One of the quickest 10 mile courses in the area saw some scorching hot times despite a sapping heading in Round 8 of the Friction hydraulics Series, Hafren CC’s 10. Held on the Berriew course, Wrekinsport’s Tomos Hales headed to the top of the standings as he swapped a five point deficit to Simon Romei to a five points lead after the Paramount rider finished third on the evening. Hales stopped the watch on 20 minutes 13 seconds with his best ever time 10 in an SCCA event to finally get the better of Dean Callister this season after the Aerologic rider took the runner-up spot in 20:35. Hales went out hard with the support of a tailwind but had enough strength to blast through a tough headwind hampering competitors for the return, critically not getting held up, as he explained: “I managed my quickest Shropshire 10 mile time in the Hafren time trial; however I did get very lucky with the traffic. As always I went out too hard but caught a lucky break when we returned into the headwind. Thanks Hafren CC for organising”.

Callister’s strategy was different – to conserve some strength for the return, but that seems to have made a difference: “Tailwind out, so I kept a lid on it for the return. I was really pleased with my effort on the return leg, but well done to Tomos with a phenomenal return into a tough headwind – chapeau, and thanks to Hafren CC for a great event”.

Romei still leads the Friction Veterans Series and moves down to the silver medal spot in the Overall Series in his first attempt at the course, which he was impressed with. Romei ended his evening on 21:48 to push out Bryn Davies by 26 seconds for the final podium spot, but despite a run of four consecutive wins in the Veterans couldn’t top the charge of Deb Hutson-Lumb who finally seems to be recovered from injury. Romei registered a Veterans plus of +4:43 to take Veteran’s runner-up 11 seconds ahead of Davies, but it was Hutson-Lumb who took a familiar win in +6:27. Romei stated: “I really enjoyed the Hafren 10; this was my first time racing this course. I found it a really quick outward leg but I had to work super hard on the return leg to make a good time. I was really chuffed to take third in the SCCA and runner-up in the Veterans category, I have to say the organisation and marshals were all great and very helpful having not raced the course and been to HQ before, so thank you all for your time and making this race happen”.

Hutson-Lumb is the reigning Veterans and Female Series holder, but by her high standards has had a quiet season. She finished runner-up in the Female category with a fine 23:24, 34 seconds behind Wrekinsport team mate Hayley Wells who now leads the 2024 Female Championship by 95 points. Hutson-Lumb seemed to be getting back into her stride with this race, commenting: “After a few 10’s where I’ve gone out too hard I managed a much better paced effort which paid off. A minor hold up by traffic, but otherwise a great evening for it – many thanks to Hafren for organising”.

Wells was really looking forward to this race, the site of a previous personal best – and more than fulfilled that sense of anticipation with a huge course best. She stated: “Excited to get back on this course as it’s where I set my PB last season. I exceeded expectations knocking 1:10 off my time! A quick leg out, but the headwind on the last part was a mental battle – brilliant turnout of riders, and brilliantly organised as always”.

One championship that seems to be taking off is the newly initiated Friction Road Bike Series, with 10 entrants deserting the aero advantages for a more traditional form of racing. Many of those were first-timers, with Bridgnorth CC’s Sam Holwill taking a fabulous win in 22:40, 1:09 ahead of nearest challenger William Preston of Paramount, another first-time entrant. This is a course Holwill knows well and despite the tough headwind which affects the more upright position on a road bike to a greater extent he was more than pleased with his effort, commenting: “I was very happy with my time; it was only one second behind my best time for the year despite the wind. My goal was to be the fastest road bike, and I managed that as well as 7th overall, so a good evening all round”.

It was certainly a good evening for Paramount CRT as they extended their lead at the head of the Top Club Award to an impressive 450 points thanks to a huge 14 of the 37 starters turning out to support their club.

