- RACE 9 – 12.5 mile, Newtown (2/7/14) inc, Victoria CX and 2-up
As the Tour de France grips the nation with Millions lining the roads in Yorkshire, Hafren CC are providing a platform of up and coming stars of the future to show what they can do.
7 riders from Hafren CC traveled to Ironbridge for a unique bike race held in the Victorian Village. In the U10’s race Max Bufton rode well to finish 6 amongst the boys, whilst Rachel Williams finished 3rd amongst the girls taking a podium in her 1st cyclocross race. Nick Huband represented the club in the largest race of the night and crossed the line in 59th position in the vets. In the final race of the night, the senior mens race, Chris Roberts and Paul Bufton finished 15th and 17th respectively. A fast and challenging course met the riders but unfortunately early Mechanical problems put pay to chances of junior rider Zac McCourt and Des Pugh in the senior race.
Whilst some of the members were competing on the multi terrain surface of cyclocross, others chose the Hawk Plant 2-up series in Westbury to pit their wits against some of the strongest partnerships in the area over the 10 mile course. Paul Bufton & Ian Coe put in a really strong performance finishing 4th overall out of the 16 teams competing, stopping the clock in 22:28. Peter Thomas & Bryn Davies were the other Hafren team competing and they finished just under a minute behind the others, finishing in a strong 6th position overall.
Back to the clubs domestic time trial season, 27 riders lined up for the 12.5 mile time trial in Newtown on a warm but blustery night. Medwyn Jones continues to be the man to beat and he took the win in a PB time of 30:32. Chris Roberts saw a welcome return to form, pushing Medwyn all the way and finished just 19 seconds adrift. Ian Coe made up the final top 3 places, stopping the clock in 31:01. Despite clinching 3rd place, he was closely followed by Peter Thomas, Graham Harris and Paul Bufton, all of whom were within 6 seconds of his time.
- RACE 7 – 12.5 mile, Newtown (18/6/14)
A glorious evening greeted the 19 riders who took part in the 7th race of the Hafren CC time trial season in Newtown. The familiar 12.5 mile course has already seen some close battles during the start of the season and this was no different.
Graham Harris once again took the win in a time of 30:41, but the winning margin was under 10 seconds as Medwyn Jones put in another strong performance and in the end was only 7 seconds back. As Medwyn’s form continues to improve as the season progresses, the two are starting to put some clear tarmac between themselves and the chasing pack. Almost 1 minute back but still good enough to take 3rd was Bryn Davies who stopped the clock in 31:43. The next 4 places were separated by the smallest of margins with only 6 seconds splitting the riders. Adam Owen was the first of the quartet to cross the line in a time of 32:26. Darren Jarman made the top 5 for the first time this season stopping the clock 3 seconds later, but only just! Mike Williams and Neil Vose were both in hot pursuit finishing 2 and 3 seconds behind Darren respectively. Mark Hill, Wayne Chance and Steve Higgins made up the rest of the top 10.
In the ladies race, despite only Jackie Harris competing, she managed to smash her previous PB by a huge 35 seconds to cross the line in 37:55. Staying on the same theme, Freddie Hoare continues to show great improvements in the junior section as he stopped the clock on 40:07, over a whopping 3 minutes quicker than his previous time over the same course.
- RACE 6 – Revised 10 mile, Welshpool (11/5/14)
Round 7, SB Sports Injuries and Physiotherapy Series
Matt Davies flew home to cap a fine evening at Arddleen to take his second win in as many rounds in round 7 of the SB Sports Injuries and Physiotherapy Series promoted by Hafren CC. The Paramount CRT rider stormed up the overall standings to 2nd place after a belated start in the Series with a fantastic time of 21 minutes 54 seconds despite a few traffic issues for a clear win. Davies now lies just eight points off the top of the standings after making further ground up on Series leader Ed Middleton and commented: “The weather was lovely, although the wind was tough on the way out and didn’t seem to help much on the homeward bound leg. The tractors made for interesting obstacles, but the nicest part was spotting the flashing light that marked the finish line that was a nice touch“!
Middleton was pushed down to 4th on the night despite a fine effort of 23:03 but was very gracious in defeat, commenting: “A strong ride by Matt Davies to take the win. Fourth overall and happily beaten by three better riders“. Those riders getting in between were separated by a solitary second, with Wrekinsport’s Alex Leek just getting the better of James Griffiths after crossing the finish line in 22:46. Griffiths made the long journey up from Ludlow worthwhile to close in on the veteran’s Series lead stating: “Three hours driving for 22:47 worth of suffering! The legs were feeling tired after our Ludlow CC Club 25 mile on Sunday and 11.5 mile hilly the night before so I was really pleased with third on the night“.
A frantic last minute course change didn’t stop a great field of 39 riders competing – with some superb rides on a warm night. With road works near the originally planned Four Crosses turn the Llandrinio – Buttington course was brought into play – with home honours being taken by first time entrant to this year’s Series Medwyn Jones, narrowly taking fifth spot by six seconds in 23:39.
With three Juniors on show Mid Shropshire Wheelers’ Will Pickles made up a little ground to consolidate his overall third place in the Junior standings with a fine ride of 24:49 – good enough to capture 16th overall.
The ladies field of three were all home grown with Rebecca Cook getting the best of things after ending the evening on 27:46.
- RACE 4 – 10 mile, Welshpool (28/5/14)
Round 7, Friction and Hydraulic Services Shropshire Championship Points Series
A wet evening didn’t dampen the spirits of the 41 riders who lined up to compete in Hafren Cycling Clubs 10 mile Time Trial in Welshpool. The Mid Wales club were hosting the event as round 7 of the Friction and Hydraulic Services Shropshire Championship Points Series and provided a great platform for the local Hafren riders to pit their wits against the best TT’ers from the Shropshire and Mid-Wales area. David Williams from Wrexham RC took the win on the night, stopping the clock in 21:07, 13 seconds ahead of Josh Williams from Revolutions Racing in second. David Griffiths of Paramount CRT made up the top three, finishing in a time of 21:33.
The Hafren team had 14 riders competing in the event and 6 made the top 20! Medwyn Jones was the first Hafren Rider to cross the line in a time of 23:40, 11th overall and 30 seconds ahead of Ian Coe, the next Hafren rider. Ian was hotly followed by 4 Hafren riders who took the next 4 places. Graham Harris stopped the clock a mere 1 second back from Ian with Paul Bufton the same behind Graham. Peter Thomas took 18th overall on the night in a time of 24:27 with Neil Vose 9 seconds back in 19th. In the personal battle between Adam Owen and Bryn Davies, Adam took the title on the night ahead of Bryn by 39 seconds with the pair 21st and 22nd respectively. Mike Williams put in an assured performance as he continues to get to grips with his new steed, stopping the clock in 25:42. This time was good enough to beat Rob Finch and Philip Paul in the Hafren leader board.
In the ladies race, Rebecca Cook put in a strong performance to comfortably go under the 30 minute barrier, stopping the clock in 28:24 and taking the win out of the Hafren trio. She was however pushed all the way by Jackie Harris who took 2nd place, with Dianne Paul in 3rd.
The great effort put in by all the Hafren riders paid off as the club took 3rd place on the night in the Top Club Award out of the 8 teams competing, narrowly missing out on second place by a mere 5 points to Mid Shropshire Wheelers. The win however went to Revolutions Racing who managed to boast 3 riders within the top 10.
The club would like to thank all the Marshals, time keepers, cake bakers, the Flash Leisure Centre and everyone else who contributed to making the event such a success.
Full results of race 4 can be seen here!
- · RACE 3 – 12.5 mile, Newtown (21/5/14)
Harris takes the hat-trick (Plus the Aber 4th cat race)
31 riders took part in the second 12.5 mile time trial in Newtown, held by Hafren Cycling Club. Conditions were much better than the previous round and so the times proved.
Graham Harris has been the stand out early contender during the first 3 races of the season and so it once again proved as he made it a hat-trick of wins, knocking a massive 36 seconds off his previous outing on the same course, stopping the clock at 30:32 to pick up all 30 points. Once again it was Chris Roberts who had to settle for second place, this time 9 seconds behind Graham, unlike the solitary second last time out. For the second week on the trot Ian Coe made up the final place in the top 3 crossing the line in 30:53 and in the process pushing Adam Owen and Bryn Davies into 4th and 5th respectively in their very own ding dong battle.
Whilst the times are tight at the top, there are also a number of notable battles going on further down the field with members trying to get one over their nearest rivals, none more so than Steve and Chris Taylor. Assuming the timekeepers have sussed out who is who, Steve turned the tables on his brother, making up the 22 seconds deficit from the last outing and increasing his lead by 39 seconds this time out.
In the ladies race, Rebecca Cook put in another strong performance to edge out Jackie Harris into second, with Diane Paul coming in in 3rd.
Meanwhile, the popularity of cycling in the area was demonstrated on Friday night as thousands of spectators lined the streets of Aberystwyth for the Pearl Izumi pro Tour series, as part of the 4 day cycling festival. Now in its 4th year, the award winning course circumnavigates the iconic 19th century Old College, the 13th century Castle, the Victorian Pier and also brushes the town centre for what is a great day’s entertainment.
Whilst the main event includes Olympians and top UK ranked pro riders, 6 Hafren riders flew the colors for the Mid Wales club in the earlier 4th category criterium race which was entered by 43 riders in total. Bryn Davies just edged out Ian Coe to be the top Hafren rider on the night with the pair taking 14th and 15th respectively, this despite Ian ending up under a barrier mid-way through the race after a heavy fall in the tough and wet conditions. Paul Bufton made the top 25 with Neil Vose, Nick Huband and Lee Shackleton all finishing strong, ensuring all Hafren rider finished the race.
Full results of race 3 can be seen here!
- · RACE 2 – 10 mile, Welshpool (14/5/14)
Husband and Wife dominate.
37 riders turned out for the first Welshpool 10 mile Time Trial of the season on what proved to be a relatively warm and calm evening. And despite the competition only being two weeks old, the top 10 once again was made up of some familiar faces.
Graham Harris once again took the top spot for a second week on the bounce, this time edging out Chris Roberts into second by only 4 seconds, stopping the clock just under the 24 minute mark in a time of 23:58. A returning Ian Coe took the final podium position in a time of 24:14, 12 seconds behind Chris.
The next 5 riders all made an appearance in the previous top 10 but this time the tables were turned on several of the rivalries. Peter Thomas leapfrogged Bryn Davies and Adam Owen to finish 4th in a time of 24.19. Bryn’s time of 24:31 was good enough the cut the deficit over Adam and take 5th spot by a mere 6 seconds. Medwyn Jones and Neil Vose continued their consistent showing in the top ten, taking 7th and 8th respectively. The final 2 places in the top ten went to Max Gethin and James Akehurst.
In the ladies race, Jackie Harris edged out last week’s winner Rebecca Cook by 8 seconds to ensure the honours for the male and female competition went back to the Harris Household. Both riders went under the 30 min barrier with Jackie stopping the clock in a time of 29:45. 3rd place in the ladies race went to Sharon Brooks in her first race of the season.
Full results of race 2 can be seen here!
- · RACE 1 – 12.5 mile, Newtown (7/5/14)
The 2014 season kicks off!
Wednesday night saw the Hafren Cycling Time Trial series kick off in earnest on the 12.5 mile course starting in Newtown, heading out to Caersws, before returning to the Theatre Hafren lay-by back in town. Another strong turnout ensured the competition could be anyone’s, with 29 riders putting themselves up against the clock. Despite a really strong headwind on the outward stretch, Graham Harris took full advantage of the tailwind back to Newtown as he just managed to edge out Chris Roberts by the smallest of margins, stopping the clock in 31:18, one second ahead of Chris. Adam Owen and Bryn Davies continued their strong start to the season and their rivalry taking 3rd and 4th in a time of 31:43 and 31:52 respectively. Bryn was pushed all the way by Medwyn Jones who took 5th spot 4 seconds back in a time of 31:56. The remaining top 10 was taken up by Peter Thomas, Carl Spencer, Neil Vose, Andrew Evans and Mike Williams. In the ladies race, Rebecca Cook just edged out Jackie Harris with the pair occupying 22nd and 23rd place respectively with Rebecca stopping the clock in 38:35.
Full results of race 1 can be seen here!