The first round of the Cult Racing West Midlands Cyclocross League saw riders making their annual visit to the woods at Pitcher Oak, in Redditch. With good weather conditions and dry ground the race was destined to be quick.
A crash in the previous race saw the Senior race starting later than scheduled and being slightly shortened to compensate. With the early season races many riders are still focused on their road, time trial or mountain bike season and often the field is depleted as a result.
Round One saw a sizeable field of entrants in most categories and the new league sponsor Cult Racing, had their own riders out in force.
From the outset a fast pace was set with Ben Eedy (Team Empella) and Tom Payton (Cult Racing) leading the way. The pair exchanged the lead before a move from u23 rider Dan Bill (Echelon-Spiuk) saw him bridge the gap to the duo.
Over the course of the next few laps the riders lead grew and the victory was destined to come from the group. Eedy dropped away from Payton and Bill at one point but soon reeled back the pairing. Coming in to the final lap the three were riding close together each waiting to make the decisive move.
It wasn't until the final straight that any of the riders tried to attack and a three way sprint to the line saw Eedy and Payton only inches apart.
Ben Eedy took the win with Tom Payton second and Dan Bill a bike length behind for third. Round 1 provided a really exciting spectacle and a great start to the series. Worth noting is that three of the top four placings were from the u23 category, sure to be a closely contested category.
