Colne Town Centre Grand Prix

 

July 16, 2008; Lancashire
A round of the British Cycling Elite Circuit Series

Report & Pictures: Larry Hickmott

Ian Wilkinson wins the Colne Grand Prix

 

On a night where the weather was a mixture of the typical summer conditions of sunshine and showers, Ian Wilkinson was in red hot form when he rode away from a break that was being brought back to the bunch and for more 10 laps, he rode solo on the wet roads to take a very popular victory in his local town where the crowd gave him a rousing reception. It was a bunch sprint for second won by Malcolm Elliott from Russell Downing.

 

Report
The 9th round of the British Cycling Elite Circuit Series travelled to Colne in Lancashire on Wednesday evening and what a night of racing there was. Not even the outbreak of rain stopped a large crowd from coming to see the action. Town centre racing has always been popular with British crowds and the Colne Town Centre circuit races were no exception.

A good crowd turned up despite the weather

 

The event, which has always seen thousands of spectators line the streets catching the excitement of non-stop close contact cycle racing started at 7pm with the support race followed at 8pm with the Elite event which saw them covering around 60 laps of the tight 800 metre circuit. The event is organised by Pendle Borough Council, Pennine Events Limited and Cycling Development North West as part of the Pendle Cycle Fest, sponsored by Cottages 4You of Earby. The Colne Grand Prix is also supported by Barnfield Construction.

 

Support race

Support race podium including first woman, Hannah Mayho.
First race was for category 3, 4 riders as well as Juniors and Women but it was a couple of Youth riders, twins, who stole the show and dominated the race. Not for the first time, I have seen these talented youngsters, Simon and Adam Yates break away from the peloton and pull away from them lap by lap and in Colne, that was what happened. The break started out with three riders but soon it was just Simon and Adam, and with their British Cycling Talent Team coach Matt Winston looking on, they made ground on the peloton lap by lap until near the end of the 30 minute race, they were in a position to lap the field.

 

Rain by now though was starting to fall and the circuit was becoming a skating rink, so they sensibly slowed and held their position, a few hundred meters behind the bunch. Despite several attempts in the bunch to also get away, it was a bunch sprint for third place won by Chris Pritchard, Stealth RT and then suddenly at the back of the peloton came Simon Yates, celebrating a victory with his brother Adam not far behind in second place.

Simon Yates wins the Support race

Chris Pritchard wins the sprint for third.

 

Support Race
1. Simon Yates, Sport City Velo
2. Adam Yates, Sport City Velo
3. Chris Pritchard, Stealth RT
4. Chris Sherriffs, SPort City Velo
5. Joseph Martin, GS Surosa
6. Lewis Balycki, Ribble Valley Juniors

 

Elite Circuit Race

A short break then followed for the Elite riders to warm-up on at the circuit. News came through while we waited for the riders to line up that British Road Race champion Rob Hayles (Halfords Bikehut) was being replaced by his teammate Tom Southam and that there was a surprise in store for the field – Credit Agricole’s Jeremy Hunt, a former double British Road Race Champion and winner of some major races in Europe, was an entry for the race and he was joined by another European based professional, Ian Stannard.

 

They were joined by the rest of the British based teams who travel around the country supporting these races week in week out. Teams such as Plowman Craven who’s Tony Gibb is becoming (perhaps already one!) a celeb with his appearances on British Eurosport and their Tour de France coverage, Rapha Condor/Recycling.co.uk, Pearl Izumi and of course the star studded team of Pinarello. These are joined by other regulars from Team Halfords Bikehut, Corley Cycles, and of course, Science in Sport/Trek who ended up having such a major impact on the race.

James McCallum, British Circuit Race Champion, has a dig and says the form is coming for the defence of his title in Beverly (East Yorkshire) in a  few weeks. 

 

The large crowd that had been lining the barriers for the first race had thinned some what for the start of the Elite race as they went to get some shelter from the rain or to get brollies but as the rain eased, they were soon coming back to see how the race unfolded. It started badly for some with a crash on lap 1. Standing on the start, despite constant showers during the day, the surface of the road felt slippery underfoot and one rider said he had four bar in his tyres! The crash saw around five riders fall and one of them, Ian Stannard, was forced to retire with a buckled rear wheel we are told. It was a short race for the Belgium based professional who rode so well in the Tour of Blackpool recently.

