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Event cancelled due to gale force winds

Wet and chilly conditions greeted riders for the second Wrekinsport CC Spring Sprint 5, affecting both the entry level and times in the gathering gloom. Not that it made any difference to the destinations of the top two slots as Tomos Hales and Phil Roberts headed up the standings again. Hales took hos second victory in as many weeks, losing nine seconds on his first attempt after crossing the line in 11 minutes 12 seconds. Roberts lost 14 seconds to finish in 11:31, with these two riders the only ones to beat 12 minutes as Alex Hall occupied the final podium slot in 12:41.

Best ride of the evening went to Mollie Croxon, who improved by 31 seconds to post a fine 14:52, beating the classic ‘evens’ or 20mph barrier for the first time after having a significant carrot of Stuart Wortley, who started a minute ahead, to chase down.

Wrekinsport’s club season opened with a by now traditional five mile dash taking in Admaston, Rushmore and Allscott as Tomos Hales took a fine win – despite competing on a road bike. Hales stopped the watch on 11 minutes 3 seconds to see off a strong challenge from Phil Roberts, some 14 seconds back on an almost still but chilly evening which saw 11 competitors attempt the lung-bursting effort. The short distance leaves no place for error on a course with a sting in the tail, dragging along the last leg between Allscott and Admaston which can catch riders out.

Taking third place was Wrekinsport Junior Ben Southgate, just 5 seconds behind Roberts in 11:22, whilst the only female in competition Mollie Croxon registered a good first go at the course with 15:23.

The opening event of the 2023 time trial season saw Paramount CRT’s Mason Durant take a win by 57 seconds in Round 1 of the Friction and Hydraulic Services Shropshire Championship Points Series as Wrekinsport CC ran their testing Hilly 18 miler from Worfield. A chilly but almost still afternoon saw riders make the best of the lull in the winter gales to take on the challenge of Bridgnorth’s fearsome Hermitage climb, with Durant in full flow on the three-quarter mile, 15% gradient making up time over the opposition. Durant stopped the watch on 41 minutes 28 seconds to see off a twin challenge from reigning Friction Series champion Tim Beardmore and a surprise performance from Ludlow CC’s Robbie Disney, tying for the runner-up spot in 42:25.

Durant was satisfied with his performance, but the shock of the new season took him 10 miles to come around to, with only the effort mauling of his way up The Hermitage finally hitting home. He Stated: “A great first event of the season, despite the chilly weather. It took until The Hermitage for me to warm up and get my head in the game, and the last part of the course was much better. A great HQ, with a brew to warm up - thanks to all the volunteers”.

Beardmore set out a good initial defence of his title not only taking Overall runner-up spot but top spot in the Friction Veterans Series too with +6:23, an excellent margin of +2:29 ahead of Mid Shropshire Wheelers’ Paul Duncan. However Beardmore revealed that he is behind with his training regime after an accident kept him off a bike for a while: “Great to be racing again on one of my favourite courses. My form is not quite where I was hoping for the start of the season due to a crash at the start of the year and some time off the bike. I really enjoyed the race, even if it was a bit cold - thanks to everyone at Wrekinsport CC for organising”.

Disney’s surprise tie with Beardmore was thanks to a first race with tri-bars fitted, for which he immediately saw dividends. There is no greater aero benefit than tri-bars, typically saving 45 seconds over a 10 mile course, and Disney made the most of ducking low and presenting the minimum resistance to scythe through the air to put up a great challenge. He commented: “It went well, I got some good rest in leading up to the race and felt strong. I changed my handlebars over from last season so I could put tri-bars on. This was my first race with them so my position wasn't great, I might have been in a shot of first place if I had that sorted, but I can't complain coming joint second with Tim as he's a strong time triallist”.

In the Women’s race it was a three-way battle amongst Wrekinsport club mates, with a win by a large margin of 7:56 for Beth Till. By the looks of things Till is already reaping benefits from her winter training programme which is focussed on improving her speed, stopping the watch on 53:29 to beat her own Women’s Course Record by 10 seconds. This was a strong performance from ill, who looked in full control nearing the top of The Hermitage where the gradient kicks, and already shows that she has an edge hinted at in her post-race comments: “Great to be back racing again, I’m hoping to improve on my speed this year after focussing on Ironman training last year – a great event by Wrekinsport as always”!

Taking Wrekinsport’s Chris Edwards Trophy for the first time 16 year old Ben Southgate surprised his team mates with a comfortable victory of exactly three minutes to take that prize for the first time. Southgate crossed the finish line in 45:22 to take fifth spot Overall and shows that his winter hasn’t been wasted: “Really happy with my results, hoping the winter training is paying off”. Meanwhile Wrekinsport opened a good defence of the Top Club Award, taking 145 points, a margin of 70 over Mid Shropshire Wheelers.

