Location: Blackpool
Event: 21 April 2012
Report: Jerrod Hartley
One of the main objectives of the day was to raise as much money as possible for the Lewis Balyckyi trust fund - a fund set up in memory of a local rider that lost his life in a tragic road traffic incident near Preston in Lancashire in January 2011.
The weather remained kind all day with long periods of sunshine but there was a strong and rather cold northerly wind blowing throughout all of the events.
The racing began at 10am with the 3 Lap Under 8 category race. This race was won by James Higham (H. Middleton CC), closely followed by Nathan Fortune (Kirklees Cycling Academy), with third place going to Samuel Kendall (Liverpool Century RC).
The first girl was Isobel Ware of St Helens CRC. Next up was the 5 Lap, Under 10 category race. Dominating from the start was Wakefield Tri lady rider Ava Oxley-Szilagyi, closely followed over the line by Addam Hathaway for second and Henry Hollyman for third.
The under 12s began racing at 10.30am in a 15 lap race. The race was dominated by Alistair Leivers (Blackpool Youth Cycling Association) and Nathan Hawthorn (Cycle Sport Pendle) with Alistair attacking on several occasions and Nathan managing to stay close by and match any attacks.
On several occasions the bunch was strung out as the hammer went down at the front. As the race came to a conclusion, Nathan managed to outwit the most dominating rider and came through the start-finish line first, closely followed by Alistair. In third place was the first girl rider Corrine Side (Bolton Hot Wheels) followed closely by Lewis Hartley (Eastlands Velo) to take the third boy position.
A group of 25 riders started the 25 lap, 25 km, Under 14 Boy/Girl + U16 Girl race. The decisive move of the race came when Adam Hartley (Velocity RT) attacked immediately after his team mate (Matt Walls) had been reeled in after riding off the front for a lap.
This attack forged a break of four riders with Matt Walls, Joseph Peatfield (Bolton Hot Wheels) and Timothy Jones (Cycle Sport Pendle) all joining Adam in the break. Several laps later, Amy Gornall (Cycle Sport Pendle U16 Girl) joined the four lads and then contributed healthily to the strength of the break.
Although a few attempted attacks came and went, it came down to the final lap. Matt was fourth and Adam fifth going into the final bend, and with a long straight and tailwind behind them pushed through the group, with Matt winning by half a bike length and Adam being pipped into third by a further bike length by Joseph Peatfield. Timothy and Amy finished fourth and fifth respectively.
In the final youth race of the day, commencing at noon, 22 Youth A riders lined up for a 45km contest. As usual in youth racing at this level attacks were coming left, right and centre but in most cases the attacking riders were reeled in by other riders that preferred to wait for the final sprint.
Matt Gibson (Warrington RC) and Fabian Brennan (Salt Ayre Cogset) were very active throughout the race but in the end, all respect was paid to Matt Gibson who, with 5 laps remaining, produced a blistering solo attack and remained off the front to the end of the race, gaining around 30 seconds on the bunch.
Riding home in second place was Ellis Kirkbride (Border City Wheelers) followed closely by Fabian Brennan (Salt Ayre Cogset).
After the lunchtime interval, preparations were made for the 3/4 category regional C+ circuit race over 1 hour and 5 laps. The race began at 14.30 with 47 pre-entries and 9 entries on the day taking the total field to 56 (with a track limit of 60 riders).
The decisive move of the race came at the mid-point when 6 riders broke clear. Of these six were two Youth A riders with dispensation: Matt Gibson who won the U16 event in the morning and talent team rider Sean McGovern.
Another interesting development in the race was the determination of Roy Pearson (Ribble Valley CRC) to feature in the final selection. Over several laps, Roy managed to bridge across the gap from the bunch to break.
In the final sprint, Karl Weatherall (Hinckley Cycle Racing Club) got the better of the break and crossed the line a few bike lengths ahead of Ian Earnshaw (Liverpool Mercury) and Youth A rider Matt Gibson (Warrington RC). Roy managed a very credible fourth place considering his effort to bridge across.
