You can’t beat a bit of mud and spray on a sunny day!

The Scorton Scramble was the final event of the North West Cyclo-Cross league and with a reputation for mud it didn’t disappoint.

Despite some sections of ‘gloop’ riders reported that the course was more ride-able than the first race of the season also at Scorton in September. In fact the weather was perfect with bright sunshine along with a reasonably mild temperature. It was however set to be a test of endurance and determination. The damage had been done over the preceding weeks with rain aplenty. Interesting washing and changing facilities too (the gun rooms and pheasant beaters shelter), centred in the court yard next to the landowners house and what a magnificent building comprising of over 50 rooms which played host to both presentations (league and the final event race).

However the conditions didn’t prevent some exciting racing. First off were the Youth riders with what turned out to be Jack Humphreys’ tenth win in the series for Red Rose Olympic. In fact the top 3 on the day matched the overall league results with Tom Armstrong Ribble Valley Juniors pushing Jack all the way closely followed by Dan Wheelan, Liverpool Century. First Girl was the newly crowned National Cyclo-Cross champion Zoe Armstrong, Ribble Valley Juniors who just finished ahead of Becky Preece, Red Rose Olympic in second and Clare Gore, Sport City Velo in third.

A change of course for the U12′s saw them hurtling through the Paris Roubaix straight (cobbled section down the side of the main house) with a fine win from Alex Braybrooke Sport City Velo. Fabian Brennan, Salt Ayre Cog Set came in second and Robert Armstrong, Ribble Valley Juniors third. First 3 girls were Jessica Wilkinson, Birkenhead NE, second Caroline Humphreys, Red Rose Olympic and third Helena Preece also Red Rose Olympic.

The main race saw a smaller field than usual; prompting a competitive race over the muddy fields with the opportunity to secure higher overall finishes. Probably the most exciting battle of the day saw Matthew Harwood Evans Cycles and Rob Pugh FP Mailing CT sprinting for the finish line (and I mean sprinting on foot, not on the bikes!) Matthew just piped Rob on the line.

Third place went to Lewis Burke, one of the leagues most promising junior riders. First woman was Anita Claydon who was on fine form throughout the race. Congratulations must go to all riders who finished on the day for sticking with the mud and a big thank you to the landowner, James Whewell for his hospitality.

Results

Red Rose Olympic Scramble S,J,V,W
1 Matthew Harwood Evans Cycles
2 Rob Pugh FP Mailing CT
3 Lewis Burke Jnr Macc Wheelers
4 Kevin Walford Macc Wheelers

5 Conan Mayman V40 Rhyl CC
6 Alan Dorrington V40 Horwich
7 Colin Davies V40 Sports City Velo
8 Ray Pugh V50 L’pool Mercury Dolan
9 Andrew Stanistreet  L’pool Mercury Dolan
10 Martin Kitchin Horwich
11 Dean Smith V40 Liverpool Century
12 Ben Hookway Velo Ecosse
13 Hamish Fletcher-Cooney Jnr Gill Cycles
14 Adam Palmer Horwich at 1 lap
15 Winkie Thin V40 Unattached at 1 lap
16 Joe Allen U23 Evans Cycles at 1 lap
17 Ian Kendall Unattached at 1 lap
18 John Rutter V40 Unattached at 1 lap
19 Paul Warrener V40 Rossendale RC at 1 lap
20 Mark Brennan V40 Cog Set at 1 lap
21 Martin Woffindin Jnr Sports City Velo at 1 lap
22 Robert Allan V40 Unattached at 1 lap
23 Dan Small Mcr Wheelers at 1 lap
24 Eric Taylor V60 Horwich at 2 laps
25 Graham Kennerley V50 Lancaster CC at 2 laps
26 David Smith  Unattached at 2 laps
27 Clive Wilkinson V45 Birkenhead NE at 2 laps
28 Mark Turner V40 Unattached at 2 laps
29 Alan Shuttleworth V60 ??? at 2 laps
30 Anita Claydon W Sports City Velo at 3 laps
31 John Gore V40 Sports City Velo at 3 laps
32 Reg Stanistreet V60 L’pool Mercury Dolan at 3 laps
33 Len Woffindin V45 Sports City Velo at 3 laps
34 Jenni Rowlands W L’pool Mercury Dolan at 3 laps
35 Mark Lenderyou? V 40 Mcr Wheelers at 4 laps
36 James Stanistreet V65 L’pool Mercury Dolan at 4 laps
37 Mark Thomson V45 Unattached at 5 laps

