Avid make their numbers count
Two solo wins as Bromley and Johnston take advantage
Avid Sport had the biggest numbers in both women’s races, and were able to make this advantage count to take two solo victories. Lauren Johnston was set up for the solo victory by her three teammates in the bunch, counter-attacking a move from Molly Hodges after 15 minutes to establish a 10 second lead on the main group. As the race drew on, her gap was never totally secure, as she hovered just out of the reach of the chasers who got as close as eight seconds behind as the race went into the final five laps.
But joint series leaders Charlotte Berry (VeloVitesse) and Lucy Driver (Forever Pedalling) were hesitant to commit to bringing back Johnston with both Hodges and Aimee Parsons (Avid Sport) poised in the group on their wheels. So, even with the gap hanging in the balance all the way into the final lap, the group were sprinting for second with Driver charging clear, followed over the line by Hodges ahead of Berry.
The results puts Driver into a 10 point lead overall ahead of Berry with Hodges now into third place overall another 10 points behind. Thursday’s winner Johnston now sits ominously in fourth place overall.
The 4th cat race was set up in a similar fashion to the E/1/2/3 race, despite the smaller field. Laura Wells (Mickey Cranks CC) was in an Avid Sport sandwich with Fran Bromley and Joanna Goodhead out to make her race difficult by trading counter attacks and leaving it up to their rival to cloase the gaps. Wells put up a very good fight, with both the Avid riders coming under pressure in the early laps – but as the finish started to loom, Wells could no longer cover the moves and Bromley was able to escape to victory.
Wells did not come away empty handed, as she was able to beat Goodhead in the sprint for second place. This glut of podium positions has handed Avid Sport the overall team series lead, which they reclaimed from Bristol RC again this week.
Results:
4th cat
| 1 | 1 | Frances | Bromley | Avid Sport |
| 2 | 3 | Laura | Wells | Mickey Cranks CC |
| 3 | 2 | Joanna | Goodhead | Avid Sport |
E/1/2/3
| 1 | 5 | Lauren | Johnston | Avid Sport |
| 2 | 2 | Lucy | Driver | Forever Pedalling |
| 3 | 3 | Molly | Hodges | Avid Sport |
| 4 | 1 | Charlotte | Berry | VeloVitesse |
| 5 | 6 | Clare | Parkin | Elitevelo Kalas Sportswear CRT |
| 6 | 9 | Aimee | Parsons | Avid Sport |
| 7 | 13 | Joss | Winter | Athletique |
| 8 | 12 | Rebekah | Nash | University of Bristol CC |
| 9 | 7 | Emily | Slavin | IRIS Race Team |
| 10 | 4 | Olive | Holliday | Somer Valley CC |
| 11 | 10 | Lauren | Booth | Carnac Planet X |
| 12 | 8 | Karen | Spiteri | Avid Sport |
Series Standings:
| 1 | Lucy | Driver | Forever Pedalling | 40 | 45 | 45 | 130 | |
| 2 | Charlotte | Berry | VeloVitesse | 45 | 40 | 35 | 120 | |
| 3 | Molly | Hodges | Avid Sport | 35 | 35 | 40 | 110 | |
| 4 | Lauren | Johnston | Avid Sport | 50 | 50 | 100 | ||
| 5 | India | Lee | Hargroves-Ridley-Montezuma’s | 30 | 50 | 80 | ||
| 6 | Aimee | Parsons | Avid Sport | 20 | 20 | 25 | 65 | |
| 7 | Miriam | Whitehurst | Somer Valley CC | 30 | 30 | 60 | ||
| 8 | Frances | Bromley | Avid Sport | 30 | 30 | 60 | ||
| 9 | Stephie | Prince | VeloVitesse | 30 | 25 | 55 | ||
