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Pos'n	Name	Club	Cat	Time	No.
1	Tomos Hales	Wrekinsport CC	S	20:57	7
2	Alvydas Janusauskas	Paramount CRT	S	22:39	14
3	Phil Roberts	Wrekinsport CC	S	23:03	8
4	Hayley Wells	Wrekinsport CC	F	23:04	9
5	Ben Southgate	Wrekinsport CC	J	23:14	10
6	Deb Hutson-Lumb	Wrekinsport CC	FV	23:19	6
7	Rich Smith	Wrekinsport CC	V	24:01	3
8	Ben Wood	Wrekinsport CC	S	24:05	12
9	Allen Henderson	Wrekinsport CC	V	24:42	1
10	Matt Price	Wrekinsport CC	V	26:06	2
11	David Seager	Wrekinsport CC	V	26:25	13
12	Bruce Gregory	Wrekinsport CC	V	27:07	5
13	Chris Dunn	Unattached	V	27:19	11
14	Andrew Crow	Unattached	V	28:48	4

Road bikes in italics

Round 6 of the Mower Mec 2-Up Series offered up a very different challenge for riders around the tight 3.75 mile Long Lane circuit. The Wrekinsport promoted event features 11 turns over its 10 miles, breaking up rhythm and particularly home pairing of Tomos Hales and Oli Freeman who know the nuances of this course like the back of their hand. Hales and Freeman took their second win in as many races entered the Series late, which means these two shoo-ins for medals are only mathematically capable of an outside chance of a Bronze in the final event. Incredibly no medals were settled on the night thanks to a supremely tight contest and everything is to play for in the Bridgnorth CC event.

Hales and Freeman stopped the watch on 21 minutes 18 seconds, exactly half a minute ahead of the previous evening’s winners, Phil Roberts and Ben Southgate, also on their home course. Hales thought there was something left in the tank from that effort however, as he explained: “Me and Oli started off very well with a quick opening lap. We worked well as a team and could have gone a lot quicker. Thanks for Wrekinsport and marshals for putting on the event”. Freeman put part of that time loss down to being slowed by traffic, but was still happy with the win: “Pleased to have taken the win with Tomos, even with a little bit of traffic to contend with. A personal thanks to all involved at Wrekinsport for making sure these events go smoothly”.

In a packed end of Series; Roberts and Southgate have clearly started to click, with smooth transitions and knowing each other’s riding style key to taking marginal gains. Roberts explained: ”The third 2-Up in the space of a week with Ben, and we have learnt how we both worked well together. We broke the three-lap course down into sections that would suit our strengths and repeated them each lap. The A442 was a particular favourite with the big tailwind taking a Strava King of the Mountains along the way. We were hoping to sneak under 22 minutes and did so. An extremely strong result for the two of us, and I am looking forward to the final event of the series in Bridgnorth”. Southgate added: “I thought me and Phil put a great effort into the 2-Up and am proud of our performance”.

The Mower Mec Series seems draw new pairs to partner up and find they have ability at this enjoyable format, and that was true of Paramount pairing Paul Duncan and Alvydas ‘A.J’ Janusauskas, who showed how well road bikes can compete on a technical circuit as they took third place in 22:41 – just two seconds better than the Mixed Team winners Hayley Wells and Chris Riley. Duncan’s comments graphically showed the advantage of road bikes whilst cornering, which there is certainly plenty to contend with: “A first time partnership for A.J and myself in a 2-Up and it won’t be the last, I was really pleased with how we went. I felt that we squeezed every bit of performance out on the night, and although the TT bikes were faster on the straights the course suited the road bikes well and we were able to claw some time back in the bends. I don’t think we left anything on the table and third place in amongst a field of time trial bikes is testament to that”. Janusauskas’ comments echoed Duncan’s, but showed by the end of the race he was beginning to flag, which is exactly where having a partner can assist by taking longer turns on the front: “When road bikes take a podium between time trial bikes, I think the performance question is answered by the fact! On the last half of the lap I started running out of gas and had to take longer rests behind Paul, so it could be even better. Next time we will ensure that there’s no stones unturned! I’m not a big fan of this course, a lot twist and turns, but I guess is helped to hold back the time trial runners”.

