Location: Thurcroft, South Yorkshire
Event: 9 September 2012
Report: Julie Rodman/Snowdon Sports
Bishop Auckland’s James Alder (VC Briganti) made his journey to South Yorkshire worthwhile when he took victory in the Out of the Saddle Road Race near Thurcroft on Sunday.
The 23-year-old won a bunch sprint finish to the 54-mile race for riders up to second category, while Holmfirth 19-year-old Ben Kellett (VS Cycles) took second and Sheffield’s James Allen (Sheffrec CC) third.
It was excellently organised by Steve Ellis and his Out of the Saddle team in memorial to Pete Hinchcliffe who rode the race often. The sun shone the finish line was a mass of people cheering every lap and the riders did the organisers proud.
A short 3km circuit was covered 25 times, making it a course where a break was likely to succeed. The first riders to break away were Alder, Andrew Stuart (Nottingham Clarion) and Chris Fothergill (Rock Racing).
They attacked on lap four and were joined two laps later by Kellett, and Lee Allen (RVO Racing), followed three laps later by Josh Cole, and Danny Lowthorpe and James Allen.
These were to form the decisive breakaway and they soon had over 42 seconds on the bunch. They eventually lapped the rear of the peloton with a lap to go, and then went on to fight out a bunch sprint finish with Alder getting the honours.
This young club certainly did the sport proud with excellently visible marshalls, motor bike escorts and spot on judges team.
Results:
1 James Alder (VC Briganti)
2 Ben Kellett (VS Cycles, Brighouse)
3 James Allen (Sheffrec CC)
4 Chris Fothergill (Rock Racing)
5 Danny Lowthorpe (Langsett Cycles)
6 Josh Cole (Bike Box Allen)
7 Lee Allen (RVO Racing)
8 Andrew Stuart (Nottingham Clarion)
9 Nathan Harrison (Buxton CC)
10 Tom Neale (Spalding 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.
