ESCA 10
Peter Baker and Neil Edwards were among a field of 19 entrants for an East Sussex Cycling Association 10-mile time trial along the A22 “Boship-course” on the morning of Saturday 5th September.
Peter’s time of 25 minutes and 29 seconds placed him 9th overall and 7th of the 10 on time-trial bikes. Neil’s 25:58 put him 12th overall and 5th of 7 on road bikes, with one entrant on a tricycle!
London & South East Cyclo-Cross League
The opening rounds of the Challenge Tyres London & South East and Aeight Bike Co Sussex League Cyclo-Cross Leagues took place on Sunday 6th September. There was a healthy contingent from Lewes Wanderers for the event held in Stanmer Park and run by VC Jubilee.
Half-a-dozen Wanderers lined up on the grid at 13:50 for the combined race for men over 50. From the second row of that grid, Dan Street made a rocket start up to 4th Vet50 on the opening lap. The chasing group caught him and he was demoted a spot on lap two. Then his chain came off in the woods on the third circuit. He fell to 8th as a result, a position he held to the conclusion of the 7-lap race.
From his midfield start, Darren Haynes had a similarly good opening lap to run as high as 19th place. He lost three places on laps 2 and 3, and a further two on lap four, but he reeled off a succession of consistently strong laps to be 27th by the chequered flag.
Alex Steer by Paget Cohen
With no previous race results upon which to base grid positions, Alex Steer and Nick Miles had to start from the back, but they carved their way through to 42nd and 43rd respectively at the end of the first lap. Alex struggled with the technique of dismounting and remounting over the hurdles, but rode strongly to gain three places on the second circuit and retain 39th place to the finish.
Nick rose to 42nd on lap 2, but suffered a couple of slow speed falls on the loose dirt of the hairpins in the woods. He picked himself up to battle his way to 44th from 50 at the flag.
In the same race, but in the category for men over 70, Stephen Burgess had half-a-dozen trouble-free laps to be the clear winner in his age category.
Paul Horta-Hopkins lay 7th in the race for men in their 60s at the end of the opening lap. He briefly rode to 6th the next time around, but was pushed back to 7th of 15 on lap 3 where he stayed to the line.
In the concluding race for men under 40, Chris Hurcomb got himself as high as 9th by the end of the first lap. Pushed back two places on lap 2, he recovered one of those on the fifth circuit and maintained a consistently high pace to hold that spot in a field of 18 as the chequered flag flew.
In the morning’s race for men in their forties, Daniel Selmes finished in 43rd from 44 finishers, two laps down on the victor, having held that place through all five laps he completed.