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A fast and furious Autumn 5 mile event brought the curtain down on Wrekinsport’s club season as the low key closer saw ten riders test themselves on a tight circuit of Long Lane – Shawbirch. Designed around the southern end of the club’s usual 10 mile course, it was brought back into use after many years due to long term road works affecting the first choice circuit near Allscott. The distance is suitable for both flat-out speed merchants and beginners alike, with Phil Roberts taking a maiden win right at the close.

Roberts stopped the watch on 11 minutes 42 seconds in glorious conditions to see off a strong challenge from team mate Adam Mumford by seven seconds, the only two riders to dip below the 12 minute mark. Visibly straining for the line up the slight gradient beyond the former Gate at Bratton pub to the finish line, Roberts was delighted to end the club season on a high.

Best placed of the visiting riders was Paramount CRT’s Chris Riley, ending his evening on 12:12 and pushing out Nova Raiders’ Ben Gilpin by 16 seconds. Indeed it was an evening for Ben’s with four placed from 4^th to 7^th with Ben Southgate taking Junior honours in 12:33 pushing out Ben Wood by four seconds, and with Bridgnorth CC rider Ben Upton putting in a creditable 13:05 in his first ever time trial.

13 year-old Newport CC Junior Megan Fletcher was the only female in competition, ending her evening on 16:38, whilst club vice-Chairman Dave Poulter kept a continuous 47 record of competing at least one event every season going with 15:03, something he wryly described as his “First and last event of the season; and a top 10 finish to boot”!

The Little Sweetpea Gardens/BBR Opticians Hill Climb Series got off to a flying start on Willomoor Bank despite course record holder Jonny Morris missing out on equalling his own course by 2.56 seconds but taking a familiar winning spot as the season for the shortest but toughest discipline got underway with Wrekinsport CC’s promotion. A still evening saw a fine field of 33 riders tackle the 15% ramp, capable of turning legs to jelly under the watchful eye of boisterous supporters, with Morris taking a clear win by 7.2 seconds to post a great ride of 3 minutes, 27.04 seconds, 0.95 seconds faster than his winning time the previous year. Morris was pleased with his climb, stating: “The Wrekin is always a great way to start the hill climb season. I've learnt how to wrestle my bike over the last ramp, and the tactic seems to work for me! It was great to see both new and old faces enjoying turning themselves inside out! As ever, thanks to all the volunteers”.

Kirk Vickers reigned as Shropshire Hill Climb Champion between 2016 and 2018 and appears to have that title firmly in his sights again as he took the maximum 20 points on offer to affiliated riders to take County honours and Overall runner-up spot with 3:34.24. Visibly straining for the finish line, always a task on the almost flat final 100 metres after the effort of wrangling the body up the most fearsome part of the climb, Vickers’ comments showed the pain of the full out effort required, and echoed Morris’ sentiments about new faces having a go: “My first hill climb, a shock to the system! I paced it well and had a good finish up the steep bit. A good turn out and great to see new riders taking on hill climbs”.

Tomos Hales retained Wrekinsport club hill climb championship, but the improvement in his form was clear to see over 2020 as he elevated himself into third spot overall after slicing 11.3 seconds off last year with a fine effort of 3:47.84. Hales has been on great form on flatter territory this season but showed that he can mix it uphill too. He stated: “I was very happy with my time and to finish just behind such high calibre riders was a confidence boost. I tend to do well on the steep bit of the climb, and do like the Wrekinsport hill climb course. It was made even better by the support on the steep corner - thanks for Wrekinsport for organising and the precise time keeping, it was a lung buster”.

One welcome trend was the presence of six women amongst the field – with the familiar name of multiple Women’s course record holder Rebecca Richardson, a ferociously talented climber with ‘Welsh Hill Climb Champion’ in her palmarès taking the win. Richardson has a soft spot for the Series having begun her glittering hill climb career in 2016 in a County event and showed a clean set of heels to many with a 9^th place Overall finish in 4:07.70. She stated: “I was delighted with the win, a difficult climb to pace and I saved it for the last steep ramp! A brilliant turn-out and great to see so many women competing - thank you Wrekinsport CC for organising”.

