R5 UK ICT 2-Up Series: Mid Shropshire Wheelers 10

A tough evening saw youth come to the fore as two Mid Shropshire Wheelers Juniors took the win in their own club’s promotion in Round 5 of the UK ICT 2-Up Series. Held on the Waters Upton – Hodnet course, unfortunately conditions whilst warm and sunny were also very windy, with riders having to battle through a tough headwind on the longer ‘out’ leg. That didn’t stop James Satoor and Ben Pierce however as the youngsters made the most of the shelter offered by the other rider to recuperate and beat the 20 minute/30mph mark in the process with a fabulous effort of 19 minutes 57 seconds. This was Satoor and Pierce’s third teaming in this Series in 2021, with a strong ‘Won two, runner-up in one’ record. Speaking for the team Satoor revealed “We both thought it was a bit of a draggy night, with the outwards leg being really hard, but we were happy to get the win in the end, especially as neither of us have had the chance to get out much on the time trial bikes recently! Thanks to Mid Shropshire Wheelers for putting on the event”.

The Series leaders Graeme Donnell and Andrew Lacon took the runners-up spot in a fine 21:43 but saw their lead shrink to 12 points with Satoor and Pierce taking over sole occupancy of the Silver medal slot. The Nova Raiders pair have had their eyes firmly focussed on this Championship and took another step towards that task with 18 points added to their tally. Donnell stated: “It’s always great to be pushed to the max and beyond by the power of Andrew; I managed to give him a little more rest than usual which he repaid with even higher wattage in the tailwind home – thanks to Mid Shropshire Wheelers for a well organised event; and chapeaux to Ben and James”. Lacon added: “A great evening racing and I’m happy to continue scoring well in the Series and performing well as a team”.

Nova Raiders members also took third spot, with Ben Gilpin and Rob Jones stopping the watch on 22:34. Despite conditions this was only three seconds down from their Round 3 time, held on the same course in much calmer conditions. The pair coped well with the block headwind, which Gilpin remarked upon: “A glorious evening, but a power zapping headwind on the way out. Another well organised race once again, many thanks to all the volunteers. I’m very much looking forward to getting more races under our belts, as this was only our second together, it was tough but practice makes perfect”. Jones backed up Gilpin’s comments, stating: “I’m looking forward to the next one. It’s not getting any easier, but I’m learning a bit more every race”.

Hafren CC pair Emma Serjeant and Mark Hill tightened their grip on the Mixed Team Championship with an excellent ride of 23:56, opening their lead to 22 points/ Like other teams they found problems with the wind, which if coming from the wrong direction can make precise control problematical thanks to catching deep section wheels at a tricky yaw angle, and this seemed to have affected Serjeant’s ride: “There was a deceivingly strong head/cross wind on the way out which made it difficult to stay tight on Mark’s wheel on the way out, but we flew back from the turn”. Hill added: “A headwind off the start line held us back up to the halfway turn. We rode equally up till then. An energy boost of mine got us flying from the roundabout and I stayed in front mostly with Emma doing one great shift towards the finish – a warm and windy evening”.

Full result:

Mixed Team:

Cumulative Standings after five rounds

Overall

Mixed Team

Women’s Team