Newport Shropshire CC 10

A rare event on the Sambrook – Newport course made no difference to the travelling Hafren CC pairing of Bryn Davies and Pete Thomas as they took another win in Round 4 of the Coaching Revolutions 2-Up Series. The Newport Shropshire CC 10 saw an enforced change due to road works on the normal A518-based course at The Clock Tower island, bringing the Sambrook course into use for the first time in at least five years.

Davies and Thomas overcame their unfamiliarity with this part of the A41 to charge around the course in 21 minutes 51 seconds for a narrow 10 second victory, making it three wins on the trot in this Series – despite Davies being under the weather. He explained: “I liked the course, but was still suffering the after effects of illness so Pete had to put in a big shift. Pleased with the result, a close one again, thanks again to all involved“. Thomas clearly suffered from those long spells on the front and encountered a few lumps and bumps along the way, adding: “The race went good, but I faded towards the end on what was a rough course in places“.

Indeed, whilst the course was showing some signs of wear, of more concern to the  many competitors gaining their first experience of this course were traffic levels pre-event, which as predicted died away before the 7pm start, with some top efforts put in. Chief amongst those was a brand new paring of Dan Watts and Richard Nickless, pushing out Series leaders Ed Middleton and Scott Harris into 3rd spot by just four seconds with a great time of 22:01.

Nickless and Middleton are former Series champions and so the result was always likely to be a close one between two well-matched Nova Raiders – despite Nickless having a quiet few months. He explained: “This was my first race in months and I was a bit rusty. Things worked out well with Dan on our first 2-Up team time trial. Thanks to Newport Sshropshire CC and Coaching Revolutions for putting it on“. Watts meanwhile explained a little bit about this new pairing, adding: “Me and Richard mentioned teaming up two years ago and it finally happened. we enjoyed ourselves and were pleased with the result. A top evening’s racing thanks, Newport Shropshire CC“!

Despite an excellent 22:05 ride reigning champions and Series leaders Ed Middleton and Scott Harris saw another four points snipped from their lead by Davies and Thomas, with Harris not having ideal preparation after forgetting his racing shoes. He stated: “It is a great course and should be used more often, but I didn’t have enough time to warm up, which didn’t help. We went as hard as we could on the night“. Middleton meanwhile registered his pleasure at the way his club has taken this pairs format event to their hearts adding: “It’s always enjoyable seeing so many Nova Raiders racing on a competitive night. A top ride by the Hafren CC boys, thanks to Newport Shropshire CC“.

There is competition throughout the field in a number of categories with Wrekinsport CC’s Delwyn Jones and Amanda Witty stretching their lead in the Mixed Pair’s Championship – a contest they are also reigning champions of. Jones and Witty put in an excellent shift, stopping the watch on 23:47 to grab 10th spot overall – despite Witty having a few initial misgivings She explained: “I was nervous about the busy A41 but found it ok. The first time on the course for me, I enjoyed it. A great atmosphere and well organised. We were very pleased with our time“.

In the Ladies Championship Jenny Newton and Jane Chapman also had initial misgivings but with traffic abating they found there could concentrate on their race. The Nova Raiders pairing ended the evening on 26:47, with Newton commenting: “I was nervous of the course before the start but it was OK once we got going. Very happy with our time, great to do another 2-Up with Jane“. Chapman added: “I enjoyed the course, the traffic wasn’t as bad as we imagined. Really enjoying doing the 2-Up time trial, it was well organised“.

Result:

Cumulative Top 10 after four rounds:

• Round 5 of the Coaching Revolutions 2-Up Series takes place at 7:30pm on 5th July when Mid Shropshire Wheelers promote their 10 mile event on the Westbury – Shoot Hill course.