Dead Heat in Women’s Grand Prix as Rich and Garner tie for the win
VIDEOS
Video’s taken by MCJ Media at the Hillingdon Grand Prix 15th May 2011
Hillingdon Mens Grand Prix – 15th May 2011 Finish
Hillingdon Women’s GP – 15th May 2011 Finish
Hillingdon Grand Prix Support Race – 15th May 2011 Finish
Photo Albums: Each of the races in their own album
RACE REPORT
The Hillingdon Grand Prix meeting saw the best male and female riders from around the country racing at the purpose built circuit on Sunday with well over 150 riders competing during the day. Not having been to the circuit for quite a while, I could not help but be impressed with the new purpose built circuit headquarters where riders could change, sign on and grab a bite to eat or if they perfer, watch the racing from the verandah… Superb! It even has classrooms for coaches to coach in and is so much better than the old buildings we had when I raced their well over a decade ago.
THE LIVE PHOTO ALBUM – (More: Each of the races in their own album)
The weather for the day was dry, cloudy with a hint of rain in the air as well as some wind which made keeping hold of one’s papers a problem. Not to self to take a ring bound notepad next time! The racing was the order of the day though and whatever race you want to choose, there was agressive full on racing usually finished off with a bunch kick! That too was superb and you know what? The best thing was that the Women’s race was probably the most aggressive race of the day with riders like Sarah Byrne, Corrine Hall, Jayne Paine, Cath Wiggins, Annie Simpson and others who helped keep the pattern of the race changing.
And then it came down to a big bunch kick, with the girls sprinting from the bottom corner into a headwind for all they were worth and the result was a dead heat between Hannah Rich and Lucy Garner with Marriane Britten in third only inches futher back. Women’s racing has come on so much this year and this race was another example of that.
The men’s racing too was aggressive although the fact a break of five riders dominated the Elite GP event for most of the 80 kilometres did mean it was a little boring at times, even for the riders in the race! Both ends of the race though were super agressive and the look on the face of Tom Barras when he beat three Raleigh riders to the line was a picture that I’m sure his dad ‘Super’ Sid Barras whould have been most proud of.
Post Race Reactions
Hannah Rich (equal 1st, Horizon Fitness/Prendas Cliclismo) “We managed to cover a lot of the breaks int he race, Annie was in a lot of them, Ella was covering the front of the peloton and then I was off the front in a move for a long time before it came back. Sarah Byrne attacked as soon as we got brought back and she managed to stay for a while and then Hannah Barnes and me gave it a big go but that came back with four to go.”
“At the bell, I was right at the back and Ella brought me to the front and then it was a bit sketchy going through the last few corners but everyone managed to stay upright so that was good. It was just after the last corner, that everyone started to jump so I had no option but to start my sprint.It was a long sprint!”
Lucy Garner (Motorpoint): The sprint started quite early actually, but I did’t go straight away and waited to get on a good wheel and then hit them. But I got a bit boxed so I had to swing over and catch back. It was good race and everyone was having a go. The first ten laps the pace was pretty flat out and then it settled down. I tried to get in a few breaks but they were all coming back. After a sprint, I thought it was best to hit them but I got caught. I can’t wait for the Tour Series now, they should suit me”.
Marrianne Britten (VC St Raphael): “I went from the bottom corner because I know it gets a bit manic coing out of that corner so I went early and just hoped I was going to be strong enough into the wind.No-one seemed to come with me and then I started to die and the two came past and got me on the line. It was a lot safer than last year and I think the quality of the riding has definitely improved. It was an agressive race and one of my teammates, Sarah, was away which allowed me to sit in the wheels and that was a great help.”
Elite Men’s Race
Tom Barras (Cycle Premier Metaltek): When asked did he expect to win the sprint with three Raleigh riders in it, Tom, still pumped up from the aggression he showed to win the sprint replied “definitely. There were two Raleigh’s for most of the race in the break and they rode really hard. Yanto was mega strong, Will came across and strengthened the break and my team orders were to lead out Gibby and that was what I was prepared to do”.
“It played into my hands that I didn’t have to commit til 20 laps to go and I knew then that if I got the sprint right, I’d take some beating but you can never be sure. I don’t know the Raleigh riders, the Americans and the Canadian lad and I knew they must strong otherwise they would not be riding for a pro team but I’m real happy to win for Cycle Premier Metaltek). That takes the pressure off me. I have been second and third every other week so to win, takes the pressure off.”
