction Hydraulics Series: West Cheshire TTCA 25

It’s all to play for in the 17th and final round of the Friction Hydraulics Series as the top three are split by just 10 points following Round 16, the West Cheshire TTCA 25. Hayley Wells clings onto the overall Friction Series lead by just five points as Rob McGregor moved up to second to displace Tomos Hales, again by five points. All three are guaranteed a medal at the end of August, but this is the tightest battle for years and going right down to the wire.

The County win came from Simon Romei on the Tern Hill – Shawbirch – Lostford course in an early morning event blessed by cooler weather than of late. Romei stopped the watch on 54 minutes 50 seconds to see off the attentions of Paramount team mate McGregor, who is on a stunning run of form. But Romei wasn’t finished there as he also took the Veterans win with +12:30, 52 seconds ahead of Hafren CC’s Bryn Davies. Romei was pleased with his morning’s work, stating: “Super happy to have secured County Winner and Vet Winner in the WCTTCA 25. It felt tough on the outward leg as the wind direction was mixed with a lot of crosswinds, and it didn’t feel to much quicker on the return leg, so I just made sure I was keeping super aero and maintaining a good speed. Big thanks to the organisers and time keepers for a organising a great safe race, I do really enjoy this course”.

McGregor crossed the finish line in 56:01, 39 seconds ahead of Davies as he makes a late charge for the Friction Hydraulics title in a superb season. Like Romei, he found conditions challenging, with crosswinds sometimes sapping strength all around a course. He commented: “I really enjoy the D25/23T course, and it can be fast on the right day. However, conditions didn’t feel favourable: I was expecting a tailwind out and a headwind return; but in reality it felt like more of a crosswind, and I had to adjust my pacing on the fly. I was happy with my ride, and really pleased with taking the runner-up spot. It was great to see such a large number of competitors at the HQ, with lots of them staying for tea and cake afterwards; it made for a great atmosphere – thanks to everyone who helped to put the event on”.

Davies has put in some solid performances as well after a little time away from the spot for injury, but as a former Friction Hydraulics Series winner in both 2017 and 2018 knows how to dig deep despite not riding the 25 mile distance much in 2026: “A very well organised event and a great turnout, thanks to everyone involved. I thought it felt quite draggy going out, and I struggled to get into a rhythm initially, my legs weren’t really feeling it. Once I got going and got into a rhythm it was much more enjoyable. Having only ridden one other 25 mile event this season I didn’t quite get the pacing right, but was happy enough with the time and position”.

Wells did enough to maintain her overall Friction Series lead; just, with a fine time of 58:01, which also took the Friction Female Series win from Thea Osmund-Smith in 1:03:19. If one rider only could be chosen for having a stellar season it would be Wells; but matching several comments regarding a nagging westerly crosswind it was only with the turn onto the Hodnet bypass that things became any easier: “One of those days where the wind felt it was never much assistance! I felt like I had a decent out leg to Shawbirch, however by 30km I was starting to drop off the pace. A welcomed tailwind for around 1km off Hodnet helped; then it was a case of holding on till the end! It was a wonderful morning of racing with a great turnout of riders, many thanks to all”.

Three medals were sealed following this event, with two in the Friction Road Bike Series and one in the Friction Veterans Series – with Stuart Proctor taking two of them. Proctor took Road Bike Gold with a handicap time of 54:57 to score the maximum 60 points for the win on the day, and can no longer be caught by Jon Goh, the reigning champion. He also did enough to seal Veterans Silver after taking third spot on the day with +11:03, consigning John Westhead to Bronze – even though he chose to ride his time trial bike on the day. Proctor was delighted to finally encounter slightly cooler conditions than of late, commenting: “After seemingly months of living and riding in a fan oven, it was a pleasure to finally get back to some traditional British summer weather! As usual I wasn’t sure how ready I was for this one, but by the time I got to Espley roundabout I was feeling ‘on it’! My initial target was to stay away from my minute man, Chris Riley, until at least Shawbirch, and then back to Espley, which I managed, so I knew it was going to be a good day. Even so, I was more than happy to see the finish line just off the A53, and chuffed to get my quickest 25 of the year. Cheers as ever to all at WCTTCA for a great event”!

When told he had taken Road Bike Bronze, Westhead’s immediate reaction was one of shock: “Surprised! I haven’t seen the latest positions and can’t make the last event, so I wasn’t sure whether I was still in Bronze or whether I could be overtaken. It’s very pleasing though as I don’t tend to ride the hilly or longer events, so it wasn’t a target, and is an excellent bonus to my season”.

