There’s only one word to describe this event which took place in the heart of the East Yorkshire Wolds; MAGNIFICENT. Conditions were perfect; little wind, blue skies, a course fit to hold a championship on and three separate races each with a story to tell.
Organiser Dean Fulstow received 100 entries altogether, 16 dns and 17 dnf. There were one or two punctures. The race started half way up the climb from Warter village, about 15 miles east of York, in bright sunshine, a climb which, along with the heat, was to be decisive in the outcome of the races.
The ABs were first to start and after a lap a group of 6 had a lead of half a minute. They were Richard Moore, Paul Bell, Richard Binks, John Hall, John Askew and Giles Didmore. Another lap and they had lost Askew but were joined by Neil Beasley and Andy Eagers and the gap to the main bunch was just over 50 seconds. After three laps it was still Moore, Didcock, Beasley, Hall and Bell in the lead, now 1’ 35” from the next group, 13 of them, who were themselves 2 minutes up on another group of 8 riders. The leading group were reduced to four at the end of lap four, Didcock slipping out the back on the climb and struggling 20 seconds behind. The peloton were stretched out two and a half minutes behind the leaders, now coming up in single file – the TV commentators would have said that they were now trying hard. They were Culpin, Brooks, Sparnon, Mustill, Askew, Baker, Johnson, Ellis, Malik, Hopkinson, Fulstow, Tayles and Gammelin.
Richard Binks proved the strongest at the finish with a comfortable margin of 5 or 6 lengths from Andy Eagers and Neil Beasley. Richard Moore was another two or three lengths behind, a good performance after his efforts in a criterium in Cottingham the previous evening (where he finished 2nd beaten only by half a wheel behind Jake Tanner). Paul Bell trailed behind not contesting having given his all on the lower slopes. John Hall led the rest of the pack in, having closed the gap down to half a minute.
John Askew told me that the ABs started very fast, the first lap in 25:23, but the CDs went around the course even faster, 15: 18. They were well stretched out though, with Paul Stubbs, Rob Whitfield, John Manning and Paul Wakefield driving hard with about a quarter of a minute to Dave Scargill and the rest. On the second lap a dozen riders were clear by half a minute. Led by Rob Whitfield they were, Stubbs, Thomas, Middleton, Hadfield, Hill, Davison, Wakefield, Easton and a couple of others with Ray Pugh hanging for dear life on the back.. Half a dozen riders were at half a minute, then the rest of the field stretched over three or four minutes.
At the end of lap three ten riders had got themselves organised. They were Paul Stubbs, Phil Thomas, Paul Wakefield, Steve Marrows, Keith Middleton, Gaz Hill, Rob Whitfield, John Hadfield, John Manning and Fred Easton. Tony May and Gert Gammelin were a minute and a half behind, with the rest of the field a further two minutes in arrears.
It was between Paul Stubbs and Steve Marrows at the finish, a close one with Stubbsy coming across first. Phil Thomas and Keith Middleton vied for 3rd place, the older (and wiser?) proving dominant. Then was Paul Wakefield and the rest, all within spitting distance.
Perhaps the riders in group EFG were a little more caution on the first lap, apart from the climb which is a real body blow, there’s a risky 50 mph descent around the back of the course, they all came up reasonably together after the first lap, led by Rob Stones and Allan Ramsay. Pacing yourself, I believe it’s called. The lap time was 28: 58.
Things were a bit different on the bell lap, a group of five had a 20 second lead over the finish line. They were Rob Stones, Brian Sunter, Allan Ramsey, Keith McKay and Richard Booth and it looked like the winners were coming from this lot. Ray Brummitt, Jack Watson, Alistair Cameron, Dave Maughan, Ken Corbett and John Elliot were the ones chasing and the rest were a further quarter of a minute behind.
It looked like Richard Booth had a problem around the course on the last lap as Allan Ramsey, taking advantage from Rob Stones’ attack on the climb, sailed past Rob at the finish, or would have if he hadn’t been going uphill. Keith McKay and Brian Sunter were close behind, with the rest of the bunch, led by Ken Corbett, were nearly two minutes down.