 

In the race meanwhile, out of the bottom corner where the crash had been, the course went uphill for a short distance and it was a popular place to make a move. Riders such as national champion James McCallum were seen have a dig or three as was eventual winner Ian Wilkinson, Jeremy Hunt, Kristian House, Malcolm Elliott and Tom Southam to name but a few whose efforts saw the field lined out down the town’s high street and riders were being dropped from the word go.

Ian Bibby leads Tom Murray and Simon Richardson in the start of the decisive break

 

It took a while, probably 15 minutes or more, but soon a break started to develop when Ian Bibby led three riders past me in the main street with Tom Murray and Simon Richardson on his wheel. Kristian House gave chase but he was replaced by Graham Briggs and Ian Wilkinson who jumped up to the break. The break also had a few others for a short while including Russell Downing but he and others dropped back and let the five riders take the limelight.

 

The break built up a good lead but soon Pearl Izumi, notably George Atkins and Jon Mozley among others, started to drag the peloton along and bring the gap down. The Pearl Izumi riders soon had help from some others like Tom Southam and Kinesis rider James Sampson but it was the sight of Atkins or Mozley that mostly greeted the  crowd as the peloton came down the main street and soon the break was in the same straight.

The bunch closes in on the break with 15 laps to go and it was time for Wilkinson to make a break for it.

George Atkins and Jon Mozley drag the bunch along in pursuit of the break

 

The riders in the break could sense the danger and out of the corner coming into the main street, Ian Wilkinson had a dig but a lap later was back in the break and a few laps after that, the gap between break and bunch was less than 100 metres. Jeremy Hunt could see the opportunity and jumped away but was brought back. Meanwhile, the break was down to four as Simon Richardson had taken a flyer off the front and still Pearl Izumi continued to lead the chase in the bunch.

 

Richardson was brought back and then Wilkinson made the winning move, coming through a few seconds clear of his former companions in the break and behind the original break was the peloton, now really shifting as the finish started to appear large in their sights. There were plenty of riders willing to attack now to try and jump the small gap. Russell Downing came down the barriers trying to get away after the break had been swallowed up and only Wilkinson stood between the peloton and victory.

 

National champion James McCallum was next to go from the bunch with Dean Downing. That too failed to stick although they did manage a couple of laps of freedom before being brought back to heel after a chase lead by Malcolm Elliott with Dave Collins policing the move for Science in Sport and Dale Appleby for Rapha Condor.

 

The Elliott/Collins tandem caught and passed Downing and McCallum and continued to chase Wilkinson with only a lap to go. It was too late though as Wilkinson survived more than 10 agonising laps on his own to clinch the victory, celebrating the last 200 metres as the peloton behind was already in full flight for the sprint for second where Elliott held on from teammate Russell Downing.

 

1. Ian Wilkinson, Science in Sport/Trek
2. Malcolm Elliott, Pinarello
3. Russell Downing, Pinarello
4. Graham Briggs, Rapha Condor/Recycling.co.uk
5. Dave Collins, Science in Sport/Trek 

Local boy celebrates while a VIP from Cottages4You looks on.

 

Afterwards, we spoke to local rider Ian Wilkinson who was a very popular winner. “I have been waiting for a victory like that for a while” he told us after he came off the podium. I was absolutely gutted at Brighouse when Malcolm and Tom nipped past me. It’s superb to win here being only two miles from home. It did feel like eternity those last 10 laps and all I was thinking was its only 10 or 12 minutes, just over a minute a lap and to keep the head down. I had a breather on each corner and kept going. When the weather is bad like this, it makes it harder for the chasers on the corners but I’ve got some knots in my legs after that effort and I’ll have to work on them for Sunday (National Cross Country championships.”