Wrekinsport’s club season ended with a fast and furious five mile event to bookend the season-opening 5’s, with 10 riders saying goodbye to another season on the Admaston – Rushmore Lane – Allscott circuit. This course has a sting in the tail; largely descending for the first half, largely climbing for the second, meaning riders who are unaware can be caught out – not that that stopped Phil Roberts from taking the win in 11 minutes 14 seconds. Roberts was one of three riders breaking the 12 minute benchmark, with Paramount CRT’s Chris Riley taking the runner-up spot 13 seconds back in 11:27.

Third spot went to a rapidly improving junior as Ben Southgate found the distance to his liking. The 15 year-old stopped the watch on 11:42 to round off a solid season. With just one woman in competition Deb Hutson-Lumb wasn’t going to stop that spoiling her competitive streak as she took a fine fourth spot overall in 12:09.  

Round 1 of the BBR Opticians Hill Climb Series saw a big surprise as Tomos Hales took the win ahead of a strong field of 25 riders in Wrekinsport CC’s Willomoor Bank climb. Ramping to 15% at the end, the rolling approach requires tactical prowess as going too hard on the lower slopes can come back to bite as the road turns skywards, whilst going too conservatively can also backfire. Hales won the one mile climb in 3 minutes 40 seconds, taking the huge scalp of the reigning and multiple hill climb champion Kirk Vickers by one second. Hales’ form has been excellent all season, but having won Silver in 2021 he clearly has his eyes on the bigger prize. His comments showed how local knowledge was put to good use: “Ecstatic to win the Wrekinsport hill climb, I’ve been up that climb countless times. I had a very good bottom section and managed to hang on up the steep stuff. Very close with Kirk and got lucky to beat him by a second, I’m just happy to be able to compete with such a class rider. Thanks for Wrekinsport for hosting and everyone that helped out”.

Vickers is unlikely to take things easy in later Series events in this short, sharp season-ending competition and is almost certain to come back all the harder given an unerring ability to push himself to the ragged edge. His comments showed how tricky it can be to judge pacing on the lower slopes correctly: “Always a crucial one to get the pacing right, I saved a lot for the end and had a strong finish. Well done all riders; and Tomos Hales with a strong ride”.

Hill climbing is a discipline where younger riders tend to have an advantage, but you wouldn’t have known it judging by Steven Prince’s ride as he took the Overall win in the over-40’s Veteran’s category as well as third place overall in an excellent 3:55. Prince missed all but one event in 2021 due to suffering from Covid-19 but appears determined to make up for missing out on his preferred discipline in 2022. Like Vickers he saved something for the final lung-bursting effort at the end: “I’ve only done this climb once before in 2018 but remembered the nasty ramp at the end so tried to save a bit for that. I beat my personal best by nearly 15 seconds so a great way to start the season. It was a cracking time by Tomos for the win; and thanks Wrekinsport for hosting and the marshals and timekeepers”.

Taking the maximum 20 Veteran’s points on offer for affiliated riders was Bridgnorth CC’s Scott Palmer with a fine 4:13. Palmer won three events in the Veterans Series in 2021 and knows all about this climb, but his comments echo the difficulty judging exactly how to tackle this switchback course: “Not getting my pacing right on the Wrekin two years ago I tried a different approach, but still too conservative. A personal best nonetheless, but I could have gone better”.

One encouraging sight was the number of females in competition, but with the presence of multiple hill climb course record holder Rebecca Richardson and her amazing string-wheeled Specialized Aethos bike, weighing in at just 4.7kg you could probably have safely bet your house on who the winner was going to be. Richardson was very close to her 2021 effort with a fabulous 4:07, taking fourth spot overall. Richardson is, as usual, using these events as great preparation for a tilt at the National title and stated: “A great evening for racing hills, warm sun and good support on steepest part of the climb, in the ‘death zone’ feeling like a zombie! Thank you to Wrekinsport CC”.

Richardson has risen to National standard after discovering a superb ability riding Shropshire events; and the pull of the short, sharp pain fest was not lost on first-timer Hayley Wells of Paramount CRT, who took the 20 points on offer for affiliated riders with a fine effort of 4:59: “Another new challenge to tackle and dare I say addictive!? Round 1 was about pacing the first two inclines then saving enough for the last kicker! It was fabulous to have riders standing on the final corner encouraging everyone through to empty the tank”!

In the Junior competition Mid Shropshire Wheelers’ Alex Hart nearly had a disaster due to a kit error, but somehow still managed to finish equal 5^th in 4:09. He explained: “I made a mistake at Round 1 forgetting my shoes and having to ride in my pumps”! Thankfully despite not having ideal contact with his pedals the youngster still managed to pull an excellent climb out of the bag.