The 3^rd and final round of the Bath Cycling Club Mid Summer brought out a strong field of 37 1^st and 2^nd category riders, of course blessed by fine weather.

Will Duffy had a big lead over Jake Hollins in the overall standings, but with a theoretical 84 points available for a solo break away from the gun – lots of riders had a chance to win the series.

The first 6 laps saw the bunch spread out with Will Jewitt of Mud Dock Racing, Alex Paton from GCN, Harvey Thomas of Bristol RC, Charlie Lacaille of Schils –  Doltcini Racing Team and Oscar Hutchings of Schils –  Doltcini Racing Team being particularly active.  But they could not break away by the 5 seconds required to secure bonus points.

The intermediate sprint on lap 8 was won by Oscar, with William Jewit 2^nd and Thimothy Jones in 3^rd.

Position	Race Number	BC Number	Name	Club	Intermediate Points
1	69	831643	Oscar Hutchings	Schils – Doltcini Racing Team	10
2	89	1192106	William Jewitt	Mud Dock Racing	7
3	71	834787	Timothy Jones		5
4	84	1648364	Felix Whetter	SN Vitae Huub p/b BimBam Coaching	3

 

After the sprint on Lap 9 Thomas Munn tried to break clear, he was then joined by Will Duffy, Alex Paton and George Smith.  Still not quite the 5 second advantage.

Finally on lap 11 the trio of Alex, Ashley and Sean broke clear to start picking up some combativity points.  Next lap it was just Alex Paton out front with Ashley and Charlie Parry trying to bridge across.

Lap 13 there was a break of 5 picking up points with Alex, Ashley and Charlie joined by Joshua and Jake.  Will Duffy and Jack Baldie had seen the danger and were well on their way to bridge across and nullify the point scoring ability of the group out front.  Once the came together as  group of 7 the combativity points scoring was finished.

Laps in Break	Race Number	BC Number	Name	Club	Break Points
3	90	429059	Alex Paton		6
3	70	444302	Ashley Hutchison	VC St Raphael	6
1	60	1593079	Sean Adams	Primera-TeamJobs	2
1	80	981458	Joshua Price	Thriva – SRCT	2
2	65	1008193	Jake Hollins	Topp Cycling	4
1	77	931133	Charlie Parry	Mud Dock Racing	2

 

The seven worked well together, but always close enough that riders from the peloton thought they could bridge across, this made for a slightly disjointed chase.

Will was cruising to the series win, with Jake almost guaranteed 2^nd place.  The minor placings for the series would be decided by the  bunch sprint.

Jake took off with a lap to go, but was reeled in by the final corner and had to settle for 6^th.  Joshua Price was too strong for the others and came through for the win and move up to 3^rd in the Series.  Charlie Parry was 5^th on the night, a few places higher would have given him a place in the top 5 of the series.

That left Felix Skelton, Oscar Hutchings and Thomas Munn to fight it out for 4^th, 5^th and 6^th in the series.   Oscar won the bunch sprint with Felix  just behind him, this meant they were level on points with Felix taking 4th place as he had raced all 3 races in the series .  Thomas Munn was 6^th in the bunch sprint and finished on 53 points in the series 1 point behind. Nathan Hallet of Pronto bikes who had been 3rd going into the final round, slipped down to 7th as his work commitments got in the way of him racing.

Thanks all for a great series racing and Full Results are at

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vTsWiCOz7HMvfFGjsf_0wDGJpwTKXqJ0HOdyPc9PDLDjn6nopy1tWdTRfyrFDu-DA2IOIRfshTSICtf/pubhtml

 

