Great day of racing at 3rd annual Lewis Balyckyi Crits at the Blackpool Promenade on Sunday 11th May
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Report & Results – Lewis Balyckyi Crits
(Report by Alexander Reed, photos by Martin Holden)
Rain, wind and one very steep hill, that’s what the riders had to deal with at the Blackpool Promenade for the 3rd annual Lewis Balyckyi Memorial Crits. The event was organised by Jerrod Hartley in memory of Lewis Balyckyi, a promising young cyclist from the North West who sadly died in 2011, and all proceeds went to the Lewis Balyckyi Trust Fund (www.lbtf.org) which gives financial support to young British cyclists racing throughout Europe, as well as supporting other good causes such as the NW Air Ambulance.
The event was sponsored by Smiths Equipment Hire (www.smithshire.com) who provided the crowd control barriers, barrier tape, fire extinguishers, generators, tables, chairs and safety signs. Thanks must also go to Blackpool Council for allowing the use of the Promenade as the circuit and for supplying plastic safety barriers to protect riders from road furniture.
The first race of the day was for the Under 8s and the winning boy was Trayden Jarrett who just pipped Riley-Saint Simmons and, the winning girl, Esther Wong to the line. It was followed by the Under 10s race which was comfortably won by Scott Fisher who crossed the finish line ahead of Deetray Jarrett in second place. Evelina Black finished not far behind to win in the girls’ category. The Under 12 boys then took to the challenging 1.9km course for their race. George Southby pulled away in the first lap and maintained his lead to win the race, with George Ball in hot pursuit finishing second. Tilly Percy was the first girl.
Then it was time for the biggest event of the morning, the Under 14 and Under 16 Boys race. 35 riders were on the start line and were treated to a brief period of blue sky for their race. In the Under 14 category, the peloton of 12 riders stayed together for the whole of the race as attacks failed to prevail. It came down to a bunch sprint and it was Jack Ford who took victory over Alex Ridehalgh and Jim Brown.
In the Under 16 category, it wasn’t until the second lap that the decisive move was made as Robert Scott pulled away from the peloton. Harry Hardcastle and Jamie Ridehalgh chased hard and they soon caught Scott to form a 3-man breakaway which would never be seen again by the rapidly dwindling main bunch. The trio worked brilliantly together and built up a lead of two minutes over Adam Hartley and Timothy Jones who continued to chase. It came down to a sprint between the three of them and Scott just beat Hardcastle to the line with Ridehalgh coming in for third.
After the boys had their turn, it was time for the Under 14 and Under 16 Girls race. Lucy Horrocks pulled away from the other 4 girls in the first few laps and she stayed away for nearly the whole race, only to be caught by Anna Docherty and Rhiannon Gornall with 4 laps to go. The trio of Under 14s worked together and it came down to a sprint which Anna Docherty won by just 0.025 seconds over Gornall and Horrocks. Sophie Thackray came in not far behind and was the winning Under 16 girl.
After a short break for the Youth prize presentation, it was time for the 2/3/4 Women race. Almost immediately, Eve Dixon, Abby Parkinson and Amy Gornall pulled away from the group and worked brilliantly together as the weather turned bleak. Not far behind, a group of 5 riders battled the conditions in pursuit of the escapees but their efforts proved futile as the leading trio lapped all the other competitors. It once again came down to a sprint and Eve Dixon rocketed to victory with Parkinson just edging out Gornall for second.
Shortly after the women, it was the turn of the 4th Cat men. There were 3 guests of honour in this race: David Smith, Chris Hall and Rob Montgomery from Smiths Equipment Hire, the main sponsor of the event. The strong wind combined with the tough terrain made the race incredibly challenging but no less exciting as Anthony Bromley pulled away from the group.
He kept the pressure on and built up quite a lead over the peloton. It wasn’t long, though, before Aaron Tonks, Mark Horrocks and Paul Braithwaite began their pursuit. Braithwaite struggled to keep it up and dropped off but Tonks and Horrocks continued chasing and caught Bromley with around 3 laps to go. It came down to a sprint to the line and Bromley showed that his solo efforts hadn’t left him tired as he unleashed a powerful sprint to beat Horrocks with Tonks crossing the line in third place.
With all but one of the races completed, the weather brightened up and the riders lined up on the start line for the 2/3/4 Men race. The peloton stayed together for the first part of the race as the riders got to grips with the course. Then, on the 4th lap, Robert Scott and Tom Pidcock, both Under 16s riding up with dispensation, pulled away from the group, just like Scott had done a few hours before in the Under 16s race. The two riders worked brilliantly together and, as the race progressed, the lead of the escapees only increased. With 5 laps to go, Gerallt Allen and Ryan Whatmough shot off the front of the main bunch with a view to catching Scott and Pidcock. Despite narrowing the gap, the two leaders stayed away going into the final lap. It came down to a very fast sprint for the line but Robert Scott couldn’t match Tom Pidcock who raised his arms in the air as he won the final race of the day.
More photos from the event can be viewed at www.flickr.com/photos/mhp-martinholdenphotography/sets.
The Lewis Balyckyi Trust Fund would like to thank all the riders, parents and, most of all, volunteers who made the event a great success!
Results:
SENIOR
2/3/4
1 Tom Pidcock Aire Valley (A DISP)
2 Robert Scott Pedalsport Cycling Club (A DISP)
3 Gerallt Allen The Edge Cycleworks
4 Ryan Whatmough Team Terminator
5 David Allonby PM
6 George Nolan Green Jersey RT
7 Dave Micklethwaite 3RT
8 Zack Williamson Clay Cross Road Team
9 Paul Whatmough Shepherds Cycles
10 Mark Davies Team Cystic Fibrosis
11 Lee Brown Holmfirth Cycling Club
12 Daniel Stocchero 3RT
13 Richard Haughton Team Hoppers Rollers
14 Anthony Windle PM
15 Paul Woodrow Audlem Cycling Club
16 Paul Cheetham Champion System
17 Robert Shirley PM
18 Jake Beach Velocity WD-40 (A DISP)
19 David Kent St Helens CRC/D.Sparrow P & H Services
20 Robert Lockhart Audlem Cycling Club
21 Jay McCarthy Clitheroe Bike Club
22 David Reece Liverpool Mercury (Dolan) CC
23 Adam Hartley Velocity WD-40 (A DISP)
24 Nicholas Marsdin Lune RCC
25 Peter Hollis Hoppers Rollers
4th Cat
1 Anthony Bromley Barnsley RC
2 Mark Horrocks Hope Team
3 Aaron Tonks Ribble Valley CRC
4 Paul Braithwaite Pendle Forest CC
5 Scott Leverington Chorley Cycling Club
6 Ben Howe Cycle Sport Pendle
7 Paul Robson
8 David Uttley Huddersfield Star Whlrs
9 Paul Baptist Vision Racing
10 Andrew Lacey Rossendale RC
11 Brendan Devlin 3RT
12 Benjamin Greenhough Albarosa Cycling Club
13 Andrew Harwood Chorley Cycling Club
14 Mark Vanbogerijen Pezenas Velo Club Leo Lagrange
15 Martin Pate North Lancashire RC
16 David Green Bronte Wheelers/Neophix Engineering
17 Gareth Williams Rossendale RC
18 Richard Paige Green Jersey RT
19 Anthony Hibbert
20 Matthew Waters Ribble Valley Juniors
21 James Marshall 3RT
22 Aaron Denver Chorley Cycling Club
23 Luke Davies Chorley Cycling Club
24 Iain Layton Ribble Valley Juniors
25 David Smith Smiths Equipment Hire
26 Chris Hall Smiths Equipment Hire
27 Rob Montgomery Smiths Equipment Hire
2/3/4 Women
1 Eve Dixon Team 22
2 Abby Parkinson RST Racing Team
