Report: Roy Ludford Memorial

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Rob Sharland wins the Roy Ludford Memorial (Tour of the Milburys 2013) on Saturday 11th May

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By Graham Robins

After 116km of racing over the rolling Milburys course on a showery day it was Rob Sharland (Kingston Wheelers) who was victorious from Rob Yeatman (Dream CC) by thirty two seconds. The race is a one day two stage race with a prologue time trial in the morning followed by a nine lap road race in the afternoon.

The course for the time trial is a challenging one as it climbs nearly all the way over its 6km distance. Starting just outside the HQ it finishes on the top of Old Winchester Hill. Rob Yeatman set the quickest time over the short distance with Rob second just nine seconds back. Third was Jack Beezer (Edinburgh CC).

Once all the riders had completed the test it was time for a rest and to get ready for the road race. The peloton climbed away from its Meonstoke base and up towards the course proper. As they came into view it began to rain and this set the tone for the day as wave after wave of showers came and went throughout.

Maybe because of the rain there were a couple of minor crashes and several punctures on the opening laps for the two service vehicles to deal with. The race was Promoted and road by the local Team Axiom club and the club came out in force to insure another successful event.

The first few laps saw several riders attempt to break clear and this caused several riders to be shelled out the back as the pace at the front increased. The showers were not helping and when attacks did get away they were soon brought back again.

The first proper attack saw Christopher Bedson (Dulwich Paragon CC) open a decent lead of twenty seconds. He was soon joined by Gray Turnock (Finsbury Park CC) and between them they opened the lead to forty seconds. These two held this lead until lap six when they were joined by Andrew Bryson (Peter Hansford RT). These three worked well together at first but the trio of riders from Guernsey Velo were slowly reeling in the escapees.

At the bell the lead was down to a handful of seconds and this soon became one large bunch again. After a couple of miles and several riders trying to get away it all came down to the last mile or so when first Wayne Coombs (Winchcombe CC) and Phillip Touzeau (Guernsey Velo) pinged off the front., Rob saw this attack go and he made his move and got across the gap along with Joshua Gosselin (Guernsey Velo).

When it came to the last 200m Rob had the legs on Wayne with the two Channel Islanders taking third and fourth. After all the racing it was back to the HQ for a warm down and await the results.

