Runaway Wessex Cyclo-Cross League leader Adrian Lansley secured another convincing victory at Tatchbury Mount near Southampton on Sunday, winning the sixth round of the series promoted by Crabwood CC by 35 seconds.
Unbeaten so far this season, Lansley led from the gun, and while he initially had Swindon Road Club’s Crispin Doyle and Wheelbase.co.uk/Cannondale rival Mike Cotty for company, by the third lap he was clear and steadily built his lead.
Doyle eventually took second while Cotty was third, another 25 seconds behind Lansley, on a course which featured sections of ploughed field, grass, gravel and woodland.
Of the 63 starters, top veteran was Corinium CC’s Keith Sheridan, while best junior was Hargroves Cycles rider Andrew Hargroves in 16th spot.
Nichols takes first win in East Anglia
Andrew Nichols (Cambridge University CC) scored his first cyclo-cross win in round six of the East Anglian Daily Times League, revelling in Colchester Rovers’ technical and hilly course on Sunday.
Michael Raven (Extreme Sports Therapy) led early on but, after an error, was soon riding in tandem with Nichols who had coolly recovered from running wide just after the start.
Nichols opened a gap running up one of the climbs immediately following a corner which are a speciality of the course at Furze Hill, Mistley, and had 24 seconds in hand at the finish. Matt Cook (API-Metrow) repeated his third place in round five with a lone and unchallenged effort.
In a fiercely fought veterans' race, Norwich rider Patrick Stokes rode a classic mountain bike to victory after a fall in the first lap sprint destroyed one of David Fraser’s carbon brake levers.
Women’s winner Nikki Juniper (PCA Ciclos Uno) was just four seconds behind Stokes, and two seconds later 62-year-old Chris Gooch secured the veterans’ league leadership with third place.
Clough top dog in Yorkshire
Northallerton veteran Noel Clough proved top dog in the latest round of the Yorkshire Cyclo-Cross Points Series, taking victory by around 20 seconds in the fifth round of the season-long series at TempleNewsamPark in Leeds on Sunday.
The Fietsen Tempo rider held off a field of 41 riders in the senior race, with top junior Tom Moses (Team Wallis CHH) taking second spot, while Raleigh Avanti's Rob Friel was another minute back in third place.
The overall leader of the Yorkshire Points Series, Paul Milnes RT rider Rob Thackray, had to settle for 10th over a tough course which included a good mix of technical sections in the wooded areas.
Former national champion Chris Young (JD Cycles), the winner of the first and third round of the Yorkshire Points Series, had to settle for fourth place.
Zepnat Racing Team's Matt Denby was best of the veterans, holding off team-mate Jonathan Watson, while Peak Road Club's Darren Clark was third veteran.
Aiming for a good result in the veterans' event was Triangle RT's Dave Stevens, but a heavy crash on the opening lap left him last in the 78-strong race and with tyre marks up his back. However, after a quick check over he got back on his bike and battled back to seventh spot.
Series leader Adela Carter (Crosstrax) was once again the best of the women, with Norton Wheelers' Lynn Bland second and Penny Rowson (Mischief Card) third.
Davies victorious in Devon
Guerciotti-JJ Coaching veteran Steve Davies won the Help For Heroes Cyclo-Cross at Ivybridge, Devon on Sunday, which was round six of the South West League. Davies played a patient game, sitting back for the first few laps while Alltrax rival Gary Pike powered along at the front of the race.
But after the first few laps he tired and fell back, leaving Davies to take the lead and cross the line around two-and-a-half minutes ahead of his nearest rival, Ben Price. Southfork Racing’s Luke Eggar took third, while Pike dropped back to an eventual sixth.
Williams tops podium in Wales
Team Wiggle rider Lee Williams secured his first victory in this season’s Welsh Cyclo-Cross League in round five at BlackweirPark in Cardiff on Sunday.
Absent from several of the earlier rounds because of National Trophy commitments, Williams crossed the line 2:25 ahead of his nearest rival, Cardiff JIF veteran Ian Jeremiah, who had won the fourth round a fortnight ago.
Climb On Bikes rider and Welsh League regular Luke Moseley took third, another 19 seconds off the pace, while Abergavenny RC’s Julian Winn was fourth.
Eedy triumphant in Notts
Last season’s Notts and Derby Cyclo-Cross League champion Ben Eedy took victory in the seventh round of the series on Saturday at Bingham Leisure Centre in Nottingham.
Eedy, the Empella Cyclo-Cross.com rider, covered the six laps in 52:57 and won by 34 seconds from Raleigh Avanti veteran Geoff Giddings, while top under-23 Tom Lowe was just two seconds behind his team-mate Giddings.
Matlock CC’s Bruce Dalton relished the conditions and was best junior rider in 22nd spot, while Kate Potter (Cotic Bontrager) was best of the women, coming home 51st in a big field of 105.
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