Red Rose Olympic Scramble Youth
1 Jack Humphreys Red Rose Olympic
2 Tom Armstrong RVJCRC
3 Dan Wheelan Liverpool Century
4 Christian Braybrooke U14 Sports City Velo
5 Jared Muncan?  Unattached at 1 lap
6 Bryn Davies U14 Sports City Velo at 1 lap
7 Zoe Armstrong U14G RVJCRC at 1 lap
8 Lee Dilworth RVJCRC at 1 lap
9 Jack Cooper Red Rose Olympic at 1 lap
10 James Claydon Sports City Velo at 1 lap
11 Becky Preece U16G Red Rose Olympic at 1 lap
12 Andrew Nixon U14 Red Rose Olympic at 1 lap
13 Grant Pritchard U14 Cog Set at 1 lap
14 Ashley Clitheroe  Red Rose Olympic at 1 lap
15 Grant Brotherton Red Rose Olympic at 1 lap
16 Clare Gore U14G Sports City Velo at 1 lap
17 Scott Pritchard Cog Set at 1 lap
18 James Jackson U14 Cog Set at 1 lap

Red Rose Olympic Scramble U12
1 Alex Braybroke Eastlands
2 Fabian Brennan Cog Set
3 Robert Armstrong RVJCRC
4 Jessica Wilkinson U12G Birk North End
5 Oran Speakman Cog Set
6 Bill Cooper Red Rose Olympic
7 Matthew Braybroke Eastlands
8 Sam Hollingworth U10 Red Rose Olympic
9 Tyla Loftus Cog Set
10 Caroline Humphreys U12G Red Rose Olympic
11 Calvin Hunterdale Unattached
12 Helena Preece U12G Red Rose Olympic
13 Alistair Levers U10 BYCA
14 Alex Porter U10 BYCA
15 Freya Duviall U10G Horwich
16 Sam Kendall U8 Unattached
17 Harry G? U10 BYCA
18 Robert Ellis  BYCA

Web page, Excel format or PDF format.

Congratulations to the winenrs in all categories after a long and busy season’s racing.

Click here for full results.

Macclesfield Supacross results now in – click on the links:

Senior / V W J Race

Youth and Under 12 race

A report is here in the Rhyl Journal
Pugh finishes minute ahead of cyclo-cross field

The races were generously supported by Wheelbase.co.uk, whose staff, riders and managers all mucked in to put together their team’s third cyclocross promotion.

The course was always going to be a slog on the slopes of Edgeside Park, but early plans to ease the gradient with a few stretches of recovery tarmac were terminated by the stubborn packed ice that has held to the valley sides since Tuesday. The resulting course was one of cyclocross’s toughest. The climbs were slow and painful, with regular dismounts. The descents were scant reward with pedalling needed all the way down almost all of the downhill stretches.

Senior Race

Stuart Reid (Wheelbase) spent the entire morning helping organiser and team mate Dave Haygarth mark out the course, but still had the energy to ride off the front of the race to win the event comfortably over yorkshire visitor Graham Briggs (Rapha) and Rob Pugh (FP Mailing).  Despite the convincing win,  Reid’s victory only became assured in the latter stages of the race, after he was forced to run half of the third lap of the race when some wire on the course tangled up and then snapped two spokes of his rear wheel.

The crisp snow on the course cruelly betrayed a soft under-soil and riders moved from ice to mud throughout the laps and rarely got the chance to spin out a pace much faster than a run.

Sue Clarke made the visit from Cumbria worthwhile by taking the first spot in the ladies, whilst fellow Cumbrian Jeff Standly was the first in the 60+ category.  Mick Style was firs V40 whilst Lancaster’s Graham Kennerly took the V50 category.

Youth Race

Over a nasty lap with four forced dismounts, Jack Humphreys (Red Rose Olympic) proved strongest in a field of 14 riders. Becky Preece was the top girl finisher and Andrew Nickson was best U14 rider.

