PHOTOS BY RICHARD ROBOTHAM
PHOTOS BY LARRY HICKMOTT
OTHER PHOTOGRAPHERS
Cyclo-Cross National Trophy Round 5: Derby
Sunday 13th January 2008; Derby
Report and images: Larry Hickmott
The Youth riders race over the hill and down the slippery slope to a right angle bend on the Derby College course.
Results, Series Standings Tables & Images
Derby National Trophy Results:
Youth | Women | Veteran 50+ | Veteran 40-49 |Junior | Senior Men
2007-8 Series Final Standings:
Under-14 | Youth Girls | Youth | Women | Veteran 50+ | Veteran | Junior | Elite & U23 Men
2007-8 Series - All Results & Tables
2007-8 National Trophy Cyclo-Cross
Derby National Trophy Photo Albums
Just Added: Hundreds of pictures from the Trophy events at Derby from British Cycling's Larry Hickmott. Also, Richard Robotham has sent us photo albums which you can view by clicking the Gallery buttons at the top of the page. We will have more from the event later. If you have National trophy photos you want to share with the membership, send to pressoffice@britishcycling.org.uk.
Introduction
The final round of the 2007-08 British Cycling National Cyclo-Cross Trophy was held on a damp and very windy day in Derby on Sunday with some exciting racing around the muddy and technically challenging course at the town’s college. The days winners included Sam Harrison in the Boys Youth race, Ruby Miller in the Girls Youth race, Noel Clough in the over 40's and Barry Kipling in the over 50s'. In the Junior race, Alex Paton was the victor while Annie Last won the Women's race and in the final race of the day, perhaps the most exciting of the series, Ian Bibby won the Elite Men's race from series winner Paul Oldham.
The day out in Derby
On the early morning drive down to Derby in darkness still, the ambient temperature was, according to the car, as much as 10 degrees but it was a very different story when I arrived and stepped out into the wind at Derby. The barriers laid down on the ground was another sign of how strong the wind was and with it, came the cold.
The heavy rain that had been forecast did not materialise thankfully but it didn’t make much difference to the course as it got more and more boggy as the day wore on. The Youth riders as ever kicked the day into life on a course which was similar to years gone by here at the Derby College but with no bridge or climb up the steep side of the little mound around the corner from the finish.
Start of the Youth race with Josh Papworth as always leading them away.
As series commentator Hugh Porter counted down the minutes ably assisted by Anita, there were many familiar faces lining the barriers whether they be riders, officials or spectators to see the first race of the day. As ever Joshua Papworth got away from the line quickly and as they hit the grass for the first time, Papworth led from series leader Luke Gray, Sam Harrison and Thomas Moses.
Half a lap later it was Sam Harrison who got to the hurdles first ahead of Moses, Gray, and Papworth with day light appearing behind them as the field were already now well and truly strung out around the course. In the girls section, series leader and national champion Ruby Millar was clear of her rivals as she raced hard surrounded by boys doing the same thing.
Harrison from Wales meanwhile was powering along and within a lap had opened up a gap on his rivals with Moses racing alone in second and Gray likewise in third. Behind them, Papworth started slipping down the order and the riders he was with from the South East were slipping back too to be replaced by Oliver Webster and Paul Young who rode much of the race as a tandem with little between them.
And that was pretty much the story of the race as Moses kept the pressure up on leader Harrison whilst Moses could not relax for a second as he only had a handful of seconds on Luke Gray. That was how it stayed to the finish as the Cwmcarn Paragon rider Harrison continued to lead all the way to the finish and crossed the line arms aloft as did the Under 14 winner Samuel Lowe in 8th place and girls victor Ruby Miller who was 24th .
Winner of the Girls race and series was Ruby Millar while Sam Harrison won the boys Youth event.
The presentation followed and although light rain was starting to fall, and the darkness was not doing much to help my photography, there wasn’t long to stand around and worry about it as the Veterans race was soon under way.
Veterans
Yellow jerseyed Geoff Giddings leads Clough as these two dominate this race with Clough (below left) getting the final victory whilst Giddings had plenty to celebrate with the series win.