Result

Friction and Hydraulic Services Shropshire Championship Points Series – Round 8

Pos’n Forename Surname Club Cat Time Points
1 Tomos Hales Wrekinsport CC S 20:13 60
2 Dean Callister Aerologic RT S 20:35 55
3 Simon Romei Paramount CRT V 21:48 50
4 Bryn Davies Hafren CC V 22:14 45
5 Jonathan Mills-Keeling Aerologic RT V 22:32 40
6 Robert McGregor Paramount CRT S 22:37 35
7 Sam Holwill Bridgnorth Cycling Club S 22:40 30
8 Alvydas Janusauskas Paramount CRT S 22:48 25
9 Hayley Wells Wrekinsport CC F 22:50 20
10 Chris Lewis Hafren CC S 22:54 15
11 Christopher Riley Paramount CRT V 22:56 10
12 Deb Hutson-Lumb Wrekinsport CC FV 23:24 5
13 Mark Hill Hafren CC V 23:36 5
14 William Preston Paramount CRT S 23:49 5
15 Ben Wood Wrekinsport CC S 23:56 5
16 Nathan Plowman Hafren CC S 24:10 5
17 Neil Vose Hafren CC V 24:20 5
18 James Elgar Paramount CRT V 24:56 5
19 Karl Lombardi Oswestry Paragon CC V 25:25 5
20 Thea Osmund-Smith Paramount CRT F 25:29 5
20 Dave Moore Wrekinsport CC V 25:29 5
22 John Westhead Paramount CRT V 25:49 5
23 Jan Davies Hafren CC FV 26:05 5
24 Robert Garbett Wrekinsport CC V 26:16 5
25 Ian Townsend Paramount CRT V 26:20 5
26 Les Boughey North Shropshire Wheelers V 26:31 5
26 Helen Tudor Oswestry Paragon CC FV 26:31 5
28 Colin Wells Paramount CRT V 26:38 5
29 Jamie Rossiter North Shropshire Wheelers V 27:13 5
30 Ashley Kirkham Wrekinsport CC V 27:15 5
31 Hugh Ashworth Paramount CRT V 27:21 5
32 Peter Rickard Paramount CRT V 27:24 5
33 Robin Shedden Wrekinsport CC V 27:25 5
34 David Cannell Paramount CRT V 28:41 5
35 Keith Davies Paramount CRT V 29:11 5
36 Kathryn Rossiter North Shropshire Wheelers FV 29:56 5
37 Phil Guy North Shropshire Wheelers V 30:42 5
. Philip Gardner Mid Shropshire Wheelers V DNS .
. Mason Durant Paramount CRT S DNS .
. Jonathan Goh Paramount CRT V DNS .

Friction and Hydraulic Services Veterans Championship – Round 8

Vets Pos’n Forename Surname Club Cat Vet +/- Vets Points
1 Deb Hutson-Lumb Wrekinsport CC FV +6:27 60
2 Simon Romei Paramount CRT V +4:43 55
3 Bryn Davies Hafren CC V +4:32 50
4 Christopher Riley Paramount CRT V +4:28 45
5 Jonathan Mills-Keeling Aerologic RT V +4:19 40
6 Mark Hill Hafren CC V +3:48 35
7 John Westhead Paramount CRT V +3:15 30
8 Jan Davies Hafren CC FV +2:52 25
9 Neil Vose Hafren CC V +2:50 20
10 Helen Tudor Oswestry Paragon CC FV +2:49 15
11 Karl Lombardi Oswestry Paragon CC V +2:30 10
12 Dave Moore Wrekinsport CC V +2:26 5
13 Colin Wells Paramount CRT V +2:04 5
14 Robert Garbett Wrekinsport CC V +1:57 5
15 Les Boughey North Shropshire Wheelers V +1:33 5
16 James Elgar Paramount CRT V +1:12 5
17 Hugh Ashworth Paramount CRT V +1:01 5
18 Robin Shedden Wrekinsport CC V +0:57 5
19 Ian Townsend Paramount CRT V +0:43 5
20 Jamie Rossiter North Shropshire Wheelers V +0:34 5
21 Phil Guy North Shropshire Wheelers V +0:06 5
22 Keith Davies Paramount CRT V -0:07 5
23 David Cannell Paramount CRT V -0:19 5
24 Kathryn Rossiter North Shropshire Wheelers FV -0:22 5
25 Peter Rickard Paramount CRT V -0:27 5
26 Ashley Kirkham Wrekinsport CC V -0:44 5

Friction and Hydraulic Services Female Championship – Round 8

Female Pos’n Forename Surname Club Cat Time Female Points
1 Hayley Wells Wrekinsport CC F 22:50 60
2 Deb Hutson-Lumb Wrekinsport CC FV 23:24 55
3 Thea Osmund-Smith Paramount CRT F 25:29 50
4 Jan Davies Hafren CC FV 26:05 45
5 Helen Tudor Oswestry Paragon CC FV 26:31 40
6 Kathryn Rossiter North Shropshire Wheelers FV 29:56 35