Position	Race Number	BC Number	Name	Club	Finish Points
1	80	981458	Joshua Price	Thriva – SRCT	30
2	61	1676800	Jack Baldie	trainSharp Development Team	27
3	70	444302	Ashley Hutchison	VC St Raphael	25
4	64	1522793	Will Duffy	Bath Cycling Club	23
5	77	931133	Charlie Parry	Mud Dock Racing	21
6	65	1008193	Jake Hollins	Topp Cycling	20
7	90	429059	Alex Paton		19
8	69	831643	Oscar Hutchings	Schils – Doltcini Racing Team	18
9	92	1695534	Felix Skelton	Mud Dock Racing	17
10	89	1192106	William Jewitt	Mud Dock Racing	16
11	87	1449957	Galahad Bland	Team Tor 2000	15
12	84	1648364	Felix Whetter	SN Vitae Huub p/b BimBam Coaching	14
13	75	1671242	Thomas Munn	Mud Dock Racing	13
14	79	1401850	Lui Pollastrone	Reflex Racing	12
15	86	1698235	George Whitlock	Mud Dock Racing	11
16	62	1573714	Daniel Burt		10
17	83	1559456	Harvey Thomas	Bristol RC	9
18	71	834787	Timothy Jones		8
19	60	1593079	Sean Adams	Primera-TeamJobs	7
20	95	1336252	Mark Aldred	Kingston Wheelers CC	6
21	91	Day 5	Edgar Buckley	DC Velo	5
22	94	1655011	Lucas Byam	Primera Team Jobs	5
23	72	1162110	Charlie Lacaille	Schils – Doltcini Racing Team	5
24	66	456787	Joshua Horsfield	Mud Dock Racing	5
25	63	1692922	Tobias Coates	Pronto Bikes	5
26	93	922504	Charlie McFadzean	Friction Racing	5
27	19	471609	Adrian Lawson	Chippenham & Dist Whls	2
28	26	896927	Luke Nolan	Pronto Bikes	2
DNF	78	400388	Robert Pears	Bath Cycling Club	5
DNF	82	946208	George Smith		5
DNF	14	927881	Charlie Hoy	Pronto Bikes	5
DNF	81	1538233	Joe Reeves	Reflex Racing	5
DNF	47	702028	Steven Whitehurst	Reflex Racing	2
DNF	67	408375	Justin Hoy	Pronto Bikes	2
DNF	88	1697096	Ray Jones		2
DNS	68	1706370	Hamish Hunter	Velo Club Venta	0
DNS	24	1761403	Caleb Moon	Reflex Racing	0

 

 Perfect racing conditions greeted the riders, spectators and organisers for the second round of the Bath CC Mid-Summer Odd down series.

3^rd and 4^th Category Race

37 riders took to the start line of the first race of the evening, with series leader Charlie McFadzean and Oliver Brand both gaining their second category license last week, by the end of the night there was going to be another leader of the series competition.

The importance of the intermediate sprint and points in the break made the start of the race even more aggressive than normal.  On Lap 1 William Scaplehorn, Angus Collard, Tom Heathcote, Huw Cressey-Rodgers and Finn Mansfield tried to break clear and had a small gap that was quickly closed.

Lap 2 it was the turn of Finn Mansfield, Jack Beveridge, Steven Whitehurst and Andrew Henderson, yet again this was quickly shut down and no points were scored.

Lap 3 Caleb Moon was just ahead of Jack Beveridge, Henry Bond, Michael Edwards, Danny Puig Nieves and Luke Nolan, but once again the Commissaires did not declare an official break.

Lap 4 Caleb Moon was still out front with Henry Bond and Milo Giradet chasing hard, 3 seconds later were Adrian Warren, Michael Edwards, Luke Nolan and Jack Beveridge – would this be the final move that went away.

Finally on lap 5 the trio of Caleb, Heny and Milo were away with a 9 second gap over group 2 and the first combativity points were scored.  Two laps later Henry took the prime from Milo and Caleb.  Finn Mansfield took the final points winning the sprint from Group 2 who then comprised of Steven Whitehurst, Luke Nolan, Jack Beveridge and Tom Wall

Over the next few laps the trio out front extended their lead and by lap 11 had a 44 second lead over the  2^nd group on the road of 6 riders.  There was constant movement between the 2^nd and 3^rd groups on the road but no-one could get close to the trio out front who were working well together.

