An Aerologic 1-2 in Round 3 of The Friction Hydraulics Series saw the team take the win on the morning in the Top Club Award; with a win at first attempt by Mark Pritchard, and a giant overall runner-up spot for Hayley Wells, who seems to have raised the bar even on her fabulous 2025 form in Mid Shropshire Wheelers 25. Held on the testing, rolling Prees – Battlefield course Pritchard and Wells were the only two Shropshire riders to beat the hour on a tough morning, with a significant headwind to cope with going south as well as damp in changeable conditions.
Pritchard stopped the watch on 56 minutes 43 seconds in his first appearance of 2026, a strong course personal best on a day favouring riders who could punch through the wind and have enough strength left to take advantage of the push north. He stated: “Battlefield was my first race of the season; it’s always a tough course to start on. I managed to get a Personal Best for the course, so I was happy with that. I think we went through every season in the race, thanks to the marshals and organisers, looking forward to the season ahead”.
But the ride of the day came from an on fire Hayley Wells, who not only took the Female category win, she finished overall runner-up too. Wells beat the 25mph mark to record a brilliant 59:27 on a tough as old boots course on a sub-optimal day – and move up into overall second in the Friction Series. Wells opened up a 75 point lead at the top of the Friction Females Series on the considerable strength of this ride, and declared: “I was very chuffed with the race! Going into this race I was determined to try and get under the hour. A tough leg out straight into the headwind, but I felt at the turnabout point I was on target. A quick return leg home was welcomed. Crossing the line under the hour was such an amazing feeling on this rolling course on a tough morning. Many thanks to Mid Shropshire Wheelers for a very well run event”.
That well run event was thanks to Dave Mellor, who stepped in late to cover Dave York’s illness, and who himself had taken over from long-time event organiser Simon Evans, sorely missed due to major medical reasons. His absence was felt by third placed Bryn Davies, finishing agonisingly just outside the hour on 1:00:03 due to two hold ups of quite different types: “A cold start, but I soon warmed up, although the damp conditions meant my visor fogging up and I had to throw it to the side at the turn as I was losing too much time with zero visibility. It was tough going out with a headwind, and I got held up by a lorry. A disappointing time as a result, but I was happy with the placing considering. Big thanks to marshals and organisers for putting on the event, but I missed seeing Simon at HQ”.
Davies had beaten Paramount’s Chris Riley by 51 seconds, but when the age related standards were applied those positions were reversed, with Riley winning with +8:34 to Davies’ +7:59. Riley took over sole lead of the Friction Veterans Series as a result. He commented: “The Mid Shropshire Wheelers’ Spring 25 is a regular tough weather day event. I’m enjoying my racing this year, and it was great workout to Battlefield and a burn up coming home. It was tough but satisfying; a great job by Mid Shropshire Wheelers as ever; and some brilliant times by the county superstars”.
In the Road Bike category reigning champion Jon Goh took a fine win to narrow the gap at the top of the standings, and now lies in the runner-up spot 15 points behind Stuart Proctor. Goh took the win in this handicapped competition in an adjusted 1:02:28, 1:35 ahead of Paramount team mate Andrew Dawson. Goh’s post-race comments show how difficult it is to settle into a rhythm of this rollercoaster of a course: “Coach Thacker said that it was going to be hard to ride in the windy conditions so just get around safely and enjoy it. Sure enough, on the way out there was a sapping headwind that produced a whimsical whistle in my front wheel. Normally I prefer a tailwind on the return, but today I underestimated the effect of the rollers which made it tricky to find a nice rhythm. So, I was surprised to take the road bike win as the category has seen some really good competition this season – which makes things much more exciting and it’s great for the sport! Thank you to Mid Shropshire Wheelers for running an excellent event on a classic Shropshire course”.
