Cameron Mason retained his national championship title on home turf in Falkirk, while Anna Kay secured her first elite title in the female race on the first day of the British National Cyclo-cross Championships.

Corran Carrick-Anderson and Ella Maclean Howell secured the under-23 titles, while Cat Ferguson and Oscar Amey took the junior podiums after strong performances.

Elite open

Cameron Mason (Cyclocross Reds) took his second consecutive national title in style after a brilliant solo effort that saw him cross the line a minute ahead of Thomas Mein (Hope Factory Racing), while Lewis Askey (Groupama-FDJ) came home third after a great battle with under-23 winner Corran Carrick-Anderson (T-Mo Racing).

A rapid start saw the elite open race strung out in the opening lap, with Mein the front runner up ‘The Wall’. Mein was followed closely by Carrick-Anderson and Toby Barnes (Ribble-Verge Sport), with home favourite Mason and under-23 rider Dan Barnes (Team Spectra Cannondale) just behind.

On the second lap, Mein went solo as Mason took it up a gear, overtaking others with ease and keeping the National Trophy winner in his sights. Just after a technical section, Mason made his move to overtake Mein and storm ahead in pole position.

With only a handful of seconds between them, Mein kept calm and continued the chase with Mason in his reach. The two were comfortably ahead of the field, with Carrick-Anderson sitting in third as Askey, Dan Barnes and Simon Wyllie (Team Spectra Cannondale) chased.

Mason racked up his gap to 30 seconds with Mein securely in the place for silver. The closing stages of the race saw Mason maintain his gap on Mein, while Askey caught and overtook Carrick-Anderson in the bronze medal position.

Coming into the finish line, Mason finished one minute and 15 seconds ahead of Mein, shouting in relief to take his second national title – all the more special on home turf. North East rider Mein came in second with a smile, while Askey secured the third spot on the podium after a fantastic chase.

Carrick-Anderson came home fourth to see the Scotsman take the under-23 title, while Wyllie’s sixth place saw him take the silver, and despite dropping his chain three times, Dan Barnes was able to take the bronze with a seventh place finish.

Elite female

Anna Kay (Cyclocross Reds) showed pure dominance from start to finish in the elite female race to take her first ever elite national title, while Ella Maclean Howell’s (Hope Factory Racing) second place also saw her win the under-23 title as Grace Inglis (Muckle CC) finished in a brilliant bronze position.

Kay was off the front from the gun and led the pack by a huge margin within the first lap. Junior rider Imogen Wolff (Trinity Racing), Millie Couzens (Fenix-Deceuninck), Maclean Howell and Inglis chasing, and Nikki Brammeier just off the back of them.

Kay continued to push on her lead, attacking ahead alone as Couzens, Maclean Howell and Inglis trailed 50 seconds behind, and Brammeier 20 seconds behind them.

The Cyclocross Reds rider remained calm and composed in the final two laps, while a chasing Inglis started to put the power down, but Maclean Howell counterattacked and managed to get away as the solo chasing rider to Kay.

The bell lap saw Kay maintain a 45 second gap as Maclean Howell continued to battle on alone behind, while Inglis and Couzens were neck-and-neck for the bronze.

Kay raised her arms in elation as she crossed the finish line 50 seconds ahead of Maclean Howell to take the national title. A valiant battle for Maclean Howell saw her take second, while a last lap spurt from Inglis secured the bronze.

Maclean Howell’s second place was enough to secure her the under-23 victory, with a fourth place from Couzens allowed her to take the silver. Wolff’s commendable ride saw her finish in seventh place to round off the under-23 podium in bronze.

 

Junior female

Cat Ferguson (Hope Tech Factory Racing) had a sensational ride in the junior female race, taking the win almost four minutes ahead of silver medallist Alice Colling (Shibden CC) as Esther Wong (Shibden CC) took the bronze.

Ferguson fired off the start line, stringing out the bunch from the off to put the pressure on the pace. Summiting ‘The Wall’ for the first time, Ferguson was already 45 seconds up on the field, with National Trophy Series winner Colling and teammate Wong chasing behind, with the two working together well.

On the second lap, Colling pushed on to form a gap ahead of Wong, while Ferguson extended her lead to over a minute. Ferguson continued to put the pressure on, gaining a two-minute advantage over Colling, who maintained the silver medal position from a chasing Wong.

Coming into the bell lap, Ferguson was lapping the riders at the back and had almost three minutes on Colling, and took it to the limit to cross the line three minutes and 47 seconds ahead of second place.

Ferguson crossed the line with a bow, asserting her dominance with clear enjoyment, while Colling took a sensational silver medal and Wong finished in third, 30 seconds back after a strong race.

Junior open

Oscar Amey (GKR Racing) reflected his talent from the National Trophy Series to take the national title ahead of defending champion Sebastian Grindley (Trinity Racing), while his brother Alfie Amey (GKR Racing) took home the bronze.

The junior open race kicked off the weekend, with the peloton firing off the start line. Oscar, Alfie and Grindley were the clear favourites, escaping off the front in the opening lap of the race.

Grindley was spearheading the front of the race, but a slow bike dismount saw the Amey brothers make a big attack, but it wasn’t enough to get rid of the Trinity rider.

With two laps remaining, Grindley and Oscar pushed on with Alfie unable to match the pace, taking the bell lap 10 seconds behind. The three were well ahead of the rest of the field with the medal positions practically decided.

Oscar put the power down in the final lap, pushing on to forge a gap on Grindley, taking the technical sections with ease and clocking up the seconds on his lead.

The GKR Racing rider crossed the line to take the win 10 seconds ahead of Grindley to claim the national title, while Alfie finished third 30 seconds behind him.

Veterans

In the veteran over-50 open race, Nicholas Craig (SCOTT Racing) was dominant from start to finish, firing off the start line with Ian Taylor (Shibden CC) hot on his wheel, with Nicholas Whitley (Team Enable - M.I.Racing) chasing behind. On the second lap, Craig pushed on the pace, and formed a gap which he continued to extend with pure power, crossing the line over a minute ahead of Taylor to claim the national title. Taylor took the silver, while Whitley finished almost 20 seconds behind to round off the podium.

Grant Johnson also had a dominant day, lapping the field in the veteran over-60 open race. Johnson stormed to the win ahead of Simon Hime (Finchley Racing Team) and John McGrath (Team TMC - Strada Wheels).

Full podium results

Elite open

1. Cameron Mason
2. Thomas Mein
3. Lewis Askey

Elite female

1. Anna Kay
2. Ella Maclean Howell
3. Grace Inglis

Under-23 open

1. Corran Carrick-Anderson
2. Simon Wyllie
3. Dan Barnes

Under-23 female

1. Ella Maclean Howell
2. Millie Couzens
3. Imogen Wolff

Junior open

1. Oscar Amey
2. Sebastian Grindley
3. Alfie Amey

Junior female

1. Cat Ferguson
2. Alice Colling
3. Esther Wong

Veteran over-50 open

1. Nicholas Craig
2. Ian Taylor
3. Nicholas Whitley

Veteran over-60 open

1. Grant Johnson
2. Simon Hime
3. John McGrath