On lap 19 with 4 to go Caleb attacked his compatriots and got a few second lead that he held for two laps.  It didn’t get him the win, but he did pick up a few combativity points that may prove vital in the series standings.

With a lap to go the trio was back together fighting it out for the podium spots and the next group of 8 for 4^th to 11^th.

Caleb was the strongest of the three and took the win from Milo in 2^nd and Henry in 3^rd Ben Hale won the strung out sprint for 4^th from Simon in 5^th.  Michael Edwards was the unlucky rider from the chasing group who finished 11^th.   The rest of the riders were in two further groups.

Congratulations to Jen Lemen of PDQ Cycle Coaching Property Elite was the best placed female rider who had been riding in a group with Paul Wilkinson, William Scaplehorn, Paul Walsingham and Tony Overington all evening.

It was all change at the top of the series points with Milo’s Bonus points this week to add to his win and 2^nd places giving him 96 points and the lead.  Henry’s consistency over the two rounds with 3^rd and 4^th place but also lots of bonus points means he is in 2^nd overall on 95 points.  Caleb Moon was the big mover on the night, moving from 7^th to 3^rd as he picked up the win and the most combativity points on the night.  Simon Ker dropped from 3^rd to 4^th and Steven Whitehurst moved from 8^th to 6^th.

 

Full results at

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQWciqu9Ke55d0dKRCjhrvQ2W6fPCMzSgoamVJkxq-osSfKVlZhgiYlJ-MeXzVoxBy0A5M6YxyjzDIg/pubhtml

Elite, 1^st and 2^nd Cat Race

An incredibly strong E12 field took to the start line.  Oscar Hutchings returning from racing in Martinique and Tom Williams added to the strength of the field and our 6 1^st Category riders including Ashley, George, Jake and Luke were all marked men.  Alex Paton might only by 1 2^nd cat now, but brought some real pedigrees to the field.

As expected, Tom Williams attacked from the gun, what was not expected was that he only lasted 1 lap out front, such was the determination of the chasing bunch.

Over the next few laps, it was just attack after attack trying to form the days breakaway.  First George Smith, Luke Barfoot and Sam Andrews.  Then next lap William Jewitt, Charlie McFadzean and Oscar Hutchings.  Then just Oscar and Will.  But none of the attacks got more than a few seconds before being quickly shut down and no combativity points were awarded.

Will Duffy timed his move from the back to the front perfectly and appeared from nowhere to win the intermediate sprint over his more experienced rivals and extend his overall lead in the series.

Eventually on Lap 8 a break was finally formed and declared comprising of Will Duffy, Felix Skelton, Ashley Hutchison and James Phillips.  The spectators thought that this might be it, the bunch had other ideas and one lap later it was all back together.   On lap 13 it was the time for Oscar Hutchings, Tom Williams and Ashley Hutchison to have their moment of glory only for it to be shut down a lap later.

Then a group of 7 got away – James Phillips, Oscar Hutchings, Tom Williams, Robert Francis, Caleb Moon, Jake Hollins and Nathan Hallett – a strong group that worked well together, too big to gain combativity points as more than 5 riders and therefore declared as a split in the bunch and not a break, but surely this was the race winning move.  But no, the chasing bunch lent on series leader Will Duffy who sat on the front for a lap and a half to reduce the deficit to a handful of seconds and by the time the 5 lap to go board was shown it was all back together.

Incredibly a race that was so aggressive came to a bunch sprint involving 25 riders.   The sprint was won by Galahad Bland of Team Tor, a name or number not mentioned or seen in the first 44 minutes of the race, that is the way to beat the more illustrious 1^st category riders and superstars.   Pronto bikes Nathan Hallet and James Phillips completed the podium.

Joshua Price and Tom Williams were 4^th and 5^th for Thriva-SRCT, and Joe Reeves the best placed Reflex rider.

