Location: Edenbridge, Kent
Event: 20 May 2012
Report: Snowdon Sports
Pedal Heaven RT provided the winner of the South East Regional Road Race Championship for the second year with victory going to Allan Ridler after 88 miles of action on the Edenbridge circuit.
Chris McNamara took the title in 2011, and Ridler – who had won Bec CC’s road race on the same roads two weeks earlier – was quick to praise the defending champion’s role in a victory he described as “a defining moment in my cycling career.
“It was a team effort,” said the 36-year-old winner, from Aldershot. “I couldn’t have won it without them.”
Tim Elverson was Pedal Heaven’s man in the first break of the day, which also included eventual third-placed Harold Evans (Dulwich Paragon CC), and they played the numbers game in the closing stages before it came down to four contenders with Ridler outsprinting Alex Higham (Felt Colbornes RT) and second-category Evans with McNamara in fourth place.
Added Ridler: “I didn’t have to do too much for the first half of the race, just mark any moves, and then with about four laps to go I got in a move with team-mate Paul Pickup and five or six others.
“We started to get away and I( thought it was the move, but we were brought back after about 20 minutes and immediately there was another attack until eventually 12 of us got away with three Pedal Heaven in the move.
“Chris went off the front with one other with a lap to go, which allowed me to sit in, and as they were coming back with about four miles to go, Alex Higham attacked on the climb and I bridged the gap with him.
“Chris said his legs were spent, but I had the legs at the finish and it worked out just right. The way it panned out for the team was amazing.”
Results:
1 Allan Ridler Pedal Heaven RT Elite 3:24:43
2 Alex Higham Felt Colbornes RT Elite @ 1sec
3 Harold Evans VO2 development team 2 @ same time
4 Chris McNamara Pedal Heaven RT Elite @ 6sec
5 William Pratt Dulwich Paragon 2 @ 15sec
6 Adam Cotterell Zappi's Pro Cycling 1 @ 31sec
7 Elliott Porter Team Corridori 2 @ 32sec
8 Taylor Johnstone Team De Ver 1 u23 @ 35sec
9 Ian Field Hargroves Cycles- Specialized 2 @ 1:28
10 Robert McCarthy Pedal Heaven RT 1 @ same time
11 Jake Martin Cycle Premier - Kovert E U23
12 Ian Paine London Dynamo 1
13 Paul Pickup Pedal Heaven RT Elite
14 Anders Christensen Pedal Heaven RT Elite
15 David Creegan pedal Heaven RT 1
16 Drew Holmes VO2 Development Team 2
17 Andy Betts Felt-Colbornes RT E
18 Darren Barclay ARCTIC-SRAM 1
19 Paul Sewell Bigfoot CC 2
20 Luke Wallis La Fuga-Sigma Sport 2
21 Harry Franklin Hargroves cycles 3j
22 Harry Godding PM Racing 2J
23 David Murrell London Phoenix CC 2
24 Ciaran O'Grady Team Toachim 3 - U23
25 FrancisCcade VO2 Development Team 2
26 Andrew Colvin Bigfoot CC 3
27 Chris Morrison London Dynamo 3
28 David Seager PM Racing 1
29 Rhys Keepence Dulwich Paragon 2
30 Alan Strang Dulwich Paragon 2
31 Dean Corney VC Meudon 3
32 Brian Macpherson VC Meudon 2
33 Stephen Swindley Team Toachim 3 U23
34 Stuart Adair Redhill CC 3
35 Jonathan Maher Dulwich Paragon CC 3
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.