3 Amy Gornall RST Racing Team
4 Gemma Sargent Mercury Performance Coaching RC
5 Claire Rutherford Team Wheelguru
6 Joanne Street Manchester Whlrs Club
7 Laura Stafford Manchester Whlrs Club
8 Jane Nolan Green Jersey RT
9 Maddy Scott Southport CC
10 Leah Pheasey PH-MAS Cycling
11 Gabrielle Duckworth Salt Ayre Cog Set
YOUTH
Youth A (Under 16) Girls
1 Sophie Thackray Paul Milnes Cycles/Bradford Olympic RC
Youth B (Under 14) Girls
1 Anna Docherty Clifton CC
2 Rhiannon Gornall Cycle Sport Pendle
3 Lucy Horrocks Cycle Sport Pendle
4 Corinne Side Bolton Hot Wheels CC
Youth A (Under 16) Boys
1 Robert Scott Pedalsport Cycling Club
2 Harry Hardcastle Kirklees Cycling Academy
3 Jamie Ridehalgh Kirklees Cycling Academy
4 Timothy Jones Cycle Sport Pendle
5 Adam Hartley Velocity WD-40
6 Liam Gilpin Paul Milnes Cycles/Bradford Olympic RC
7 Jake Beach Velocity WD-40
8 Samuel Monkhouse Salt Ayre Cog Set
9 Nathan Allatt Holmfirth Cycling Club
10 Adam Hall Salt Ayre Cog Set
11 George Wharton Salt Ayre Cog Set
12 Thomas Clarke Red Rose Olympic CC
13 Bailey Payne Cycle Sport Pendle
14 Thomas Humphrey Kirklees Cycling Academy
15 Ryan Coulton Mercury Performance Coaching RC
16 James Farrington Eastlands Velo
17 Liam Shaw Bolton Hot Wheels CC
18 Jacob Rae Salt Ayre Cog Set
Youth B (Under 14) Boys
1 Jack Ford Holmfirth Cycling Club
2 Alex Ridehalgh Kirklees Cycling Academy
3 Jim Brown Holmfirth Cycling Club
4 Alistair Leivers Blackpool Youth Cycle Association
5 Jack Barton Furness Future Flyers
6 Dan Gibson Liverpool Century
7 Lewis Hartley Velocity WD-40
8 Luke Cheetham Eastlands Velo
9 Halley Woods Eastlands Velo
10 Cory Edmondson Cycle Sport Pendle
11 Nathan Hawthorn Cycle Sport Pendle
12 Dylan Westley Albarosa Cycling Club
13 Charles Paige Green Jersey RT
14 Avner Bordoley West Riding Track League
15 Sam Rathbone Bella in Sella
16 Will Thackray Paul Milnes Cycles/Bradford Olympic RC
Youth C (Under 12) Boys
1 George Southby East Bradford CC
2 George Ball Furness Future Flyers
3 Barnaby Walkingshaw Beacon Wheelers
4 Alfie Savage Furness Future Flyers
5 John Roberts Salt Ayre Cog Set
6 William Dykes Salt Ayre Cog Set
7 Dylan Kay East Bradford CC
8 Lucas Thompson Blackpool Youth Cycle Association
Youth C (Under 12) Girls
1 Tilly Percy Salt Ayre Cog Set
Youth D (Under 10) Boys
1 Scott Fisher Furness Future Flyers
2 Deetray Jarrett Blackpool Youth Cycle Association
3 Thomas Purcell Ribble Valley Juniors
4 Saul Ashton Blackpool Youth Cycle Association
Youth D (Under 10) Girls
1 Evelina Black Bolton Hot Wheels CC
2 Freya Brealey East Bradford CC
3 Erin Corrigan Bolton Hot Wheels CC
4 Nancye Roberts Salt Ayre Cog Set
5 Beau Walkingshaw Beacon Wheelers
6 Olivia Pickering Cycle Sport Pendle
Youth E (Under 8) Boys
1 Trayden Jarrett Blackpool Youth Cycle Association
2 Riley Saint-Simmons Bolton Hot Wheels CC
3 Maddox Howe Cycle Sport Pendle
Youth E (Under 8) Girls
1 Esther Wong Salt Ayre Cog Set
2 Esme Walkingshaw Beacon Wheelers
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