PROVISIONAL RESULTS

Stage 1 – Time Trial
1. Rob Yeatman Dream Cycling 00:10:12:000
2. Rob Sharland Kingston Whls CC 00:10:21:000
3. Jack Beezer Edinburgh RC 00:10:25:000
4. Cameron Campbell Pendragon 00:10:28:000
5. Christopher Zappalà Dulwich Paragon CC 00:10:29:000
6. Bevan Humphreys Urban-Cyclery.co.uk RT 00:10:31:000
6. Oscar Hutchings University of Exeter Cycling C… 00:10:31:000
6. Gray Turnock Finsbury Park CC 00:10:31:000
9. Andrew Bryson Peter Hansford Racing 00:10:35:000
10. Philip Touzeau GVC Edmond De Rothschild 00:10:35:000
11. Peter Medhurst University of Exeter Cycling C… 00:10:38:000
12. Wayne Van Ry ViCiOUS VELO 00:10:41:000
13. Simon Healey Andover Whls 00:10:42:000
14. Joshua Gosselin Guernsey Velo Club 00:10:43:000
15. Andrew Feather Exeter Wheelers 00:10:45:000
16. Wayne Coombs Winchcombe CC 00:10:47:000
17. Thom Hayward VC St Raphael 00:10:48:000
18. Niall Digby La Fuga – Sigma Sport 00:10:49:000
19. Thomas Bowering Swindon Cycles Race Academy 00:10:51:000
20. Alexander Wilson GVC Edmond De Rothschild 00:10:52:000
21. Aaron Olszewski Kingston Whls CC 00:10:56:000
22. Stuart Williams Reading CC 00:11:01:000
23. Dave Dalton Fareham Wheelers Cycling Club 00:11:02:000
24. Owen Jeffries Northern CC/Dave Kane Cycles 00:11:07:000
25. Christopher Bedson Dulwich Paragon CC 00:11:08:000
26. David Bamford East London Vélo 00:11:10:000
27. Will Houghton Hillingdon Cycling Club 00:11:10:000
28. Thomas Key Southampton University RC 00:11:12:000
29. David Billings Motivo RT 00:11:17:000
30. Tristan Grigalis Southampton University RC 00:11:18:000
31. Paul Elcock G.S. Henley 00:11:19:000
32. Oliver Hitchings Peter Hansford Racing 00:11:20:000
33. Christopher Fletcher Team Axiom 00:11:20:000
34. Connor Innes Southdown Velo 00:11:21:000
35. Andy Shackel Peter Hansford Racing 00:11:24:000
36. Ben Knapp Dulwich Paragon CC 00:11:25:000
37. Andrew Waddington Portsmouth North End CC 00:11:26:000
38. Owen Owen Rutrainingtoday CC 00:11:28:000
39. Robert Edgell Performance Cycles 00:11:29:000
40. Patrick Martin 00:11:37:000
41. Ben Hooppell Exeter Wheelers 00:11:41:000
42. Colin Roshier Team Quest – The Bike Shop 00:11:51:000
43. Justin Radford Python Racing Team 00:11:56:000
44. Howard Radcliffe I-Team Cyclists’ Club 00:12:07:000
45. Karla Boddy MG-Maxifuel Pro Cycling 00:12:09:000
46. Andrew Carter Portsmouth North End CC 00:12:13:000
47. Luke Stace I-Team Cyclists’ Club 00:12:17:000
48. Jason Ginn Team ASL360 00:12:38:000
49. James Wasley Velosport Racing Team 00:12:47:000
50. Andrew McCombe Cycle Club Basingstoke 00:12:48:000
51. Steve James High Wycombe Cycling Club 00:13:41:000

 Stage 2 – Road Race
1. Rob Sharland Kingston Whls CC 02:57:18:000
2. Wayne Coombs Winchcombe CC
3. Philip Touzeau GVC Edmond De Rothschild
4. Joshua Gosselin Guernsey Velo Club
5. Colin Roshier Team Quest – The Bike Shop 02:57:22:000
6. Luke Stace I-Team Cyclists’ Club 02:57:29:000
7. Patrick Martin
8. Thomas Bowering Swindon Cycles Race Academy
9. Owen Jeffries Northern CC/Dave Kane Cycles
10. Andrew Waddington Portsmouth North End CC
11. Bevan Humphreys Urban-Cyclery.co.uk RT
12. Andrew Bryson Peter Hansford Racing
13. Paul Elcock G.S. Henley
14. Stuart Williams Reading CC
15. Thom Hayward VC St Raphael
16. Ben Hooppell Exeter Wheelers
17. Alexander Wilson GVC Edmond De Rothschild
18. Rob Yeatman Dream Cycling
19. David Bamford East London Vélo 02:57:36:000
20. Jack Beezer Edinburgh RC 02:57:38:000
21. Aaron Olszewski Kingston Whls CC
22. Gray Turnock Finsbury Park CC
23. Christopher Zappalà Dulwich Paragon CC 02:57:57:000
24. Robert Edgell Performance Cycles 02:58:00:000
25. Dave Dalton Fareham Wheelers Cycling Club 02:58:08:000
26. Christopher Fletcher Team Axiom 03:05:28:000
27. Connor Innes Southdown Velo 03:10:40:000
28. Will Houghton Hillingdon Cycling Club 03:11:32:000