Janusauskas wasn’t the only one put in difficulties by a partner on a flyer as Chris Riley suffered for the second night in a row in the lee of a flying Hayley Wells. The pair posted an excellent 22:43 to rise to the top of not only the Mixed Team standings but also the Overall ones as well after, in both cases pushing out Sorrel Williams and Karl Lombardi, who finished in 25:14; and Mark Hill and Jan Davies, a further 20 seconds back and who had held the joint lead in an exceptional Series for Mixed pairings. Riley knew he had been in a race, stating: ”My partner in the 2-Up calamity certainly proved the stronger set of legs over the Wrekinsport three-lap raceway. The elastic almost snapped on the last lap but I clung on. A brilliant performance from Hayley, and an exciting evening by Wrekinsport on what is a difficult course for highly strung 2-Up pairings”. Wells added: “Another great evening of racing. A technical course meant lots of disruption to rhythm, but we held it together well and I was delighted to take another Mixed win. Great to see a good turnout of pairs racing”!

Dean Callister smashed his own course record in Round 8 of the SB Sports Injuries Series, Wrekinsport CC’s Gordon Davies 21 on a warm but windy evening. Held over two laps of the Tiddly circuit, Callister sliced 16 seconds off that record set only in Round 4 with a superb effort of 43 minutes 33 seconds ina tight battle with Tomos Hales. Split by just eight seconds at the 10 mile point Callister wound the pace up to come home with a 27 second advantage and a new course record – despite that wind. He stated: “Conditions didn’t feel fast with it being very gusty but was a warm evening. My legs felt good and I paced it well. I was surprised to knock some more time off my previous Course Record, so very happy with that, thanks to all involved”.

Hales finished in 44 minutes exactly and halved the gap to Series leader Jonathan Mills-Keeling to the narrowest possible – two points – after pushing the Aerologic rider into third place on the evening. Hales commented: “I enjoyed the Tiddly two-lapper. I managed to hold consistent power for the whole duration, and my pacing was on point for a change. Well done to Dean for the win, and thanks for Wrekinsport for hosting”.

Mills-Keeling finished in 46:17 for that 3^rd place and was Veteran’s runner-up behind Chris Riley after registering a strong +10:47, just 11 seconds behind the Paramount rider. This narrowed the gap at the top of the Veterans standings which Mills-Keeling also leads, but by a very impressive margin, making barely a dent as he holds onto a huge 62 point advantage. Mills-Keeling appeared to struggle getting going from his post-race comments: “A nice evening of racing, the first lap was a struggle but on the second lap I got into a better rhythm. Some fast times, great for Dean to take the win and another course record”.

Riley was pleased with his second Veterans maximum of the Series, registering +10:58 based on an actual 47:02 in this age-adjusted competition, as well as enjoying his evening’s racing: “The Tiddly is a great little course and two laps is a real workout. Lovely to take the Veterans 20 points on the age card, but what a great performance from the fast riders - thanks Wrekinsport”.

Mills-Keeling isn’t the only rider holding a huge Series lead as Hayley Wells took another fine win in the Female Series and extended her lead to 64 points. Wells scored a fabulous 49:05 after a miserable time in Round 4 saw her severely baulked by farm traffic. She stated: “The weather was more favourable compared to a couple of months ago on the course - and no tractor hold ups this time! It was another great evening of racing, well done to Dean for the Course Record”.

Wells beat first time entrant to the 2024 Series Deb Hutson-Lumb, but she didn’t go home empty handed with a win in the Road Bike Series with an adjusted 47:32 in this age and gender handicap competition. Hutson-Lumb had little choice in the matter if she wanted to race however, as she explained: “With my time trial bike in bits it was a good opportunity to test a new road bike. I started off well, but back pain on the second lap resulted in a lot of sitting up - bike tweaks required. A good evening despite the strong breeze, thanks to everyone involved”.

Hutson-Lumb wasn’t the only debutant in the 2024 as Newport CC Junior Ben Bramford-Hale took the step up for his longest time trial yet – and coped admirably. Bramford-Hale has been a regular attendee at Wrekinsport 10 mile club events, but tried his luck at the longer distance, crossing the line in a very respectable 54:16. He even managed to set a 10 mile personal best of 25:55 along the way at the end of the first lap. He commented: “I started time trialling this season at the weekly Wrekinsport time trial events, where the support and advice from the friendly organisers and other riders has been brilliant.  For the step up to 21 miles I tried to focus on pacing myself so the speed was consistent throughout. I was pleased with the result, and I’m looking forward to doing other longer distances to get even better with judging pace. The time trials are really helping my racing overall”.

• With the race a memorial to former Wrekinsport Secretary Gordon Davies one rider was determined to honour his late uncle as Paramount’s Keith Davies made a rare appearance at a time trial in a lovely family connection. Davies ended his evening out on 1:01:11, and with a great deal of satisfaction, bringing back memories of his uncle: “It was a privilege and honour to ride the Wrekinsport TT on the Tiddly course the club kindly runs in memory of my late uncle, Gordon Davies. Gordon helped build my first bike using an Ernie Clements frame that I used when the club 10 mile time trials used to run from The Gate at Bratton. I think it rekindled his love for cycling and he became again an avid rider over various time distances. Many thanks again for running the annual event in his name, and to all who organised last night.  I hope to be back next year and may even beat the hour”!

Result:

Pos'n	Names	Club(s)	2.5 miles	6.25 miles	10 miles
1	Oli Freeman & Tomos Hales	Wrekinsport CC	5:05	13:10	21:18
2	Phil Roberts & Ben Southgate	Wrekinsport CC	5:06	13:18	21:48
3	Paul Duncan and Alvydas Janusauskas	Paramount CRT	5:27	14:00	22:41
4	Chris Riley & Hayley Wells	Paramount CRT & Wrekinsport CC	5:31	14:09	22:43
5	Ben Wood & Deb Hutson-Lumb	Wrekinsport CC	5:49	14:38	23:40
6	Jack Young & Peter Fletcher	Oswestry Paragon CC	5:46	14:53	24:01
7	Dave Moore & Matt Price	Wrekinsport CC	5:56	15:25	24:54
8	Karl Lombardi & Sorrell Williams	Oswestry Paragon CC & SCCA Private Member	6:08	15:35	25:14
9	Jan Davies & Mark Hill	Hafren CC	6:06	15:42	25:34
10	Bruce Gregory & Andrew Crow	Wrekinsport CC & Unattached	6:37	17:01	27:26
11	Stuart Wortley & Steve King	Wrekinsport CC	7:14	18:17	29:52

Private solo time trail:

Pos'n	Names	Club(s)	2.5 miles	6.25 miles	10 miles
1	David Cannell	Paramount CRT	6:26	16:59	27:46