| 10 | Maria | Powell | Radeon-Cycology RT | 25 | 25 | 50 | ||
| 11 | Laura | Wells | Mickey Cranks CC | 25 | 25 | 50 | ||
| 12 | Karen | Spiteri | Avid Sport | 14 | 20 | 11 | 45 | |
| 13 | Joanna | Goodhead | Avid Sport | 10 | 14 | 20 | 44 | |
| 14 | Sophie | Barnes | Army Cycling Union | 25 | 15 | 40 | ||
| 15 | Jen | Horton | UCY | 13 | 20 | 33 | ||
| 16 | Joss | Winter | Athletique | 13 | 20 | 33 | ||
| 17 | Karen | Whyte | VeloVitesse | 15 | 15 | 30 | ||
| 18 | Ashia | Fenwick | VC Venta | 30 | 30 | |||
| 19 | Rebekah | Nash | University of Bristol | 15 | 15 | 30 | ||
| 20 | Clare | Parkin | Elitevelo Kalas Sportswear CRT | 30 | 30 | |||
| 21 | Rosie | Nunnerley | DAS RAD KLUB | 12 | 14 | 26 | ||
| 22 | Sally | Crocker | Salt & Sham Cycle Club | 12 | 13 | 25 | ||
| 23 | Megan | Dickerson | Forever Pedalling | 25 | 25 | |||
| 24 | Lauren | Booth | Camac Planet X | 11 | 12 | 23 | ||
| 25 | Stephanie | Parsonage | Army Cycling Race Team (ACRT) | 20 | 20 | |||
| 26 | Amanda | Karlsson | VeloVitesse | 20 | 20 | |||
| 27 | Elizabeth | Sanders | University of Exeter Cycling Club | 15 | 15 | |||
| 28 | Naomi | Eaton | 0 | 15 | 15 | |||
| 29 | Lucy | Rowe | DAS RAD KLUB | 14 | 14 | |||
| 30 | Alexandra | Sheehan | Bianchi Dama | 14 | 14 | |||
| 31 | Heidi | Blunden | The Racing Chance Foundation | 13 | 13 | |||
| 32 | Olive | Holliday | Somer Valley CC | 13 | 13 | |||
| 33 | Claire | Lawrence | Sodbury Cycle Sport | 11 | 11 | |||
| 34 | Nicki | Carr | Tri UK | 10 | 10 | |||
| 35 | Deborah | Sterling | 9 | 9 | ||||
Team Standings:
| Position | Team | Points |
| 1 | Avid Sport | 426 |
| 2 | Bristol RC | 324 |
| 3 | Forever Pedalling | 234 |
| 4 | VeloVitesse | 225 |
| 5 | Latchem Sunwise | 173 |
| 6 | Portishead CC | 109 |
| 7 | Bath CC | 97 |
| 8 | BPF Cycling | 86 |
| 9 | Hargroves-Ridley-Montezuma’s | 80 |
| 10 | Bikestrong-KTM | 77 |
| 11 | Tri UK | 63 |
| 12 | Radeon-Cycology RT | 51 |
| 13 | TAAP Cervelo | 50 |
| 14 | DAS RAD KLUB | 40 |
| 15 | Army Cycling Union | 40 |
| 16 | Bristol South CC | 36 |
| 17 | VC Venta | 34 |
| 18 | UCY | 33 |
| 19 | University of Bath CC | 30 |
| 20 | Elitevelo Kalas Sportswear CRT | 30 |
| 21 | Salt and Sham CC | 29 |
| 22 | Ross CC | 26 |
| 23 | Camac Planet X | 23 |
| 24 | VC Walcot | 21 |
| 25 | Army Cycling Race Team (ACRT) | 20 |
| 26 | Cheltenham and County CC | 16 |
| 27 | Webbs 1902 CC | 16 |
| 28 | University of Exeter Cycling Club | 15 |
| 29 | University of Bristol CC | 15 |
| 30 | Bianchi Dama | 14 |
| 31 | Bruton Cycling Club | 14 |
| 32 | The Racing Chance Foundation | 13 |
| 33 | Torq Performance | 13 |
| 34 | Sodbury Cycle Sport | 11 |
| 35 | Team Tor 2000 Kalas | 11 |
| 36 | VC St Raphael | 11 |
| 37 | Total Fitness Bath | 9 |
| 38 | Rapha Cycling Club | 6 |
| 39 | Hereford & District Wheelers | 5 |
| 40 | Ely Race Club | 3 |
| 41 | Complete Cycle Works | 3 |
| 42 | Thornbury CC | 2 |
| 43 | Spokes BPC Racing | 1 |
| 44 | Pontypool RCC | 1 |
| 45 | Carpe Diem CC | 1 |
| 46 | Recycles RCC | 1 |
| 47 | Wellington Wheelers CC | 1 |
| 48 | Giant Cycling Club – Halo Films | 1 |
| 49 | Cheddar Cycling Club | 1 |
| 50 | VC Bristol | 1 |
| 51 | Islington Cycling Club | 1 |
| 52 | Westbury Wheelers | 1 |
