MUD, SWEAT AND TEARS
Cyclo-cross latest
CYCLING
IT was a case of status quo at the weekend for those Rossendale cyclists who took part in the Third Round of this winter’s ‘Live in Hope’ cyclo-cross series at Broughton Hall, near Skipton, with most achieving similar placings as the previous rounds.
Organiser Dave Haygarth had made a couple of minor changes to the course from previous events, slightly shorter but still with plenty of challenging and varied technical features.
Despite the recent heavy rains, the ground had stood up well, but as the day wore on the mud became heavier and mechanical issues affected many competitors.
In the first event, for U16 and U14 boys and girls, Helmshore’s Elsie Haygarth maintained her top ten record with a 5th placing in the U14 girl’s class, and ‘ Turbo Tom’ Black matched his previous 16th place from the 25 starters in the U12 boy’s class.
The combined V50 and Women’s event was a cracker, with Andy Peace and Helmshore’s Dave Haygarth making a clean break from the field on the opening lap.
Peace and Haygarth battled for the lead, with Haygarth using his skills on the technical sections to good effect, until Peace showed his fell-running strength to eventually pull clear to take the win, with Haygarth in second, well clear of the chasing pack.
Andrew Burgess, of JMC, Ramsbottom improved to 18th, and Carl Nelson worked his way up through the field to 24th. Richie Watts was the next local rider in 38th with Bryn Weale in a fine 41st in just his 2nd ‘cross’ race. Close behind was Mick Taylor in 42nd, Adrian Watts 46th and Graham Wright 48th, taking his 2nd V70 award of the series.
Several Vets took the opportunity to race in the younger Senior’s event, which was won by Jensen Young of the Saint Piran club.
Young was the only rider in the whole event to fully ride the steep climb out the ‘bomb hole’ and must surely be a name to watch on the national stage in the future.
Ramsbottom’s V40 Lewis Craven rode to a fine 4th spot, only three seconds down on 3rd place Nick Craig, with another fell runner, Rob Jebb, in 6th. Matt Toman, along with 10 other riders in the last race, failed to finish with mechanical issues. The final round in the series is scheduled for January 16, but is dependant on Covid restrictions.