Report & Results – Lewis Balyckyi Memorial Crits

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Robert Scott and Matthew Kellett winners at the Lewis Balyckyi Memorial Crits in Blackpool

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Report & Results – Lewis Balyckyi Memorial Crits

Great day of racing at 4th annual Lewis Balyckyi Memorial Crits at the Blackpool Promenade on Saturday 30 May

Report & Results – Lewis Balyckyi Memorial Crits
(Report by Alex Reed, photos by Martin Holden)

On Saturday 30 May, Blackpool Promenade once again played host to the Lewis Balyckyi Memorial Crits. Now in its fourth year, the event, organised by Jerrod Hartley, takes place in memory of Lewis Balyckyi, a promising young cyclist from the North West who sadly died in 2011.

All proceeds go 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.

The racing action got underway at 9:30 with the Under 8s. The brave young riders had to tackle one lap of the gruelling circuit and it was local rider Trayden Jarrett who took the win after getting the better of Felix Cuerden from Bolton Hot Wheels. Holly McHugh was the first Under 8 Girl.

The Under 10s were up next and they were faced with twice the distance of the under 8s. After the first time up the short but steep climb, the group fractured and a leading trio of Euan Hacker, Deetray Jarrett and Eddie McHugh.

In the end, it came down to a sprint between these three and it was North West circuit champion McHugh who came out on top, living up to his club’s ‘Team Terminator’ title. Hacker finished second for North Cheshire Clarion and Jarrett, who was unable to live up to his brother’s standards from the Under 8 race, came in third.

Shortly after the Under 10s was the Under 12s and a very impressive 25 riders took to the start line.

As with the previous race, the killer wind-and-climb combination caused the group to break up after the first of four laps. 5 riders made up the leading group: Tyler Hannay from the Isle of Man, Samuel Hall from Lyme, Adam Hodgson from Lancaster-based Salt Ayre Cog Set, Euan’s brother Lachlan Hacker from the North Cheshire Clarion and Aidan Lawrence of Eastlands Velo.

After two more laps, Hacker started to feel the burn and he was distanced from the head of the race. The remaining four riders proved to be very evenly matched and it came down to another sprint for the line. Hannay proved that the Isle of Manc is continuing to churn out superb cyclists as he unleashed a powerful sprint, pipping Lawrence and Hall to the line.

Hodgson finished just behind in fourth and Hacker finished 8 seconds further back for a very commendable fifth. Liverpool Century’s Niamha Albones was the winning Under 12 Girl, beating Tilly Percy of Salt Ayre Cog Set over the 5-mile race.

Following on from the under 12s was the highlight of the morning: the Under 14 and Under 16 Boys race. With 31 riders from the North West, Yorkshire and the North East ready and raring to go, and the sun beating down on the promenade, the 18-lap race got underway.

With both age categories starting together, it was inevitable that the Under 14s would begin to drop off the pace of the Under 16s and, sure enough, after only a few laps there were just 15 riders left in the leading bunch. Under 14 rider Isaac Peatfield from Bolton Hot Wheels rode brilliantly to stay with the older riders but he too was distanced after a few more laps as the unrelenting pace, caused by numerous attacks, made the race particularly challenging.

The first prime came after 3 laps and it was Cycle Sport Pendle’s Nathan Hawthorn who crossed the line first to win himself a box of GoCoCo Coconut Water. After 5 laps there was a particularly strong attack from Halley Woods of the Inspire VCUK Racing Team.

Woods built up a quite a lead and also took the second prime on lap 6 but, after another lap, he was absorbed back into the leading group. The third prime once again saw Hawthorn take the prize and the Pendle rider certainly seemed to be feeling in good shape.

However, it was with 7 laps to go that the decisive move was made as Elliot Reed from Salt Ayre Cog Set attacked away from the leading group. Reed soon built up a healthy advantage and he took the final prime of the race in the process.

Soon after, Inspire VCUK’s Daniel Gibson bridged across to Reed and they then joined up at the head of the race. The leading duo worked together brilliantly to extend their lead over the group behind who were failing to coordinate an organised chase.

