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Hargroves Cycles Swindon Cross

Posted Sept. 27, 2010 | Wessex League Round 3 | Sunday 26th September 2010
by Graham Robins

A second win for Jody Crawforth inside 24 hours saw him take the race win in Swindon after a weekend in Plymouth. Jody was pushed for most of the race until he managed to get away and eventually cross the line alone.

A cold, windy morning greeted the riders at Lydiard Park just to the west of Swindon. The event was run by the local Swindon RC who enlisted the help of most of the club to ensure the event was a success. This is a mainly open park land with a tricky technical section in the woods. The grass was short and the whole course was dry meaning a very fast race like the previous last two rounds.

A very long circuit around the field was needed to split the pack up and by time they hit the wooded section for the first time, all the usual front runners had come to the fore. Jody Crawforth (Hargroves Cycles) Crispin Doyle (Swindon RC) Stuart Bowers (Hargroves Cycles) Michael Cotty (wheelbase.co.uk/Cannondale) and Andy Hargroves (Hargroves Cycles) were already clear of the rest and soon they were pulling out a gap.

After a couple of laps, the riders settled into a rhythm and the leaders soon opened up a bigger gap. Three riders, Jody, Crispin and Stuart now had a good lead over Michael with Andy just off the back of him trying to keep up. Lap after lap, the three leaders were edging out more time over the chasing bunch.
The next riders chasing the leaders were cut adrift from the rest and these two, Rob McCarthy (VC Meudon) and Scott Chalmers (Dream CC), were in a little race of their own.

With two laps to go, the three leaders came into the grass section in close contact but Jody had a small gap on his rivals and his recent form began to tell as he soon started to attack the course. After another lap and the bell ringing, the three leaders were now back together however before Jody attacked again and it was he who came to the line clear to collect the applause from the awaiting crowd. Stuart had edged away from Crispin to claim second.

Provisional Result
1. Jody Crawforth Hargroves Cycles
2. Stuart Bowers Hargroves Cycles
3. Crispin Doyle Swindon RC
4. Michael Cotty Wheelbase.co.uk/Cannondale
5. Andy Hargroves Hargroves Cycles
6. Scott Chalmers Dream CC
7. Rob McCarthy VC Meudon
8. Pete Kench GWR
9. Paul Lloyd
10. Al Fairbairn Hargroves Cycles

Under 10/12

The morning started with the Under 10/12’s race. It looked to some that the local club had rounded up all the locals to race as the field comprised of 41 riders. The overall winner was Edward Gronbech (Oxford City RC. The next event was the Youth race and this again turned into a success for the Hargroves team.

Harry Franklin took his second win in the league in two weeks. Along with Matt Hargroves, they pulled away within the first lap and a large gap opened up with these two together for nearly the whole race. Of the two, Harry was the stronger in the woods but Matt had the better strength on the grass sections. Harry attacked on the last lap and his mountain bikes skills saw him pull away to finish with Matt a distant second.

Provisional Result
1. Harry Franklin Hargroves Cycles
2. Matt Hargroves Hargroves Cycles
3. Josh Parkin VCL
4. Tom Franklin Herne Hill Youth
5. Liam Cowell Owens Cycles

Youth Girls
1. Zoe Sheehan Swindon RC
2. Megan Lewis VC Jubilee
3. Rhiana Jones Swindon RC

Vets/Junior/Women

The other race of the day was the Veteran/Junior/Women’s race and with a large field of 70 riders, it wasn’t long before riders were all over the course engrossed in their own battles. The junior race was won on the last but one corner when Jonathan Dibben pressured Luke Cowley and the Young Swindon RC rider took a tumble and finished the race with his bike on his shoulder. In the early stages of the race, Luke had been clear of Jonathan (Hargroves Cycles) and riding with Shaun Williams the leading vet. As the race reached a climax though, Jonathan started to reel Luke in as he tired and the win was complete.

VET
1. Shaun Williams Wightlink
2. Anthony Green GA Cycles
3. Andy Roberts Evans Cycles
4. Gary Allan GA Cycles
5. Steve Brown Dream CC

Women
1. Gen Witson Swindon RC
2. Claire Smith Swindon RC
3. Hannah Bowers Mulebar Girl

Junior
1. Jonathan Dibben Hargroves Cycles
2. Luke Cowley Swindon RC
3. Isaac Staff Swindon RC