Yanto Barker (Pendragon-Le Col-Colnago): “It was a long break that was” Yanto who was 4th, said. “Between 30 laps and 20 laps to go seemed to take forever, like an hour lap.” When I put it to Yanto there was a lot of attacks before the break went he replied “I don’t know because I spent the first half an hour sitting at the back last man. I gave myself half an hour and was going to give myself an hour warmup. I noticed in the primes though that there was a big acceleration and then there was always a hesitation. Tom Barras went away after the first or second prime and after the third one, there was a hestitation so I went with two Raleigh’s and Tom, who didn’t work for an hour, and Will who is just a motorbike. He was doing the whole straight on his own so hard.”
“With about 15 laps to go, I thought, that’s enough of that now, I’ll sit up if that won’t come through and so I sat up and they started to come through, partly because Gibby had got off so Tom had a free hand and then another guy came across.”
Will Bjergfelt (Motorpoint): “I felt I had a lot of power in Lincoln and didn’t drink enough and that was a pretty stupid mistake and I’ve been angry with myself all week. So today I wanted to make amends. The break went, we had nobody in it so I got across to it on my own and that me think I’m feeling really good today. It was a nice warmup before the RAS really”
“It was kinda of good for me seeing three Raleigh jerseys in there because it meant those guys had to work. Me and Yanto are good mates so we were able to cover the moves a little bit. Tom used his head the whole race. He rode for Tony Gibb until he had a mechanical so it was then over to Tom so he worked and it came down to a sprint which was nice. It was the way I wanted it to happen.”
Ryan Parnes (2nd, Raleigh) “Hats off to my American teammate Phil Mooney. I think he spent a total of three laps in the peloton today. Tom was sitting on a bit out there as he was working for Gibby and I got to sit on Tom and got a free ride. I have just come off three weeks off the bike with a knee injury so while it was tough to have three in the break and not win but I’m really happy to be back out and racing again. Jamie was an abolsute machine to get across like he did”. It was really impressive the way he got across and then he made the perfect move and went over the top as he joined us. On the final lap, my teammates are real pros and they strung it out so no attacks went on that last lap. Another day, it would have been mine. Tom went from a long ways and there was a bend just before the line and he knew the line to take. Tough that it got away from me but I’m just happy to be on the podium and back racing my bike.”
Jon Dibben (Hargroves Cycles): The Junior who has been winning National Series events, got away late in the race in a three up chase group with a Raleigh rider Jamie Sparling and Jake Martin from Pendragon (read his blog here) Â Asked about that break, Jon explained “I wasn’t expecting to do well today as I’ve had pretty much a week off after the stage race in the Czech Republic. I was properly tired after that.”
“I went for a ride yesterday and decided I was going to come here today and went alright in the end. I was getting a bit bored though. The break had gone and two teams were sat on the front so it was just going round and round and round. So I thought I’d give it a couple of digs and three three of us really did close the gap. I thought we we were going to get the break and then the Raleigh guy stopped working and he sat on us for two laps and the gap just opened and then he attacked and got across.”
Jon says he doesn’t have a lot coming up as he has his exams. “That is my focus for the next few weeks and then we have a development camp coming up in half term and then its all track leading up to the Euros and then road worlds.”
THE LIVE REPORTS AND RESULTS
In the most exciting race of the day, there was a great finale to the Women’s National Series race when in the bunch kick to decide the victory, two riders hit the line together, Hannah Rich (Horizon Fitness/Prendas Cliclismo) and Lucy Garner (Motorpoint). The race was filled with attacking riding and we’ll have a report on the race soon here on VeloUK complete with rider interviews.