Four laps from the finish, Robert Wallace and Nathan Hawthorn set off in pursuit of the two leaders but they were unable to make any headway. 15 seconds was the gap with 2 laps to go and this was when Harrison Cooper-Oldroyd from 3RT made his move in an attempt to catch Reed and Gibson.

However, in the final lap the leaders still had a 10 second gap and this was enough to mean that they would be contesting the win. Along the top level of the Promenade, Gibson attacked in an effort to distance his breakaway companion but Reed gave it everything and, coming into the final bend, the pair were back together.

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Gibson was sat on the front approaching the line with the Salt Ayre Cog Set rider on his wheel and then, with around 50m to go, Reed pulled out from the slipstream and unleashed a powerful sprint. Gibson’s efforts to get away had clearly taken it out of him and Reed crossed the line first to take a fantastic victory. Cooper-Oldroyd finished 10 seconds back for third place and, 6 seconds further back, Alistair Leivers won the bunch sprint for fourth. Isaac Peatfield put in a great ride to win the Under 14 category.

After his victory, Elliot Reed said this about the race: “Today’s race was really tough. The climb is painful and the wind didn’t make it easy either. I knew that there were some good sprinters in the bunch so if I wanted to win I would have to pull away.”

“I thought it would be good to go just before the last prime and this meant I won some coconut water too! I managed to get a good gap and I was glad when Dan bridged across to me because I know he’s a really strong rider. I didn’t really know what was going on behind but I just kept going as hard as I could. I am delighted to have taken my first win of the season at this event and hopefully I’ll be able to get some more good results in the rest of the season.”

After the boys, it was the turn of the Under 14 and Under 16 Girls. A leading trio of Elizabeth Denby from Paul Milnes-Bradford Olympic, Rhiannon Gornall from Cycle Sport Pendle and Ava Oxley of the PH-MAS VCUK Women’s Cycling Team formed early on. Denby took the first prime after 3 laps and then Oxley managed to take the other two.

In the end, it came down to a 3-up sprint and it was Denby who got the better of Oxley in the dash for the line with Gornall coming in just behind for third. Lucy Naylor from Cycle Sport Pendle was the first Under 14 Girl.

After the youth races, it was the turn of the adults. First up was the 3rd and 4th cat race and a large 51-rider field took on the 45 minute race. Despite a few attacks, the bunch stayed together for much of the race.

Junior rider Chris Fallon from Liverpool Mercury took the first prime and Youth A rider Jordan Stanworth of Achieve Northside Skinnergate, who was riding up using dispensation, won the second. Towards the end of the race, Matthew Kellett of 3RT and Cycle Sport Pendle’s Ben Howe pulled away from the bunch and built up a 20 second lead.

In the end, it came down to a sprint between the front two and it was Kellett who got the better of Howe to take the win. Fallon came in third, Timothy Jones from Pendle was fourth and Jake Whitwam was the second 3RT rider in the top 5.

The final race of the day saw the Elite/1/2 riders take on the tough course. 21 riders, including 4 Elites, set off for the 25 gruelling laps. The action began after just the first lap as Robert Scott of VCUK PH-MAS, Michael Ashurst of Champion System VCUK and Fabian Brennan of North City Velo broke away from the rest of the bunch. We were expecting fireworks but not quite this early on in the race! Matthew Nowell from Kuota-Spinergy-GSG then bridged across to the leading riders and Brennan dropped off as he was unable to match the pace.

This was basically how the rest of the race unfolded as the leading trio built up over a minute’s advantage on the riders behind. Polypipe’s Simon Wilson put in a gusty attack mid-way through but he was unable to close the gap to the leaders.

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In the last lap, the three riders at the head of the race were still together and the result was decided in a straight up sprint for the line. Junior 1st cat rider Scott showed that he was the strongest rider on the day as he pipped Elite rider Ashurst to the line with Nowell coming in just behind in third. Wilson secured fourth place, 1 minute 10 seconds back on the winner, and William Brown of Achieve Northside Skinnergate came in 5th.
Scott’s victory came as no surprise after his stellar start to the season and, after the race, the 17-year-old Yorkshire rider said: “The race went to plan. I wanted to split it up from the start which myself and Mike Ashurst did. For around 2 laps we were on our own and then we were joined by Matt.