Under 12 race

In conditions that would test the best elite riders, 19 under 12s applied themselves to the snow, ice and mud of Edgeside park and every rider deserved a medal.  Battling it out at the front were Alex Braybrooke (Eastlands Velo) and Fabian Brennan (Salt Ayre Cog Set), but when Brennan experienced a minor mechanical on the final lap, Braybrooke pushed forward and gave no second chance – taking the win by a good margin by the finish line. Top girl was Moira Davies (Eastland Velo)

Results

Results from all events are here.

Photos

Dave Haygarth’s piccies: See 73 photos here or view as a slideshow here
British Cycling photos and brief report here

No-one could stop Scott Thwaites (Crosstrax) from taking first place after he rode away midway through the first of eight laps. Things could have been different had Lewis Craven (Wheelbase) arrived in time for the start. Last year’s 5th placed rider in the national trophy series was held up in traffic on the way to his nearest cyclocross(!) and had to start a minute after the field had set off, then pick his way through the 100 strong pack.

Flying veteran Matt Denby (Zepnat) finished second and top Junior was Martin Woffindin (Sport City Velo) in an impressive tenth position.

Results

Click here for full results

Results

Click here for full results

Results

Click here to view full results

“Just a quick note to thank riders and spectators for their friendliness and welcome last weekend when Eastern League riders Hugo Robinson and Nathan Miller raced at Otterspool Park and Pignut Hill. The course on Saturday was superb, and on Sunday the run-ups and the mud madefor a really challenging race.Thanks to the organisers and volunteers for their hard work, we enjoyed our visit to the North West and look forward to racing with you again in the future.”

Results

Results now posted here

The usual freezing wind it seems took hold on Saturday. A great account of the race from Alan Dorrington is here.

Results

Full results here

The days racing started with the ‘Youth’ events and Sunday saw the largest turn out for the recently formed Salt Ayre Cog Set. Lancaster’s own Go Ride club was formed 12 months ago and has seen a significant increase in membership during the past few months with 40 plus riders turning up for their weekly coaching sessions at Salt Ayre Leisure centre. Thirteen local young riders from the club turned out to test their skills and ability on this new course which has a combination of technical descents and grovelling climbs. All the youngsters proved their training had paid off as they made a significant impact in their respective races. First off was the ‘Youth U16’ race with a fine performance by James Jackson finishing in a respectable 12th place closely followed by team-mate and fellow Ripley St Thomas High School pupil Ruby Sadler Andrews riding a fine race to scoop up the first Under 14 girls prize and narrowly beating Central Lancaster High School pupil Gavin Neil.

Next race saw the Cog Set well represented in the ‘Youth U12′s. This race held on a slightly shorter course saw Fabian Brennan finish in a hotly contested sprint for second place after putting in a fine performance. Fellow club mates also riding in this race included Oran Speakman (10th) and Tyler Lofthouse (13th) followed shortly after by Jessica McCracken in her first ever race coming a respectable 14th. The remaining riders all showing promising form on the day included George Scott (18th), Coralie Neil (19th), Bethan Abra (20th), Ellen Layzell (21st), Malcolm Neil (22nd), Chloe Lofthouse (23rd) and Xavier Brennan (24th).

The final race of the day was the senior race which, in the field of 80 plus riders, saw several locals competing including ‘Cog Set’ club coaches Paul Andrews & Mark Brennan and the Lune’s Ashley Finn riding his first cyclo-cross event. Andrews made a great start to his race well up in the field but suffered the inevitable by way of a puncture half way through the race. Finn, a first cat roadman but novice at this branch of cyclesport, started off steady, not quite used to the change in style of clipless pedals favoured by the cyclo-cross men. Brennan also started steady but with increasing pace as the race progressed flew past Andrews, staying ahead of him for the remainder of the race. At the head of the race Ian Bibby (SiS Trek) and Johnny McEvoy (100% ME) set a hot pace and soon had a lead. Ashley Finn soon got into his stride and as the race developed and the two climbs took their toll he started to claw back up the field into the top ten. Meanwhile Bibby romped away alone into a serious lead that he would keep till the end. However bad luck struck Finn as he punctured after 45mins, causing a loss of several placings as he rode half a lap on a flat before getting a replacement wheel from a resourceful support team of Scott Morley and Matt Cronshaw. In the closing laps Bibby began to lap the field with consummate ease taking a fine victory ahead of McEvoy and Rob Pugh (FB Mailings) while after nearly crashing, falling off and puncturing Finn claimed a well deserved tenth place in his debut race.

