A glorious afternoon saw a glorious win for Tomos Hales as he coped best with the lumpy and technical Bridgnorth CC Hilly 21 to stop the watch on 48 minutes 26 seconds and extend his lead at the top of the Friction Hydraulics Series in Round 5 to 20 points. Held on the Bridgnorth – Much Wenlock – Shipton – Morville triangle, a simply stunning effort in the Road Bike category saw Tom Herbert finish fifth overall. Hales had some serious competition in the shape of Oswestry Paragon’s David Griffiths and Newport’s Matt Garthwaite, both renowned fast men, but had a determined look on his face as he reeled in team mate and Female winner Hayley Wells for a minute at the 2.3 mile point in Morville whilst passing just 200 metres from the finish line, coping with the tricky gradients this course is renowned for best.
Hales took the win from Griffiths, who was getting his first taste of the circuit by 58 seconds, with Matt Garthwaite taking the final podium position in 50:30. The Wrekinsport rider stated: “I did enjoy tackling this challenging course. I planned to attack the hills and recover on the descents, which worked rather well. I was very pleased to take the win on the day. Congratulations to the other Tom who took the Road Bike win with a very impressive time; and thanks to Bridgnorth CC for hosting and all the marshals that made this event possible”
Griffiths seems to have entered the event blind to the challenges it throws up, with regular gear changes and ‘into the red’ efforts required – particularly on the long 14% exit of Much Wenlock which can catch the unwary out. Still posting a great time of 49:24, he commented: “A tough course I’ve never done before. A brute of a hill halfway, I blew up after this climb. It was nice to be out; and well done to Tomos for the win – an event I’d like to win in the future”.
Griffiths wasn’t the only one getting first experience of the course as Female winner Hayley Wells stormed around the course in 55:28 to open up a big 65 point advantage at the head of the standings. The mix of terrain seemed to have suited her to a tee as she commented: “My first time riding this course and it was a fun, testing one! Some real leg burners, but this was balanced out by the fast sections – thanks to Bridgnorth CC”.
Ride of the day came from Tom Herbert, stunning his Bridgnorth CC team mate Paul Horton, the early Friction Series leader when checking times at the finish line as he could barely credit Herbert had finished just five seconds behind him in 51:13 despite Horton being on a full time trial rig. Herbert set a blistering pace with a keen head-to-head battle with team mate Chris Childs spurring him on on roads he knows like the back of his hand: “It’s a brilliant course for road bikes with plenty going on. I’m lucky to know those roads well, but I’m a little on the heavy side for a climber, so it was the fast rolling middle leg that really suited me. I felt like I was able to get as much as I could out of myself and the bike on that stretch. The big competition for me today was of course my team mate Chris Childs who, along with Jason Meyer and others, has been helping getting me up to speed with all aspects of racing, and the training we’ve done through the off-season has helped no end. Huge thanks to them for that. As always our own Tim Beardmore has put on a great event with the help of our club, so to have some cracking weather to race in was the icing on the cake”.
In the Veterans Championship Simon Romei made it two wins on the trot as he beat Paramount team mate Chris Riley by 50 seconds in +4:35. Romei narrowed the gap at the head of the standings to 30 points behind Hafren CC’s Bryn Davies, 3rd on the day in +3:30. Romei’s comments graphically show the challenge on offer: “A great race this Hilly 21 mile time trial, some really tough climbing in the first eight miles on the way out especially, after turning left after the Gaskell Arms – this is a really climbing test on a time trial rig. I hit the back side really hard knowing the course and it being a fast twisting road back into the finish. Bridgnorth CC did a fantastic job of organising this event, a big thank you to all the marshals. We even got some warm sunshine and blue skies for this race”.
Illness stopped Romei’s son Chester competing, giving a clear run to Ben Southgate, who just beat the hour in 59:18. He wasn’t feeling too well either on a course that would normally suit his light weight, but was pleased he got around, commenting: “The course was tough. I wasn’t feeling too great on the day but pushed through”.
SCCA:
| Pos’n | First Name | Last Name | Club | Cat | Time | Points |
| 1 | Tomos | Hales | Wrekinsport CC | S | 48:26 | 60 |
| 2 | David | Griffiths | Oswestry Paragon CC | S | 49:24 | 55 |
| 3 | Matthew | Garthwaite | Newport (Shropshire) CC | S | 50:30 | 50 |
| 4 | Paul | Horton | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | S | 51:08 | 45 |
| 5 | Thomas | Herbert | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | S | 51:13 | 40 |
| 6 | Simon | Romei | Paramount CRT | V | 51:33 | 35 |
| 7 | Devon | Round | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | S | 52:02 | 30 |
| 8 | Chris | Childs | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | S | 52:31 | 25 |