SCCA:
| Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Machine | Time | Points |
| 1 | Mark Pritchard | Aerologic RT | S | TT | 0:56:43 | 60 |
| 2 | Hayley Wells | Aerologic RT | F | TT | 0:59:27 | 55 |
| 3 | Bryn Davies | Hafren CC | V | TT | 1:00:03 | 50 |
| 4 | Christopher Riley | Paramount CRT | V | TT | 1:00:54 | 45 |
| 5 | Phil Collins | Aerologic RT | V | TT | 1:03:14 | 40 |
| 6 | Jonathan Goh | Paramount CRT | V | RB | 1:03:25 | 35 |
| 7 | Alex Paulukiewicz | North Shropshire Wheelers | S | TT | 1:04:30 | 30 |
| 8 | Clive Middleton | Aerologic RT | V | TT | 1:05:58 | 25 |
| 9 | Ian Connolly | Ludlow CC | V | TT | 1:06:53 | 20 |
| 10 | Philip Gardner | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | V | TT | 1:08:27 | 15 |
| 11 | Andrew Dawson | Paramount CRT | V | RB | 1:08:32 | 10 |
| 12 | John Westhead | Paramount CRT | V | TT | 1:11:19 | 5 |
| 13 | Les Boughey | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | TT | 1:14:19 | 5 |
| 14 | Max Baker | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | S | RB | 1:16:02 | 5 |
| 15 | Peter Jervis | Hafren CC | S | TT | 1:16:03 | 5 |
| 16 | Ashley Kirkham | Wrekinsport CC | V | TT | 1:16:39 | 5 |
| 17 | Helen Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | FV | TT | 1:22:04 | 5 |
| 18 | Terry Price | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | RB | 1:34:54 | 5 |
| . | Kathryn Rossiter | North Shropshire Wheelers | FV | TT | DNS-A | . |
| . | Colin Wells | Paramount CRT | V | RB | DNS-A | . |
| . | Thea Osmund-Smith | Paramount CRT | FV | TT | DNS | . |
Vets:
| Vets Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Machine | Vets +/- | Vets Points |
| 1 | Christopher Riley | Paramount CRT | V | TT | +8:34 | 60 |
| 2 | Bryn Davies | Hafren CC | V | TT | +7:59 | 55 |
| 3 | Clive Middleton | Aerologic RT | V | TT | +5:17 | 50 |
| 4 | Phil Collins | Aerologic RT | V | TT | +4:20 | 45 |
| 5 | Jonathan Goh | Paramount CRT | V | RB | +3:32 | 40 |
| 6 | John Westhead | Paramount CRT | V | TT | +2:36 | 35 |
| 7 | Ian Connolly | Ludlow CC | V | TT | +2:35 | 30 |
| 8 | Andrew Dawson | Paramount CRT | V | RB | +1:57 | 25 |
| 9 | Philip Gardner | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | V | TT | +1:21 | 20 |
| 10 | Les Boughey | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | TT | -2:40 | 15 |
| 11 | Helen Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | FV | TT | -7:38 | 10 |
| 12 | Ashley Kirkham | Wrekinsport CC | V | TT | -9:19 | 5 |
| 13 | Terry Price | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | RB | -26:52 | 5 |
Females:
| Female Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Machine | Time | Female Points |
| 1 | Hayley Wells | Aerologic RT | F | TT | 0:59:27 | 60 |
| 2 | Helen Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | FV | TT | 1:22:04 | 55 |
| . | Kathryn Rossiter | North Shropshire Wheelers | FV | TT | DNS-A | . |
| . | Thea Osmund-Smith | Paramount CRT | FV | TT | DNS | . |
Road Bikes:
| Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Machine | RB Adj Time | RB Points |
| 1 | Jonathan Goh | Paramount CRT | V | RB | 01:02:28 | 60 |
| 2 | Andrew Dawson | Paramount CRT | V | RB | 01:04:03 | 55 |
| 3 | Max Baker | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | S | RB | 01:16:02 | 50 |
