Plans for a Prees – Battlefield 25 had to be truncated in Round 7 of the SB Sports Injuries Series due to road works in Hadnall – but it would have been unlikely that the evening produce a course record in the re-badged North Shropshire Wheelers Hawkstone 10. The lumpy circuit features a testing climb past Hawkstone Follies, with Jonathan Mills-Keeling shaving two seconds of Rich Kay’s 2018 benchmark with 23 minutes 32 seconds. Mills-Keeling had a superb evening out, taking the win in the Veteran’s Series too with +3:25 and extending his lead, whilst taking over the lead in the Overall SB Series on a fabulously warm evening.
The Aerologic rider beat Mid Shropshire Wheelers’ Devon Round by 10 seconds in a close contest, with Mills-Keeling enjoying taking a record. He stated: “A perfect evening. I was expecting the Battlefield 25 but road works stopped that. It was nice to do the Hawkstone 10 for a change, a really interesting and fun course. I was delighted to get the win and the course record, thanks to North Shropshire Wheelers for putting on”.
Round had ridden the course earlier in the year in a club 10 and was also expecting the 25 mile course on arrival, but thankfully Norths had requested a reserve. He set a solid time of 23:42, showing just how tough and technical this circuit is. He commented: “A really challenging 10 course, a very different effort to the 25 that was initially planned. I spent too much on the first climb and faded towards the end but fun nevertheless. Congratulations Jonathan on the win and Course Record”!
The final podium spot went to Chris Riley who took third overall and runner-up in the Veterans with 24:16 and +3:08 respectively. He just beat Road Bike winner Dan Watts by three seconds, in his first appearance of the season. Riley enjoyed his race, stating: “The North Shropshire Wheelers’ Hilly 10 course is brilliant and I felt like John Wayne swaggering up that hill on my time trial bike. A lovely evening; and I am in awe of Jonathan’s performance and course record – thanks North Shropshire Wheelers”.
Watts posted a fine time of 24:19 to see off the attentions of Market Drayton CC’s Richard Simpson by 53 seconds in this handicap competition. A former Shropshire Hill Climb Champion, lumpy courses hold no fear for him. Whilst time trial bikes had the advantage on the long descents observers reported road bikes having the edge on inclines, which echoes Riley’s comment – and Watt’s observations. He commented: “I always enjoy the Hawkstone hilly course which is usually run early season, but as this was my first outing of the year 10 miles on that course was just right. I enjoyed not having to drag a time trial bike up the climbs but suffered on the fast run to the finish. Congratulations to Jonathan, it’s always nice to get a course record”.
One female and one Junior were in competition – and both were Carys Blowers who recorded a fine 26:37 but being unaffiliated left the standings unaltered.
Full:
| Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Time | Points |
| 1 | Jonathan Mills-Keeling | Aerologic RT | V | 23:32 | 20 |
| 2 | Devon Round | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | S | 23:42 | 18 |
| 3 | Chris Riley | Paramount CRT | V | 24:16 | 16 |
| 4 | Dan Watts | SCCA Private Member | S | 24:19 | 14 |
| 5 | Stan Elmitt | Fibrax Fenwicks Wrexham CC | V | 25:59 | . |
| 6 | Carys Blowers | Liv CC Halo Films | FJ | 26:37 | . |
| 7 | Richard Simpson | Market Drayton CC | V | 26:43 | 12 |
