The rarely seen 15 mile standard distance saw the first chance for Friction Hydraulics Series competitors to tackle a relatively flat and popular course as Velotik RT promoted Round 3 from Woollerton. Taking in the Hodnet by-pass and the ‘Tiddly’ circuit, Dean Callister set out to gain a comfortable victory of just over a minute, stopping the watch on an impressive 32 minutes 26 seconds despite chilly conditions. The Revolutions Racing rider saw off the attentions of chasing Bridgnorth CC pair Jonathan Mills-Keeling and Tim Beardmore who took the remaining podium places after finishing just three seconds apart.
This was Callister’s first appearance in the 2023 Friction Series after initial appearances in the SB Sports Injuries Series, and it paid immediate dividends as he leapt into joint fourth in the Overall standings. Like many however he commented on the rarely seen distance which is a step between riding familiar 10 mile and 25 mile races, but tricky to judge effort. He stated: “I always enjoy the course but it is never easy to pace. I was happy with my effort; and feeling better each race – thanks for Velotik for putting on the event”.
Mills-Keeling led Bridgnorth CC home and saw his club stretch their Top Club Award lead to 30 points over Wrekinsport. Having raced the previous afternoon’s SB Series event he suffered from that double effort; as well as from the distinct chill of an early Spring day that was sluggish to heat up. Mills-Keeling posted a fine effort of 33:27 to push out the reigning Shropshire Champion by that narrow three second margin, and again commented on how the pacing required is unfamiliar: “It was a cold morning and felt slow all the way. I could feel the 10 the day before, but it was nice to ride this course, though 15 miles is a strange distance to pace – thanks to all involved with putting it on”.
Beardmore also had a previous day’s effort in his legs and took things a little too steadily initially as a result, which subsequently cost him a place. Operating a ‘Negative split’ strategy, Beardmore left a little too much in the tank in the first half of the race which he just failed to pull back – not that that stopped him doubling his Overall Friction Series lead over Ludlow CC’s Robbie Disney to 30 points as he sets out a determined defence of his title. He commented: “Not my best race. I’d raced a 15 the day before and I wasn’t sure how my legs were going to react, so I went out conservatively. When I upped the effort in the second half of the race I realised I’d gone out too easy – thanks to all at Velotik for putting the race on”.
Beardmore got the better of Mills-Keeling by five seconds when the age-adjusted standards were applied with +7:04, opening up daylight at the top of the Friction Veterans Series to his team mate in another determined title defence. Neither however had the beating of Wrekinsport CC’s Deb Hutson-Lumb, who took Veteran’s honours on the morning in +7:17; as well as the Women’s victory in a fine actual time of 38:18. She stated: “My first road ride on the time trial bike since September and everything worked! I was pleased with my time as I don’t like racing in the cold – thanks to Velotik for a fabulous event; and for providing a top pusher off”.
SCCA:
| Pos’n | Forename | Surname | Club | Cat | Time | Points |
| 1 | Dean | Callister | Revolutions Racing | S | 32:26 | 60 |
| 2 | Jonathan | Mills-Keeling | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | V | 33:27 | 55 |
| 3 | Tim | Beardmore | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | V | 33:30 | 50 |
| 4 | Bryn | Davies | Hafren CC | V | 33:59 | 45 |
| 5 | Oliver | Rodwell | Wrekinsport CC | V | 34:53 | 40 |
| 6 | Robbie | Disney | Ludlow CC | S | 35:12 | 35 |
| 7 | James | Neale | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | 35:46 | 30 |
| 8 | Deb | Hutson-Lumb | Wrekinsport CC | WV | 38:18 | 25 |
| 9 | Simon | Jones | Hafren CC | V | 39:11 | 20 |
| 10 | Philip | Gardner | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | V | 39:12 | 15 |
| 11 | Dave | Moore | Wrekinsport CC | V | 39:18 | 10 |
| 12 | Allan | Henderson | Wrekinsport CC | S | 39:20 | 5 |
| 13 | John | Westhead | Paramount CRT | V | 39:29 | 5 |
| 14 | Alex | Hall | Wrekinsport CC | S | 40:27 | 5 |
| 15 | Helen | Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | WV | 40:34 | 5 |
| 16 | David | Drew | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | 40:36 | 5 |
| 17 | Robert | Garbett | Wrekinsport CC | V | 44:38 | 5 |
| . | Clare | Cotterill | Wrekinsport CC | WV | DNS-A | . |
| . | Geoff | Edgerton | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | DNS-A | . |
| . | Jason | Arnold | Oswestry Paragon CC | V | DNS | . |
| . | Linda | Beckett | North Shropshire Wheelers | WV | DNS | . |
