R5 Mower Mec 2-Up Series: Ludlow CC 10

The destination of the Mixed Team Championship was settled as Scott Palmer and Jonathan Mills-Keeling took a strong win in Round 5 of the Mower Mec 2-Up Series, Ludlow CC’s 10 to narrow the gap at the top of the standings to just six points. A strong tailwind propelled riders down the slope of Brimfield Bank on this fast course entirely based on the A49, but left riders grovelling after the turn at Sheet island. The Aerologic RT pairing stopped the watch on 20 minutes 21 seconds as they scored their fourth maximum in as many entries in this best of five Series. Despite a comfortable win of 1:12 Palmer and Mills-Keeling kept something in reserve for a major event in the Shropshire calendar a day after, as Palmer explained: “Knowing that the Shropshire 10 Championship was the day after, we noted that we needed to get the job done but not go too crazy. A nice tail wind out to the island gave us a top 10 time on Strava, but obviously a bit tougher on the return; but we got the win needed. Jonathan and I really enjoyed the course; it’s been a great Series – thanks to the organisers of Ludlow CC for putting on the race”. Mills-Keeling added: “A strong tailwind out. We worked well together into the headwind back. I was very happy to take the win with Scott; thanks to Ludlow for putting on”.

But if things were comfortable for the win that wasn’t the case for second and third spots, with the Hafren CC pairing of Neil Vose and Mark Hill taking the plaudits by a solitary second from Series leaders Peter Fletcher and Jack Young, who lost a vital two points in their pursuit of the Mower Mec title – if in a very different way to their Round 4 mechanical issues. Vose and Hill crossed the line in 22:33 to move up into the Bronze medal position, with Vose gaining his first experience of this course: “I had never done the Ludlow course so didn’t know what to expect. Not an easy course to warm up on as the A49 was busy and the weather looked windy and wet. The first section is down hill and with a tailwind myself and Mark started off strongly but the climb to the turn was tougher than I thought it would be. After the turn Mark pulled put an effort in and I struggled to offer any assistance, but we managed a great time of 22.33, our fastest together and beat our nearest rivals for second place by one second. A great and quick course; and we will be back next year to try and break the 22 minutes barrier”. The downside of this fast course is that there are limited close by side roads to get the legs fully functioning if you aren’t sure of how much time to allow to not miss your start slot, and this dichotomy was explained by Hill: “Always a tricky start on the A49 with limited warm up area and little time. Neil led off down the hill to Brimfield. A good tail wind helped along the long straight into the climb up to the roundabout. It took a full effort against the wind for as much speed as we could muster. A really enjoyable course – thanks Ludlow CC and Neil”.

Fletcher was initially disappointed by the loss of two points by the narrowest margin and seems to have accepted that he and Young may be loosening their grip on the Championship, stating: “Well, Déjà vu! Having both not visited the course previously it’s a new experience. The usual effort, on changeover timings we both did our fair share ‘out’. On the way back however I was feeling every second of my 54 years and leant on Jack a bit to get us back to base. To find we missed second place points by a measly one second was admittedly disappointing, but it is what it is and faster is faster however small the margin involved. Congratulations and well done to all the riders and full appreciation to all the marshals and organisers involved, on to the next one”.

Sorrel Williams and Karl Lombardi also made the long trip down from the Oswestry area to a course they had first experience on in 2024, leaving them wanting more. The trip was worthwhile as the pair sealed the Mixed Team Championship with 24:42, 56 seconds down on their 2024 effort reflecting the conditions which seemed to have sapped their strength on the return, with Williams stating: “Second time on this course. Blustery conditions made it fast on the way out but slow on the way back, especially the last couple of kilometres. We both decided to ride with modified time trial setups. Still, good conditions as the threatened rain stayed away and a large number of teams – thanks to Ludlow for putting this course on”. Lombardi was also thankful that the rain kept off but took precautions against the wind: “We were a bit cautious going into the event due to the bad weather. As such, we both rode with shallow section front wheels to provide some stability against the crosswind, particularly on those fast descents. I mostly tackled the longer flat sections, with Sorrel leading on the inclines, which I most welcomed. Due to the weather, we decided to play it safe and steady, so not as fast as last year for us but I think it was the right call. There was some good banter going between the pairs and spirits seemed high. It ended up being a really enjoyable event despite the conditions”.

Full:

Mixed Team:

Cumulative Standings after five rounds

Overall:

Mixed Team:

Female Team: