Tim Shoreman sprinted to victory ahead of a select six-man group at the end of a blisteringly fast Colne Grand Prix, taking his Wheelbase-CabTech-Castelli team’s second victory of the 2023 National Circuit Series.
The bronze medallist from the National Circuit Championships in June was part of a strong Wheelbase-CabTech-Castelli team presence that dominated much of the early race, assisting his teammate and second overall in the series, Matt Fox, before going clear with the winning breakaway.
Ben Bright (Wales Racing Academy) was active early on in the race, attacking alongside Daniel Barnes (Team Spectra Cannondale) to force the pace on an incredibly quick course. Moves from Freddie Schescke (Wales Racing Academy) and Olivier Mangham (TEKKERZ CC) also kept the pace high in the early stages of the race.
After 20 minutes of racing, no-one had been able to break the stalemate at the front of the peloton. For a moment, it looked as though a move from Shoreman, Fox, and Josh Price (ROKiT-SRCT) would go clear, but it was quickly shut down by a vigilant Ben Chilton (Ribble Collective).
Not long after, Barnes started to apply pressure at the front. His repeated attacks stretched out the bunch, but a long line of Wheelbase-CabTech-Castelli had swamped the front and kept the moves in check.
Barnes was undeterred and, coming into the finishing straight at the halfway mark, he launched a stinging attack that finally put clear air between him and the peloton.
A few laps later, he was brought back, but he tried again with a quarter of the race remaining. This time, Leon Mazzone (Saint Piran), David Hird (ROKiT-SRCT), William Harding (Wales Racing Academy), and the Wheelbase-CabTech-Castelli pair of Shoreman and Thomas Armstrong came with him.
With two of Fox’s teammates represented and Chilton happy with the composition of the break as well, the chase shut down behind. The gap quickly rose to 18 seconds and the leaders looked comfortable working together aiming for the win.
With one lap to go, it was clear that the winner would come from the front group of six.
Wheelbase-CabTech-Castelli had the numerical advantage and they put that to good use, with Armstrong setting an infernal pace on the final lap to lead out his teammate. Shoreman came off Armstrong’s wheel on the slight rise before the line and carried his speed all the way to the finish to win ahead of Mazzone and Barnes.
Fox led in the bunch sprint ahead of Chilton, who leads the overall series standings going into the final round of the series in Newark on Friday.