| . | Helen | Blake | Wrekinsport CC | W | DNS | . |
| . | Ian | Townsend | Paramount CRT | V | DNS | . |
Vets:
| Vets Pos’n | Forename | Surname | Club | Cat | Vet +/- | Vets Points |
| 1 | Deb | Hutson-Lumb | Wrekinsport CC | WV | +7:17 | 60 |
| 2 | Tim | Beardmore | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | V | +7:04 | 55 |
| 3 | Jonathan | Mills-Keeling | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | V | +6:59 | 50 |
| 4 | Bryn | Davies | Hafren CC | V | +6:19 | 45 |
| 5 | Oliver | Rodwell | Wrekinsport CC | V | +4:44 | 40 |
| 6 | Helen | Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | WV | +4:19 | 35 |
| 7 | James | Neale | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | +3:51 | 30 |
| 8 | John | Westhead | Paramount CRT | V | +3:28 | 25 |
| 9 | David | Drew | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | +3:04 | 20 |
| 10 | Dave | Moore | Wrekinsport CC | V | +2:28 | 15 |
| 11 | Philip | Gardner | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | V | +1:56 | 10 |
| 12 | Simon | Jones | Hafren CC | V | +0:53 | 5 |
| 13 | Robert | Garbett | Wrekinsport CC | V | -2:30 | 5 |
| . | Clare | Cotterill | Wrekinsport CC | WV | . | . |
| . | Geoff | Edgerton | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | . | . |
| . | Jason | Arnold | Oswestry Paragon CC | V | . | . |
| . | Linda | Beckett | North Shropshire Wheelers | WV | . | . |
| . | Ian | Townsend | Paramount CRT | V | . | . |
Women:
| Women’s Pos’n | Forename | Surname | Club | Cat | Time | Women’s Points |
| 1 | Deb | Hutson-Lumb | Wrekinsport CC | WV | 38:18 | 60 |
| 2 | Helen | Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | WV | 40:34 | 55 |
| . | Clare | Cotterill | Wrekinsport CC | WV | DNS-A | . |
| . | Linda | Beckett | North Shropshire Wheelers | WV | DNS | . |
| . | Helen | Blake | Wrekinsport CC | W | DNS | . |
Top Club Award:
| Pos’n | Club | Points |
| 1 | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | 105 |
| 2 | Wrekinsport CC | 90 |
| 3 | Hafren CC | 65 |
| 4 | Revolutions Racing | 60 |
| 5 | Ludlow CC | 35 |
| 5 | North Shropshire Wheelers | 35 |
| 7 | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 15 |
| 8 | Oswestry Paragon CC | 5 |
| 8 | Paramount CRT | 5 |
Cumulative Standings after three rounds
Friction and Hydraulic Services Shropshire Championship Points Series
| Position | Name | Club | Cat | Best 12 |
| 1 | Tim Beardmore | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | V | 165 |
| 2 | Robbie Disney | Ludlow CC | S | 135 |
| 3 | Jonathan Mills-Keeling | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | V | 105 |
| =4 | Dean Callister | Revolutions Racing | S | 60 |
| =4 | Mason Durant | Paramount CRT | S | 60 |
| 6 | Tomos Hales | Wrekinsport CC | S | 55 |
| 7 | Peter Jukes | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | V | 50 |
| =8 | Bryn Davies | Hafren CC | V | 45 |
| =8 | Paul Duncan | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | V | 45 |
| =10 | Ben Southgate | Wrekinsport CC | J | 40 |
| =10 | Oliver Rodwell | Wrekinsport CC | V | 40 |
| =10 | Simon Romei | Paramount CRT | V | 40 |
Friction and Hydraulic Services Veterans Championship
| Position | Name | Club | Best 12 |
| 1 | Tim Beardmore | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | 175 |
| 2 | Jonathan Mills-Keeling | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | 105 |
| 3 | Peter Jukes | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 80 |
| =4 | Deb Hutson-Lumb | Wrekinsport CC | 60 |
| =4 | Ian Connolly | Ludlow CC | 60 |
| 6 | Paul Duncan | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 55 |
| 7 | Christopher Riley | Paramount CRT | 50 |
| =8 | Bryn Davies | Hafren CC | 45 |
| =8 | Catherine Coley | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | 45 |
| =8 | David Drew | North Shropshire Wheelers | 45 |
Friction and Hydraulic Services Women’s Championship
| Women’s Pos’n | Name | Club | Best 12 |
| 1 | Bethan Till | Wrekinsport CC | 115 |
| 2 | Catherine Coley | Bridgnorth CC | 60 |
| 2 | Deb Hutson-Lumb | Wrekinsport CC | 60 |
| =4 | Helen Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | 55 |
| =4 | Victoria Doran | Wrekinsport CC | 55 |
| 6 | Helen Blake | Wrekinsport CC | 50 |
Friction and Hydraulic Services Junior Championship
| Junior Pos’n | Name | Club | Best 12 |
| 1 | Ben Southgate | Wrekinsport CC | 60 |
Top Club Award
| Position | Club | Total Points |
| 1 | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | 325 |
| 2 | Wrekinsport CC | 295 |
| 3 | Paramount CRT | 165 |
| 4 | Ludlow CC | 150 |
| 5 | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 110 |
| 6 | Hafren CC | 65 |
| 7 | Revolutions Racing | 60 |
| 8 | North Shropshire Wheelers | 40 |
| 9 | Oswestry Paragon CC | 5 |