Pos'n	Name	Club	Cat	2.5 miles	6.25 miles	10 miles	No.
1	Oli Freeman	Wrekinsport CC	S	5:20	14:02	22:36	6
2	Phil Roberts	Wrekinsport CC	S	5:29	14:12	22:46	4
3	Ben Southgate	Wrekinsport CC	J	5:47	14:37	23:31	3
4	Deb Hutson-Lumb	Wrekinsport CC	FV	5:54	14:54	24:06	10
5	Hamish Maclean	Musselburgh RCC	V	5:49	14:50	24:11	14
6	Ben Wood	Wrekinsport CC	S	5:47	15:16	24:45	9
7	Rich Smith	Wrekinsport CC	V	6:01	15:20	24:46	2
8	Cameron Coley-Smith	Unattached	S	5:54	15:22	24:52	11
9	Simon Thursz	Wrekinsport CC	S	6:03	15:47	25:31	12
10	Chris Dunn	Unattached	V	6:10	16:01	26:05	13
11	Matt Price	Wrekinsport CC	V	6:24	16:30	26:26	8
12	Dave Moore	Wrekinsport CC	V	6:15	16:25	26:37	1
13	David Seager	Wrekinsport CC	V	6:26	16:59	27:48	7
14	Vince Evans	Wrekinsport CC	V	6:53	17:30	27:55	5

Road bikes in italics

Pos'n	Name	Club	Cat	10m Time	Time
1	Dean Callister	Aerologic RT	S	21:11	43:33
2	Tomos Hales	Wrekinsport CC	S	21:19	44:00
3	Jonathan Mills-Keeling	Aerologic RT	V	22:35	46:17
4	Jonathan Whittaker	Army Cycling	S	22:26	46:45
5	Chris Riley	Paramount CRT	V	22:40	47:02
6	Phil Roberts	Wrekinsport CC	S	23:00	48:11
7	Hayley Wells	Wrekinsport CC	F	23:53	49:05
8	Paul Bailey	Bridgnorth CC	V	24:04	49:28
9	Ben Wood	Wrekinsport CC	S	24:04	50:01
10	Rich Smith	Wrekinsport CC	V	25:18	52:00
11	Allan Henderson	Wrekinsport CC	V	25:34	53:08
12	Ben Bramford-Hale	Newport Shropshire CC	J	25:55	54:16
13	Chris Dunn	Unattached	V	26:38	54:51
14	Deb Hutson-Lumb	Wrekinsport CC	FV	26:37	55:28
15	Jon Heath	Unattached	V	28:29	58:24
16	Keith Davies	Paramount CRT	V	29:45	1:01:11
17	Elliott Wills	Wrekinsport CC	S	30:20	1:02:35
18	Ashley Kirkham	Wrekinsport CC	V	31:14	1:05:22
19	Rob Garbett	Wrekinsport CC	V	DNF	DNF

Phil Roberts registered an all time 10 mile personal best to finally get the better of Oli Freeman in Round 10 of the Decathlon Evening 10 Series by Wrekinsport – but agonisingly missed out on the overall win thanks to visiting rider Mike Senior. Senior registered a blistering 21 minutes 34 seconds effort on the best evening for cycling in a long time with warn and windless conditions ensuring fast times at the sharp end.

Roberts was clearly straining hard – so hard the timekeeper checked his calculations twice just to make sure. He was ahead of Freeman on all three laps of the Long Lane circuit, finishing in 22:05 to Freeman’s 22:36. Freeman headed back into sole lead of the Series as consolation thanks to the rider he was tying with, Tomos Hales - otherwise engaged on honeymoon. 

Hales wasn’t the only top rider absent with Hayley Wells not defending her Women’s Series lead thanks to representing GB in the Europe Duathlon Championships in Coimbra, Portugal – and winning her age group. That saw a first appearance of the season for Deb Hutson-Lumb finishing in a strong 25:03, whilst Karen Sherriff did enough to keep the Women’s Championship destination open for another week with a fine 28:25.

In the Road Bike Series overall win went to regular visitor Hamish MacLean of Musselburgh RCC in 23:24, whilst Matt Price finally got the better of David Seager with 26:10, which he attributed to some solid club run miles the previous weekend. Price made up two points after Peter Jukes also beat Seager by nine seconds with 26:27.