 

On the break, he says “it could have gone horribly wrong with two of us (the other being Ian Bibby) up there but Dave was riding well behind and to be honest, in the break it was a little bit hickeldy-pickeldy. Tom Murray was really strong and putting some turns in and Simon Richardson too but he seemed to be struggling on the bends and that tended to break the rhythm of the group up and it got a bit messy. By the time we got to 15 minutes to go, I got a gap and I was getting round the corners quite well so that helped me and the crowd on the finish straight was superb too.”

 

On the coming weekend  and his expected battle with Oli Beckingsale and Liam Killeen, he said “I hope they are there so I can beat them fair and square. I don’t want to win the nationals and not everyone be there! They are good lads and I know then both well and I wish them well for the Olympics.”

Jeremy Hunt goes on the attack to try and bridge to the break

 

We also grabbed a few words with Jeremy Hunt who explained that he was in the area seeing family and thought he would come and have a race as it he didn’t have much on and it was going to be good training. “They all rode sensibly here” he said of the conditions, “and there weren’t many crashes except for the first corner and towards the end, they really picked the pace up.” Jeremy then told us he has a busy end of season including the GP Plouay (a race he was won in the past)  and the Tour of Spain.

Elliott wins the bunch sprint 10 seconds after Wilkinson has won the race.

Russell Downing, Ian Wilkinson and Malcolm Elliott

The break -- Simon Richardson, Graham Briggs, Tom Murray, Ian Bibby and Ian Wilkinson

Graham Briggs wins a Prime for points in the series.

Simon Richardson goes it alone

Ian Wilkinson then goes it alone and is never caught

The break a few laps from being caught by the bunch.

James McCallum has a do or die attack at the end with Dean Downing.

Last attempt to get to Wilkinson and Malcolm Elliott throws everything at the challenge as Wilkinson's teammate Dave Collins tries to hang on to his wheel as the bunch close in on them.

 

SUPPORT RACE PHOTOS

Riders are flagged away by the Mayoress of Colne

Two riders including Hannah Mayho get away early on

An early break for freedom and again Hannah Mayho is at the front of the race

The winning break is formed lead by the Yates brothers.

A Sportcity Velo rider controls the chase

Two chases about to get caught through the finish area.

A good crowd lined the barriers to watch the race

New 2008 Under 16 champion, Balyckyi goes off to chase the break

The Yates brothers, Simon and Adam lead the race.

One of the riders gives the signal to slow as the rain starts to fall and the circuit becomes very slippery indeed.

 

Results

Colne Grand Prix - Elite Men's Circuit Race 
55 mins + 10 laps 

1 Ian Wilkinson Scienceinsport-Trek
2 Malcolm Elliott Pinarello R.T.
3 Russ Downing Pinarello R.T.
4 Graham Briggs Rapha-Condor /Recycling.co.uk
5 Dave Collins Scienceinsport-Trek
6 Jeremy Hunt  Credit Agricol
7 Ian Bibby Scienceinsport-Trek
8 Dean Downing Rapha-Condor /Recycling.co.uk
9 Robert Partridge Rapha-Condor /Recycling.co.uk
10 Stephen Adams Pearl Izumi/Planet X/high 5
11 Tony Gibb Plowman Craven
12 Peter Williams Pinarello R.T.
13 Jon Mozley Pearl Izumi/Planet X/high 5
14 Paul Oldham Hope Factory Racing
15 Tom Murray Pinarello R.T.
16 Richard Hepworth Wakefield C.C.
17 Andrew Tinsley Pearl Izumi/Planet X/high 5
18 Simon Gaywood Plowman Craven
19 Mark Perry Plowman Craven
20 James Sampson Kinesis UK
21 Simon Richardson Plowman Craven
22 Evan Oliphant Plowman Craven
23 James Moss MTS Cyclesport/Inkland RT
24 Adam Bonser Rapha-Condor /Recycling.co.uk
25 Stuart Reid Wheelbase/Gore
26 Douglas Dewey Team Tor 2000
27 Tom Barras Plowman Craven
28 George Atkins Pearl Izumi/Planet X/high 5
29 Nathan Edmundson Glendene 435715
30 Kristian House Rapha-Condor /Recycling.co.uk
31 Dale Appleby Rapha-Condor /Recycling.co.uk       
     
