Location: Gateshead, International Stadium, Gateshead
Event: 3 February 2013
Report: Snowdon Sports
Photos: Richard Elsdon
Stuart Wearmouth of MTS eased to victory in the inaugural staging of the North East Championships in Gateshead on Sunday.
Around 65 riders lined up at the beginning of the race on a course which had to be cut down by organiser Tony Glover due to the bad weather.
Keith Murray of Team Scott led on the first lap followed by a group of Steven Ward (MTS), Noel Clough (Fietson Tempo), Colin Ash (Black Hawk and junior Stephen Lee (DCC).
They took the first lap together but then at the end of the lap, Wearmouth put an attack in and he was gone. He raced the rest of the event alone, finishing with a gap of 1:07.
Keith Murray managed to keep in touch with Ash and Ward and as Ward fell away on the third lap, it came down to Ward and Murray in a race for second place.
Murray moved ahead on a muddy section with half a lap remaining and managed to open a small gap to take second on the podium.
Stuart said after the race: “I’ve won the North of England Championship before, that was a few years ago but it was good to win the first North East Championships.
“The course was very slippery with dry, claggy mud so there was a lot of changing bikes - that helped a lot.
“I basically pulled out on the first lap then pulled away a bit more each lap.It was a technical course which definitely suits me best with some off cambers and slippy corners.
“I know Keith wasn’t too happy with the lack of straight lines and he was on the back foot before he started really.
“We didn’t have to run any of the course, you could ride it all but I did run some sections to keep the bike cleaner after changing more than anything. It was more efficient to do that.
“I think I’ll do some local mountain biking for the rest of the season, might do a national one just to keep ticking over for the next cross season.”
Results:
Overall:
1 Stuart Wearmouth (MTS) 49:16
2 Keith Murray (Team Scott) @1:07
3 Colin Ash (Black Hawk) @1:12
4 Steven Ward (MTS) @2:25
5 Noel Clough (Fietson Tempo) @4:21
6 Barry Kipling (MTS) 50:24:65
7 Cliff Featherstone (MTS) 50:45:60
8 Andrew Burridge (Swarm) 52:52
9 Stephen Lee (DCC) 52:53:65
10 Rob Smith (DCC) 53:51:10
Senior:
Stuart Wearmouth
Vet 40:
Noel Clough
Vet 50:
Barry Kipling
Vet 55:
Cliff Featherstone
Vet 60:
John Carr (Cleveland Wheelers)
Junior:
Stephen Lee
Woman:
Karen Robertson (One Life Tri)
Youth:
1 Mark Donovan (Beacon Wheelers) 25:59
2 Thomas Mein (MTS) @21sec
3 Joe Mann (DCC) @2:37
4 Hamish Turnbull (Tyne Vagabonds)
5 Fin Robertson (Hetton Hawks)
6 Nick Hamilton (Hetton Hawks)
Under 16:
Fin Robertson
Under 14:
Mark Donovan
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.