We all worked well together and pulled out a 1 minute gap within around 12 laps. I was wondering whether to try and get away from these 2 for a solo win but by the time it got to 5 laps to go I thought I would be better to wait until the sprint which I felt I had the legs for.”

Scott was part of the VCUK PH-MAS squad which rode as the guest team at the Redditch round of the Pearl Izumi Tour Series. Speaking of his performances so far this year, he said: “My season has gone well so far. I’ve been getting some good results at the National Junior Series and I’m beginning to find my legs as we come into the bigger races which is good. My targets for the rest of the season are the remaining rounds of the National Series and a Junior UCI stage race in Belgium which the team is doing in August.”

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

Elite/1/2
1 Robert Scott VCUK PH-MAS Junior Cycling Team
2 Michael Ashurst Champion System VCUK Racing Team
3 Matthew Nowell Kuota – Spinergy – GSG
4 Simon Wilson Polypipe Cycling Team
5 William Brown Achieve Northside Skinnergate
6 Samuel Jackson
7 Jack Rees Achieve Northside Skinnergate
8 Owen Line VCUK PH-MAS Junior Cycling Team
9 Fabian Brennan North City Velo Cycling Team
10 Jay McCarthy Green Jersey RT
11 Ben Joughin Pro Vision Cycle Clothing
12 Philip Gray Kuota – Spinergy – GSG
13 Alan Bradley Pro Vision Cycle Clothing
14 Craig Anderson Achieve Northside Skinnergate
15 Scott Leverington Chorley Cycling Club
16 Martyn Gordon Champion System VCUK Racing Team
17 Oscar Williamson Marsh Tracks Race Team
18 Paul Cheetham Champion System VCUK Racing Team
19 Wayne Lacey Pro Vision Cycle Clothing

3/4
1 Matthew Kellett 3RT
2 Ben Howe Cycle Sport Pendle
3 Chris Fallon Liverpool Mercury (Dolan) CC
4 Timothy Jones Cycle Sport Pendle
5 Jake Whitwam 3RT
6 Dave Micklethwaite 3RT
7 Matt Denby www.Zepnat.com RT – GSG Clothing
8 Jonny Tomes Jedi Cycle Sport
9 Toby Carway Groundwater Engineering Race Team
10 Samuel Pickering THR Racing
11 Matthew Hacker North Cheshire Clarion
12 Charlie Critchley High On Bikes
13 Ben Dobson Lancashire RC
14 Chris Waters Ribble Valley Juniors
15 Richard Line Pro Vision Cycle Clothing
16 Stuart Ream Pro Vision Cycle Clothing
17 James Dyson 3RT
18 James Farrington Sportcity Velo (A DISP)
19 Simon Avis Royal Air Force CC
20 Sean Greenwood Rossendale RC
21 Chris Taylor Paul Milnes – Bradford Olympic RC
22 Richard Livesey Chorley Cycling Club
23 Robert Seddon Chorley Cycling Club
24 Dave Ives GHP European Factory Race Team
25 Nick Hall Bury Clarion Cycling Club
26 David Mitchell Annan 2010 Racing
27 Brendan Devlin 3RT
28 Jordan Stanworth Achieve Northside Skinnergate (A DISP)
29 Gareth Wiseman Cycle Sport Pendle
30 Aaron Denver Chorley CC
31 Mark Laidlaw
32 Wesley Inskip Pro Vision Cycle Clothing
33 Harry Pate Cycle Sport Pendle
34 Martin Pate North Lancashire RC
35 Joshua Swales-Dawson
36 Lewis Collins Redditch Road & Path CC
37 David Tabron Horwich CC
38 Adam Wilkinson North Cheshire Clarion
39 David Parrington Clitheroe Bike Club
40 Dave Thorp Mossley CRT
41 Jed Moss
42 Neil OBrien VELO CLUB UK
43 Adam Kennerley
44 Mike Cleary Manchester Bicycle Club
45 Richard Adshead
46 Michael Faragher-Ginn High On Bikes
47 Tarren Wolstencroft