Prizes were awarded for the top 3 in each race and also for the top female competitors in each race. A raffle was also carried out on the day with contributions coming from: Velocity 3-in-1 Race Team; Paul Hewitt Cycles; Evans Cycles; Ribble Cycles; High on Bikes; Dolan Cycles; CNP Nutrition; Wallis Cycles; Wyre Cycles; Champion System Clothing; B&M Bargain; and Bradley Wiggins (via his wife Cath Wiggins).
Profit from this event will be in excess of £1,000 with the exact figure still being calculated. A final figure will be available in a few days and arrangements are to be made with the LBTF trustees to hand over a cheque equal to the profit from the event.
Thanks go out to the new team of volunteers (Palatine Cycling Development Group) and all those that helped out with the refreshments, raffle, judging, commissaire duties, first aid, marshalling, signing on and gear checks.
Results:
Youth E (U8) Race Result
1 James Higham H.Middleton CC Boy
2 Nathan Fortune Kirklees Cycling Academy Boy
3 Samuel Kendall Liverpool Century RC Boy
4 Euan Hacker North Cheshire Clarion Boy
5 Alex McNulty St Helens CRC/D.Sparrow Plumbing & Heating Services Boy
6 Isobel Ware St Helens CRC/D.Sparrow Plumbing & Heating Services Girl
7 Archie Brierley Blackpool Youth Cycle Association Boy
Youth D (U10) Race Result
1 Ava Oxley-Szilagyi Wakefield Tri Girl
2 Addam Hathaway Bolton Hot Wheels CC Boy
3 Henry Hollyman KCA Boy
4 Adam Fortune Kirklees Cycling Academy Boy
5 Benjamin Peatfield Bolton Hot Wheels CC Boy
6 Matthew Wearing Blackpool Youth Cycle Association Girl
7 Lachlan Hacker North Cheshire Clarion Boy
8 Adam Jones Blackpool Youth Cycle Association Boy
9 Emma McNulty St Helens CRC/D.Sparrow Plumbing & Heating Services Girl
Youth C (U12) Race Result
1 Nathan Hawthorn Cycle Sport Pendle Boy
2 Alistair Leivers Blackpool Youth Cycle Association Boy
3 Corinne Side Bolton Hot Wheels CC Girl
4 Lewis Hartley Eastlands Velo Boy
5 Mason Hollyman Kirklees Cycling Academy Boy
6 Dexter Sparrow Blackpool Youth Cycle Association Boy
7 Cory Edmondson Cycle Sport Pendle Boy
8 Twm Bryn Clwb Beicio Dwyfor Cycling Club Boy
9 Isaac Peatfield Bolton Hot Wheels CC Boy
10 Alex Ridehalgh Airedale Chemical RT Boy
11 Samuel Rathbone Eastlands Velo Boy
12 Anna Armstrong Border City Wheelers Girl
13 Alfie Payne Cycle Sport Pendle Boy
14 Max Laboda Blackpool Youth Cycle Association Boy
15 Joseph Rathbone Eastlands Velo Boy
16 Luke Shepherd byca Boy
Youth B Boys + Youth A+B Girls Race Result
1 Matthew Walls Velocity Race Team Boy
2 Joseph Peatfield Bolton Hot Wheels CC Boy
3 Adam Hartley Velocity Race Team Boy
4 Timothy Jones Cycle Sport Pendle Boy
5 Amy Gornall Cycle Sport Pendle Girl
6 Joseph Armstrong Border City Wheelers Boy
7 Reece Player Mossley CRT Boy
8 Owen Line Stourbridge Velo Boy
9 Paige Milward Lyme RC Girl
10 Harry French Cycle Sport Pendle Boy
11 Paul Furnival Ribble Valley Juniors Boy
12 Rosa Martin Blackpool Youth Cycle Association Girl
