Spalding Cycling Club hosted the second round of the Lincolnshire Cyclo Cross League – and the home riders put in some strong showings.
The under-12 race was won by Spalding’s Ben Norton at The Gleed School, which represented a fine improvement on his third place at Sleaford and secures him a good lead in the overall standings.
Velvet Bowser finished 11th overall, taking the prize for second girl, while Jack Bowser rode well as he chased his sister home to finish in 13th place.
Mimi Gurney made up the Spalding Team, finishing 37th overall and tenth girl.
The Youths race was once again dominated by the Sherwood Pines SRAM RT duo of Matt Ellis and Jake Norton, both Spalding second claim riders.
Riding his first race of the season, Tom Wright was the first Spalding racer across the line in ninth overall, which was good enough for third under-14. The only other Spalding rider, Ed Gurney, put in a great ride to eventually finishing in 21st position as 12th under-14.
Improving two places on his Sleaford result, Adam Ellis was the first Spalding rider home in the Veterans’ race with sixth place overall.
The fast conditions soon strung the field out and only 11 people finished on the same lap as winner Carl Sturgeon, of Jewson-Mi racing. Neil Palmer, in a reversal of fortunes after his DNF at
Sleaford, put in a strong performance using his time trial skills on the flat open sections. He finished 16th overall, just three places ahead of Shane Norton.
Tom Webster and Chris Peel managed fine rides finishing in the top 30. Webster was 25th and seventh in the Vets 50 category, while Peel crossed the line in 28th spot.
Team-mate Simon Wright’s 40th position was a solid performance in his first race of the season.
Of the 60 starters, 20 were in the V50 Category and alongside Webster, event organiser Chris Bettinson and Gary Bentley rode well to take tenth and 13th respectively in the category – finishing 34th and 42nd overall.
By the time the seniors’, juniors’ and women’s race got under way it was quite hot, making a hard event even more uncomfortable.
The usual fast charge from the start made it an open race, with big gaps between finishers and a number of abandons.
The finishing order for Spalding riders was exactly as it was at Sleaford. Of the Spalding riders, Ben Moore took 11th place while Sam Bentley, who clearly found the conditions to his liking, improved from 25th at Sleaford to finish 17th.
Consistent performances for Andy Bowser and Tom Webster also rewarded them with 34th and 46th places respectively.
Finishing in 42nd spot to claim the award for fifth lady was Spalding’s second claim lady member Tilly Gurney, riding for Squadra Donne.
Spalding’s thanks go to Steve Forman, the timekeepers, marshals, entry officials and the refreshments team for making the day such a success.
- Only two Spalding riders were present at a recent Alford Wheelers event. The in-form Ben Norton was a clear winner in the under-12s race, 44 seconds ahead of second-placed Jake Kennedy, of VC Lincoln, and more than one minute from third-placed Harry Garfield (Bourne Wheelers).
In the Youths race, another consistent ride from an ever-improving Tom Wright netted him 11th place.
