Lee steps up to dominate again

India Lee made short work of the fourth cat race last week and repeated the trick again this time around with the E/1/2/3 race, taking the win in dominant fashion with an early attack. Lucy Driver (Forever Pedalling) was able to hold the Hargroves-Ridley-Montezuma’s rider’s wheel the longest and got her reward with a second place finish, despite being caught by the main chasing bunch.

Lee did not hesitate, lighting the race up on the very first lap and stretching out the bunch behind her. Marking the step up Lee has made from fourth cat, the bunch were not rolling over and held the gap to the flying leader to only a handful of seconds for the first couple of laps. But as the elastic finally snapped, Driver was the only rider who was able to stay with Lee as the bunch fractured into small groups behind. Lee was not going to settle to ride with company for long however, and finally dispatched Driver a short while later with another attack to go solo; a lead she would hold and extend all the way to the chequered flag.

Driver’s task was now to hold off a regrouping bunch behind, as Charlotte Berry (VeloVitesse) and Aimee Parsons (Avid Sport) were reeled in by the chasing group of Molly Hodges (Avid Sport), Ashia Fenwick (VC Venta) and Stephie Prince (VeloVitesse). These five riders set to their task well, and as Driver started to stall out in front it looked like the catch would be made in the final laps.

Indeed, second place was up for grabs as Driver was caught with just over one lap to go; it looked like a fantastic opportunity for last week’s runner up Berry to take the sprint. However, Driver has won a Winter Series round at Odd Down from a bunch sprint and showed her speed again, despite all the laps ridden on her own, to pip the group in a close finish. Berry came in just behind in third.

In the fourth cat race, there was another dominant solo victory, this time from Avid Sport’s Fran Bromley. Aided by the presence of her teammate Joanna Goodhead, Bromley was well protected in the group until she made her move approaching halfway through the race. Bromley jumped clear and in similar fashion to Lee last week, rode her lead out significantly as the race wore on to take a comfortable win.

The group behind were content to fight it out in a sprint finish, with Laura Wells (Mickey Cranks CC) taking second ahead of Janet Horton (UCY).

The Master’s race took a similar form to last week; Miriam Whitehurst (Somer Valley CC) and Maria Powell (Radeon-Cycology RT) taking out an early lead against Karen Whyte (VeloVitesse) and Karen Spiteri (Avid Sport) and setting up what resembled a 2-up pursuit race. The final sprint for the win went the same way as well, with Whitehurst beating Powell to the line, whilst Spiteri took the sprint for second from the chasing group.

These results make things very tight at the top of the series standings, with Berry and Driver now tied on 85 points, only five ahead of Lee in third. A strong showing and good numbers from Avid Sport and VeloVitesse also sees them move up the order at the top of the team standings; with Avid Sport retaking the overall lead from Bristol RC and VeloVitesse climbing from fifth after the men’s races on Tuesday back to third overall. Driver’s second place moves Forever Pedalling up to fourth.

4^th Cat

Pos	No	First Name	Last Name	Club / Team Name	Member No.	Series Points
1	11	Frances	Bromley	Avid Sport	1251227	30
2	5	Laura	Wells	Mickey Cranks CC	1307645	25
3	4	Janet	Horton	Merthyr CC	1103172	20
4	6	Naomi	Eaton		1354656	15
5	3	Joanna	Goodhead	Avid Sport	1445415	14
6	12	Sally	Crocker	Salt & Sham Cycle Club	1305793	13

Masters

Pos	No	First Name	Last Name	Club / Team Name	Member No.	Series Points
1	4	Miriam	Whitehurst	Somer Valley CC	717051	30
2	2	Maria	Powell	Radeon-Cycology RT	893915	25
5	3	Karen	Spiteri	Avid Sport	921309	20
4	5	Karen	Whyte	VeloVitesse	879437	15

E/1/2/3

Pos	No	First Name	Last Name	Club / Team Name	Member No.	Series Points
1	5	India	Lee	Hargroves-Ridley-Montezuma’s	962042	50
2	2	Lucy	Driver	Forever Pedalling	1144183	45
3	8	Charlotte	Berry	VeloVitesse	1259806	40
4	4	Molly	Hodges	Avid Sport	1173752	35
5	3	Ashia	Fenwick	VC Venta	933490	30
6	7	Stephie	Prince	VeloVitesse	1325279	25
7	9	Aimee	Parsons	Avid Sport	1449722	20
8	1	Sophie	Barnes	Army Cycling Union	1279010	15
9	6	Rosie	Nunnerley	DAS RAD KLUB	1337012	14
10	10	Joss	Winter	Athletique	1365465	13

Series Standings

Position	Name	Surname	Team	Licence	Round 1	Round 2	Series Points
1	Charlotte	Berry	VeloVitesse	1259806	45	40	85
2	Lucy	Driver	Forever Pedalling	1144183	40	45	85
3	India	Lee	Hargroves-Ridley-Montezuma’s	962042	30	50	80
4	Molly	Hodges	Avid Sport	1173752	35	35	70
5	Miriam	Whitehurst	Somer Valley CC	717051	30	30	60
6	Stephie	Prince	VeloVitesse	1325279	30	25	55
7	Maria	Powell	Radeon-Cycology RT	893915	25	25	50
8	Lauren	Johnston	Avid Sport	1422901	50		50
9	Sophie	Barnes	Army Cycling Union	1279010	25	15	40
10	Aimee	Parsons	Avid Sport	1449722	20	20	40
11	Karen	Spiteri	Avid Sport	921309	14	20	34
12	Jen	Horton	UCY	1103172	13	20	33
13	Karen	Whyte	VeloVitesse	879437	15	15	30
14	Frances	Bromley	Avid Sport	1251227		30	30
15	Ashia	Fenwick	VC Venta	933490		30	30
16	Rosie	Nunnerley	DAS RAD KLUB	1337012	12	14	26
17	Sally	Crocker	Salt & Sham Cycle Club	1305793	12	13	25
18	Megan	Dickerson	Forever Pedalling	1232745	25		25
19	Laura	Wells	Mickey Cranks CC	1307645		25	25
20	Joanna	Goodhead	Avid Sport	1445415	10	14	24
21	Stephanie	Parsonage	Army Cycling Race Team (ACRT)	1445128	20		20
22	Amanda	Karlsson	VeloVitesse	1294362	20		20
23	Elizabeth	Sanders	University of Exeter Cycling Club	1242646	15		15
24	Rebekah	Nash	University of Bristol	1349269	15		15
25	Naomi	Eaton	0	1354656		15	15
26	Lucy	Rowe	DAS RAD KLUB	1046011	14		14
27	Alexandra	Sheehan	Bianchi Dama	722367	14		14
28	Heidi	Blunden	The Racing Chance Foundation	961952	13		13
29	Joss	Winter	Athletique	1365465		13	13
30	Claire	Lawrence	Sodbury Cycle Sport		11		11
31	Lauren	Booth	Camac Planet X	705816	11		11
32	Nicki	Carr	Tri UK	1091227	10		10
33	Deborah	Sterling			9		9