Location: Bells Yew Green, East Sussex
Event: 23 September 2012
Report: Snowdon Sports
Reigning South East Regional Road Race Champion Allan Ridler added the SERRL Championship title to his palmares with a solo victory in the title race at Bells Yew Green in East Sussex on Sunday.
The 36-year-old Pedal Heaven RT rider was around two and a half minutes ahead of his nearest rival at the finish, and was quick to praise his team-mates at Pedal Heaven who helped break up the bunch and stop any chasers.
Ridler had broken away early in the race as part of the team’s plan to set up Chris McNamara for the win, but when the race came back together again, it wasn’t long before Ridler was on the attack yet again.
This time, Will Pratt (Dulwich Paragon) went with him, and after establishing a break of around a minute and a half over the peloton they looked likely to stay clear as the bell sounded.
But Ridler had other ideas.
“Just before the bell I noticed that Will dropped into the small ring for the first time,” he explained. “So I attacked him hard and got away and did the last lap on my own. The break got caught and I finished over two minutes clear.
“It was a horrendous day – it rained the whole time and the wind picked up as the race went on. I didn’t really feel the cold though.”
Ridler now has six wins this season, including the South East Regional Championship and the Omega Stage Race. He plans to ride the first two races in the Ottershaw Series as well as a hill-climb, before taking a well earned break.
Behind Ridler, Aprire Bicycles took both the minor podium spots with Malcolm Davies second and Josh Lawless third, while Francis Cade, the VO2 Development Team rider who had won round 24 the previous day, took fourth.
Results:
1st Allan Ridler Pedal Heaven RT E
2nd Malcolm Davies Aprire Bicycles 2
3rd Josh Lawless Aprire Bicycles 2
4th Francis Cade VO2 Development Team 1
5th Jake Martin Cycle Premier - Kovert E U23
6th Harry Godding PM Racing 2J
7th Andy Betts Felt-Colbornes RT E
8th Lawrence Carpenter V02 Development 2
9th Robert Moore London Phoenix CC 2
10th Luke Ryan Twenty3c.co.uk Orbea 1
11th Chris McNamara Pedal Heaven RT E
12th Matt Barlow Velo Schils-Interbike RT 2
13th Paul Pickup Pedal Heaven RT E
14th Anders Christensen Pedal Heaven RT E
15th Rhys Clegg PM Racing 2 U23
16th Fabio Amati Aprire bicycles 2
17th Luke Wallis La Fuga-Sigma Sport 2
18th Daniel Drake Lancashire RC 2
19th Benjamin Knowles London Phoenix 2
20th Billy Whenman Velo Schils Interbike Elite
21st Phil Dempsey Aprire Bicycles 2
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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.
