Odd Down Summer Series – Week One Wrap

Odd Down Summer Series – Week One Wrap

 For series standings, see below

Teamwork makes the dream work as the bigger squads leverage their numerical advantage

Both the men’s and women’s senior races were dominated by aggressive team tactics in the first round of the Odd Down Summer Series. Bristol RC’s James Phillips took the win from a breakaway that featured his teammate Andy Edwards in the men’s race and Winter Series overall winner Lauren Johnston (Avid Sport) capitalised on team support in the chasing bunch to take her attack from the gun all the way to the win.

The men’s races on Tuesday were run in the tougher weather conditions, with the wind ripping the group to pieces in both races, almost a staple for racing at Odd Down in the last few seasons. Bristol RC were able to make the most of this opportunity to lock the race down along with Bikestrong-KTM and dictate the racing to the rest of the bunch. They didn’t have it all their own way though, with Bath CC and Portishead CC also having good number in both races, and these teams got their reward with Portishead picking up second place in both men’s races (Simon Gaywood & Ben Jones). Bath CC’s Duncan Lancashire was the final rider on the podium in the 2/3 race. Sam Lindsay took the win in the 4^th cat race, with Alan Adams (University of Bath CC) finishing behind Jones in third.

There was the largest ever women’s field at Odd Down on Thursday, split into three races. The 4^th cat race was dominated, as expected by India Lee. She rode away from the field at the recent Somer Valley CC event and pulled the same trick again this time. Behind, the bunch were also racing aggressively, with the bunch splitting into three groups and the Army Cycling Union dominant in the first chasing group behind Lee. Their riders were able to lock out the rest of the podium spots with Sophie Barnes finishing ahead of Stephanie Parsonage.

The Vets’ race was also raced hard, splitting the race into two groups with Miriam Whitehurst (Somer Valley CC) confirming her status as the only 2^nd cat rider in the race, taking the win ahead of Maria Powell (Radeon BikeScience). In the chasing group, the VeloVitesse riders had the upper hand, with Amanda Karlsson and Karen Whyte taking third and fourth ahead of Karen Spiteri (Avid Sport).

The women’s E/1/2/3 race flew out of the start, with Johnston’s early moved marked instantly by Charlotte Berry (VeloVitesse). The chasing bunch were not letting them go easily however, and Forever Pedalling lead the chase for the first four laps, with the gap hovering between three and five seconds. The leaders did not desist however, and as their teammates’ presence in the main group began to weigh on the pursuers the gap slowly grew. Lucy Driver (Forever Pedalling) went to bridge but the pair were out of reach and soon the peloton were racing for fourth.

Berry is a well-established sprinter, and it looked to be advantage to the VeloVitesse rider as the final laps approached. Berry had got the better of Johnston at Ashton Down in April, but Johnston had learnt from the experience and now according to Berry “used my own tricks against me” and got herself in prime position on Berry’s wheel going into the sprint. Johnston had just enough to overhaul Berry with metres to go before the line, and Driver confirmed her position as the strongest rider in the bunch behind as she leapt clear before the finish to take third.

Series Standings:

Men

Position	Name	Team	Series Points
1	James Phillips	Bristol RC	50
2	Simon Gaywood	Portishead CC	45
3	Duncan Lancashire	Bath CC	40
4	Jake Hollins		35
5	Paul Jones	Bikestrong-KTM	30
6	Sam Lindsay		30
7	Andy Edwards	Bristol RC	25
8	Ben Jones	Portishead CC	25
9	Nathan Hallett	Latchem Sunwise	20
10	Alan Adams		20
11	Rob Hardyman	Forever Pedalling	15
12	Tom Allport	University of Bath CC	15
13	Tom Sharp	Bristol RC	14
14	Simon Worsley	Cheltenham and County CC	14
15	Dave Tilling	BPF Cycling	13
16	Christopher Chapman	Bristol South CC	13
17	Conor Chandler	Primera TeamJobs	12
18	Simon Hunt		12
19	Robert Abraham	Bikestrong-KTM	11
20	Lewis Whitcombe	Webbs 1902 CC	11
21	Deacon Cutterham	Bikestrong-KTM	10
22	Peter Wyatt	Portishead CC	10
23	Rob Borek	Forever Pedalling	9
24	Martin MacDonald	Bath CC	9
25	Jeff Lawrence	Salt and Sham CC	8
26	Mark Hardyman	VC Walcot	8
27	Daniel Carr	Salt and Sham CC	7
28	Finn Hannersley	Ross CC	7
29	Steven Whitehurst	Somer Valley CC	6
30	Samuel Whitehead	Bristol South CC	6
31	Joe Griffiths	Torq Performance	5
32	Anthony Smith	Portishead CC	5
33	Oliver Beresford	VC Venta	4
34	Matthew Carey	University of Bristol CC	4
35	Liam Cahill	Somer Valley CC	3
36	Carl Rose	Ely Race Club	3
37	John Russell	Bristol RC	2
38	Matthew Dewey	Complete Cycle Works	2
39	Christopher Hill	Bristol RC	1
40	Luke Craddock	Spokes BPC Racing	1
41	David Guy	Bristol South CC	1
42	Steven Cottington	Bath CC	1
43	Michael Bradbury	Bikestrong-KTM	1
44	Michael Davis	Bikestrong-KTM	1
45	Harry Tucker	Avid Sport	1
46	Jack Phillips	Salt and Sham CC	1
47	David Stoyle	Bath CC	1
48	Darren Gardner	Bath CC	1
49	Peter Phillips	Bath CC	1
50	Mark Pettitt	Portishead CC	1
51	Jos Kertzman	Bath CC	1
52	Russell Peace	BPF Cycling	1
53	Darren Edwards	Bath CC	1
54	Joe Cierpik		1
55	Michael Holding		1
56	Steven Marsh	Portishead CC	1
57	Dan Hopes	Rapha Cycling Club	1
58	Matthew Lloyd	Pontypool RCC	1
59	Harry Woodman	VC Walcot	1
60	Mark Kemp		1
61	Thomas Constantine		1
62	Benjamin Elkins-Green	Salt and Sham CC	1
63	Aron Jarvis		1
64	Paul Enderson		1
65	Christopher Featherstone	Bristol RC	1
66	Christopher Humphreys	Carpe Diem CC	1
67	Richard Pattermore		1
68	Paul Ashman	Recycles RCC	1
69	Michael Withers	Portishead CC	1
70	Paul Smith	Thornbury CC	1
71	Nic Meadows	Somer Valley CC	1
72	Paul Thompson	Wellington Wheelers CC	1
73	Sasha Smith	Portishead CC	1
74	John Airey	Ross CC	1
75	Stefan Golledge		1

Women:

Pos	Name	Surname	Team	Points
1	Lauren	Johnston	Avid Sport	50
2	Charlotte	Berry	VeloVitesse	45
3	Lucy	Driver	Forever Pedalling	40
4	Molly	Hodges	Avid Sport	35
5	India	Lee	Hargroves-Ridley-Montezuma’s	30
6	Stephie	Prince	VeloVitesse	30
7	Miriam	Whitehurst	Somer Valley CC	30
8	Sophie	Barnes	Army Cycling Union	25
9	Megan	Dickerson	Forever Pedalling	25
10	Maria	Powell	Radeon-Cycology RT	25
11	Stephanie	Parsonage	Army Cycling Race Team (ACRT)	20
12	Aimee	Parsons	Avid Sport	20
13	Amanda	Karlsson	VeloVitesse	20
14	Elizabeth	Sanders	University of Exeter Cycling Club	15
15	Rebekah	Nash	University of Bristol	15
16	Karen	Whyte	VeloVitesse	15
17	Lucy	Rowe	DAS RAD KLUB	14
18	Alexandra	Sheehan	Bianchi Dama	14
19	Karen	Spiteri	Avid Sport	14
20	Jen	Horton	UCY	13
21	Heidi	Blunden	The Racing Chance Foundation	13
22	Sally	Crocker	Salt & Sham Cycle Club	12
23	Rosie	Nunnerley	DAS RAD KLUB	12
24	Claire	Lawrence	Sodbury Cycle Sport	11
25	Lauren	Booth	Camac Planet X	11
26	Joanna	Goodhead	Avid Sport	10
27	Nicki	Carr	Tri UK	10
28	Deborah	Sterling		9