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Location: Happy Valley Park, Brighton
Event: 30 September 2012
Report: Snowdon Sports
Darren Barclay (Arctic-SRAM RT) took another victory in the London League as he raced clear of the opposition in Brighton. It is his second win in his second start of the league and he looks to be irresistible form.
Tucked away in Woodingdean, Brighton, the track for round three was a fast and hard-packed grassy course which encourages fast racing.
There is very little in the way of technical elements apart from the turns which were put in by the course designer.
The senior race alone saw 189 riders start and it made for a great contest. For the first three laps, Barclay was part of a four-man pack that got away from the bunch.
But then on lap four, the 39-year-old put his head down and put in an attack which stuck. For the remaining five laps, nobody could get close to him as he gradually built his lead before crossing the line a minute in front of Harry Franklin (Hargroves Cycles).
Darren said of his win: “My second cross race of the season and my second win. It’s a draggy and windy race and you’re never going to be on your own from the gun but I still managed to pull it out of the bag.
“It’s a good course, pretty rolling and I felt good out there. I pushed hard with about three laps to go. I really want to have a solid season in the London League. I’ll do a few of the National Trophy events but I’ll mostly stay local.
“I’m 39 now - I just missed out on being a vet this year. That’s a carrot that’s keeping me on my bike, next year I’ll have whole new targets. I think the key to it is staying on your bike. Some weeks you don’t want to get on it but you have to, you have to stay on your bike because if you miss a week it can be really hard to get back on.”
Harry put in a great race to take second overall and first in the juniors, with Alex Paton (Team GWB - ACTiV) down in third.
Nicky Hughes (Team Scott) was the first woman over the line and John Lyons (GS Invicta) made it three wins out of three in the vets.
Dan Tullett won the under 14 section, although he was also the quickest in the under 16s - a fantastic achievement for the Hargroves Cycles rider.
The fastest under 16 girl was Abi Abiztwisk (VC Londres) and in the under 14s it was Rachel Jary (VC Londres) who took the honours.
The under 12 boys was won by Ben Tullett (Hargroves Cycles) and in the under 10s, Joseph Martin (VO2) topped the podium.
Results:
Senior:
1 Darren Barclay (Arctic-SRAM RT)
2 Harry Franklin (Hargroves Cycles)
3 Alex Paton (Team GWB - ACTiV)
4 Jack Finch (PM Racing)
5 Chris Dick (London Phoenix CC)
6 Matt Holmes (Arctic-SRAM RT)
7 Phil Lenney (Team GWB - ACTiV)
8 Craig Joy (Team Toachim)
9 Ciaran O’Grady (Team Toachim)
10 Sam Stean (unattached)
First woman:
1 Nicky Hughes (Team Scott)
First vet:
1 John Lyons (GS Invicta)
Junior:
1 Harry Franklin (Hargroves Cycles)
2 Sam Stean (unattached)
3 Chris McGovern (Sutton CC)
4 Ashley Dennis (Prestige VC)
Under 16 boys:
1 Dan Tullett (Hargroves Cycles)
2 David Barnes (Condor)
3 Tom Franklin (Hargroves Cycles)
Under 16 girl:
1 Abi Abiztwisk (VC Londres)
Under 14 girl:
1 Rachel Jary (VC Londres)
Under 12 boys:
1 Ben Tullett (Hargroves Cycles)
2 Noah Charlton (VC Deal)
Under 10 boys:
1 Joseph Martin (VO2)
Please credit www.britishcycling.org.uk and link back if you use any of our race results.
British Cycling would like to thank the organising team, officials and everyone else who helped promote this event. Our sport could not exist without the hundreds of people, many of them unpaid volunteers, who put in many hours of hard work running events, activities and clubs.