Decathlon Series by Wrekinsport Cumulative Standings after ten rounds

 

Pos'n	Name	Total Points
1	Oli Freeman	41
2	Tomos Hales	36
3	Phil Roberts	29
4	Hayley Wells	24
5	Ben Southgate	20
6	Chris Halford	12
=7	Allan Henderson	11
=7	Rich Smith	11
9	Ben Wood	10
=10	David Seager	8
=10	Matt Price	8
=10	Simon Thursz	8

Road Bike Series Cumulative Standings after ten rounds

Pos'n	Name	Total Points
1	David Seager	41
2	Matt Price	33
3	Dave Moore	21
4	Peter Jukes	17
5	Stuart Wortley	12
6	Elliott Wills	8
7	Sarah Bradshaw	7
8	Mike Bigwood	5
9	Karen Sherriff	4
10	Colin Smith	3

Women’s Series Cumulative Standings after ten rounds

Pos'n	Name	Total Points
1	Hayley Wells	42
2	Karen Sherriff	21
3	Victoria Doran	15
4	Sarah Bradshaw	14
5	Deb Hutson-Lumb	6

Tomos Hales headed back to the top of the Decathlon Evening 10 Series by Wrekinsport following Round 9 after a superb win of 44 seconds over Oli Freeman – with those two riders now tying for Series lead. Hales charged around the tight Long Lane circuit in 21 minutes 38 seconds, with Freeman registering a strong 22:22, improving his Round 8 time by 18 seconds on a pleasant if cool evening.

 

There was a great battle for third spot with Chris Halford just getting the better of a strong challenge by Hayley Wells as the pair were split by just eight seconds. Wells was up by six seconds after 2½ miles, but Halford had precisely reversed that advantage at the 6¼ mile point, stretching by just a further two seconds by the finish line to register 23:28. Wells almost has the Women’s Series sewn up, with the only uncertainly being whether a replacement round will be added for the cancelled Round 6 which if run mathematically allows enough points to technically be scored, if not the Women’s Series was won on the night. 

 

Club Junior Ben Southgate took fifth spot and was quick out of the blocks, being ahead of both Halford and Wells at the first two time checks, but that early powerful start seems to have affected him for the final 3¾ mile lap to the line as he faded to 24:01.

 

Visiting rider Jack ward of Sharrow CC took the overall honours in the Road Bike Series in 24:58, but maximum points went to disruptor Dave Moore, getting in the way of David Seager’s championship aspirations. Moore stopped the watch on 26:17 with Seager 28 seconds back, but still adding a further point difference over chasing Matt Price, back on 28:12.       

Decathlon Series by Wrekinsport Cumulative Standings after nine rounds

Pos'n	Name	Total Points
=1	Oli Freeman	36
=1	Tomos Hales	36
3	Hayley Wells	24
4	Phil Roberts	23
5	Ben Southgate	17
=6	Allan Henderson	10
=6	Ben Wood	10
8	Rich Smith	9
=9	Chris Halford	8
=9	Simon Thursz	8

Road Bike Series Cumulative Standings after nine rounds

Pos'n	Name	Total Points
1	David Seager	37
2	Matt Price	27
3	Dave Moore	21
=4	Peter Jukes	12
=4	Stuart Wortley	12
6	Elliott Wills	8
7	Sarah Bradshaw	7
8	Mike Bigwood	5
9	Karen Sherriff	4
10	Colin Smith	3

Women’s Series Cumulative Standings after nine rounds

Pos'n	Name	Total Points
1	Hayley Wells	42
2	Karen Sherriff	16
3	Victoria Doran	15
4	Sarah Bradshaw	14