My thanks to all the officials and Mark Doel for the results and the photo finish pic…
Results
1. Lucy   Garner   Motorpoint   01:20:20
1. Hannah   Rich   Horizon Fitness/Prendas   st
3. Marianne   Britten   VC St Raphael/Waites   st
4. Amy   Roberts   Cardiff Ajax CC   st
5. Hannah   Barnes   Motorpoint   st
6. Hannah   Manley   Tm For Viored   st
7. Hannah   Walker   Motorpoint   st
8. Janet   Birkmyre   XRT-Elmy Cycles   st
9. Louise   Moriarty   Look Mum No Hands RT   st
10. Charlotte   Colclough   Tm For Viored   st
11. Lydia   Boylan   Look Mum No Hands RT   st
12. Hannah   Layland   VC St Raphael/Waites   st
13. Estelle   Rogers   Rollapaluza CC   st
14. Dyanne   Holland   Inverse RT/CyClaim   st
15. Ceri   Dipple   Twenty3c-Orbea   st
16. Lowri   Bunn   Abergavenny RC   st
17. Corrine   Hall   Tm Corridori   st
18. Jackie   Garner   Private Member   st
19. Lindsay    Clarke   Fenland Clarion   st
20. Delia   Beddis   Dulwich Paragon   st
21. Jayne   Paine   Willesden CC   st
22. Nicola   Juniper   A W Cycles/Giant   st
23. Caroline   Harding   A W Cycles/Giant   st
24. Sarah   Byrne   VC St Raphael/Waites   st
25. Gillian   Taylor   Badtn/Fred baker Cycles   st
26. Cath   Wiggins   Liverpool Mercury   st
27. Emily   Barnes   Rapha Condor   st
28. Natalie   Hill   VC St Raphael/Waites   st
29. Kate   Hewett   Mule Bars Girls   st
30. Cher   Owens   A W Cycles/Giant   st
31. Monica   Da Polenza   A W Cycles/Giant   st
32. Stephanie   May   Tm Quest/The Bike Shop   st
33. Rohan   Battison   Tm For Viored   st
34. Joanna   Le Cocq   Inverse RT/CyClaim   st
35. Louise   Mahe   Sutton CC/De Ver Cycles   st
36. Eleanor   Jones   VC St Raphael/Waites   st
37. Nicole   Walters   Primal Europe/rutrainingtoday   st
38. Xieyue   Fan   Look Mum No Hands RT   at 6 secs
39. Anna   Fischer   Abus Nutrixxon   st
40. Ella   Sadler-Andrews   Horizon Fitness/Prendas   st
42. Maria    Cahill   Badtn/Fred baker Cycles   st
43. Lucinda   Insall-Jones   Private Member   st
Men’s Hillingdon GP
Tom Barras took the perfect line at the finish of the Men’s Hillingdon GP and held off Ryan Parnes and Will Bjergfelt for the victory. Yanto Barker was fourth.
The race saw a break of five dominate the race, Barker, Sparling, Bjergfelt, Phil Moooney and Barras and after going clear in the first third of the race, they spent the next hour and a half being chased. The gap never went above a minute or so as UK Youth and Wilier chased but when the puff went out of their pursuit, their lead grew.
In the final few laps, a third Raleigh rider joined the break after attacking a chase group as they closed in on the leaders. With three in the break, Raleigh were expected to win but Barras sprung the surprise and took the victory from Raleigh.
Elite/1/2/3
1. Tom Barras WWW.cyclepremier.com/Metaltek
2. Ryan Parnes Tm Raleigh
3. William Bjergfelt Motorpoint
4. Yanto Barker Pendragon/Lecol
5. James Sparling Tm Raleigh
6. Philip Mooney Tm Raleigh
7. Lewis Atkins Twenty3c-Orbea
8. James Stewart Team UK Youth
9. Jonathan Dibben Hargroves Cycles/Specialized
10. Mark Perry Wilier/Goselfdrive
11. Gael Lebellec Tm Raleigh
12. Peter Johnson Pendragon/Le Col/ Colnago
13. Rafa Rodriguez Segarra Twenty3c-Orbea
14. Blake Pond Wilier/Goselfdrive
15. Jake Martin Pendragon/Le Col/ Colnago
16. Alex PetersON A W Cycles/Giant/High 5
17. Richard Marque Felt-Colbornes RT
18. Felix English Science in sport.com
19. Matt Gee Tm Raleigh
20. Rob Smail WWW.cyclepremier.com/Metaltek
21. Paul Crook Beyond MTB/West Drayton CC
22. Jake Hales Tm Corley Cycles/Cervelo
23. Declan Byrne Brooks Cycles
24. James Lowslwy-Williams Team UK Youth
25. Vincent Halpern A W Cycles/Giant/High 5
26. Mark Wilmot Tm Quest/The Bike Shop
27. Grant Bayton Wilier/Goselfdrive
28. Lee Smith Felt-Colbornes RT
29. Gruffudd Lewis Team UK Youth
30. Marcin Bialoblocki Motorpoint
31. Chris McNamara Team Corley
32. Daniel Duguid Sigma Sport/Specialized RT
33. Tom Gallacher Welwyn Wheelers
34. Rob Scheffler Fremont Bank
35. Adam Bright Revo racing
36. Marcel Six Twenty3c-Orbea
37. Hugh Wilson Wilier/Goseldrive
38. Steve Lampier Sigma Sport/Specialized RT
39. Paul Doel Tm Quest/The Bike Shop
40.
