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Location: Virginia Water Football Club, Crown Road, Virginia Water, Surrey
Event: 15 July 2012
This eighty five mile race was dominated by one rider, Alex Higham (Felt Colbornes RT), who drove the race winning break from its initiation in the first ten miles, through to the point where it broke up with about twenty miles to go.
He then pushed on alone, smoothly and apparently without excessive effort, to win alone.
Other members of the break clearly made a contribution - Richard Wood (eventually fourth, B category) and Mike Wragg (both Team MK) were in there from the outset, and Higham commented that when Nic Hutchings (CS Grupetto) got across with another rider around the half way point that Hutchings was going well enough to have affected the pattern of the race, but he slid off on a corner and abandoned.
As the break approached the finishing circuit the bunch was beginning to narrow the gap. Higham said: “I dug a bit harder, at first the others seemed reluctant to come through, then I found myself alone”. And that was how he remained to the finish.
This race included the 2012 Victor Berlemont Trophy, and so prizes went down to seventh place.
Results
Category A
1. Alex Higham (Felt Colbornes RT)
2. Andrew Hastings (Metaltek Scott)
3. Colin Parry (Wilier/Live to Ride)
Category B
1. Martin Ford (In GearQuickvit Trainsharp)
2. Alan Ridler (Pedal Heaven)
3. Chris McNamara (Pedal Heaven)
The prize winners in the Victor Berlemont Trophy were:
1. Alex Higham (Felt Colbornes)
2. Martin Ford (In Gear Quickvit Trainsharp)
3. Alan Ridler (Pedal Heaven)
4. Chris McNamara (Pedal Heaven)
5. Richard Wood (Team MK)
6. Andrew Hastings (Metaltek Scott)
7. Paul Pickup (Pedal Heaven)
All prizes were presented by Colin Docker, who is a director of British Cycling.