Soon the whistle could be heard and the course cleared as the veterans came thundering up the start finish straight and at the head of affairs was Chris Young who was lying third in the series. Young was chased by Martin Eadon with a small gap to the field lead three abreast by Geoff Giddings in what was a nice clean yellow jersey (not for long!), John Shaw and first round winner Noel Clough. Shortly after, Roy Hunt made a great start to quickly get away in the Veterans over 50 race and within half a lap had a big gap.
At the front of the Over 40’s race, Shaw and Eadon were side by side over the hurdles as were Giddings and Clough whilst Phil Roach was a length behind and Chris Young a second or two behind them and leading the rest of the field which was still largely intact. In the over 50‘s, Hunt meanwhile had no rivals around him although that was to change as Barry Kipling fought his way to the front of the race alongside Hunt.
In the over 40’s, Giddings finally managed to break the elastic and got a gap as Shaw and Clough chased. After only half a lap or so, what had been a compact leading group was now strung out around the course as the boggy course took its toll. There was no where to hide and if it wasn’t the wind, it was the mud which sapped the energy from the legs.
Hunt leads Kipling over the hurdles. This was the best Over 50's race for a long time and one of the few times Hunt has been beaten in recent years. A very special victory for the Inkland rider Kipling.
Giddings lead soon evaporated and Clough joined him at the front as the rest of the field started to slip back. With the rider’s supporters working over time in the pits to clean the bikes, there were two man-on-man battles going on – Giddings versus Clough and Hunt versus Kipling. Stealing a line from commentator Hugh Porter (so blame him!), the race was no cake walk for Hunt as Kipling kept applying the pressure in a way that had not happened to Hunt a lot this winter.
Over the final lap, Clough pulled clear of Giddings to win by 15 seconds and in the over 50’s Hunt lead at the bell by 10 seconds or more but it was Kipling who came over the finish line first and there was a wait for 30 seconds before Hunt appeared, a fall having delayed him and Kipling with a great ride taking full advantage.
Juniors and Women
British Junior champion, Paton won his race alone after dominating it and Annie Last won her race as well, alone.
Post race, there was the presentation and a break for lunch whilst the Under 12’s raced their event. We have photos of that from Richard Robotham in Gallery 2 of his album. After I had downloaded the 600 odd images from the mornings race, I headed back to the course in time to see the Juniors thunder up the start/finish straight lead by Ben Roach with Thomas Humphreys tucked in on his wheel. A short wait, and Annie Last lead the women up the same piece of road with Rebecca Thompson just behind the series leader.
As the riders completed the first half of the course, the race order was starting to establish itself as Alex Paton in his champions jersey opened up a gap on his rival Sebastian Batchelor and Ben Roach whilst in the women's race, Annie Last was clear of the main field with Nikki Harris on her wheel and Louise Robinson a few seconds back.
It was the Women’s race that provided the closest battle as the leaders in the Junior race, established their positions and maintained them all the way to the line. It was no easy ride for Paton as Batchelor piled on the pressure and being only around 15 seconds back, it wasn’t going to take much of a mistake by Paton for Batchelor to be back up with the leader but that mistake didn’t come and the twice national Junior champion, Paton, crossed the line first.
In the Women’s race, after Harris had given Last a lot of pressure, it was Harris who finally had to give best and series leader Last pulled clear of her rivals over the closing laps and as Harris started to tire, Louise Robinson came past and held second place to the line with Harris finishing third.
The women's race saw Annie Last, Nikki Harris and Louise Robinson fight for the lead until Annie pulled away to win alone.
Elite Men/Under 23
Paul Oldham (2nd), Ian Bibby (1st) and Rob Jebb (3rd) in the Men's race at Derby. Oldham and Bibby dominated the race, swapping the lead several times before Bibby got the better of Oldham on the final lap to win the race. Jebb meanwhile rode a solid race, alone for most of the time, to finish third.
The final race of the day was to be the most exciting over a course that was by now very boggy and taking no prisoners. Leading the series was Dave Collins who is always a joy to watch as he attacks every race he rides and gives 100 per cent. His lead over the winner of two rounds and good friend Paul Oldham was only 12 points and he was going to need to do a good ride to keep his lead.
Only a week before the National Championships, Collins was hit by a car and the damage done did him no favours in either the Nationals or at Derby. Leading the field away was the hard charging Jody Crawforth with Paul Oldham not far away alongside Ian Field and in the next row, Dave Collins and Ian Bibby all going full pelt as they hit the grass on the opening lap.