Will Duffy extended his lead at the top of the table, picking up 28 points on the night compared to only 5 by his previous weeks breakaway companion, Jake in 2^nd place.

Nathan Hallet and James Phillips are 3^rd and 4^th, just a few points behind Jake having won all almost all their points on the finish line.

 

Full results can be seen at

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vTsWiCOz7HMvfFGjsf_0wDGJpwTKXqJ0HOdyPc9PDLDjn6nopy1tWdTRfyrFDu-DA2IOIRfshTSICtf/pubhtml

Once again there was a real vibe at Odd Down and thanks to the riders and spectators for making it a great night.   The organiser and volunteers really appreciate all the positive feedback.   Until next week.

 

 

 

Race Report – Round 1 – Bath CC Mid-Summer Series 2024

The first round of the Bath CC Mid-Summer series was blessed with a beautiful sunny evening at Odd Down and two good size fields for the two races.

The spectators were looking forward to some aggressive racing from those riders who had read the race manual and understood the series points system.

Points can be gained for the overall title in 3 ways: finishing position, the intermediate sprint and combativity points for being in the break.  The briefing of the series points was met by a blank stare by some of the riders, others had a plan.

3^rd and 4^th Category Race

An aggressive lap one saw a group of 5 riders, Jack Beveridge, Michael Edwards, Simon Ker, Charlie McFadzean and William Scaplehorn move clear with a 3 second gap over the chasing bunch.   This gap had extended to 5 seconds by the end of lap 2, but William had dropped back to the safety of the bunch. The group were awarded the first combativity points of the night

The break looked powerful and realising the danger, many riders tried to bridge across, and by lap 4, Milo Girardet and Oliver Brand had joined them.   This strengthened the break but put it above the limit of 5 riders for combativity points.

By the time of the intermediate sprint at the end of lap 6, the leading group had grown to 9 with Henry Bond, Caleb Moon and Steven Whitehurst joining and they now had a 20 second gap.  The results of the intermediate sprint were

Position	Race Number		Name	Club	Intermediate Points
1	19		Charlie McFadzean	Friction Racing	10
2	16		Simon Ker	Bath Cycling Club	7
3	3		Henry Bond	Bath Cycling Club	5
4	20		Caleb Moon	Reflex Racing	3

 

Shortly after the intermediate sprint Michael Edwards was dropped by the leading group. There followed numerous attacks from the bunch to bridge across but none of them were successful.  Angus Collard and Charlie Hoy came closest and spent a few laps on their won in between the bunch and the break.  Danny Puig Nieves alternated between attacking to bridge across and driving the peloton to not be lapped by the break.

At the half hour mark everybody knew that the break would stay away, and it would come down to two bunch sprints – the first to determine 1^st to 8^th and the 2^nd to determine the last two positions for BC points.  There were two safe sprints – and the full positions are attached.

Charlie McFadzean, despite finishing 2^nd on the line, leads the overall series with 40 points having picked up the intermediate sprint and 4 combativity points.  Milo Girardet finished 1^st on the night and is 2^nd overall having been late to the early party and didn’t pick up any bonus points.  Simon Ker is 3^rd overall, having been 8^th on the finish line but picked up some early points.

				Round 1		Round 2		Round 3
Position	BC Number	Name	Club	Finish Points	Bonus Points	Finish Points	Bonus Points	Finish Points	Bonus Points	Total
1	922504	Charlie McFadzean	Friction Racing	27	14					41
2	1064997	Milo Girardet		30	0					30
3	417848	Simon Ker	Bath Cycling Club	18	11					29
4	1142211	Henry Bond	Bath Cycling Club	23	5					28
5	1616673	Oliver Brand	Pronto Bikes	25	0					25
6	969953	Jack Beveridge	Avid Sport	20	4					24
7	1761403	Caleb Moon	Reflex Racing	19	3					22
8	702028	Steven Whitehurst	Reflex Racing	21	0					21
9	1757362	Angus Collard	Portishead Cycling Club	17	0					17
10	927881	Charlie Hoy	Pronto Bikes	16	0					16

Elite, 1^st and 2^nd Cat Race

The strong E123 field were still all together after two laps with Sebastien Tyrie and Nathan Hallett driving the front of the peloton.  After 3 laps Joe Reeves and James Brown tried to break away and when they were caught Felix Skelton countered over the top and went away on his own.