Pos'n	Name	Club	Cat	2.5 miles	6.25 miles	10 miles
1	Mike Senior	Unattached	V	5:16	13:20	21:34
2	Phil Roberts	Wrekinsport CC	S	5:18	13:35	22:05
3	Oli Freeman	Wrekinsport CC	S	5:30	14:12	22:26
4	Chris Halford	Wrekinsport CC	V	5:43	14:25	23:10
5	George Coombes	Newport Shropshire CC	S	5:32	14:15	23:11
6	Hamish MacLean	Musselburgh RCC	V	5:39	14:32	23:24
7	Ben Southgate	Wrekinsport CC	J	5:54	15:08	23:51
8	Rich Smith	Wrekinsport CC	V	5:52	15:02	24:18
9	Allan Henderson	Wrekinsport CC	V	5:57	15:31	24:23
10	Deb Hutson-Lumb	Wrekinsport CC	FV	6:31	15:46	25:03
11	Matt Price	Wrekinsport CC	V	6:23	16:16	26:10
12	Peter Jukes	Wrekinsport CC	V	6:13	16:17	26:27
13	David Seager	Wrekinsport CC	V	6:13	16:23	26:36
14	Chris Marrs	Mid Shropshire Wheelers	V	6:32	16:34	26:41
15	Chris Dunn	Unattached	V	6:30	16:50	27:06
16	Martin Davies	Unattached	V	6:39	17:15	27:37
17	Oliver Allan	Unattached	V	6:36	17:16	27:57
18	Elliott Wills	Wrekinsport CC	S	6:43	17:22	27:59
19	Karen Sherriff	Wrekinsport CC	FV	7:01	17:50	28:25
20	Bruce Gregory	Wrekinsport CC	V	7:04	17:45	28:41
21	Andrew Crow	Unattached	V	7:03	17:58	28:55
.	Rob Garbett	Wrekinsport CC	V	.	.	DNS-P

Road Bikes in italics

With several key riders on County level duty in the Hafren CC 10 taking place at the same time, Oli Freeman and Phil Roberts were looking forward to a straight head-to-head for the win in Round 8 of the Decathlon Evening 10 Series by Wrekinsport – but reckoned without visiting rider Mike Senior. Making his only appearance of the season so far, Senior took the win in 22 minutes 7 seconds, starting off last from the 18 competitors – after Freeman and Roberts who started much earlier thought it was done in discussions near the finish line.

Freeman took the maximum six points on offer to Wrekinsport members by a solitary second, finishing in 22:40 to Roberts’ 22:41 as the pair had been split by exactly that margin at the 6¼ mile point in an extremely tight contest. That one second margin proved vital as it moved Freeman into the Series lead by a single point, with Roberts moving up to third in the Overall standings.

The evening was notable for a number of returning and first-time riders with first sight of Chris Halford this season taking fourth spot in 23:52. In the Road Bike Series another first sighting of 2024 took the runner-up spot as Mike Bigwood recorded 27:28, with Series leader David Seager extending his lead to nine points with a strong 26:42. Meanwhile it was a first ever time trial for Colin Smith with a creditable benchmark of 32:11.

In the Women’s Series Karen Sherriff moved up to second in the standings thanks to a 29:05 effort, seeing off a challenge from another first-timer Amy Watkins on just beating the 20mph mark with 29:56.

Decathlon Series by Wrekinsport Cumulative Standings after eight rounds

Pos'n	Name	Total Points
1	Oli Freeman	31
2	Tomos Hales	30
3	Phil Roberts	23
4	Hayley Wells	21
5	Ben Southgate	15
=6	Allan Henderson	9
=6	Ben Wood	9
8	Rich Smith	8
9	Simon Thursz	7
=10	David Seager	6
=10	Matt Price	6

Road Bike Series Cumulative Standings after eight rounds

Pos'n	Name	Total Points
1	David Seager	32
2	Matt Price	23
3	Dave Moore	15
4	Peter Jukes	12
5	Stuart Wortley	9
6	Elliott Wills	8
7	Sarah Bradshaw	7
8	Mike Bigwood	5
9	Karen Sherriff	4
10	Colin Smith	3

Women’s Series Cumulative Standings after eight rounds

Pos'n	Name	Total Points
1	Hayley Wells	36
2	Karen Sherriff	16
3	Victoria Doran	15
4	Sarah Bradshaw	14