Location: Victoria Park, Leamington Spa
Event: 24 March 2012
Report: Snowdon Sports

MJS Racing’s George Bate won both of the category three races in what proved to be a very competitive field in the first round of the Victoria Park Criterium.

The 22-year-old was first over the line in a bunch finish in the first race with a split second separating the leading riders.

And the Birmingham rider repeated the feat in the second category three race to take a good lead to the second and final event on April 14th.

The racing began in glorious sunshine with a category four race which was also closely contested. Oliver Hambrey (University of Warwick) took victory, although the start to the day’s racing was marred somewhat when a nasty crash occurred on the final corner of the circuit. A few riders fell from their bikes, with one requiring a trip to the hospital.

TSBikes.co.uk’s Kevin Steel, who finished third in the first race, managed to step up a gear in the second category four race as he rode to victory with the biggest lead of the day.

The rest of the pack, including Lichfield CC’s Jacob Kelly and Stratford CC’s Ewan Gibb, were two seconds behind Steel as he crossed the line.

Results:

Category three race one:
1 George Bate (MJS Racing)
2 Jason Colledge (Wolverhampton Wheelers)
3 Thomas Dyson (East London Velo)
4 Martin Osman (MJS Racing)
5 Lee Aris (Wolverhampton Wheelers)
6 Paul Oldridge (Kenilworth Wheelers)
7 Leighton Davies (Bio-Cadenza)
8 Simon Waldron (Stourbridge CC)
9 Nick Yarworth (Echelon-Rotor)
10 James Webster (Kenilworth Wheelers)

Category three race two:
1 George Bate (MJS Racing)
2 James Webster (Kenilworth Wheelers)
3 Neil Goodridge (Kenilworth Wheelers)
4 Joseph White (Lindsey Road CC)
5 Martin Osman (MJS Racing)
6 Nicholas Selibas (Birmingham CC)
7 Cameron Smalley (Oxford University)
8 Thomas Dyson (East London Velo)
9 Michael Collins (Coalville Wheelers)
10 John Hughes (Nottingham Clarion)

Category four race one:
1 Oliver Hambrey (University of Warwickshire CC)
2 Jacob Kelly (Lichfield City CC)
3 Kevin Steel (TSBikes.co.uk)
4 Luke Selibas (Lichfield City CC)
5 David Collins (Kenilworth Wheelers)
6 Matthew Fletcher (Zappis CC)
7 Ewan Gibb (Stratford CC)
8 David Mills (Zappis CC)
9 Daymian Underhill (University of Birmingham)
10 James Bird (Zappis CC)

Category four race two:
1 Kevin Steel (TSBikes.co.uk)
2 Jacob Kelly (Lichfield City CC)
3 Ewan Gibb (Stratford CC)
4 Nick Bosworth (Kenilworth Wheelers)
5 Joshua Jones (Cambridge University)
6 Alexander Chetwynd (Arbis LLP Roy Pink Cycles)
7 David Collins (Kenilworth Wheelers)
8 David Nash (Evesham and District Wheelers CC)
9 Lewis Gray (unattached)
10 Daymian Underhill (University of Birmingham)

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.