As they went to the far side of the course, I headed to the hurdles to see them on the return leg and saw Ian Bibby lead the way, riding as quick as he could on the boggy grass which had Rob Jebb using his running strength to keep pace with the leaders which also including Ian Field and Jody Crawforth.
Bibby was on a good day and had soon opened up a gap on Oldham as these two were soon clearly the strongest riders on this testing course. Behind them, Jebb was establishing his place in the race alone with a battle for fourth and fifth raging between Crawforth and the ever green nice guy of the peloton, Nick Craig who now spends much of his time driving thousands of miles around the country on behalf of his employer Scott UK.
This was Nicks type of terrain and he was as ever revelling in the mud but the real hero’s of the race were in the pits. I placed myself there for a few laps and watched as the riders continually streamed into the pits to get a clean bike. Tempers flared from time to time as the riders yelled at their supporters as the change was less than clean and it was clear as we watched the lead between Oldham and Bibby see-saw, that the pit changes were going to be crucial to the result.
Bibby leads Oldham but the Hope RT rider pulled him back and lead at the bell only for Bibby to come past again and win the race by a few seconds.
No sooner had Oldham got away and opened up a gap on Bibby, would the crowd see Bibby come around in front and Oldham chasing him. It was a fascinating conclusion to the series and whilst Jebb had third place to himself, Crawforth and Craig were literally side-by-side for much of the course, each rider trying to break the other and grab the fourth spot. Collins meanwhile was way down the field in 11th place and struggling to hold onto his leader’s jersey as the riders got the bell from Jim Court.
At this point, it had been Oldham leading Bibby by a handful of seconds but it was all change as the final throw of the dice was about to be played. First we had Ian Wilkinson approach the line, dismount and playfully clutch his leg feigning (we think) cramp or some other painful injury. As he hovered around the finish area, waiting like us to see who won the battle for the victory, it was his teammate Ian Bibby who appeared first and after a high five from Wilkinson, Bibby crossed the line arm aloft whilst Oldham finished only 10 seconds later.
The second place by Oldham was enough for the series win as Collins crossed the line in 11th. It had been a cracking race and a fitting end to the British Cycling series. Afterwards, Paul was unsure how he had done in the series and when told he had won, was chuffed with the victory but at the same was disappointed for Dave Collins who he describes as one his best mates.
“I’m really pleased with the form of late.” Talking about the way the race lead constantly changed he said “it was down to bike changes and I had a crash where I got stuck in a rut. We both had bits of trouble and the lead kept yo-yoing. The conditions were so hard today but really good. There was no hiding anywhere especially with this wind. If it weren’t muddy, it were windy.”
“It was an excellent course as well, better than last year. I have had a brilliant winter and I’m really pleased with how it has gone.”
On the coming year, he said it will be a mix of road and mountain biking but added that cyclo-cross was easier to train for when working full time and that he was already looking forward to the next season.
The mud past the pits was so boggy it was quicker to go to the pits and change bikes! Oldham meanwhile was one of the few who rode through the boggy conditions near the pits. Right: Not a good day for Dave Collins. After being hit by a car a week before the National Championships, the series leader was not in good shape for Derby and a big season goal slipped away to his good friend Paul oldham.
Ian Bibby was as expected, all smiles at winning the race. “That was a right battle. I had a plan at the start to go out really hard and see what happened and if I blew, then I blew. Paul was the only rider to come with me and we opened up a gap. Then we kept dropping each other as I had a problem and he had a problem.”
“The mud was so sticky and clogging the bike up and making it so heavy changes had to be made. And at the pits, the actual race track was a lot boggier than the pits so you didn’t lose much time and ended up with a fresh bike.” Ian now looks ahead to the mountain bike season which he says is really important in Olympic year.
Dave Collins (3rd), Paul Oldham (1st) and Rob Jebb (3rd) in the Series overall for Men.
Dave Collins: A disappointed former series leader said afterwards “Paul deserved that. I had nothing in there ever since I got knocked off a week before the nationals. I have really struggled to train and have been getting really tired. I tried to rescue something from the year but am pretty disappointed by losing the series.”