Friction and Hydraulic Services Road Bike Championship – Round 8

RB Pos’n Forename Surname Club Cat RB Adj Time RB Points
1 Sam Holwill Bridgnorth Cycling Club S 22:40 60
2 William Preston Paramount CRT S 23:49 55
3 Nathan Plowman Hafren CC S 24:10 50
4 Hugh Ashworth Paramount CRT V 25:07 45
5 Ian Townsend Paramount CRT V 25:25 40
6 Phil Guy North Shropshire Wheelers V 26:02 35
7 Keith Davies Paramount CRT V 26:15 30
8 David Cannell Paramount CRT V 26:27 25
9 Peter Rickard Paramount CRT V 26:35 20
. Jonathan Goh Paramount CRT V . .

Top Club Award – Round 8

Time Club Points
1 Paramount CRT 170
2 Wrekinsport CC 110
3 Aerologic RT 95
4 Hafren CC 80
5 Bridgnorth Cycling Club 30
6 North Shropshire Wheelers 20
7 Oswestry Paragon CC 10

Cumulative Standings after eight rounds

Friction and Hydraulic Services Shropshire Championship Points Series

Position Name Club Cat Best 12
1 Tomos Hales Wrekinsport CC S 335
2 Simon Romei Paramount CRT V 330
3 Bryn Davies Hafren CC V 265
4 Dean Callister Aerologic RT S 235
5 Paul Horton Bridgnorth Cycling Club S 200
6 Jonathan Mills-Keeling Aerologic RT V 195
=7 Devon Round Mid Shropshire Wheelers S 160
=7 Robert McGregor Paramount CRT S 160
9 Matthew Garthwaite Newport (Shropshire) CC S 155
10 Hayley Wells Wrekinsport CC F 140

Friction and Hydraulic Services Veterans Championship

Vets Position Name Club Best 12
1 Simon Romei Paramount CRT 415
2 Bryn Davies Hafren CC 375
3 Christopher Riley Paramount CRT 265
4 Jonathan Mills-Keeling Aerologic RT 260
5 Colin Wells Paramount CRT 200
6 Ian Connolly Ludlow CC 165
7 Mark Fenn Shropshire CCA 155
8 Helen Tudor Oswestry Paragon CC 145
=9 Ashley Kirkham Wrekinsport CC 105
=9 Deb Hutson-Lumb Wrekinsport CC 105

Friction and Hydraulic Services Female Championship

Female Pos’n Name Club Best 12
1 Hayley Wells Wrekinsport CC 370
2 Helen Tudor Oswestry Paragon CC 275
=3 Deb Hutson-Lumb Wrekinsport CC 55
=3 Emma Brown Paramount CRT 55
5 Thea Osmund-Smith Paramount CRT 50
6 Jan Davies Hafren CC 45
7 Kathryn Rossiter North Shropshire Wheelers 35

Friction and Hydraulic Services Road Bike Championship

Road Bike Pos’n Name Club Cat Best 12
1 Mark Fenn Shropshire CCA V 215
2 Ashley Kirkham Wrekinsport CC V 105
3 Ian Townsend Paramount CRT V 85
4 David Cannell Paramount CRT V 65
=5 Jonathan Goh Paramount CRT V 60
=5 Matthew Garthwaite Newport (Shropshire) CC S 60
=5 Sam Holwill Bridgnorth Cycling Club S 60
8 Thomas Herbert Bridgnorth Cycling Club S 60
=9 Chris Childs Bridgnorth Cycling Club S 55
=9 Paul Bailey Bridgnorth Cycling Club V 55
=9 Scott Palmer Aerologic RT V 55
=9 William Preston Paramount CRT S 55

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 1005
2 Wrekinsport CC 655
3 Aerologic RT 535
4 Hafren CC 335
5 Bridgnorth Cycling Club 315
6 Newport (Shropshire) CC 195
7 Mid Shropshire Wheelers 160
8 Oswestry Paragon CC 145
9 North Shropshire Wheelers 70
10 Ludlow CC 65