| 8 | Richard Nickless | Paramount CRT | V | 27:26 | 10 |
| 9 | Alex Paululciewicz | North Shropshire Wheelers | S | 30:45 | 8 |
| 10 | Terry Price | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | 34:15 | 6 |
Veterans:
| Vets Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Vet +/- | Vets Points |
| 1 | Jonathan Mills-Keeling | Aerologic RT | V | +3:25 | 20 |
| 2 | Chris Riley | Paramount CRT | V | +3:08 | 18 |
| 3 | Stan Elmitt | Fibrax Fenwicks Wrexham CC | V | +1:40 | . |
| 4 | Richard Simpson | Market Drayton CC | V | +0:56 | 16 |
| 5 | Richard Nickless | Paramount CRT | V | -0:35 | 14 |
| 6 | Terry Price | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | -7:29 | 12 |
Road Bikes:
| RB Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | RB Adj Time | RB Points |
| 1 | Dan Watts | SCCA Private Member | S | 24:19 | 20 |
| 2 | Richard Simpson | Market Drayton CC | V | 25:12 | 18 |
| 3 | Richard Nickless | Paramount CRT | V | 26:43 | 16 |
| 4 | Alex Paululciewicz | North Shropshire Wheelers | S | 30:45 | 14 |
Females:
| Female Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Time | Female Points |
| 1 | Carys Blowers | Liv CC Halo Films | FJ | 26:37 | . |
Juniors:
| Junior Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Time | Junior Points |
| 1 | Carys Blowers | Liv CC Halo Films | FJ | 26:37 | . |
Cumulative Standings after seven rounds
Overall
| Position | Name | Club | Cat | Best 12 |
| 1 | Jonathan Mills-Keeling | Aerologic RT | V | 100 |
| 2 | Tomos Hales | Wrekinsport CC | S | 96 |
| 3 | Hayley Wells | Wrekinsport CC | F | 46 |
| 4 | Oil Freeman | Wrekinsport CC | S | 44 |
| 5 | Chris Riley | Paramount CRT | V | 42 |
| 6 | Dean Callister | Aerologic RT | S | 40 |
| 7 | Devon Round | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | S | 38 |
| 8 | Mark Pritchard | Aerologic RT | S | 32 |
| 9 | Richard Nickless | Paramount CRT | V | 26 |
| =10 | Mark Hill | Hafren CC | V | 24 |
| =10 | Scott Palmer | Aerologic RT | V | 24 |
Veterans
| Position | Name | Club | Cat | Best 12 |
| 1 | Jonathan Mills-Keeling | Aerologic RT | V | 120 |
| 2 | Chris Riley | Paramount CRT | V | 56 |
| 3 | Mark Hill | Hafren CC | V | 42 |
| 4 | Jan Davies | Hafren CC | FV | 36 |
| 5 | Scott Palmer | Aerologic RT | V | 34 |
| =6 | Ashley Kirkham | Wrekinsport CC | V | 32 |
| =6 | Richard Nickless | Paramount CRT | V | 32 |
| =6 | Rob Kennard | Aerologic RT | V | 32 |
| 9 | Geoff Edgerton | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | 28 |
| 10 | Helen Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | FV | 26 |
Road Bike:
| Position | Name | Club | Cat | Best 12 |
| 1 | Matt Muir | Propel CC | V | 46 |
| 2 | Mark Fenn | SCCA 1st Claim Member | V | 40 |
| 3 | Peter Everett | Oswestry Paragon CC | V | 34 |
| 4 | Ashley Kirkham | Wrekinsport CC | V | 26 |
| =5 | Adam Riley | Oswestry Paragon CC | V | 20 |
| =5 | Dan Watts | SCCA Private Member | S | 20 |
| =5 | Steve Minton | Ludlow Brewery RT | V | 20 |
| =8 | Jack Young | Oswestry Paragon CC | S | 18 |
| =8 | Richard Simpson | Market Drayton CC | V | 18 |
| =8 | Stacey Morgan | Ludlow Brewery RT | V | 18 |
| =8 | Tim Mayo | Propel CC | S | 18 |
Females:
| Position | Name | Club | Cat | Best 12 |
| 1 | Hayley Wells | Wrekinsport CC | F | 100 |
| 2 | Jan Davies | Hafren CC | FV | 54 |
| 3 | Helen Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | FV | 52 |
| 4 | Emma Brown | Paramount CRT | F | 14 |
Juniors
| Position | Name | Club | Cat | Best 12 |
| 1 | Ben Southgate | Wrekinsport CC | J | 60 |