Location: Victoria Park, Warwickshire
Event: 14 April 2012
Report: Snowdon Sports
Stephen Edwards (Wolverhampton Wheelers) had a satisfactory day with first and sixth place finishes in the two third category races at the Victoria Park Criteriums in Royal Leamington Spa on Saturday.
In the first race, Edwards just pipped team mate Jason Colledge to first spot with a sprint finish involving a number of riders.
The same race saw Neil Goodridge crash and he required hospital treatment. He fractured a few ribs and broke his collarbone.
In the second category three race, a group of six riders tore away at the start and opened up a sizeable gap for the first ten laps.
But then the chasing bunch swallowed the group up and the contest was once again decided by a very fast sprint finish with Graeme Davidson (Kenilworth Wheelers) first over.
Davidson was forced to the side as another Kenilworth rider, Paul Aldridge, pushed to put the two riders neck and neck on the line but the 41-year-old Warwick man managed to push on and take the win.
Sheffield’s Neal Hunt (Alp Action Ettridge Cycles RT) won the first category four race by about five bike lengths after making a break from the pack. RST Racing Team’s William Woodward managed second place. There was another crash in this race with one rider having to be pulled from a bush.
In the second category four race, Woodward came out firing on all cylinders to overhaul Hunt and Kenilworth Wheelers’ Nicholas Bosworth to take victory.
The race took place on a fast track with a smooth surface and was extremely popular with the event organiser having to turn away 52 entrants.
Results:
Category 3 Race 1:
1 Stephen Edwards (Wolverhampton Wheelers)
2 Jason Colledge (Wolverhampton Wheelers)
3 Steve Thompson (Clay Cross Road Team)
4 Shaun Culpin (Witham Wheelers CC)
5 John Hughes (Nottingham Clarion CC)
6 Lauren Creamer (Abergavenny Road Club)
Category 3 Race 2:
1 Graeme Davidson (Kenilworth Wheelers CC)
2 Paul Aldridge (Kenilworth Wheelers CC)
3 Steve Thompson (Clay Cross Road Team)
4 David Lee (NFTO)
5 Robert Lockheart (Cyclesport International RT)
6 Stephen Edwards (Wolverhampton Wheelers)
Category 4 Race 1:
1 Neal Hunt (Alp Action Ettridge Cycles RT)
2 William Woodward (RST Racing Team)
3 James Jevons (Stourbridge Velo)
4 Matthew Fletcher (Zappi’s Cycling Club)
5 David Collins (Kenilworth Wheelers CC)
6 Nick Preece (NFTO)
Category 4 Race 2:
1 William Woodward (RST Racing Team)
2 Nicholas Bosworth (Kenilworth Wheelers CC)
3 Neal Hunt (Alp Action Ettridge Cycles RT)
4 Chris Bates (Loughborough Students CC)
5 Alexander Chetwynd (Arbis LLP – Roy Pink Cycles)
6 Henry Robertshaw (Chelmer CC)
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.
