Published: Tuesday 11 July 2023
Images: Man Down Media
Four national youth champions were crowned at the National Youth Circuit Championships, while Libby Smithson and George Wood secured wins at the Junior Tour of Wales. Down in London, sprinters and endurance riders battled it out to take more points in the National Track Series.
National Youth Circuit Championships
Henry Hobbs, Abigail Miller, Finlay Storrie and Melanie Rowe were crowned the youth circuit national champions in Bradford.
A frantic start saw the Youth A boy’s attack from the start. The peloton stayed together at pace initially, but after two laps, riders began to attack and five-man break formed, opening a gap of 28 seconds. Rory Gravelle (Velo Myrddin CC), Ethan Squires (Beeston Cycling Club) and Jack Baldie (Avid Sport) pushed on the pace in the front group, but Henry Hobbs (Welwyn Wheelers CC) proved to be the strongest, taking the win in a sprint finish from the break. Luca Bednarek (Kirklees Cycling Academy) just missed out on a victory and had to settle from second place ahead of Harry Speak (Clifton CC).
The girl’s Youth A race saw an active peloton largely stay together, with attack after attack meaning that the pace was high. With a sprint from far out, Abigail Miller (Clifton CC) beat Arabella Blackburn (Deeside Thistle CC) and Rebecca Gardiner (Lee Valley Youth Cycling Club) to take the national title.
In the boy’s Youth B race, a group of 15 riders broke away early on, holding a 26 second lead throughout. A bunch sprint saw Finlay Storrie (Maindy Flyers) take the win to be crowned the national champion, while William Coles (Evolution Racing Academy) took the silver, and Archie Whittemore (Clifton CC) claimed the bronze.
A slow start in the Youth B girl’s race saw Katie Lawson (Secret-Training.cc) lead the peloton through the first three laps until the pace started to increase. With the race beginning to fracture, five riders broke clear of the main group with a slender lead. As the rain started to fall, conditions certainly affected the pace of all the groups on the track, but the gap remained steady, with the front group holding the lead and extending their advantage. The impressive group of five contested a bunch sprint for the national title, with Melanie Rowe (Deeside Thistle CC) continuing her dominance to claim the victory, while Katie Robertson (Clifton CC) and Rose Lewis (Halesowen A & CC) claimed second and third respectively.
Junior and Under-23 Women National Road Series and Under-23 Men National Road Series
The under-23 and junior women’s race of 76km saw the riders battle rain and wind throughout the race. Newly crowned junior champion Amelia Cebak (Tofauti Everyone Active) was aggressive throughout, attacking on the Boughrood Breast climb on the first lap - and trying repeatedly to force a gap almost every lap but was reeled back in on each occasion.
When the race switched onto the shorter, punchier finishing circuit, there was another opportunity for Cebak to animate the race, going clear with two others over the summit of the Dderw Pitch but again being chased on the descent. Libby Smithson (AWOL O’Shea) took the win in a sprint finish, with Lucy Glover (Shibden Hope Tech Apex) taking second and the first junior spot, while Millie Jenkins (Brother UK-Orientation Marketing) finished in third ahead of Cebak.
The under-23 men’s 114km race started with plenty of attacking as an active bunch fought to sort the best from the rest. James Satoor (Bridgnorth CC) and Will Harding (Wales Racing Academy) attacked up the first ascent of Dderw Pitch, gaining a gap of 15 seconds on the first lap, before coming back to the bunch. Coming into lap two, James Hartley (Cycling Sheffield), Will Truelove and Tom Williams (both RoKIT-SRCT) attacked and gained a 40 second lead before also being reeled back in the bunch. Harding continued to be active, getting away in a five-man breakaway before being caught again and attacking solo up the climb. George Wood (Cycling Sheffield) and Sam Clarke (trainSharp Elite) stuck to his wheel and the trio worked well to gain a gap of one minute and 20 seconds. The chasing peloton began to fracture as riders tried to bridge across, with Joe Brookes (Halesowen A & CC), Nathan Hardy (PB Performance), Archie Ellen (The Cycling Academy), Williams and Dave Hird (RoKIT-SRCT) leading the main bunch. The three leaders continued to maintain their lead, and as they went into the last lap, the four behind had formed their own chasing group. Wood attacked strongly over the final climb and took a dominant victory out on his own, with Harding pipping Clark for second and third. Hartley won the bunch sprint to finish in fourth.
National Masters Road Race Championships
The riders competed over two laps of the picturesque Roadford Reservoir in Dartmoor National Park to be crowned national championships.
In the 30-34 category, Clay Davies took the win ahead of Peter Hargreaves and James Bevan, while Ruth Shier took the women's win. Jennifer Hudson and Katie Pratt finished in second and third, repsectively.
Adam Kenway and Alice Lethbridge were crowned the winners of the 35-39 category, while Christopher Booth, Matt Tupman, Jennifer Lemen and Laura Furness took podium places.
The 40-44 age group saw Mary Wilkinson take the win ahead of Boompods teammate Gemma Mitchell, while Mathilde Pauls came in third. The men's equivalent saw Simon Skinner secure the victory while James Bonham and Yanto Barker rounded off the podium.
Elizabeth Williams won the women's 45-49 category, beating Kerry Paul and Stephanie Wheatley in second and third, respectively while Jonathan Harris and secured the men's win ahead of Jeremy Hunt and Chris McNamara.
Andrew Rigg won the men's 50-54 age group ahead of John Russells and Jason Flooks as Catriona Ross took the win in the women's equivalent. Beverley Jerome and Lisa Martin finished second and third, respectively.
Suzetta Guerrini took the women's 55-59 win, while Simon Deplitch secured the men's victory ahead of Roy Chamberlain and Gideon Aroussi. Mike Twelves, Charles Zanettacci and Paul James completed the podium in the men's 60-64 category, while Lindsay Phillip was crowned the victor in the women's 60+ age group.
Robin Delve, Stephen Wilkinson and Michael Austin were the medal winners in the men's 65-69 category, and Robin Snelson and Brian Cookson took first and second place in the 70-74 age group. David Phillips and Paul Townsley secure first and second position in the 75+ age group.
National Hard Track Endurance League – Brixton SuperMadison
James Ambrose-Parish (TAAP Endura) teamed up with William Gilbank (Lee Valley Youth Cycling Club) to be crowned the winners of the Rob Jeffries 50 Lap Madison Race at Herne Hill Velodrome over the weekend in the sixth round of the National Hard Track Endurance League.
Tom Ward and John McClelland (WardPerformanceUK.com) represented their team well to finish in second place ahead of Timothy Torrie (trainSharp Elite) and Andrew Brinkley (OVB).
Brixton SuperMadison also hosted the third round of the National Sprinters League, with Jack Wybrow (Black Line) taking the honours after a brilliant performance. Wybrow just edged out Luca Lupo (SES Racing) in the winners ride off to decide first and second place. Tom Morrissey (ESV Manchester) beat Will Munday (Glasgow Track Racing Club) to round off the podium in third.
