Springtime Pursuit No1 Report

Thu, 21 February 2008

Clear blue skies and a bright sunshine shone down on the 70 plus riders in the Mid-Devon CC/Colin Lewis Cycles promoted Springtime Pursuit No 1. A nagging Easterly wind kept the temperature down in single figures and made it hard when the road went towards Honiton on each of the three laps.

There was early aggression from a pair of Bikinmotion CC juniors as Guy Wilkins and Will Jansen left the other 4 youngsters behind. It was obvious that the duo were intent on taking the first prime at the lap end. It was Wilkins who took the prize. At the Sowton turn Jake Durrant, Mid-Devon CC/Colin Lewis Cycles promising junior, had the misfortune to puncture however all was not lost as a spectating team mate was on hand to give him a replacement wheel.

Once the prime line had been passed Wilkins and Jansen were caught by group 2 and soon after that Group 3 engulfed them all.

At the rear of the field groups 4 and 5 had also merged. After 14 miles there was a 50 second gap between the two bunches. Shortly before the second prime at 20 miles they became one large bunch. At the sprint for the prime line at the end of lap 2 Marcin Bialoblocki, now riding for the Sport Beans team and who won the 2007 series, went clear to claim the prize.

On the drag up to the turn at the Old Paddocks and into the breeze, Gordon Murdoch, Pedal Power Elite RT, and Tom Burke, Agiskoviner, inched their way off the front. Having turned and with the wind behind them for 5 miles Murdoch, a Scot living near Truro, and Burke, who is based in Bristol, worked well together to open a lead that grew to 30 seconds. This was despite a number of attempts by the more aggressive riders to bridge the gap.

The front two tried to cross the prime line together and share the prize, however Murdoch was judged to be first over the line. The finish of the race was at the top of Daisymount, a 1 mile climb off the main circuit. Murdoch and Burke rode together still sharing the work load while behind others made franic efforts getto them. Inside the last yards Burke proved the strongest leaving Murdoch to take the runner-up prize. The bunch was led in by Guy Wilkins who edged out Jon Tiernan-Locke, Mid-Devon CC/Colin Lewis Cycles, by a couple of lengths. Fifth place went to Exeter's Matt Ewings with Bialoblocki sixth. A blanket finish saw Jake Durrant a tyre's width ahead of Andrew Hitchens, Mid-Devon CC/Colin Lewis Cycles and Will Jansen, Bikinmotion CC, ninth holding off his team mate Phil Borrett.

Result 1 Tom Burke Agiskoviner (5m 30s) 32 miles in 1h 17m 05sec
2 Gordon Murdoch Pedal Power Elite RT - same time
3 Guy Wilkins Bikinmotion CC @ 14 secs
4 Jon Tiernan-Locke Mid-Devon CC/Colin Lewis Cycles
5 Matt Ewings - Unattached
6 Marcin Bialoblocki Sports Beans
7 Jake Durrant Mid-Devon CC/Colin Lewis Cycles
8 Andrew Hitchens Mid-Devon CC/Colin Lewis Cycles
9 Will Jansen Bikinmotion CC
10 Phil Borrett Bikinmotion CC all same time
14 Sean Childs RN & RMCA
Other local finishers
16 Matt Stancombe Mid-Devon CC/Colin Lewis Cycles
29 Alan Drury Mid-Devon CC/Colin Lewis Cycles
40 Will Hornby Cycle Sport South Hams
46 Adam Beams Mid-Devon CC/Colin Lewis Cycles
49 Simon Aske Mid-Devon CC/Colin Lewis Cycles
53 Roland Hanbury Bikinmotion CC