Taking maximum points amongst the County women was Market Drayton CC’s Alison Dockney, one of the new faces to hill climbing – and on the evidence here she appears to have taken the discipline in her stride. Dockney stopped the watch on 4:43.74 and clearly enjoyed the support from the roadside: “A lovely evening for it, and the atmosphere was amazing, no chance of easing off with all the support on the final ramp. It hurt a lot! Great rides all round; I was really inspired - thanks Wrekinsport”!

In a discipline where weight saving is all Juniors have a natural advantage, with a close battle for Overall honours. Llangollen-based Louis Lermite made the journey worthwhile with a win in 3:49.70, taking 4^th spot Overall in the process, He stated: “I really enjoyed the event, it was a fun course with that steep rise at the end. Pacing was hard, and I went too hard at the beginning then just tried to hold on to the end - thanks to all the organisers”. Lermite’s comments show the trouble judging this climb, with the gradient changing frequently making getting into a rhythm tricky. This was echoed in the post-race comments of County Junior winner Jack Young, with the Oswestry Paragon rider taking a strong 5^th Overall in 3:53.45. He commented: “It’s quite a nice climb; I liked the steep bit at the end! It’s quite undulating at the start which was quite hard to pace, but it wasn’t too bad”.

With the destination of just two pairs of Gold medals resolved before the final round of the UK ICT 2-Up Series that left seven pairs to be won in the second Wrekinsport CC 2-Up. A belated substitution for a cancelled event, eight teams of two took the line on the Shawbirch – Cotwall Bank circuit on a glorious evening. With Nova Raiders’ Graeme Donnell and Andrew Lacon already having sealed Overall Gold that left other riders to try to add a win to their palmarès – with a Stourbridge Velo pair Darren Shaw and Scott O’Neill teaming up for the first time working well together. The pair finished in 22 minutes 19 seconds, with Telford-based SCCA Private Member Shaw enjoying his evening after recovering from O’Neil’s turn of pace, stating: “It was the first time Scott and I have ridden together as a pair and I couldn’t tell if it was a slow night or not because I was struggling on his wheel!  We rode well together and on a better night could have dipped under 22 minutes.  It was quite fast down the main road, and as usual hard up Cotwall Bank,  the hardest bit of the course for me every week though is the little rise just past the bridge – it kills my legs every time! 2-Ups are very different to individual time trials and I recommend everybody give them go. We’d like to thank everybody at Wrekinsport for making us feel very welcome”. 

Another first time pairing also put in a strong performance, with Newport Shropshire CC’s John Hines and Ollie Atkin posting a great time of 23:03 to take the runners-up spot – all the more impressive given they were on road bikes and had hold ups to negotiate, as Atkin explained: “John and I put out a decent performance on the night. The time didn’t really reflect our efforts to be honest. Two major traffic hold ups added significantly to our time, but I doubt it would have made a difference to the result, as the Stourbridge team put down a great time. Well done to those guys. It was our first time both representing Newport as a 2-Up. Thank you, as always, to Wrekinsport for putting on a fantastic event - really well marshalled and organised”. Hines added: “We were happy with the result & our time, especially on road bikes. I was lucky on the night that my partner had diamonds in his legs. Congratulations to the winners who put in a great ride”!

If the first two squads were first time pairings that was not the case for Hafren CC’s Emma Serjeant and Mark Hill, who repeated their feat from 2019, the last time this competition could properly be run due to Covid-19 restrictions. Already having won the Mixed Pair Championship again, they added Overall Silver thanks to taking third place on the evening in 23:52, pushing out Paramount CRT pair Eddie Emblen and Chris Riley by seven seconds and putting space between themselves and Mid Shropshire Wheelers’ James Satoor and Ben Pierce who took Overall Bronze as a result. Serjeant was delighted that a Series they have taken to their hearts has again produced dividends, commenting: “I was very happy to retain the Mixed Team Gold and was especially pleased to take Overall Silver - a huge thank you to Mark for being a super 2-Up partner”. Hill added: “A great season to be competing in after Covid-19 ruining so many plans - thanks to all clubs, competitors, and most of all Emma for riding bikes with me”.