National Sprint Points 
Sprint 1   
1 Malcolm Elliott Pinarello R.T.
2 Dean Downing Rapha-Condor /Recycling.co.uk
3 Graham Briggs Rapha-Condor /Recycling.co.uk
4 Robert Partridge Rapha-Condor /Recycling.co.uk
     
Sprint 2   
1 Graham Briggs Rapha-Condor /Recycling.co.uk
2 Tom Murray Pinarello R.T.
3 Ian Wilkinson Scienceinsport-Trek
4 Ian Bibby Scienceinsport-Trek

 

Support Race
Colne G.P. - Support - Reg. B  
1. Simon Yates Sportcity Velo
2. Adam Yates Sportcity Velo
3. Chris Pritchard Stealth R.T.
4. Chris Sherriffs Sportcity Velo
5. Joseph Martin G.S. Surosa
6. Lewis Balyckyi Ribble Valley Juniors
7. Tony Parkinson Onimpex
8. Jeremy Robinson Crosstrax
9. Andrew Marsh Dinnington R.C.
10. John Pendrill PM
11. Stuart Percival I-Team C.C.
12. Martin Woffindin Sportcity Velo
13. Josh Edmondson Glendene
14. Hannah Mayo Longstaff Cycles-BH (first girl)
15. John Watchman ABC Centreville
16. Ella Sadler-Andrews Leisure Lakes
17. Ben Green Manchester Wheelers
18. John Sherriffs Pendle Forest C.C.
19. Craig Gath Selby C.C.
20. Laurie Brooking Buxton C.C.
21. Craig Steventon Private Member
22. Alistair Jowett Pendle Forest C.C.
23. Kevin Shand West Pennine R.C.
24. James Barrow PM D.L.
25. Peter Thomas PM
26. Jason Pickford Wills Wheels C.C.
27. Mark Dennis Huddersfield Star Whs
28. Richard Wilson Pendle Forest C.C. D.L.
29. Mark Thaxter Huddersfield Star Whs
30. Martin Phillips Southport C.C.
31. Shaun Faraday PM
32. Michael Cliffe Liverpool Century
33. Jack Penrice Sportcity Velo
34. Scott Belshaw Felt Racing
35. Peter Boast Clayton Velo
36. Annabel Simpson Team Chance

RELATED LINKS

2007 Colne GP Report

2008 Elite Circuit Series Home Page

 

The other Bike Fest events are:
Freedom Rides from May to October 2008. These free, easy-paced rides are open to the public to turn up and ride through the local countryside led by experienced guides. They are open to all ages and fitness levels. See www.pendlebikefest.com for details of starting points.

 

Pendle Pedal on Sunday, 3rd August 2008. Keen cyclists from across the country will descend on Pennine Lancashire for one of the country's toughest sportives - choosing either a 60-mile or 100-mile ride through the beautiful and hilly Pendle, Ribble Valley, Lune Valley and Forest of Bowland countryside. Featuring some of the quietest roads in the country through stunning countryside and over climbs steeped in cycling folklore such as the Trough of Bowland and Nick O'Pendle. Participants can now enter Pendle Pedal on-line at www.pennineevents.co.uk - This event is sponsored by Eric Wright Construction.

 

Pendle Cycle Show on Sunday, 3rd August 2008. Pendle Cycle Show is about all things cycling: displays, events, opportunities to ride different and unusual bikes, and be entertained by a range of cycling-based activities including stunt displays along with live music.

 

Tour of Pendle on Sunday, 10th August 2008. Part of British Cycling's Premier Calendar, more than 100 of the best cyclists in the country race on a 95-mile course around Pendle and surrounding areas. Viewed as one of the best road races in the country with an extensive police support operation. Won last year by Gordon MacAuley from the Plowman Craven team whilst Chris Newton clinched the Premier Calendar title with his top 6 place.

 

More details about the Pendle Bike Fest 2008 are available at http://www.pendlebikefest.com or telephone 01695 682 020