Club members may have read these already in Scene, but for those who do not receive it, these are the two reports the club have so far for this year’s East Yorkshire Road Race League.

The East Yorkshire Road Race League is a series of 8 events held under the TLI rules and regulations. The league is the same format and courses as previous years but a week later to avoid clashes with Linc’s TLI League or North York’s BC League:

East Yorkshire Road Race League Sproatley – Race 1  (by Andy Abbott)

Thank you to all that have entered this year’s Road Race League. Numbers are up on previous years with a lot of new faces.

Thankfully Thursday night was a bright but windy evening. The Sproatley course is always windy with sections of road lacking hedges but this year it was a full on North/NorthEasterly, with a lot of head/crosswinds going out and a near back wind from Sproatley to the finish.

Unfortunately this year John Trotter is unable to attend having moved to Sheffield so I have the extra job of sorting the Groups and working out the handicap times. The first event is always awkward, lots of new faces and then the regulars, have the regulars had a good winter or are they behind on training, who knows? I don’t. Having 4 start groups as usual the field was split with large groups 1 and 2 and smaller groups 3 and 4.

Groups 1 started with a 4 minute gap as there were a lot of novice riders. Group 2 set off with a bit more purpose and, after a gap of 1:50, Group 3 were away. Group 4 blasted off a further 1:25 back.

At the end of lap one, the gaps were 3:40, 35 secs and 1:15. G3 were closing in on G2 but not much change otherwise.

End of lap 2, G1 were 2:40 ahead of a combined G2/G3 and a very smooth G4 47secs behind.

End of lap 3 (1 lap to go) G1 were still 1:25 ahead of G2/G3 – I may have given G1 too much time! G2/G3 were close to being caught by G4. When G4 made the catch they may have been unaware that G1 were up the road.

As the lead car came into view along the finishing straight the second lead car pulled wide to the opposite side of the road to allow the large fast G2/3/4 past. Group 1 were going to be caught but was there enough time for the fast men to get past G1 riders as they were already sprinting for the line.

G1 Bob Blake and Nick Charlesworth must have thought their luck was in but the fast men infiltrated the front with last year’s overall winner Alex Dalton gaining a bike length advantage to take the first win. Bob Blake manged to salvage second. The bunch crossed the line en masse at very high speed.

After viewing 4 videos of different angles of the finish we were able to work out the top 10, not an easy task:

1st 42 Alex Dalton 10 pts
2nd 77 Bob Blake 9 pts
3rd 62 Lewis Jackson 8 pts
4th 61 Josh Ravn 7 pts
5th 40 Nick Charlesworth 6 pts
6th 58 Matthew Adams 5 pts
7th 50 Chris Elletson 4 pts
8th 46 Dave Shackleton 3 pts
9th 55 Scott Hamilton 2 pts
10th 25 Nick Nettleton 1 pts

Well done to all who took part especially the new riders . Each event’s racing is slightly different as to which riders are doing their marshalling duties.

I’d like to encourage those riders who may have struggled that over the 14 weeks from the first event to the last that you will gain a lot more fitness and will fully enjoy the racing. Lighter nights and warmer weather always makes cycling a joy.

The Next Event is at Little Weighton on 18th May.

East Yorkshire Road Race League – Little Weighton Race 2 (by Andy Abbott)

After a beautiful day of summer-like weather in a week of rain, many riders were eager to race and 67 riders signed on (a few too close to the race start time) for the very popular circuit at Little Weighton. During signing on the sky had filled with clouds…

• Group 1, a large group with a lot of new riders were given a lead of 3.5 minutes.
• Group 2, similar in size to G1 with a few riders promoted from G1 Sproatley’s results. The hope was for the group to make a catch on G1 without the assistance of G3
• Group 3 started at 5.25 from G1, a healthy sized group with some up-and-coming young lads.
• Group 4 the smallest group with 10 riders set off 7 minutes after G1.

During the first lap dark rain clouds had moved in from the south and it started to rain.

At the end of lap 1 G1 had clocked 18:55, G2 21:25, G3 22:02 and G4 23:35. This meant that Group 3 had ridden at the same speed as G4.

The rain got heavier by the end of lap 2. G1 cross the line fragmented into 3 groups at 37:45. The next group was G3 at 38:52, they had managed to catch and drop most of G2 38:58. G4’s time of 40:29 showed that G3 had ridden the lap faster.

During the third lap the wind picked up and changed direction by 90 deg. within the space of 10 minutes with the rain still heavy. A lone rider with no one in sight crossed the line to start the last lap, how had 14 year old Fin Pickering dropped the fast G3? AMAZING and BRILLIANT!! G3 and G2 crossed the line at 56:48 and 57.00; G4 crossed at 57:54. The hope of Group 4 being able to contest the finish was in serious doubt.

The wait to see which riders would enter the finishing straight first was tense. Would Fin Pickering be able to ride more than a full lap alone against G3? As the lead car cleared the last bend a small bunch of riders had already started their sprint. A line of riders headed for the line, it was the young lads. Josh Ravn took the win, second was Max Poole another 14 year old showing his talent. Junior Joe Faichney taking third, a year since his great solo win. Eleven riders finished in the first bunch.

Group 4 arrived at the finish led by John Brearley at just over a minute down in 16th place.

Unfortunately Fin Pickering had gone too early, got caught and rolled in at a leisurely pace. I’m sure Fin or Max will be winning one of the remaining events.

1st Josh Ravn
2nd Max Poole
3rd Joe Faichney
4th Scott Hamilton
5th George Leighton
6th Ben Warner
7th Gary Trees
8th Ady Hill
9th Robert Beecroft
10th Phil McCormick

A BIG THANK YOU to the members of City RC and Cliff Pratt Racing for providing the vast number of marshals, who stood in the rain.

East Yorkshire Road Race League remaining events

 

• 13 July @ 7pm     Location: Etton (circuit based on South Dalton)
• 27 July @ 7pm     Location: Little Weighton (up the hill towards High Hunsley)
• 10 August @ 7pm     Location: Walkington (finishes on Little Weighton road)

 

Check out the Road Race Courses here.

Andy Abbott
EYRR League Organiser