At the end of lap 4 Felix had an 11 second advantage with Joe Reeves, James Phillips and Jake Hollins trying to bridge across.  Joe and James could not stay with Jake and at the end of lap 5 Felix picked up his 2^nd set of combativity points with Jake just a few seconds behind.

Then Will Duffy, having been on the back for the first 5 laps, made his move and within half a lap had caught Jake and brought the group of 3 together for a powerful break.  They had a lead of 13 seconds at the end of lap 6 where Will took the uncontested intermediate sprint as they continued to work well together to extend their lead.

Position	Race Number		Name	Club	Intermediate Points
1	68		Will Duffy	Bath Cycling Club	10
2	78		Felix Skelton	Mud Dock Racing	7
3	83		Jake Hollins	Topp Cycling	5
4	63		Daniel Burt		3

 

Over the next few laps, they slowly extended the gap as riders tried to bridge across.  First James Brown and then Joe Ress, but neither successful.  Felix could not stay with Will and Jake and on lap 8 he dropped the wheel and slipped back to the bunch.

By lap 11, the leading duo had a lead of 25 seconds and were working very well together.   Any cohesion had gone out of the bunch and as they attacked each other, the gap kept growing and Will and Jake racked up more and more combativity points.

On lap 17 Will decided that he wanted to go it alone and attacked Jake on the finishing straight so that he could amass more combativity points on his own.    With 4 laps to go Will was still driving hard all the way to the line for 1st, Jake had settled for 2^nd place and Thomas Munn attacked the peloton and soloed away to 3^rd place.

Nathan Hallett won the bunch sprint for 4^th and Joe Reeves was 5^th.

Will Duffy amassed an incredible 70 points towards the series standings, rewarded for his win and aggressive racing.  Jake Hollins is 2^nd on 56 points. Felix Skelton, despite finishing 14^th on the night is in 3^rd place overall thanks to his aggressive start to the race.

				Round 1		Round 2		Round 3
Position	BC Number	Name	Club	Finish Points	Bonus Points	Finish Points	Bonus Points	Finish Points	Bonus Points	Total
1	1522793	Will Duffy	Bath Cycling Club	30	40					70
2	1008173	Jake Hollins	Topp Cycling	27	29					56
3	1695534	Felix Skelton	Mud Dock Racing	12	17					29
4	1671242	Thomas Munn	Mud Dock Racing	25	0					25
5	1219787	Nathan Hallett	Pronto Bikes	23	0					23
6	1538233	Joe Reeves	Reflex Racing	21	0					21
7	869868	James Phillips	Pronto Bikes	20	0					20
8	408375	Justin Hoy	Pronto Bikes	19	0					19
9	1322918	James Brown	University of Bristol CC	18	0					18
10	1401850	Lui Pollastrone	Reflex Racing	17	0					17
11	1573714	Daniel Burt		13	3					16

 

Thank you to everyone for coming and supporting the Bath CC Mid-Summer Series Races – it was a great atmosphere at Odd Down and volunteers and marshals all appreciated the support and thanks from the racers.

Thanks to Jonathon Schofield for the photos…..

Looking forward to seeing you all next week.

Bath CC – Mid Summer Series 3rd and 4th Cat Results – Race 1 Results

Bath CC – Mid Summer Series 3rd and 4th Cat Results – Series Standings

Bath CC – Mid Summer Series E12 Results – Race 1 Results

Bath CC – Mid Summer Series E12 Results – Series Standings