“That was one of the big aims for the year but never mind. It has been a good competition this winter and Paul and I have been trading blows. If I am going to be beaten by anyone, I don’t mind it being Paul. He has proved he has been the best rider in the UK this year, certainly the best of us that have to work for a living as well.”
Dave agreed it had been one of the hardest courses of the year. “It was one of those that if you’re lacking power, there is no where to hide. It was a real slog and I knew Paul would be good round here. I had hoped I would be able to be all right too but I was lacking power and did my best to get round and get it finished.”
Thanks! As ever, covering races like this, there are always people who help make my life easier and just a few of these are Jim Court and fellow volunteers and commentator Hugh Porter whose commentary helps ensure I know what is happening when on far flung areas on the course and when to head back for the final throw of the dice. Thanks to all!
Race Day Photos
The day in Photos with many more to come tomorrow.
One a very muddy day, the pits were kept very busy through out the day.
Jody Crawforth leads the mens race away.
Ian Bibby applied the pressure and few could stay with him.
Oscar for the best performance to entain the crowd goes to Ian Wilkinson who appears to have a problem and then raises his hand to high five Ian Bibby before the SIS rider crossed the line to win the race.
Under 23 podium, Ian Field (2nd), Ian Bibby (1st) and David Fletcher (3rd).
Louise Robinson (2nd), Annie Last (1st and Nikki Harris (3rd).
Annie Last leads the women's race at the start.
Another win for twice Junior National champion Alex Paton with Sebastian Batchelor (left) second and Gareth James (right) third.
Sebastian Batchelor rode alone in second place to keep the pressure on Paton.
Sam Harrison leads Thomas Moses and Luke Gray over the hurdles early on.
Samuel Lowe (right) won the Under 14 race and series.
Chris Young leads the Veterans 40+ race away.
One of the days big battles was between Series winner Geff Giddings and Noel Clough with the latter winning the race but Giddings the series. John Shaw (right) was third.
Barry Kipling did today what few have -- beat Roy Hunt! Hunt led at the bell but with Kipling on his heels, a mistake was all it took for Hunt to lose the lead and Kipling took full advantage. Malcolm Cross was third.
Winner of the best club from last weeks cross nationals was Hargroves Cycles and they got their trophy today at Derby.
RESULTS
Youth
1. Sam Harrison
2. Thomas Moses
3. Luke Gray
4. Oliver Webster
5. Paul Young
6. Joshu Papworth
Overall
1. Luke Gray
2. Thomas Moses
3. Joshua Papworth
Under 14
1. Samuel Lowe
2. Hugo Robinson
3. Jonathon Dibben
Girls
1. Ruby Miller
2. Hannah Shenton
3. Lucy Garner
Overall
1. Ruby Miller
2. Lucy Garner
3. Hannah Shenton
Vets 40+
1. Noel Clough
2. Geoff Giddings
3. John Shaw
4. Chris Young
5. Philip Roach
6. Anthony Green
Overall
1. Geoff Giddings
2. Noel Clough
3. Chris Young
Vets 50+
1. Barry Kipling
2. Roy Hunt
3. Malcolm Cross
4. Joseph Rowe
5. David Smith
6. Martin Booth
Overall
1. Roy Hunt
2. Barry Kipling
3. Joseph Rowe
Juniors
1. Alex Paton
2. Sebastian Batchelor
3. Gareth James
4. Tom Payton
5. Ben Roach
6. Thomas Lowe
Overall
1. Alex Paton
2. Scott Thwaites
3. Sebastian Batchelor
Women
1. Annie Last
2. Louise Robinson
3. Nikki Harris
4. Rebeccca Thompson
5. Jessica Roberts
6. Marie Stuart
Overall
1. Annie Last
2. Rebbeca Thompson
3. Marie Stuart
Elite Men
1. Ian Bibby
2. Paul Oldham
3. Robb Jebb
4. Jody Crawforth
5. Nick Craig
6. Ian Field
Overall
1. Paul Oldham
2. Rob jebb
3. Dave Collins
Under 23 Overall
1. Ian Field
2. Mark Thwaites
3. Stephen Adams
RELATED LINKS
Round-by-Round Reports
Braford National Trophy Cyclo-Cross
Mallory Park National Trophy Cyclo-Cross