41. Ian Rees Wilier/Goselfdrive
42. John Mozley Pendragon/Le Col/ Colnago
43. Sylvaine Garde Addiscombe CC
44. Ben Luckwell Wilier/Goselfdrive
45. Ben Simmons Team Wiggle
46. Phil Holloway Southend Wh
47. Ross Creber WWW.cyclepremier.com/Metaltek
48. Ashley Finn WWW.cyclepremier.com/Metaltek
49.
50. Dale Appleby WWW.cyclepremier.com/Metaltek
51. Michael Smith Tm Corley Cycles/Cervelo
52. Greg Mansell Team UK Youth
53. Pete Wager Felt-Colbornes RT
54. Justin Hoy Felt-Colbornes RT
55. John Wager Felt-Colbornes RT
56. Jeroen Jansen Tm Raleigh
57. Tom Fitzpatrick Wyndymilla
58. Jamie Burgan Boneshakerbikes.com
59. Simon Williams Hillingdon CC
60. Andy Hargroves Hargroves Cycles/Specialized
61. Martin Attwood Vanilla Bikes
62. Jerzy Kuzminski East London Velo
63. Colin Perry Wilier/Goselfdrive
64. Gary Chamber Wilier/Goselfdrive
65. Darren Moore Pendragon/Lecol
66. Mike Inder Thames Velo
Category 3-4
The 3-4 race with around 50 riders in it, was won in a bunch kick by James Jackson from Mark Smith and David Rhys. Ben Spurrier was fourth. Some breaks did get clear but never lasted long. More when we have an official result.
3/4 Cats
1 James Jackson RG Active Race Team
2 Mark Smith Welwyn Wheelers
3 Rees Paragon
4 Ben Spurrier Rapha Condor CC
5 Raffal Radziej
6 George Furrell Welwyn Wheelers
7 Toby Blackman VC Londres
8 Samuel Sturgeon Team Terminator
9 Tomas Rem Team Froy Norway
10 Mike Deeney CCLuton
11 Vaughan Cuff De Ver
12 Tony Vickers Pearson
13 John Donovan CS Gripetto
14 Alex Tollo London Dynamo
15 Nick White East London Velo
16 Hodgers Welwyn Wheelers
17 David Walls
18 Nick Smith VC Jubilee
19 Chris Morrison London Dynamo
20 Greg Carr
21 Chris Sevidur Team un Youth
22 Nat Spurling Finsbury Park`
23 Jonathan Maheiz Dorwich
24 Jeff Baird GS Metro
25 Tom Bowering Private
26 James Curry Inverse RT/Cyclaim
27 Samuel Gilzean Welwyn Wheelers
28 Smith Welwyn Wheelers
29 Paul Barnard Team Terminator
30 Duncan Rimmer Morden CRC
31 Ed Clemens VC10
32 Manuel Ravizza London Dynamo
33 Brent Skinner Beyond MTB/ West Drayton
34 Josh Maynard Welwyn Wheelers
35 Stuart Clapp Private
36 Bowering Swindon RC
37 Tom Baskaya Finsbury Park`
38 Keith Griffin Kingston Wheelers
39 Henry Farrell Welwyn Wheelers
40 Neville Smith Cycle Premier
41 Liam Bremer London Phoenix
42 Gareth Thomas Kingston Wheelers
43 Griffiths London Phoenix
44 William Mc Guinness Rollapaluza
45 Steven Green Thames Velo
46 Adrian Howitt Inverse RT/Cyclaim
Youth Race
Ben Lamb won the Youth race on his own after an attacking race which saw the front group of Youth A boys splitting and getting back together before Lamb went solo a few laps out and won the race from Callum Oliver who won the sprint for second and Elliott Phillips who was third.
