North Shropshire Wheelers Battlefield 25

The first bonus point round of the 2019 SB Sports Injuries Series saw a slew of personal bests recorded as near perfect conditions greeted riders in Round 9, North Shropshire Wheelers Battlefield 25. Held on the switchback Prees – Battlefield course competitors are assured of a workout with barely a flat piece of road to give relief from the constant rise and fall which wears the unwary down, with Dan Watts taking an excellent win in 55 minutes 18 seconds.

Having missed Round 8 Watts was looking to make up lost ground and took full advantage of the bonus points available for longer distance races to consolidate his third place in the Overall Championship – and set a determined personal best in the process. He stated: “A course I haven’t ridden in five years so it was nice to be greeted with good conditions and a PB. I suffered on the return but enjoyed it nonetheless. A pleasant evening spent on the bike rather than paddling around in the rain“!

Watts wasn’t alone in recording a personal best with the level of competition intense at the top of the results board, with just three seconds splitting second from third. Taking that runner-up spot was Nova Raiders’ Dean Callister crossing the line in 57:50 to push out Ian Nisbett. Callister overtook team mate Ed Middleton to leapfrog into fourth place in the Overall standings and is making good progress in his first year of Shropshire competition. He stated: “I’m very happy to get both a Course PB and a 25 mile PB for me. It was great to race on a nice evening. Great to see other team mates also getting course PB’s too. Thanks to the time keepers and marshals, a top night“.

The back story of Callister’s edging out of Nisbett was brought home by Nisbett’s post-race comments, which revealed hydration on the red hot evening may have played it’s part – not that Nisbett was overly bothered as he took over at the head of both the Overall and Veteran’s tables in a vintage season for the Hafren CC rider. Nisbett stopped the watch on 57:53 actual and +9:23 Veteran’s Standard to take the runner-up spot in that Championship on the night – although the battle to make the finish line was not easy: “It seemed like fast conditions, but in the end I only improved my course PB by a small margin. My plan was to hold something back for the final four mile drag went pear shaped when I got muscle cramps at 20.9 miles! Some great times by other riders“.

Nisbett was edged out in the Veteran’s race by a superb effort from North Shropshire Wheelers’ Gino Trasatti, another rider making it a vintage evening with a personal best +9:57 – though like Nisbett Trasatti also had his issues with hydration: “I knew I had my PB but didn’t realise I had won. I am surprised because on my return by Upper Battlefield I had a sip of water which upset me for about two minutes, but after I pushed hard on every hill which I enjoy and it seems to have paid off. It was a lovely evening and I’m sure all the other riders enjoyed the event and there were good results by all. A big thank you once again to the organisers, marshals and helpers“.

There were some tremendous performances in the Women’s Championship with Sarah Grant flying around the course in 1:01:01 – yet another personal best. This was Grant’s debut in the 2019 SB Series and she seemed to enjoy her evening out – until the final three miles, with one of the hardest parts of the course being left as a real sting in the tail. She commented: “We had a great night for it and I’m really pleased with a PB for this great course – though I was having negotiations with myself not to quit at mile 22 – wow, are those last three miles hard or what‽ Thanks to everyone racing and those making the racing possible“.

With Alison Dockney finishing runner-up in 1:05:50 she made up a couple of points on Women’s Series leader Louise Hurdley, another Hafren CC rider heading up a Series in a purple patch for the club. Hurdley continues to pick up steady points in her stoic defence, ending her evening on 1:11:33.

In the SB Junior Series Henri Bedford continues his determined defence of the title he made his own in 2018, dipping below the magic hour mark by 35 seconds with yet another PB. Bedford now has an almost unassailable lead of 114 points, the biggest margin in any County championship and used his light weight to good advantage to take 7th spot Overall. He commented: “I was happy to get under the hour with a course PB. Nice to have some decent weather and to not ride in the rain! Congratulations to Dan on his win, to all riders, and thank you to the marshals on the course“.

Result:

