Reserve D25/20 Prees-Battlefield course
WCTTCA 25
A maiden win of the season saw Nova Raiders’ Dean Callister cause an upset in Round 5 of the Friction Hydraulics Series as he pushed Dan Watts out by 8 seconds on one of Watts’ favourite courses. Originally scheduled for the Tern Hill – Shawbirch course riders were instead faced with the much lumpier Prees-Battlefield ‘out and back’ in the WCTTCA 25, with road works appearing to be everywhere in Shropshire currently enforcing a change. This tough course will soon find out any weakness, with the only flat respite briefly through Hadnall approaching the turn.
Callister stopped the watch in an excellent time of 54 minutes 31 seconds with strong support from Andrew Rose and Graeme Donnell helping to add an extra 100 points to the club’s advantage in their defence of the Top Club Award. Callister was delighted with his efforts to take the win, stating: “I was very happy with the time on the day, my legs felt good and the winds were not as bad as expected. However I got caught behind slow traffic on the return, but this allowed me to push hard in the final section. A course personal best for me, thanks to everyone involved that made the event happen”.
The rolling course suits Watts’ mountain goat style well, but he knows that the unrelenting climbs will seek out any overexertion cruelly, as his post-race comments show: “I really like the Battlefield course as you have to work hard all the time, and if you go too hard on the climbs you pay for it. I’m really enjoying the close battles at the top for the points; it’s just always seemed to be me being edged out by a few seconds for a win”. Watts moved up to runner-up spot in the Friction Hydraulics Series on the strength of his 54:38 effort, and just 10 points off the lead in what is a really close battle for supremacy in the shortened 2020 season.
But is Watts enjoyed his morning’s efforts the 2019 Silver medallist had a torrid time by his standards, with Victor Chetta ending his race on 55:17, a time many other riders can only dream about. Early morning events tend to be harder than those held in the afternoon or evening as heart rates and metabolism can often be lower, with Chetta seemingly suffering from morning-it is and the slog towards Battlefield into a headwind which can sap the strength: “It was one of those frustrating mornings when my racing legs and focus seemed to have deserted me, the undulating terrain helped to make the time pass quickly though, especially with a welcome boost from the tailwind on the return leg. I was glad to get it over with this time”.
Chetta’s efforts were not in vain however as he took the Veteran’s win from reigning champion and Veteran’s Series leader Deb Hutson-Lumb by 23 seconds in +11:23, with the 60 points awarded moving him up to third in this Championship. Hutson-Lumb went home happy however after stretching that Veteran’s Series lead to 65 points as well as taking a fabulous win in the Women’s Series by over six minutes from Jenny York as the Nova Raider sets out a great defence of the Women’s Championship in 1:03:58. Her race was not without incident however as she explained: “This is not my favourite course, so I was pleased to improve my personal best on it. I had a bit of ‘fun’ in a pothole which caused a few errant gear changes. Still, it’s great to be out racing and enjoyed it. Well afterwards anyway: smiling face with smiling eyes – many thanks to everyone helping run the event”.
Meanwhile the first medal of the Friction Series was sealed by 16 year-old Henri Bedford as he took Junior Gold thanks to a great effort of 55:46 – good enough for 4th place Overall. Bedford seems to be getting ever-faster as the season progresses and he was rewarded by moving into a narrow lead of the Overall Series for the first time in a close battle that sees the Top 4 covered by just 30 points. He was pleased with his morning’s work, commenting: “I am thrilled to win Junior Gold as this season has been a bit different to other year with its disjointed nature. I would like to say a massive thanks to Shropshire CCA and all of the member clubs that made these events possible in hard times. I really enjoyed the challenging and technical Battlefield course, but didn’t enjoy the wind on the way out. I smashed my course record by several minutes from last year – thanks to everyone who volunteered and ran the event”.
Full:
| Pos’n | Name | Club | Result | No |
| 1 | Danny Glyn Roberts | Clwb Beicio Egni/Energy Cycling Club | 00:53:12 | 60 |
| 2 | Luke Pollard | Royal Air Force Cycling Association | 00:53:42 | 55 |
| 3 | Dean Callister | Nova Raiders CC | 00:54:31 | 67 |
| 4 | Mathew Roberts | Clwb Beicio Egni/Energy Cycling Club | 00:54:36 | 78 |
| 5 | Mitch Russell | Clwb Beicio Egni/Energy Cycling Club | 00:54:37 | 70 |
| 6 | Daniel Watts | Royal Air Force Cycling Association | 00:54:39 | 80 |
| 7 | David James Williams | Velotik Racing Team | 00:54:42 | 85 |
| 8 | Richard Bott | Richard Bott Racing | 00:54:50 | 45 |
| 8 | Alastair Ribbands | Manchester Wheelers | 00:54:50 | 84 |
| 10 | Matthew Wales | Richard Bott Racing | 00:55:01 | 64 |
| 11 | Victor Chetta | Pirate juice cc | 00:55:17 | 71 |
| 12 | Henri Bedford | Revolutions Racing | 00:55:46 | 54 |
| 13 | Richard Evans | Birkenhead North End CC | 00:56:21 | 59 |
| 14 | Paul Grindley | Liverpool Century RC | 00:56:28 | 76 |
| 15 | Thomas Garbett | Total Tri Training | 00:56:56 | 61 |
| 16 | Robbie Lawton | Mersey Tri | 00:57:02 | 58 |
| 17 | Gareth Sanger | Velotik Racing Team | 00:57:34 | 40 |
| 18 | Ciaran Pickering | Team Sportslab | 00:57:53 | 77 |
| 19 | James Smith | Chester RC | 00:58:04 | 49 |
| 20 | Stuart McCormick | Pirate juice cc | 00:58:06 | 74 |
| 21 | Steven Hilton | Warrington Road Club/Horton Light Engineering | 00:58:11 | 65 |
| 22 | Dean Hanwell | North Endurance | 00:58:43 | 51 |
| 23 | Philip Knupfer | Manchester Bicycle Club | 00:58:58 | 44 |
| 24 | Phillip Warburton | Liverpool Phoenix CC (Aintree) | 00:59:35 | 63 |
| 25 | Frances Owen | Wrexham RC | 00:59:40 | 12 |
| 26 | Mat Stephenson | Congleton CC | 00:59:48 | 83 |
| 27 | Andrew Rose | Nova Raiders CC | 01:00:09 | 82 |
| 28 | Jake Turner | Mersey Tri | 01:00:32 | 14 |
| 29 | Ben Love | Pirate juice cc | 01:00:49 | 57 |
| 30 | Philip Hill | Pirate juice cc | 01:01:32 | 50 |
| 31 | Ian Cook | Chester RC | 01:01:39 | 46 |
| 32 | Jarod Garrington | Graham Weigh Racing-Deeside Olympic | 01:01:42 | 33 |
| 33 | Lucy Rogers | Congleton CC | 01:01:52 | 25 |
| 34 | Graham Noble | Pirate juice cc | 01:02:13 | 53 |
| 35 | Alan Chell | Crewe Clarion Wheelers | 01:02:15 | 43 |
| 36 | Graeme Donnell | Nova Raiders CC | 01:02:26 | 36 |
| 37 | Richard Baker | Audlem Cycling Club | 01:02:54 | 27 |
| 38 | Paul Martin | North Endurance | 01:03:16 | 23 |
| 38 | Mike McKeen | Mersey Tri | 01:03:16 | 35 |
| 40 | Tim Whitefoot | Crewe Clarion Wheelers | 01:03:20 | 30 |
| 41 | Richard Howes | Wrekinsport CC | 01:03:27 | 42 |
| 42 | Mike Bigwood | Wrekinsport CC | 01:03:55 | 31 |
| 43 | Deb Hutson-Lumb | Nova Raiders CC | 01:03:58 | 38 |
| 44 | Colin Hayes | Liverpool Century RC | 01:04:06 | 47 |
| 45 | Ian Connolly | Ludlow CC | 01:05:05 | 48 |
| 46 | Steve Cornish | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 01:05:39 | 52 |
| 47 | John Dromey | Rhos-on-Sea CC | 01:06:33 | 41 |
| 48 | Gino Trasatti | North Shropshire Wheelers | 01:06:37 | 26 |
| 49 | Stephen Turner | Westmead Team 88 | 01:06:39 | 66 |
| 50 | John Forbes | Birkenhead North End CC | 01:07:22 | 28 |
| 51 | David Pottinger | North Wirral Velo | 01:07:37 | 13 |
| 52 | Patrick Breen | North Endurance | 01:07:38 | 6 |
| 53 | Charlotte Marshall | Royal Navy & Royal Marines CA | 01:08:13 | 39 |
| 54 | Eurwyn Parry | VTTA (Merseyside) | 01:08:49 | 11 |
| 55 | Jenny York | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 01:10:06 | 32 |
| 56 | Les Boughey | North Shropshire Wheelers | 01:11:24 | 19 |
| 57 | Ian Casson | Birkenhead Victoria CC | 01:11:59 | 21 |
| 58 | Louise Hurdley | Hafren CC | 01:12:04 | 22 |
| 59 | Emma Jeffers | JRC Shutt Ridley RT | 01:12:11 | 8 |
| 60 | Milly Deer | North Shropshire Wheelers | 01:13:56 | 10 |
| 61 | Helen Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | 01:15:52 | 18 |
| 62 | Terry Price | North Shropshire Wheelers | 01:18:48 | 7 |