| 4 | Terry Price | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | RB | 01:32:52 | 45 |
| . | Colin Wells | Paramount CRT | V | RB | . | . |
Top Club Award:
| Pos’n | Club | Points |
| 1 | Aerologic RT | 215 |
| 2 | Paramount CRT | 210 |
| 3 | North Shropshire Wheelers | 90 |
| 4 | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 70 |
| 5 | Hafren CC | 60 |
| 6 | Oswestry Paragon CC | 55 |
| 7 | Ludlow CC | 30 |
| 8 | Wrekinsport CC | 5 |
Cumulative Standing after three rounds
Overall
| Position | Name | Club | Cat | Best 12 |
| 1 | Tomos Hales | Aerologic RT | S | 115 |
| 2 | Hayley Wells | Aerologic RT | F | 110 |
| 3 | Christopher Riley | Paramount CRT | V | 105 |
| 4 | Bryn Davies | Hafren CC | V | 95 |
| =5 | Kirk Vickers | Holohan Coaching Race Team | S | 60 |
| =5 | Mark Pritchard | Aerologic RT | S | 60 |
| 7 | Stuart Proctor | Dave Scott Coaching | V | 55 |
| 8 | James Pearce | Dave Scott Coaching | S | 50 |
| =9 | Chris Pook | Holohan Coaching Race Team | V | 45 |
| =9 | Robert McGregor | Paramount CRT | S | 45 |
Veterans
| Vets Position | Name | Club | Best 12 |
| 1 | Christopher Riley | Paramount CRT | 165 |
| =2 | Bryn Davies | Hafren CC | 105 |
| =2 | Stuart Proctor | Dave Scott Coaching | 105 |
| 4 | John Westhead | Paramount CRT | 70 |
| =5 | Jonathan Goh | Paramount CRT | 65 |
| =5 | Karl Moseley | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | 65 |
| 7 | Simon Romei | Paramount CRT | 60 |
| 8 | Chris Pook | Holohan Coaching Race Team | 55 |
| =9 | Andrew Dawson | Paramount CRT | 50 |
| =9 | Clive Middleton | Aerologic RT | 50 |
Females
| Female Pos’n | Name | Club | Best 12 |
| 1 | Hayley Wells | Aerologic RT | 180 |
| 2 | Thea Osmund-Smith | Paramount CRT | 105 |
| =3 | Hannah Lancaster | Ludlow CC | 55 |
| =3 | Helen Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | 55 |
| 5 | Claire Blackwell-Smyth | Paramount CRT | 50 |
| 6 | Rebecca Pugh | Paramount CRT | 45 |
| 7 | Gill Snelson | Paramount CRT | 40 |
Road Bikes
| Road Bike Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Best 12 |
| 1 | Stuart Proctor | Dave Scott Coaching | V | 115 |
| 2 | Jonathan Goh | Paramount CRT | V | 100 |
| 3 | Andrew Dawson | Paramount CRT | V | 90 |
| 4 | Karl Moseley | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | V | 85 |
| 5 | James Pearce | Dave Scott Coaching | S | 60 |
| 6 | Hannah Lancaster | Ludlow CC | F | 55 |
| =7 | David Scott | Dave Scott Coaching | S | 50 |
| =7 | Max Baker | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | S | 50 |
| 9 | Thea Osmund-Smith | Paramount CRT | FV | 50 |
| =10 | Luke Taylor | Dave Scott Coaching | V | 45 |
| =10 | Mark Fenn | Shropshire CCA | V | 45 |
| =10 | Sean Morris | Dave Scott Coaching | V | 45 |
| =10 | Terry Price | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | 45 |
Top Club Award
| Position | Club | Total Points |
| 1 | Paramount CRT | 795 |
| 2 | Aerologic RT | 450 |
| 3 | Dave Scott Coaching | 365 |
| 4 | Wrekinsport CC | 165 |
| 5 | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | 135 |
| 6 | Ludlow CC | 120 |
| 7 | Holohan Coaching Race Team | 115 |
| 8 | Hafren CC | 110 |
| 9 | North Shropshire Wheelers | 90 |
| 10 | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 70 |
| 11 | Oswestry Paragon CC | 55 |
| 12 | Newport (Shropshire) CC | 20 |