Overall
1. Rob Sharland Kingston Whls CC 03:07:09:000
2. Rob Yeatman Dream Cycling 03:07:41:000
3. Wayne Coombs Winchcombe CC 03:07:45:000
4. Philip Touzeau GVC Edmond De Rothschild 03:07:49:000
5. Bevan Humphreys Urban-Cyclery.co.uk RT 03:07:51:000
6. Jack Beezer Edinburgh RC 03:07:57:000
7. Joshua Gosselin Guernsey Velo Club 03:07:59:000
8. Andrew Bryson Peter Hansford Racing 03:07:59:000
9. Gray Turnock Finsbury Park CC 03:08:10:000
10. Thom Hayward VC St Raphael 03:08:17:000
11. Alexander Wilson GVC Edmond De Rothschild 03:08:21:000
12. Christopher Zappalà Dulwich Paragon CC 03:08:26:000
13. Thomas Bowering Swindon Cycles Race Academy 03:08:30:000
14. Stuart Williams Reading CC 03:08:30:000
15. Aaron Olszewski Kingston Whls CC 03:08:34:000
16. Owen Jeffries Northern CC/Dave Kane Cycles 03:08:36:000
17. David Bamford East London Vélo 03:08:46:000
18. Paul Elcock G.S. Henley 03:08:47:000
19. Andrew Waddington Portsmouth North End CC 03:08:55:000
20. Patrick Martin WyndyMilla 03:09:06:000
21. Dave Dalton Fareham Wheelers Cycling Club 03:09:10:000
22. Colin Roshier Team Quest – The Bike Shop 03:09:13:000
23. Ben Hooppell Exeter Wheelers 03:09:20:000
24. Robert Edgell Performance Cycles 03:09:29:000
25. Christopher Fletcher Team Axiom 03:16:48:000
26. Connor Innes Southdowns Bikes Cycling Club 03:22:11:000
27. Will Houghton Hillingdon Cycling Club 03:22:42:000

Roy Ludford 1917 – 2007
Roy was born in Portsmouth in October 1917, the youngest son of a dockyard engineer. He began his competitive cycling around the age of 19 with Fareham Wheelers CC riding road time trials and track. His training included riding a window cleaning round, on a cycle fitted with a sidecar for the ladders. During his first season he achieved several surprising results in open TTs, even though he was riding a heavy “utility style” bike. So embarrassed was he of this machine that he used to hide it behind the hedge after finishing.

The Second World War cut short Roy’s early cycling career, whilst he served with the Royal Corps of Transport in Europe following the D-Day landings. His talent turned to athletics during his army years, often representing his regiment on the running track in services’ competitions. His favourite distance was the mile.

When cycle sport resumed fully after the war, Roy, aided by his wife Nelly, was instrumental in restarting the Fareham Wheelers. These were the golden days of club cycling when Portsmouth and Gosport track leagues were so popular that clubs would have to nominate riders to ride each event.

Roy was track secretary for his club at this time and he picked the Fareham Wheeler teams with some success. He was always very proud to tell how he took John Hayles (Father of Olympian Rob) out on his first training ride, liking to think he had a distant connection to Rob’s success.

During the early fifties money was tight and Roy had to share his track bike with his wife, moving the saddle and changing the gear between their respective events. This became problematic and as Nelly was more likely to win her events (scoring points for the club) than he, Roy decided to stand aside and let her use the bike. This was effectively the end of his racing.

Roy drifted away from the sport whilst his family were growing up, only to return as a supporter when his teenage sons began racing with Portsmouth CC. He eventually joined a club himself when the Portsmouth North End CC reformed in 1980 enjoying the “social side” of cycling and always willing to help out. Roy would still turn out well into his 80`s to stand by the roadside at silly o’clock in the morning to shout encouragement to his club mates and the other riders.

When Team Axiom formed in 2002 Roy was its oldest founding member. Affectionately known as “Grandad” in the team, he would often be heard to say “Of course in MY day We had it tougher” or more often, “During The war…..”.

An ever present at the pub on club nights, Roy is sadly missed by all in Team Axiom.

 

 

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