The 2016/17 British Cycling National Trophy Cyclo-cross Series heads to Wales for round two on Sunday 23 October, with the early elite series leaders both in action.
After Yorben van Tichelt and Hannah Payton won in round one in Derby, Abergavenny Leisure Centre hosts round two, before the competition moves to Hetton Lyons and Ipswich next month, with the final round in Shrewsbury in December.
Elite and under-23 men
After a thrilling battle in Derby, Yorben van Tichelt (Marlux – Napoleon Games Cycling Team) and Ian Field (Hargroves Cycles – Ridley RT) will both take to the start line in Abergavenny.
Van Tichelt sprinted away from Field to take the opening round win after the pair had worked well together to break clear of the rest of the field.
Field will be keen to get back to winning ways – having reached the top step of the podium in each National Trophy race he competed in last season.
Field’s team mate at Hargroves Cycles – Ridley RT, Nicholas Barnes, was impressive to finish fourth at Derby and will be looking to go one better to reach the podium in Wales.
Reigning British cyclo-cross champion Liam Killeen (Malvern Cycles) will make his first National Trophy appearance of the season, keen to pick up where he left off in the competition in January, where he picked up a round win ahead of claiming the national title.
The Sherwood Pines Cycles Felt – Enve duo of David Fletcher, who finished 11th in Derby, and under-23 rider Will Gascoyne, better known for his mountain bike skills representing Great Britain Cycling Team, will also be among those keen for a strong performance in round two.
Senior and junior women
Hannah Payton’s defence of her British Cycling National Trophy Cyclo-cross Series title got off to the perfect start with victory in Derby.
The Team Kinesis UK rider was in control of the first round from start to finish, racing away from Annie Simpson (Hope Factory Racing) to win by 25 seconds.
Simpson also returns for the second round, no doubt hoping to go one place better in Wales.
Bethany Crumpton (Boot Out Breast Cancer CC) took third place in Derby, one lap down on Simpson and Payton after falling on the hurdles – last season’s series runner-up will be confident of reaching the podium again.
Perhaps the biggest threat to the front-runners from round one comes from 100% ME’s Evie Richards. The talented young rider from Malvern, who won the first ever under-23 women’s title at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in January, makes her first National Trophy appearance of the season – Richards won both races she entered in last year’s competition.
Venue
Abergavenny is one of the UK’s premier cycle sport hubs, hosting numerous national championship and national series events across the cycling disciplines.
Event schedule
Race one
10:15am - Veteran men 40-49
10:16am - Veteran men 50+
Race two
11:15am - Under-16 girls
11:16am - Under 14 girls
Race three
12:05pm - Under-16 boys
12:06pm - Under-14 boys
Race four
1:30pm - Junior men
1:31pm - Elite and junior women
1:32pm - Veteran women
Race five
2:45pm - Elite and under-23 men
How to follow the racing
- Live coverage and highlights on S4C from 1.30pm on Sunday
- A report, result, reaction and images will appear on the British Cycling website
- Follow @BritishCycling on Twitter for updates