| 9 | Bryn | Davies | Hafren CC | V | 53:09 | 20 |
| 10 | Christopher | Riley | Paramount CRT | V | 54:00 | 15 |
| 11 | Hayley | Wells | Wrekinsport CC | F | 55:28 | 10 |
| 12 | Robert | McGregor | Paramount CRT | S | 56:09 | 5 |
| 13 | Mark | Fenn | Shropshire CCA | V | 58:20 | 5 |
| 14 | Ben | Southgate | Wrekinsport CC | J | 59:18 | 5 |
| 15 | Deb | Hutson-Lumb | Wrekinsport CC | FV | 1:04:37 | 5 |
| 16 | Colin | Wells | Paramount CRT | V | 1:05:33 | 5 |
| 17 | Ashley | Kirkham | Wrekinsport CC | V | 1:10:55 | 5 |
| . | James | Griffiths | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | V | DNS-A | . |
| . | Paul | Duncan | Paramount CRT | V | DNS-A | . |
| . | Chester | Romei | Paramount CRT | J | DNS-A | . |
Vets:
| Vets Pos’n | First Name | Last Name | Club | Cat | Vet +/- | Vets Points |
| 1 | Simon | Romei | Paramount CRT | V | +4:35 | 60 |
| 2 | Christopher | Riley | Paramount CRT | V | +3:45 | 55 |
| 3 | Bryn | Davies | Hafren CC | V | +3:30 | 50 |
| 4 | Deb | Hutson-Lumb | Wrekinsport CC | FV | -1:24 | 45 |
| 5 | Mark | Fenn | Shropshire CCA | V | -2:12 | 40 |
| 6 | Colin | Wells | Paramount CRT | V | -5:05 | 35 |
| 7 | Ashley | Kirkham | Wrekinsport CC | V | -14:47 | 30 |
Females:
| Female Pos’n | First Name | Last Name | Club | Cat | Time | Female Points |
| 1 | Hayley | Wells | Wrekinsport CC | F | 55:28 | 60 |
| 2 | Deb | Hutson-Lumb | Wrekinsport CC | FV | 1:04:37 | 55 |
Road Bikes:
| RB Pos’n | First Name | Last Name | Club | Cat | RB Adj Time | RB Points |
| 1 | Thomas | Herbert | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | S | 51:13 | 60 |
| 2 | Chris | Childs | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | S | 52:31 | 55 |
| 3 | Deb | Hutson-Lumb | Wrekinsport CC | FV | 56:41 | 50 |
| 4 | Mark | Fenn | Shropshire CCA | V | 57:29 | 45 |
| 5 | Ashley | Kirkham | Wrekinsport CC | V | 1:10:04 | 40 |
Juniors:
| Junior Pos’n | First Name | Last Name | Club | Cat | Time | Junior Points |
| 1 | Ben | Southgate | Wrekinsport CC | J | 59:18 | 60 |
| . | Chester | Romei | Paramount CRT | J | DNS-A | . |
Top Club Award:
| Pos’n | Club | Points |
| 1 | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | 110 |
| 2 | Wrekinsport CC | 85 |
| 3 | Paramount CRT | 60 |
| 4 | Oswestry Paragon CC | 55 |
| 5 | Newport (Shropshire) CC | 50 |
| 6 | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 30 |
| 7 | Hafren CC | 20 |
Cumulative Standings after five rounds
Friction and Hydraulic Services Shropshire Championship Points Series
| Position | Name | Club | Cat | Best 12 |
| 1 | Tomos Hales | Wrekinsport CC | S | 220 |
| 2 | Paul Horton | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | S | 200 |
| =3 | Devon Round | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | S | 160 |
| =3 | Simon Romei | Paramount CRT | V | 160 |
| =5 | Bryn Davies | Hafren CC | V | 155 |
| =5 | Matthew Garthwaite | Newport (Shropshire) CC | S | 155 |
| 7 | Dean Callister | Aerologic RT | S | 120 |
| 8 | Jonathan Mills-Keeling | Aerologic RT | V | 115 |
| 9 | David Griffiths | Oswestry Paragon CC | S | 105 |
| 10 | Christopher Riley | Paramount CRT | V | 80 |
Friction and Hydraulic Services Veterans Championship
| Vets Position | Name | Club | Best 12 |
| 1 | Bryn Davies | Hafren CC | 260 |
| 2 | Simon Romei | Paramount CRT | 230 |
| 3 | Jonathan Mills-Keeling | Aerologic RT | 170 |
| 4 | Christopher Riley | Paramount CRT | 165 |
| =5 | Colin Wells | Paramount CRT | 105 |
| =5 | Ian Connolly | Ludlow CC | 105 |
| =5 | Mark Fenn | Shropshire CCA | 105 |
| 8 | Scott Palmer | Aerologic RT | 85 |
| 9 | Geoff Edgerton | North Shropshire Wheelers | 80 |
| 10 | Ashley Kirkham | Wrekinsport CC | 75 |
Friction and Hydraulic Services Female Championship
| Female Pos’n | Name | Club | Best 12 |
| 1 | Hayley Wells | Wrekinsport CC | 180 |
| 2 | Helen Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | 115 |
| =3 | Deb Hutson-Lumb | Wrekinsport CC | 55 |
| =3 | Emma Brown | Paramount CRT | 55 |
Friction and Hydraulic Services Road Bike Championship
| Road Bike Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Best 12 |
| 1 | Mark Fenn | Shropshire CCA | V | 145 |
| 2 | Ashley Kirkham | Wrekinsport CC | V | 105 |
| =3 | Jonathan Goh | Paramount CRT | V | 60 |
| =3 | Matthew Garthwaite | Newport (Shropshire) CC | S | 60 |
| =3 | Thomas Herbert | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | S | 60 |
| =6 | Chris Childs | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | S | 55 |
| =6 | Paul Bailey | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | V | 55 |
| =6 | Scott Palmer | Aerologic RT | V | 55 |
| 9 | Deb Hutson-Lumb | Wrekinsport CC | FV | 50 |
| 10 | Ian Townsend | Paramount CRT | V | 45 |
Friction and Hydraulic Services Junior Championship
| Junior Pos’n | Name | Club | Best 12 |
| 1 | Ben Southgate | Wrekinsport CC | 120 |
Top Club Award
| Position | Club | Total Points |
| 1 | Paramount CRT | 420 |
| 2 | Wrekinsport CC | 390 |
| 3 | Aerologic RT | 340 |
| 4 | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | 285 |
| 5 | Newport (Shropshire) CC | 175 |
| =6 | Hafren CC | 160 |
| =6 | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 160 |
| 8 | Oswestry Paragon CC | 115 |
| =9 | Ludlow CC | 20 |
| =9 | North Shropshire Wheelers | 20 |