CX update – dry and fast racing at Colchester

The third round of the Eastern Cyclocross League was held on Saturday 21st September at the Colchester Sports Park, hosted by Colchester Rovers CC. The course is modelled around the very good tarmac circuit, which is synonymous with Criterium Races and also the venue for the Coaching courses which the Wheelers team of coaches have attended. There are very few undulations around the circuit, but the course designers certainly made the most of what there were, creating a fast flowing track interspersed with tight turns, a spiral and a trick uphill corner, which was the cause of much merriment ! The weather was perfect for the day, but it also meant that the grass was very dry and the corners became shinier with each and every race and the laps there in.
In the Vet 50 race there were 5 Wheelers on the start line, Simon Christie, Kevin Burton, Iain Milligan, Stephen Brook and Karl Hale. All the team got away really well, and in the start lap, Simon led followed by Iain, then came Kevin and Stephen, but where was Karl ? The track had plenty of transitions from the tarmac to grass, some of those had slightly raised curbs, but there were also some holes in the ground, one of those caught Karl out, causing his bars to rotate slightly, he rightly stopped to set them level again, which meant he was now dead last !

Simon is having a great season and once again was in the top 20, Iain had his best start to date, but was overhauled by Kevin, who was also racing well, Stephen had a slow-ish start for him, but was working his way forward, Karl had some chasing to do. Kevin got past Iain, great to see the ‘Fire Engine’ kit to the for, and Stephen was closing in, as was Karl on the back markers, Simon was consolidating his place in the top 15. After Stephen passed Kevin, he was closing in on the next competitor, when he punctured on one of the raised curbs mentioned earlier, what a shame when he was going so well, it was still a long way to the pits, so he decided to pull out. Karl was passing rider after rider and looked very smooth, Iain maintained his position as did Kevin, who was always smiling whilst Simon moved up a place or two. By the finish Simon was 13th, Kevin 27th, Iain 36th and Karl 38th, (what a ride)of the 54 starters. Simon has now finished in the same position 3 races in a row and currently sits 7th in the league standings, Iain has also completed 3 races and is 27th.

The remaining 5 racers from the Club all lined up with the rest of the V60 field, gridded behind the V40 competitors and would start 90 seconds after they had gone. Paul Watson and Peter Golding had a front row start, then came Nick Rush, Paul Chapman and Tony Read. Paul had a brilliant start, leading the field from the beginning and Nick also started like a bullet from a gun, overtaking racers all the way to the first pinch point, a very tight ‘S’ where I think he was up to 5th going in. Paul Chapman had a less auspicious start, his back wheel came out ! Sadly this took a long time to resolve, he lost 3 minutes in the process, which probably cost him a lap on the leader by the end, however, once sorted Paul really enjoyed the race, finishing 22nd. Paul Watson was long gone and never headed during the race making ground on the majority of the V40 field to finish 22nd overall and take his second V60 win from 2 starts. Pete had a reasonable first lap, crashed on the second and again on the third, whilst trying too hard to regain places lost, he would end up 8th. After Nick’s superb start he raced strongly and lapped consistently to finish 15th and Tony learning more about ‘Cross’ every time he raced, was really strong on the tarmac and battled hard for 16th. In the league standings Nick and Paul C have both raced 3 events and sit in 8th and 10th places respectively, Paul Watson despite only having 2 results is in 7th with maximum points.
Sadly neither Sam Brook and Megan Free were able to race, both reporting illnesses.
And a huge thank you to all of our supporters, who were very vocal, whether that was family or friends or fellow Wheelers between races. Really great to hear our names called and cheered on.

Next week we travel to Welwyn Garden City for the 4th round in Stanborough Park, knobbly tyres at the ready !
Photo credits Sara Hale and PG