Location: Winchester Park and Ride, Hampshire
Event: 16 June 2013
Al Murison (Equipe CMI) won round four of the Omega circuits, run off for the second time in an unused park and ride car park near Winchester.
Along with Mitch Webber (Primera Sport.com) and Oscar Hutchings (University of Exeter) the three eased away from the bunch having had a couple of attempts on the earlier laps. Once they got clear their lead increased and they were soon 30 seconds up.
It took them nearly half the race duration of one hour to catch the back of the bunch, but once there they stayed there.
The circuit in the car park was a fast one with two ninety degree turns at one end and a dead hairpin turn at the other end connected by two straights, one downhill and one uphill towards the finish. It is 800 metres in length and despite the earlier showers it stayed dry throughout the race.
Once the first couple of laps had passed the pace increased and soon gaps were beginning to form. Al was instrumental in two of them and Mitch the other before they managed to get clear.
The first group to get away included Robert Ward (Felt Colbornes Hargroves RT) Rowan Horner (VC St Raphael) and Stuart Bettis (Southdowns Bikes). After a few more laps the three leaders had a gap of 30 seconds and the remainder of the two chasing groups come together again.
So at the bell with the three leaders mixed into the chasing group it was just a case of staying upright and safe for Al to take the win in the middle of them. Mitch took second and Oscar third. Rowan was fourth.
Earlier Marianne Britten won the women’s race but was made to work hard for it right to the last tight turn where she sprinted away uphill to beat Lucy Chittenden (East Street Cycles) with Laura Clode (VC St Raphael) third.
The third cat race was 40 minutes and five laps and the bunch stayed together for most of it with Paul Helyer (Blazing Saddles Cycles) doing most of the work on the front. Needless to say Paul did not figure in the results, “a lesson learned” he said after the race.
The earlier fourth cat race was won by James Chamken (VC Venta) after he first went on a long solo effort but decided he had gone far too early and allowed the bunch to come back to him for a rest. He then went on and won the sprint from Simon Meadwell (Bournemouth Jubilee Wheelers).
Provisional Results:
E/1/2 Race
1 Al Murison Equip CMI
2 Mitch Webber Primerasport.com
3 Oscar Hutchings University of Exeter
4 Rowan Horner VC St Raphael
5 Robert Ward Felt Colbornes Hargroves RT
Women’s Race
1 Marianne Britten VC St Raphael
2 Lucy Chittenden Eat St Cycles
3 Laura Clode VC St Raphael
4 Ruby Baker Behind the Bikeshed
5 Ellie Gilham VC St Raphael
3rd Cat Race
1 Gawain Bailey Performance Cycles
2 Cameron Thompson Andover Wheelers
3 Patrick Brown VC Venta
4 Jack Billyard Swindon RC
5 Paul Barnard Southdown Bikes
4th Cat race
1 James Chamken VC Venta
2 Simon Meadwell Bournemouth Jubilee Wheelers
3 Niall Russell Peter Hansford Cycles
4 Aaron Piper VC Venta
5 Tom Lane Unattached
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British Cycling would like to thank the organising team, officials and everyone else who helped promote this event. Our sport could not exist without the hundreds of people, many of them unpaid volunteers, who put in many hours of hard work running events, activities and clubs.