In what turned out to be a great race for all concerned on a well constructed course many thanks must be paid to Adi Dalgleish for his fine organisation as well all those helping with the running of this fine event. Thanks also to the ‘Salt Ayre Cog Set catering crew’ who were also on board supplying great refreshments for the day to all riders, spectators and even the occasional lost army recruit!

Photos

Some great photos here on the British Cycling website

Results

Full results now here – or download as XLS here

In the Senior race, Rob Pugh (FP Mailing) took the lead from lap 1 and, on his best form so far this season, held on for his first victory in the North West League this Autumn. The Wheelbase boys, Lewis Craven and Stuart Reid, gamely started from the back of the field and chased hard taking 2nd and 3rd respectively after strong rides showing their skills riding up the run-up bank…..have to make it steeper next year!

Tom Lowe (Go Sports Spex) won the Juniors coming in 4th overall and Paul Whatmough won the Vets breaking into the top ten at 9th with Kim Baptista first lady home.

It was great seeing the younger events well attended and some new-to-cross riders on mountain bikes in the Senior event, which had 79 starters, mixing it up with the banter of the North West regulars, meanwhile your author was almost too busy to be jealous not to be racing the course!

Alex Braybrooke (Eastlands Velo) made it a weekend double taking the flag in the U12’s from a big field of 27 starters from Leighton Sharman (Liverpool Century) and Robert Armstrong (RVCRC). Jessica Wilkinson (Birkenhead NE), first girl, gave the boys a run for their money at 4th overall. Over a third (10) of the racers were girls – come on the girls!

The Youth race was closely contested in the early stages but Jack Humphreys (Red Rose Olympic) emerged as a clear winner from Tom Armstrong (RVCRC) and Lewis Sharman (Liverpool Century) with Zoe Armstrong (RVCRC) first girl home.

Results

Results for all races are here or you can download as XLS here

The course was based on a small river valley, about half a mile from Manchester Velodrome. A small corridor of greenbelt amid the urban sprawl, its mixture of scrubby tree cover, singltrack, grassland and riverside paths gave the riders a good mix of technical and more open terrain.

From the whistle, it was Road rider Simon Wilson who was the first to show and at the end of the first lap he led by a a couple of lengths from Thwaites. Second time round, though, and Thwaites was away alone at the front and the Crosstrax rider built up a comfortable gap at the front. Behind him, Richard Wilkinson was also making progress after a steady start and he was soon up into second and also circulating alone.

Rob Pugh moved up into third place, demoting Wilson to fourth in the process, but neither was able to make much impact on Thwaites and Wilkinson, though they did at least avoid being lapped, a fate which befell the rest of the field.

Earlier, close rivals Jack Humphreys of Red Rose Olympic CC and Tom Armstrong of Ribble Valley fought out a very tight battle in the Youth race. Armstrong was the one on the front for much of the race, but Humphreys was never more than a bike length back. Driving along together, they soon had a huge gap over the rest of the field and were able to spend their last couple of laps looking at each other and trying to formulate a winning strategy. In the end it all came down to a sprint finish along the riverside, which Humphreys just edged.

The big and enthusiastic Under-12 field had a shorter course of their own and put ona very fine display of riding. Alex Braybrooke of the organising Eastlands Velo club was the winner, but all competitors showed admirable skill through the tricky woodland section early in the lap.

Results

Results available here

Paul Oldham (Hope Factory Racing) had to settle for second place in the main event with last year’s event, whilst Barnoldswick’s Ian Wilkinson (SIS Trek) and series third placer Rob Jebb (Wheelbase/Gore Bike Wear) came in 5th and 8th respectively.

In the women’s event, Sue Clarke (SIS Trek) finished 5th, whilst Roy Hunt was in his expected 1st place in the over 50s.

Only Martin Woffenden (Sport City Velo) came from the NW to the junior event and fought his way through the field after a poor start to take 11th spot.