With such an impressive maximum possible points tally of 100 points Serjeant and Hill managed to make the Mixed Team Championship their own, with father and daughter team Steve and Charlotte Chapman taking Silver and Market Drayton CC duo of Sarah Grant and Mark Milton the Bronze. Charlotte commented: “We had great fun in the few races we did together, and were surprised to come away with a medal, but not complaining! We hope to do a few more next year as the 2-Ups are always great events”.

If there has been one disappointment this year it’s been the lack of entries from all-female teams as these are an almost guaranteed method of getting quicker in solo events as pairs spur each other on. Normally pushing each other to greater heights in the Wrekinsport Evening 10 Series, Clare Cotterill and Victoria Doran set that normal level of friendly competition to one side to post a great time of 28:44 together – easily their fastest of the season, and taking Women’s Bronze as a result, having to be split from Silver medallists Helen Tudor and Vikki Jones on time per count back rules. Cotterill stated: “It was great fun racing with Vic, we have both pushed each other this season – I put out my highest power on that ride! Huge thanks to all the organisers and marshals”. Doran added: “Normally Clare and I battle it out against each other in the Wrekinsport Evening 10 Series, so it was great to work together in a 2-Up! I think it’s fair to say we both gave it our all and really pushed each other. To get a Bronze medal is the icing on the cake”!

Silver medallist Tudor took that medal with her first ever 2-Up, teaming with Oswestry Paragon team mate Vikki Jones, commenting: “Our first outing as a 2-Up pair, it was great to have the opportunity to give it a go even though our work schedules limited it to one outing - thanks to all the clubs involved”. That left the familiar sight of the Women’s Trophy and Gold medals going to Nova Raiders pair Jenny Newton and Jane Chapman.

The curtain fell on the Decathlon Evening 10 Series by Wrekinsport for 2021 as the destination of seven of the nine medals was resolved in a close season-long battle. None of the medals had been settled in the Overall Series and despite Chris Halford taking the win in 21 minutes 56 seconds Tomos Hales finished with a four point advantage after taking the runner-up spot on the night just four seconds back. This is Hales’ first taste of this trophy, defeating the reigning champion at the last in a great head-to-head tussle.

Taking third spot on the evening was the first of the visiting riders, Bridgnorth CC’s Jonathan Mills-Keeling who has been a regular combatant and always towards the sharp end of proceedings, this time recording a fine 22:07. He pushed out Rob Jackson by 59 seconds, but Jackson couldn’t do enough to overhaul Phil Roberts who lost two points of his advantage after finishing 6^th in 23:32, but retaining a four point gap to help himself to Bronze.

In the Women’s Series a four point gap going into the race was enough to convince Clare Cotterill and Victoria Doran that, mechanical incidents aside the destination of the medals was settled, and so they teamed for a preceding 2-Up event instead, with Cotterill duly taking Women’s Gold and Doran the Silver. Clare O’Donnell had already captured Women’s Bronze but wanted to end the club season on a high, and duly knocked a huge 39 seconds off her course best. She was however disappointed not to beat the 30 minute mark after just missing out in 30:08.

In the Road Bike Series Stuart Wortley had already tied up Gold and rode uncontested in 30:50 making a low-key ending, with Dave Slater duly taking Road Bike Silver by a solitary point from Steve Porter-Knott.

An all too rare return to the Hopton Chapel –Tern Hill course saw some fast times in glorious warm and almost still conditions as Wrekinsport CC promoted the Coaching Revolutions Shropshire Championship 10. With County medals and trophies on offer David Griffiths took The Gordon Davies Trophy and County 10 Gold on his first experience of this fast course – on the first occasion it has not been blowing a gale to disprove those credentials. Oswestry Paragon’s Griffiths dipped under the 20 minute mark by a single second, just exceeding 30mph and is no stranger to titles, having won bundles before moving from Scotland. He stated: “I was very pleased to win my first event with 'Champs' in the title for a couple of years. I'd not ridden the course before, but the first half felt very fast. I was worried I might've overcooked it, accelerating up again after a complete stop at the first roundabout, as I had been trying to save something for the return leg. The final two miles were much slower and very painful! Thanks once again to the organisers and volunteers”.