SCCA:

Pos’n	Forename	Surname	Club	Cat	Machine	Time	Points
1	Simon	Romei	Paramount CRT	V	TT	54:50	60
2	Robert	McGregor	Paramount CRT	S	TT	56:01	55
3	Bryn	Davies	Hafren CC	V	TT	56:40	50
4	Phil	Collins	Aerologic RT	V	TT	57:15	45
5	Jonathan	Mills-Keeling	Aerologic RT	V	TT	57:42	40
6	Hayley	Wells	Aerologic RT	F	TT	58:01	35
7	Stuart	Proctor	Dave Scott Coaching	V	RB	59:05	30
8	Christopher	Riley	Paramount CRT	V	TT	59:35	25
9	Mark	Hill	Hafren CC	V	TT	1:00:21	20
10	Jonathan	Goh	Paramount CRT	V	RB	1:00:33	15
11	James	Neale	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	RB	1:01:05	10
12	Robert	Garbett	SCCA Private Member	V	TT	1:02:04	5
13	Richard	Simpson	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	RB	1:03:12	5
14	Thea	Osmund-Smith	Paramount CRT	FV	TT	1:03:19	5
15	Ian	Connolly	Ludlow CC	V	TT	1:03:24	5
16	Nathaniel	Brown	North Shropshire Wheelers	S	TT	1:03:56	5
17	John	Westhead	Paramount CRT	V	TT	1:04:58	5
18	Alex	Paulukiewicz	North Shropshire Wheelers	S	TT	1:05:07	5
19	Jamie	Rossiter	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	TT	1:07:54	5
20	Jan	Davies	Hafren CC	FV	TT	1:08:54	5
21	David	Drew	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	TT	1:09:05	5
22	Simon	Jones	Hafren CC	V	TT	1:09:38	5
23	Les	Boughey	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	TT	1:09:39	5
24	Aaron	Evans	North Shropshire Wheelers	S	TT	1:09:52	5
25	Kathryn	Rossiter	North Shropshire Wheelers	FV	TT	1:10:47	5
26	Helen	Tudor	Oswestry Paragon CC	FV	TT	1:11:14	5
27	Colin	Wells	Paramount CRT	V	TT	1:11:59	5
28	Keith	Broadbent	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	TT	1:12:10	5
29	Tony	Forster	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	TT	1:13:17	5
30	Ellie	Langley	North Shropshire Wheelers	F	TT	1:14:36	5
31	Terry	Price	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	TT	1:15:00	5
32	David	Wilson	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	TT	1:15:10	5
33	Ashley	Kirkham	Wrekinsport CC	V	TT	1:15:43	5
34	Elaine	Beckett	North Shropshire Wheelers	FV	TT	1:18:11	5
35	John	Etherington	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	RB	1:29:07	5
.	Phil	Guy	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	TT	DNF	.
.	Andrew	Clarke	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	RB	DNS	.
.	Andrew	Dawson	Paramount CRT	V	RB	DNS	.
.	Matthew	Price	Wrekinsport CC	V	TT	DNS	.
.	Mark	Fenn	Shropshire CCA 1st Claim	V	RB	DNS	.
.	Clive	Middleton	Aerologic RT	V	TT	DNS	.

Veterans:

Vets Pos’n	Forename	Surname	Club	Cat	Machine	Vet +/-	Vets Points
1	Simon	Romei	Paramount CRT	V	TT	+12:30	60
2	Bryn	Davies	Hafren CC	V	TT	+11:38	55
3	Stuart	Proctor	Dave Scott Coaching	V	RB	+11:03	50
4	Jonathan	Mills-Keeling	Aerologic RT	V	TT	+10:36	45
5	Phil	Collins	Aerologic RT	V	TT	+10:19	40
6	Christopher	Riley	Paramount CRT	V	TT	+10:13	35
7	David	Wilson	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	TT	+10:02	30
8	Robert	Garbett	SCCA Private Member	V	TT	+10:00	25
9	John	Westhead	Paramount CRT	V	TT	+9:28	20
10	Mark	Hill	Hafren CC	V	TT	+9:27	15
11	Thea	Osmund-Smith	Paramount CRT	FV	TT	+9:17	10
12	Richard	Simpson	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	RB	+7:17	5
13	Jonathan	Goh	Paramount CRT	V	RB	+6:35	5
14	David	Drew	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	TT	+6:26	5
15	Ian	Connolly	Ludlow CC	V	TT	+6:04	5
16	James	Neale	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	RB	+5:41	5
17	Jan	Davies	Hafren CC	FV	TT	+4:35	5
18	Kathryn	Rossiter	North Shropshire Wheelers	FV	TT	+4:19	5
19	Helen	Tudor	Oswestry Paragon CC	FV	TT	+3:12	5
20	Jamie	Rossiter	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	TT	+2:58	5
21	Les	Boughey	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	TT	+2:00	5
22	Colin	Wells	Paramount CRT	V	TT	+1:27	5
23	Keith	Broadbent	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	TT	-0:06	5
24	Simon	Jones	Hafren CC	V	TT	-2:04	5
25	Elaine	Beckett	North Shropshire Wheelers	FV	TT	-4:17	5
26	Terry	Price	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	TT	-6:42	5
27	Tony	Forster	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	TT	-7:05	5
28	Ashley	Kirkham	Wrekinsport CC	V	TT	-8:23	5
29	John	Etherington	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	RB	-18:15	5

Females:

Female Pos’n	Forename	Surname	Club	Cat	Machine	Time	Female Points
1	Hayley	Wells	Aerologic RT	F	TT	58:01	60
2	Thea	Osmund-Smith	Paramount CRT	FV	TT	1:03:19	55
3	Jan	Davies	Hafren CC	FV	TT	1:08:54	50
4	Kathryn	Rossiter	North Shropshire Wheelers	FV	TT	1:10:47	45
5	Helen	Tudor	Oswestry Paragon CC	FV	TT	1:11:14	40
6	Ellie	Langley	North Shropshire Wheelers	F	TT	1:14:36	35
7	Elaine	Beckett	North Shropshire Wheelers	FV	TT	1:18:11	30

Road Bikes (on handicap):

RB Pos’n	Forename	Surname	Club	Cat	Machine	RB Adj Time	RB Points
1	Stuart	Proctor	Dave Scott Coaching	V	RB	54:57	60
2	Richard	Simpson	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	RB	58:43	55
3	Jonathan	Goh	Paramount CRT	V	RB	59:25	50
4	James	Neale	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	RB	1:00:19	45
5	John	Etherington	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	RB	1:24:15	40

Top Club Award:

Pos’n	Club	Points
1	North Shropshire Wheelers	325
2	Paramount CRT	280
3	Aerologic RT	150
4	Hafren CC	130
5	Dave Scott Coaching	60
6	Oswestry Paragon CC	40
=7	Ludlow CC	5
=7	Wrekinsport CC	5

Cumulative Standings after sixteen rounds

Overall

Position	Name	Club	Cat	Best 12
1	Hayley Wells	Aerologic RT	F	545
2	Robert McGregor	Paramount CRT	S	540
3	Tomos Hales	Aerologic RT	S	535
4	Christopher Riley	Paramount CRT	V	485
5	Simon Romei	Paramount CRT	V	290
=6	Jonathan Goh	Paramount CRT	V	285
=6	Oli Freeman	Wrekinsport CC	S	285
8	Stuart Proctor	Dave Scott Coaching	V	260
9	Bryn Davies	Hafren CC	V	255
=10	Jonathan Whittaker	SCCA Private Member	S	225
=10	Phil Collins	Aerologic RT	V	225

Veterans

Vets Position	Name	Club	Best 12
1	Christopher Riley	Paramount CRT	700
2	Stuart Proctor	Dave Scott Coaching	580
3	John Westhead	Paramount CRT	445
4	Jonathan Goh	Paramount CRT	335
=5	Bryn Davies	Hafren CC	330
=5	Simon Romei	Paramount CRT	330
7	Andrew Dawson	Paramount CRT	315
=8	Paul Duncan	Paramount CRT	295
=8	Philip Gardner	Mid Shropshire Wheelers	295
10	Phil Collins	Aerologic RT	230

Females

Female Pos’n	Name	Club	Best 12
1	Hayley Wells	Aerologic RT	750
2	Helen Tudor	Oswestry Paragon CC	405
3	Thea Osmund-Smith	Paramount CRT	380
4	Kathryn Rossiter	North Shropshire Wheelers	315
5	Elaine Beckett	North Shropshire Wheelers	255
6	Gill Snelson	Paramount CRT	140
7	Evie Fletcher	Paramount CRT	130
8	Jan Davies	Hafren CC	105
9	Claire Blackwell-Smyth	Paramount CRT	100
10	Rebecca Pugh	Paramount CRT	85

Road Bikes

Road Bike Pos’n	Name	Club	Cat	Best 12
1	Stuart Proctor	Dave Scott Coaching	V	650
2	Jonathan Goh	Paramount CRT	V	590
3	Andrew Dawson	Paramount CRT	V	565
4	Paul Duncan	Paramount CRT	V	350
5	Richard Simpson	North Shropshire Wheelers	V	300
6	William Preston	Paramount CRT	S	165
7	David Scott	Dave Scott Coaching	S	155
=8	Nick Hickman	Paramount CRT	V	105
=8	Thea Osmund-Smith	Paramount CRT	FV	105
=10	George Coombes	Aerologic RT	S	100
=10	Mark Fenn	Shropshire CCA	V	100
=10	Matthew Price	Wrekinsport CC	V	100

Juniors

Junior Pos’n	Name	Club	Best 12
1	Taliesin Goh	Mid Shropshire Wheelers	180
2	Florence Parkinson	Mid Shropshire Wheelers	55

Top Club Award

Position	Club	Total Points
1	Paramount CRT	5405
2	Aerologic RT	2275
3	North Shropshire Wheelers	1780
4	Dave Scott Coaching	1195
5	Wrekinsport CC	950
6	Mid Shropshire Wheelers	715
7	Oswestry Paragon CC	635
8	Hafren CC	600
9	Holohan Coaching Race Team	275
10	Bridgnorth Cycling Club	230
11	Ludlow CC	200
12	Market Drayton Cycling Club	60
13	Propel Cycling Club	30
14	Newport (Shropshire) CC	20