Vic Sutton’s wife Shirley, presenting the prizes and a plaque to each winner, reminded the AB riders that they weren’t born when Vic took 29th place overall in the Tour de France in 1959. Vic would certainly have enjoyed this event today
Jim Sampson
EFG Finishers
Ov | NAME | CLUB | CAT | AGE | Time |
1 | Allan Ramsey | Road Peace | E | 62 | 01:23:45 |
2 | Rob Stones | Hull Thursday RC | F | 65 | s.t. |
3 | Keith McKay | VC York | E | 60 | @ 5 secs |
4 | Brian Sunter | Condor CC | F | 68 | @ 12 secs |
5 | Kenneth Corbett | Wakefield CC | E | 60 | @ 1′ 48″ |
6 | Jack Watson | Team Jewson MI Racing Thule | G | 74 | @ 1′ 53 |
7 | Dave Maughhan | Middridge CRT | E | 62 | s.t. |
8 | Ray Brummitt | VC Lincoln | E | 63 | @ 1′ 57 |
8 | John Elliott | Alford Wheelers | F | 67 | @ 1′ 59″ |
10 | John Ginley | Condor Road Club | F | 68 | @ 2′ 03″ |
11 | Alistar Cameron | Leeds Mercury RT | E | 60 | @ 2′ 06 |
12 | John Buston | Cycling Bargins.com | E | 61 | @ 2′ 55″ |
13 | Ralph Walker | Macclesfield Wheelers | G | 73 | s.t. |
14 | Jeff Hardy | LVRC | F | 67 | @ 3′ 06″ |
15 | Richard Booth | Midridge CRT | F | 65 | @ 3′ 20″ |
16 | Jim Morrison | Sacrborough Paragon | G | 70 | @ 5′ 36″ |
CD Finishers
Ov | NAME | CLUB | CAT | AGE | Time |
1 | Paul Stubbs | Ferryhill Wheelers | C | 50 | 01:44:30 |
2 | Steven Marrows | Lindsey Roads CC | C | 50 | s.t. |
3 | Phil Thomas | Liverpool Mercury Dolan | D | 55 | @ 13 secs |
4 | Keith Middleton | VC Lincoln | C | 52 | s.t. |
5 | Paul Wakefield | Lindsey Roads CC | C | 52 | @ 28 secs |
6 | John Manning | Drby Mercury | D | 56 | @ 37 secs |
7 | Robert Whitfield | R Whitfield RT | C | 54 | @ 54 secs |
8 | Fred Easton | Doncaster Wheelers | C | 50 | @ 1′ 46″ |
9 | John Hadfield | Rutland CC | C | 54 | s.t. |
10 | Gaz Hill | Dinnington RC | D | 57 | @ 4′ 18″ |
11 | Tony May | LVRC | C | 52 | @ 4′ 44″ |
12 | Brian Davison | Team Jewson MI Racing Thule | D | 56 | @ 5′ 00″ |
13 | Dave Scargill | Birdwell Wheelers | D | 57 | @ 6′ 20″ |
14 | Mark Colclough | Sleadford Wheelers/Chandlers Mitsubishi | C | 52 | s.t. |
15 | Phil Evans | Coventry RC | C | 54 | s.t. |
16 | Michael O’Callaghan | Leeds Mercury RT | C | 51 | @ 9′ 08″ |
17 | Ray Pugh | Liverpool Mercury Dolan | C | 54 | @ 10′ 15″ |
18 | Paul Webster | Dinnington RC | C | 52 | s.t. |
19 | Andy Coates | C | 54 | s.t. | |
20 | Neil Foster | Hartlepool CC | C | 50 | @ 10′ 40″ |
21 | Bob Tyrrell | Dursley CC | D | 55 | s.t. |
22 | Steve Collins | Wakefield CC | C | 54 | s.t. |
23 | Anthony Jones | Featherstone Road club | C | 52 | @ 10′ 59″ |
Ov | NAME | CLUB | CAT | AGE | Time |
AB Finishers
1 | Richard Binks | Holme Valley Wheelers | B | 46 | 02:11:06 |
2 | Andy Eagers | Derby Mercury RC | B | 48 | s.t. |
3 | Neil Beasley | Beeston RC | A | 40 | s.t. |
4 | Richard Moore | Star Bikes RT | A | 44 | s.t. |
5 | Paul Bell | Peak Road Club | A | 42 | s.t. |
6 | John Hall | LVRC | B | 48 | @ 28 secs |
7 | Patrick Lince | Lindsey Roads CC | A | 44 | @ 36 secs |
8 | Stu Baker | Lindsey Roads CC | B | 49 | s.t. |
9 | John Askew | A | 44 | s.t. | |
10 | Tim Culpin | VC Lincoln | B | 47 | s.t. |
11 | Carl Mustill | Ferryhill Wheekers | A | 42 | s.t. |
12 | Stephen Ellis | Out the Saddle CC | B | 46 | s.t. |
13 | Martin Hopkinson | Fietsen Tempo | B | 49 | s.t. |
14 | Owen Sparnon | B | 45 | s.t. | |
15 | Richard Tayles | Saddleworth Clarion | A | 44 | s.t. |
16 | Cameron Brooks | A | 43 | s.t. | |
17 | Gert Gammelin | A | 43 | s.t. | |
18 | Richard Malir | Ikkley CC | B | 46 | @ 1′ 11″ |
19 | Kenny Johnson | Scienceinsport.com | B | 46 | s.t. |
20 | Giles Didcock | A | 44 | @ 1′ 21″ | |
21 | Garry Fulstow | Wilson Wheels RT | B | 48 | @ 1′ 31`” |
22 | Richard Douthwaite | Clifton CC | A | 41 | @ 5′ 34″ |
23 | Mick Perrin | Ashford RC | B | 52 | s.t. |
24 | Tony Goundry | Cliff Pratts RT | A | 40 | s.t. |
25 | Tim Dalton | East Coast Bicycles | B | 48 | s.t. |
26 | Tim Walker | LVRC | B | 49 | @ 6′ 10″ |
27 | Tim Jackson | A | 41 | @ 6′ 34″ | |
28 | Rogan Ashton | LVRC | A | 41 | @ 9′ 38″ |