13 Bailey Payne Cycle Sport Pendle Boy
14 Devon Round Mid Shropshire Wheelers Boy
15 Andrew Hathaway Bolton Hot Wheels CC Boy
16 Joely Side Bolton Hot Wheels CC Girl
17 Kayliegh Mountford Blackpool Youth Cycle Association Girl
18 Lydia Dixon Ribble Valley Juniors Girl
DNF Jamie Ridehalgh Airedale Chemical RT Boy
Youth A Boys (U16) Race Result
1 Matthew Gibson Warrington RC Boy
2 Ellis Kirkbride Border City Wheelers CC Boy
3 Fabian Brennan Salt Ayre Cogset Boy
4 Matthew Worton Hetton Hawks Cycling Club Boy
5 Alex Foster Border City Wheelers CC Boy
6 Rhys Donnelly Glasgow Riderz Boy
7 Hamish Carrick Edinburgh RC Boy
8 Zak Loney Ythan CC Boy
9 Connor French Cycle Sport Pendle Boy
10 Oscar Williamson Mossley CRT Boy
11 Robert Richardson Bolton Hot Wheels CC Boy
12 James Risk Sportcity Velo Boy
13 Sean Noon Edinburgh RC Boy
14 Gwyn Laibond Rhyl CC Boy
15 Jacob Peatfield Bolton Hot Wheels CC Boy
16 Sean McGovern Sportcity Velo Boy
17 George Evans Mid Shropshire Wheelers Boy
18 Andrew Brown Granite City RT Boy
19 Joe Westwood Red Rose Olympic CC Boy
20 Thomas Figgins Bolton Hot Wheels CC Boy
21 Stephen Brown Granite City RT Boy
DNF James Thompson Liverpool Mercury Boy
3/4 Senior Race Result
1 Karl Weatherall Hinckley Cycle Racing Club 10
2 Ian Earnshaw Liverpool Mercury (Dolan) CC 8
3 Matt Gibson Warrington RC 7
4 Roy Pearson Ribble Valley CRC 6
5 Richard Line Stourbridge Velo 5
6 James Warren Bill Nickson Cycles RT 4
7 Sean McGovern Sportcity Velo 3
8 Tom Dalton Bill Nickson Cycles RT 2
9 Daniel Stocchero 3 RT 1
10 Jake Cowen Border City Wheelers CC 1
11 James Dyson 3 RT
12 David Micklethwaite private member
13 Richard Sagar North Lancashire RC
14 Joshua Townson Southport CC
15 Philip Garton-Pope Liverpool Century RC
16 Ashton Payne Hope Factory Racing
17 Andrew Mcleod Lancashire RC
18 Simon Mulholland Teamwallis CHH Racing Team
19 Matthew Hacker North Cheshire Clarion
20 Chris Vaughan Teamwallis CHH Racing Team
21 Neil O'Brien Manchester Triathlon Club
22 Dave Martin Blackpool Youth Cycle Association
23 Clayton Howard Southport CC
24 Luke Dearden Chorley Cycling Club
25 Luke Perkin Lune RCC
26 Eldon Garnett Teamwallis CHH Racing Team
27 Mick Collins RST Racing Team
28 Alex Taylor University of Lincoln
29 Paul Hargate North Cheshire Clarion
30 Bill Smith Cleveleys RC
31 Brendan Devlin 3 RT
32 Darren French Cycle Sport Pendle
33 Geoff Prince North Cheshire Clarion
34 Mike Plant North Cheshire Clarion
35 Zack Williamson Mossley CRT
36 Ian Ashworth Cycle Sport Pendle
37 James Alexander Stafford Road Club/Henry Burton Cycles/La Patisserie
38 Simon Capstick North Lancashire RC
39 Simon Fortune Condor RC (Calderdale)
40 Ian Kendall Liverpool Century RC
41 Mark McGavock Southport CC
42 Graham McMurray Cleveleys RC
43 Nick Shingler North Cheshire Clarion
44 Kevin McCann Liverpool Century RC
45 Philip Ceilpatsille Mercia
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.