| 63 | Elaine Langley | North Shropshire Wheelers | 01:31:54 | 5 |
| . | Philip McCormick | Pirate juice cc | DNF | 9 |
| . | Andrew Moss | Crewe Clarion Wheelers | DNF | 24 |
| . | Warren Jackson | Congleton CC | DNF | 68 |
| . | Michael Boyes | Liverpool Century RC | DNS | 15 |
| . | Ben Gilpin | Nova Raiders CC | DNS | 16 |
| . | Peter Mulloy | Wrekinsport CC | DNS | 17 |
| . | Stephen Smout | North Shropshire Wheelers | DNS | 20 |
| . | Dave York | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | DNS | 29 |
| . | Philip Hunt | Tri Energy | DNS | 34 |
| . | Gareth Brookes | North Shropshire Wheelers | DNS | 37 |
| . | Peter Grindley | Liverpool Century RC | DNS | 56 |
| . | Mark Berry | Rossendale RC | DNS | 62 |
| . | Joel Ackers | Innovation Racing | DNS | 69 |
| . | Ian Lawton | Mersey Tri | DNS | 72 |
| . | Jonathan Mills-Keeling | Cycle Club Bridgnorth RWG | DNS | 73 |
| . | George Mills-Keeling | Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling | DNS | 75 |
| . | Mike Booker | Chester RC | DNS | 79 |
| . | Bryn Davies | Hafren CC | DNS | 81 |
SCCA:
| Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Time | Points |
| 1 | Dean Callister | Nova Raiders CC | S | 00:54:31 | 60 |
| 2 | Daniel Watts | SCCA Private Member | S | 00:54:39 | 55 |
| 3 | Victor Chetta | SCCA Private Member | V | 00:55:17 | 50 |
| 4 | Henri Bedford | Revolutions Racing | J | 00:55:46 | 45 |
| 5 | Andrew Rose | Nova Raiders CC | V | 01:00:09 | 40 |
| 6 | Graeme Donnell | Nova Raiders CC | V | 01:02:26 | 35 |
| 7 | Richard Howes | Wrekinsport CC | V | 01:03:27 | 30 |
| 8 | Mike Bigwood | Wrekinsport CC | S | 01:03:55 | 25 |
| 9 | Deb Hutson-Lumb | Nova Raiders CC | WV | 01:03:58 | 20 |
| 10 | Ian Connolly | Ludlow CC | V | 01:05:05 | 15 |
| 11 | Steve Cornish | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | V | 01:05:39 | 10 |
| 12 | Gino Trasatti | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | 01:06:37 | 5 |
| 13 | Jenny York | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | WV | 01:10:06 | 5 |
| 14 | Les Boughey | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | 01:11:24 | 5 |
| 15 | Louise Hurdley | Hafren CC | WV | 01:12:04 | 5 |
| 16 | Milly Deer | North Shropshire Wheelers | W | 01:13:56 | 5 |
| 17 | Helen Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | WV | 01:15:52 | 5 |
| 18 | Terry Price | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | 01:18:48 | 5 |
| 19 | Elaine Langley | North Shropshire Wheelers | WV | 01:31:54 | 5 |
| . | Ben Gilpin | Nova Raiders CC | . | DNS | . |
| . | Bryn Davies | Hafren CC | . | DNS | . |
| . | Dave York | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | . | DNS | . |
| . | Gareth Brookes | North Shropshire Wheelers | . | DNS | . |
| . | Jonathan Mills-Keeling | Cycle Club Bridgnorth RWG | . | DNS | . |
| . | Peter Mulloy | Wrekinsport CC | . | DNS | . |
| . | Stephen Smout | North Shropshire Wheelers | . | DNS | . |
Women’s:
| Women’s Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Time | Women’s Points |
| 1 | Deb Hutson-Lumb | Nova Raiders CC | WV | 01:03:58 | 60 |
| 2 | Jenny York | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | WV | 01:10:06 | 55 |
| 3 | Louise Hurdley | Hafren CC | WV | 01:12:04 | 50 |
| 4 | Milly Deer | North Shropshire Wheelers | W | 01:13:56 | 45 |
| 5 | Helen Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | WV | 01:15:52 | 40 |
| 6 | Elaine Langley | North Shropshire Wheelers | WV | 01:31:54 | 35 |
Veterans:
| Vets Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Vet +/- | Vets Points |
| 1 | Victor Chetta | SCCA Private Member | V | +11:23 | 60 |
| 2 | Deb Hutson-Lumb | Nova Raiders CC | WV | +11:00 | 55 |
| 3 | Andrew Rose | Nova Raiders CC | V | +08:17 | 50 |
| 4 | Gino Trasatti | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | +07:05 | 45 |
| 5 | Jenny York | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | WV | +06:48 | 40 |
| 6 | Graeme Donnell | Nova Raiders CC | V | +06:37 | 35 |
| 7 | Steve Cornish | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | V | +05:45 | 30 |
| 8 | Richard Howes | Wrekinsport CC | V | +04:24 | 25 |
| 9 | Ian Connolly | Ludlow CC | V | +03:10 | 20 |
| 10 | Louise Hurdley | Hafren CC | WV | -00:14 | 15 |
| 11 | Helen Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | WV | -01:48 | 10 |
| 12 | Les Boughey | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | -01:54 | 5 |
| 13 | Terry Price | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | -11:20 | 5 |
| 14 | Elaine Langley | North Shropshire Wheelers | WV | -18:16 | 5 |
Juniors:
| Junior Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Time | Junior Points |
| 1 | Henri Bedford | Revolutions Racing | J | 00:55:46 | 60 |
Top Club Award:
| Pos’n | Club | Points |
| 1 | Nova Raiders CC | 155 |
| 2 | Wrekinsport CC | 55 |
| 3 | Revolutions Racing | 45 |
| 4 | North Shropshire Wheelers | 25 |
| 5 | Ludlow CC | 15 |
| 5 | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 15 |
| 7 | Hafren CC | 5 |
| 7 | Oswestry Paragon CC | 5 |
Cumulative standings after five rounds
Overall Top 10:
| Position | Name | Club | Cat | Best 5 |
| 1 | Henri Bedford | Revolutions Racing | J | 215 |
| 2 | Daniel Watts | SCCA Private Member | S | 205 |
| 3 | Dean Callister | Nova Raiders | S | 195 |
| 4 | Tim Beardmore | Nova Raiders | V | 185 |
| 5 | Victor Chetta | SCCA Private Member | V | 145 |
| 6 | Christopher Halford | Wrekinsport CC | V | 120 |
| 6 | Kieran Morris | SCCA Private Member | S | 120 |
| 8 | Tomos Hales | Wrekinsport CC | S | 95 |
| 9 | Andrew Rose | Nova Raiders | V | 75 |
| 10 | Liam Holohan | Holohan Coaching RT | S | 60 |
Veterans Top 10:
| Position | Name | Club | Best 5 |
| 1 | Deb Hutson-Lumb | Nova Raiders | 285 |
| 2 | Tim Beardmore | Nova Raiders | 220 |
| 3 | Victor Chetta | SCCA Private Member | 160 |
| 4 | Christopher Halford | Wrekinsport CC | 155 |
| 5 | Andrew Rose | Nova Raiders | 125 |
| 6 | Jenny York | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 100 |
| 7 | Dean Dovey | Nova Raiders | 95 |
| 7 | Phil Guy | North Shropshire Wheelers | 95 |
| 9 | Jonathan Mills-Keeling | Cycle Club Bridgnorth RWG | 90 |
| 10 | Bryn Davies | Hafren CC | 80 |
Women’s Top 10:
| Women’s Pos’n | Name | Club | Best 5 |
| 1 | Deb Hutson-Lumb | Nova Raiders | 300 |
| 2 | Louise Hurdley | Hafren CC | 235 |
| 3 | Jenny York | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 160 |
| 4 | Helen Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | 150 |
| 5 | Bethan Till | Wrekinsport CC | 145 |
| 6 | Milly Deer | North Shropshire Wheelers | 90 |
| 7 | Clare O’Donnell | Wrekinsport CC | 70 |
| 8 | Emma Serjeant | Hafren CC | 55 |
| 8 | Rebecca Woodvine | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 55 |
| 10 | Carys Blowers | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 45 |
Junior Standings:
| Junior Pos’n | Name | Club | Best 12 |
| 1 | Henri Bedford | Revolutions Racing | 295 |
| 2 | Carys Blowers | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 95 |
| 3 | Ben Pierce | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 60 |
| 4 | James Satoor | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 55 |
| 5 | Rebecca Woodvine | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 50 |
Top Club Award:
| Position | Club | Total Points |
| 1 | Nova Raiders | 665 |
| 2 | Wrekinsport CC | 455 |
| 3 | Revolutions Racing | 215 |
| 4 | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 155 |
| 5 | Holohan Coaching RT | 110 |
| 6 | North Shropshire Wheelers | 90 |
| 7 | Hafren CC | 85 |
| 8 | CC Bridgnorth RWG | 80 |
| 9 | SCCA Private Member | 40 |
| 10 | Ludlow CC | 35 |
| 11 | Ludlow Brewery RT | 20 |
| 11 | Oswestry Paragon CC | 20 |
| 13 | Newport (Shropshire) CC | 15 |
| 14 | Paramount CRT | 5 |
| 14 | Propel CC | 5 |