SB Sports Injuries and Physiotherapy Series – Round 9

Pos’n Name Club  Cat Time Points
1 Dan Watts SCCA Private Member S 55:18 26
2 Dean Callister  Nova Raiders S 57:50 24
3 Ian Nisbett Hafren CC V 57:53 22
4 Richard Kay North Shropshire Wheelers V 58:17 20
5 Olli Atkin SCCA Private Member S 58:32 18
6 Ed Middleton Nova Raiders V 59:04 16
7 Henri Bedford Revolutions Racing J 59:25 14
8 Steven Ford Nova Raiders V 1:00:34 12
9 Sarah Grant SCCA Private Member W 1:01:01 10
10 Gareth Brookes North Shropshire Wheelers V 1:01:44 8
11 Gino Trasatti North Shropshire Wheelers V 1:03:18 6
12 Graeme Donnell Nova Raiders V 1:03:41 4
13 Richard Cordova North Shropshire Wheelers V 1:04:37 4
14 Neil Coles Oswestry Paragon CC V 1:05:03 4
15 Alison Dockney SCCA Private Member W 1:05:50 4
16 Oli Allen Market Drayton CC ? 1:09:00  
17 Les Boughey North Shropshire Wheelers V 1:09:23 4
18 Louise Hurdley Hafren CC W 1:11:33 4
19 Terry Price North Shropshire Wheelers V 1:17:27 4
20 Elaine Langley North Shropshire Wheelers WV 1:27:05 4

SB Sports Injuries and Physiotherapy Veterans Series – Round 9

Vets Pos’n Name Club  Cat Vet +/- Vets Points
1 Gino Trasatti North Shropshire Wheelers V +9:57 26
2 Ian Nisbett Hafren CC V +9:23 24
3 Richard Kay North Shropshire Wheelers V +8:35 22
4 Steven Ford Nova Raiders V +7:52 20
5 Ed Middleton Nova Raiders V +6:56 18
6 Gareth Brookes North Shropshire Wheelers V +6:31 16
7 Graeme Donnell Nova Raiders V +4:57 14
8 Neil Coles Oswestry Paragon CC V +4:13 12
9 Richard Cordova North Shropshire Wheelers V +3:38 10
10 Les Boughey North Shropshire Wheelers V -0:07 8
11 Terry Price North Shropshire Wheelers V -10:22 6
12 Elaine Langley North Shropshire Wheelers WV -13:40 4

SB Sports Injuries and Physiotherapy Women’s Series – Round 9

Women’s Pos’n Name Club  Cat Time Women’s Points
1 Sarah Grant SCCA Private Member W 1:01:01 26
2 Alison Dockney SCCA Private Member W 1:05:50 24
3 Louise Hurdley Hafren CC W 1:11:33 22
4 Elaine Langley North Shropshire Wheelers WV 1:27:05 20

SB Sports Injuries and Physiotherapy Junior Series – Round 9

Junior Pos’n Name Club  Cat Time Junior Points
1 Henri Bedford Revolutions Racing J 59:25 26

Cumulative Standings after nine rounds

Overall

Position Name Club Cat Best 12
1 Ian Nisbett Hafren CC V 136
2 Chris Halford Wrekinsport CC V 130
3 Dan Watts SCCA Private Member S 118
4 Dean Callister Nova Raiders S 106
5 Ed Middleton Nova Raiders S 100
6 Henri Bedford Revolutions Racing J 78
7 Ollie Atkin SCCA Private Member S 76
8 Tony Harvey Mid Shropshire Wheelers V 40
9 Richard Kay North Shropshire Wheelers V 34
10 Andy Rose Nova Raiders V 22

Veterans

Position Name Club Cat Best 12
1 Ian Nisbett Hafren CC V 144
2 Chris Halford Wrekinsport CC V 134
3 Tony Harvey Mid Shropshire Wheelers V 62
4 Deb Hutson-Lumb Nova Raiders WV 58
5 Ian Pollard SCCA Private Member V 50
6 Graeme Donnell Nova Raiders V 48
=7 Gino Trasatti North Shropshire Wheelers V 44
=7 Jenny Newton Nova Raiders WV 44
=9 Andy Rose Nova Raiders V 42
=9 Rich Smith Wrekinsport CC V 42

Women’s

Position Name Club Cat Best 12
1 Louise Hurdley Hafren CC W 134
2 Alison Dockney SCCA Private Member W 98
3 Jenny Newton Nova Raiders WV 74
4 Deb Hutson-Lumb Nova Raiders WV 58
5 Natalie Brooks Paramount CRT W 50
=6 Elaine Langley North Shropshire Wheelers WV 38
=6 Helen Tudor Oswestry Paragon CC WV 38
8 Bethan Till Wrekinsport CC W 28
9 Sarah Grant SCCA Private Member W 26
10 Charlotte Chapman Nova Raiders W 20

Juniors

Position Name Club Cat Best 12
1 Henri Bedford Revolutions Racing J 162
2 George Coombes Evolve J 48
3 Jack Young Mid Shropshire Wheelers J 46
4 Charlie Price Mid Shropshire Wheelers J 42
=5 Kieran Morris SCCA Private Member J 20
=5 Sam Holwill Hafren CC J 20
=7 James Satoor Mid Shropshire Wheelers J 18
=7 Ronnie Tse Mid Shropshire Wheelers J 18