Griffiths’ final comment shows how the course can catch out the unwary, with a distinct gradient for half a mile either side of Espley roundabout just when effort is needed for the final push to the finish line. Griffiths’ nearest challenger was Nova Raiders’ Dean Callister, taking Silver in 20:22 after pushing out Holohan Coaching’s Kirk Vickers by just three seconds. Callister wasn’t finished there however, leading Nova Raiders to Team 10 Gold, with Andrew Lacon and Andy Rose providing solid backup to finish in a combined 1:03:56, pushing out Wrekinsport by 1:23. Callister was delighted with his brace of medals, stating: “I always enjoy this course; however I’ve never raced it in low wind conditions so it was a first for that. A great day for it and we managed to miss the rain. I was really pleased with my effort as the last mile is always tough. Well done, and a great ride by David Griffiths to take the win. Great to see the rest of the team on top form also to take the Team Gold - thanks to Wrekinsport for a top day”.

Lacon was surprised to have won a medal when told, with his strong 21:23 good enough for 7^th Overall. However his comments appear to reveal he suffered on the harder return leg: “The ride didn’t quite go to plan personally after a good first half, but I’m really happy with the Team Gold. Another strong performance as a team, I really enjoy racing with such great riders! Thanks as always for the organisation”.

Rose capped taking a medal with a huge personal best of 22:11. He added: “I had an easy week to ensure my legs were fresh and it paid off with a 42 second course personal best. I really enjoyed the race, but the last 1½ miles never gets easier - thanks to all the volunteers and race organisers”.

Callister wasn’t the only Nova Raider going home with a brace of medals as Deb Hutson-Lumb took double Gold in the Veteran’s 10 mile Championship and the Women’s Championship too. Hutson-Lumb set a great Veteran’s Standard of +6:24 to relegate Friction Veteran’s Series leader Tim Beardmore to the Silver medal position with +5:42, and set an unbeatable 23:37 on actual to beat Market Drayton CC’s Alison Dockney by 1:07. Having had some time away from racing due to injury Hutson-lumb is clearly back to full form and was pleased to take The Gordon Davies Women's Trophy – although she did have an appeal: “I’m enjoying being back racing, and winning the Championship 10 is a real bonus. It would be great to see more women on the start sheet next year - an excellent event, thank you Wrekinsport CC”.

Beardmore was happy with his ride to take Veteran’s Silver, pushing out Wrekinsport’s Chris Halford to Bronze in +5:06 – just, as Halford beat team mate Rob Jackson by a single second to win that medal. Beardmore’s comments reflect many riders’ feelings about the Hodnet bypass: “I always enjoy this course, although the last two miles is tough. I gave it everything and managed a power PB. Congratulations to all the medallists, and many thanks to all Wrekinsport CC for organising”.

Dockney wasn’t pleased with her ride however, describing it as “Not my finest”. Despite this her 24:44 effort gained Women’s Silver, and she had praise for the victor: “Thanks to the wonderful marshals at Tern Hill for hearty encouragement as I was in traffic at the roundabout! Congratulations Deb on a great ride for the women's win; and thanks Wrekinsport hosting the event and supporting West Midlands Air Ambulance charity”.

Women’s Bronze went to another Oswestry Paragon rider, Helen Tudor, ensuring a good day for the club with Helen Tudor stopping the watch on 27:16. She commented: “Thanks to Wrekinsport for putting on the event, it was good to have the chance to use the course again. I was pleased that the rain held off after getting soaked in my last two races”!

In the Junior 10 Championship Henri Bedford showed just why he’s taken the Junior Series in record time by helping himself to Junior 10 Gold with a strong 4^th place Overall. Bedford ended his afternoon on 20:45 but was frustrated that traffic held him up: “A really nice course and good weather made for a fast afternoon. Fast on the way out, but I got caught up by a slow moving tractor. Big thanks to Wrekinsport CC for hosting”.

But Wrekinsport’s Ben Southgate ended his afternoon happy with a massive personal best in his first ever Open event of 24:16 to take Junior Silver. He stated: “I was really pleased to get Silver; the hard work is paying off. Thanks for the encouragement from the members of Wrekinsport”.

Overall Top 20:

Road Bike standings:

Women's standings: