A game of two halves is usually a football expression, but it applied in spades to Round 2 of the SB Sports Injuries Series, Shropshire CCA’s second Spring 10 on the Waters Upton – Hodnet course. A roaring tailwind bowled riders along until the turn, then it was a case of hanging on and digging into a fearsome block headwind back. Given the energy sapping conditions it was perhaps surprising that some great times and even a course personal best were recorded from riders who could take advantage of the push out by mauling large gears and then batter their way south into the teeth of the gale. Won by reigning SB Series Champion Tomos Hales with a fabulous effort of 21 minutes 30 seconds, the Wrekinsport rider stretched his lead to six points and graphically described the challenge that faced riders: “I was pleased with my effort, never travelled so fast for the first section of the course as we had a huge tailwind! I definitely got a bit carried away as the return leg was horrendous into the wind, and I had used all my energy going out to quick! Thanks Wrekinsport for hosting, and all the marshals that helped out”.
Aerologic’s Jonathan Mills-Keeling almost had second thoughts about racing as Storm Kathleen made bike control a little tricky. Thankfully the wind was not a crosswind, which would have potentially caused an event deferral, with Mills-Keeling taking the runner-up spot in 22:44 as well as a strong Veterans win in +4:07 to open up a 12 point lead at the top of the standings over North Shropshire Wheelers’ Geoff Edgerton. Mills-Keeling commented: “I was unsure about riding. A nice tailwind out but crazy a headwind back, I had to hold drops on the return, but a great ride from Tomos Hales”
New Wrekinsport member Oil Freeman took the final podium position in his first appearance of the Series with a solid effort of 23:46, and again showed how making the most of flying up to Hodnet came at a price: “Great ride, I enjoyed the strong tailwind on the way out; the return leg was much tougher. Impressed with my time and looking forward to the next one”.
Ride of the day came from another new Wrekinsport member Hayley Wells, who not only won the Female race in 24:01 an impressive 3:46 ahead of nearest challenger Jan Davies of Hafren CC to open a gap of four points at the top of the Female standings; but also finished a superb fourth overall. Like Hales, Wells is another triathlete benefiting in the bike discipline by racing time trails – and picked up a course personal best on the hardest day imaginable: “A very quick leg out thanks to a strong tail wind, but coming back was tough. I just got my head down and tried to maintain some rhythm. Chuffed to have picked up a Personal Best on this course”!
All standings in the five different categories are lead by riders on the maximum possible 40 points, with SCCA member Mark Fenn taking the win in the new for 2024 Road Bike Championship. Fenn does like to make it interesting, riding his gravel bike, a style which has more upright geometry than a pure road bike and so presenting a bigger target to the relentless wind. Fenn won in an adjusted time of 26:41. 1:40 ahead of Oswestry Paragon’s Peter Everett and was pleased with his ride, stating: “Although a very strong tail wind going out it was too strong to sustain a quality return leg so gains quickly lost – a tough but enjoyable race”.
Another Wrekinsport rider took the maximum 20 points on offer with Ben Southgate rounding out a Top 5 containing three other club mates with a solid 25:07 to push out Hafren CC’s Mark Hill by nine seconds. He commented: “One of the windiest conditions I have ever raced in, but I still enjoyed it”.
- The event was honoured to receive special permission to allow Great Britain paralympian Nick Beighton the opportunity to race his hand cycle in preparation for his forthcoming season. The Shrewsbury based rider produced an impressive 280 watts and recorded a fine effort of 30:15.
Full solo:
| Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Time | Points |
| 1 | Tomos Hales | Wrekinsport CC | S | 21:30 | 20 |
| 2 | Jonathan Mills-Keeling | Aerologic RT | V | 22:44 | 18 |
| 3 | Oil Freeman | Wrekinsport CC | S | 23:46 | 16 |
| 4 | Hayley Wells | Wrekinsport CC | F | 24:01 | 14 |
| 5 | Ben Southgate | Wrekinsport CC | J | 25:07 | 12 |
| 6 | Mark Hill | Hafren CC | V | 25:16 | 10 |
| 7 | Stan Elmitt | Fibrax Fenwicks Wrexham CC | V | 25:20 | . |
| 8 | Jan Kardasz | Fibrax Fenwicks Wrexham CC | V | 26:45 | . |
| 9 | Mark Fenn | SCCA 1st Claim Member | V | 27:04 | 8 |
| 10 | Tim Evans | Newport Shropshire CC | V | 27:30 | 6 |
| 11 | Rob Garbett | Wrekinsport CC | V | 27:35 | 4 |
| 12 | Dave Drew | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | 27:40 | 2 |
| 13 | Jan Davies | Hafren CC | FV | 27:47 | 2 |
| 14 | Chris Bowers | Mid Wirral Wheelers | V | 27:51 | . |
| 15 | Helen Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | FV | 28:18 | 2 |
| 16 | Peter Everett | Oswestry Paragon CC | V | 28:21 | 2 |
| 17 | Geoff Edgerton | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | 29:12 | 2 |
| 18 | Matt Muir | Propel CC | V | 34:43 | 2 |
| . | Grant Bigham | Huub Wattshop | S | DNS-P | . |
Handbike:
| Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Time |
| 1 | Nick Beighton | Great Britain Cycling Team | V | 30:15 |
Veterans:
| Vets Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Vet +/- | Vets Points |
| 1 | Jonathan Mills-Keeling | Aerologic RT | V | +4:07 | 20 |
| 2 | Stan Elmitt | Fibrax Fenwicks Wrexham CC | V | +2:19 | . |
| 3 | Mark Hill | Hafren CC | V | +2:08 | 18 |
| 4 | Geoff Edgerton | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | +1:52 | 16 |
| 5 | Chris Bowers | Mid Wirral Wheelers | V | +1:48 | . |
| 6 | Jan Kardasz | Fibrax Fenwicks Wrexham CC | V | +1:47 | . |
| 6 | Dave Drew | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | +1:47 | 14 |
| 8 | Jan Davies | Hafren CC | FV | +1:10 | 12 |
| 9 | Helen Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | FV | +0:51 | 10 |
| 10 | Rob Garbett | Wrekinsport CC | V | +0:38 | 8 |
| 11 | Tim Evans | Newport Shropshire CC | V | -0:27 | 6 |
| 12 | Mark Fenn | SCCA 1st Claim Member | V | -0:33 | 4 |
| 13 | Peter Everett | Oswestry Paragon CC | V | -2:13 | 2 |
| 14 | Matt Muir | Propel CC | V | -8:07 | 2 |
Females:
| Female Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Time | Female Points |
| 1 | Hayley Wells | Wrekinsport CC | F | 24:01 | 20 |
| 2 | Jan Davies | Hafren CC | FV | 27:47 | 18 |
| 3 | Helen Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | FV | 28:18 | 16 |
Road Bike:
| RB Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | RB Adj Time | RB Points |
| 1 | Mark Fenn | SCCA 1st Claim Member | V | 26:41 | 20 |
| 2 | Peter Everett | Oswestry Paragon CC | V | 28:21 | 18 |
| 3 | Matt Muir | Propel CC | V | 34:15 | 16 |
Junior:
| Junior Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Time | Junior Points |
| 1 | Ben Southgate | Wrekinsport CC | J | 25:07 | 20 |
Cumulative Standings after two rounds
Overall
| Position | Name | Club | Cat | Best 12 |
| 1 | Tomos Hales | Wrekinsport CC | S | 40 |
| 2 | Jonathan Mills-Keeling | Aerologic RT | V | 34 |
| 3 | Hayley Wells | Wrekinsport CC | F | 26 |
| 4 | Ben Southgate | Wrekinsport CC | J | 18 |
| 4 | Mark Hill | Hafren CC | V | 18 |
| 4 | Simon Romei | Paramount CRT | V | 18 |
| 7 | Oil Freeman | Wrekinsport CC | S | 16 |
| 8 | Scott Palmer | Aerologic RT | V | 14 |
| 9 | Mark Fenn | SCCA 1st Claim Member | V | 12 |
| 10 | Rob Kennard | Aerologic RT | V | 10 |
Veterans
| Position | Name | Club | Cat | Best 12 |
| 1 | Jonathan Mills-Keeling | Aerologic RT | V | 40 |
| 2 | Geoff Edgerton | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | 28 |
| 3 | Mark Hill | Hafren CC | V | 26 |
| 4 | Jan Davies | Hafren CC | FV | 22 |
| 5 | Simon Romei | Paramount CRT | V | 18 |
| 6 | Scott Palmer | Aerologic RT | V | 16 |
| 7 | Dave Drew | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | 14 |
| 7 | Helen Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | FV | 14 |
| 7 | Rob Kennard | Aerologic RT | V | 14 |
| 10 | Rob Garbett | Wrekinsport CC | V | 8 |
| 10 | Tim Evans | Newport (Shropshire) CC | V | 8 |
Females:
| Position | Name | Club | Cat | Best 12 |
| 1 | Hayley Wells | Wrekinsport CC | F | 40 |
| 2 | Jan Davies | Hafren CC | FV | 36 |
| 3 | Helen Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | FV | 32 |
| 4 | Emma Brown | Paramount CRT | F | 14 |
Road Bike:
| Position | Name | Club | Cat | Best 12 |
| 1 | Mark Fenn | SCCA 1st Claim Member | V | 40 |
| 2 | Peter Everett | Oswestry Paragon CC | V | 34 |
| 3 | Matt Muir | Propel CC | V | 26 |
| 4 | Tim Mayo | Propel CC | S | 18 |
| 5 | Emma Brown | Paramount CRT | F | 14 |
| 6 | Daniel Bailey | Propel CC | S | 12 |
Juniors
| Position | Name | Club | Cat | Best 12 |
| 1 | Ben Southgate | Wrekinsport CC | J | 40 |