 

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YOUTH

Youth A (Under 16) Boys
1 Elliot Reed Salt Ayre Cog Set
2 Daniel Gibson Inspire VCUK Racing Team
3 Harrison Cooper-Oldroyd 3RT
4 Alistair Leivers Blackpool Youth Cycle Association
5 Daniel Salcedo Southport CC
6 Nathan Hawthorn Cycle Sport Pendle
7 Will King Prologue Racing Team
8 Matthew Taylor PH-MAS Cycling
9 Halley Woods Inspire VCUK Racing Team
10 Luke Cheetham Inspire VCUK Racing Team
11 Lewis Hartley Inspire VCUK Racing Team
12 Robert Wallace Team WattCycle
13 Mason Hollyman Kirklees Cycling Academy
14 Luke OConnell East Bradford CC
15 James Farrington Sportcity Velo
16 Sam Iddon Bolton Hot Wheels CC
17 George Higgins Birkenhead North End CC
18 Jack Smith Sportcity Velo
19 Benjamin Horrobin Bolton Hot Wheels CC
20 Josh Peet Bolton Hot Wheels CC

Youth A (Under 16) Girls
1 Elizabeth Denby Paul Milnes – Bradford Olympic RC
2 Ava Oxley-Szilagyi PH-MAS VCUK Women’s Cycling Team (B DISP)
3 Rhiannon Gornall Cycle Sport Pendle

Youth B (Under 14) Boys
1 Isaac Peatfield Bolton Hot Wheels CC
2 Thomas Ashcroft Inspire VCUK Racing Team
3 Bobby Horton Salt Ayre Cog Set
4 Charlie Paige Green Jersey RT
5 Farley Barber Lyme RC
6 Andrew Lemm Eastlands Velo
7 Joe Burns Eastlands Velo
8 Tyler Koch Mossley CRT
9 George Southby East Bradford CC
10 Henry Hollyman Kirklees Cycling Academy

Youth B (Under 14) Girls
1 Lucy Naylor Cycle Sport Pendle
2 Melissa Boylin Bolton Hot Wheels CC

Youth C (Under 12) Boys
1 Tyler Hannay Team RL360 Isle Of Man
2 Aidan Lawrence Eastlands Velo
3 Samuel Hall Lyme RC
4 Adam Hodgson Salt Ayre Cog Set
5 Lachlan Hacker North Cheshire Clarion
6 Thomas Kenyon Cycle Sport Pendle
7 Aaron Mansell Lyme RC
8 Ethan Cuerden Eastlands Velo
9 Lewis Dolan Speedflex Race Team
10 Isaac Atkinson Salt Ayre Cog Set
11 Cameron Pilkington Eastlands Velo
12 Daniel Vincent Cycle Sport Pendle
13 William Dykes Salt Ayre Cog Set
14 John Roberts Salt Ayre Cog Set
15 Joe Thorp Mossley CRT
16 Tyler Lloyd Liverpool Century RC
17 Dennis Kay Chorley Cycling Club
18 Ben Iddon Bolton Hot Wheels CC
19 Christopher Eaves North Cheshire Clarion

Youth C (Under 12) Girls
1 Niamha Albones Liverpool Century RC
2 Tilly Percy Salt Ayre Cog Set
3 Erin Corrigan Mossley CRT
4 Nancye Roberts Salt Ayre Cog Set
5 Hannah Kilner Blackpool Youth Cycle Association
6 Jodie Kilner Blackpool Youth Cycle Association

Youth D (Under 10) Boys
1 Eddie McHugh Team Terminator
2 Euan Hacker North Cheshire Clarion
3 Deetray Jarrett Blackpool Youth Cycle Association
4 Harry Ives Preston Pirates BMX Club
5 Bryn Lawrence Eastlands Velo
6 Archie Honeysett Salt Ayre Cog Set
7 Saul Ashton Blackpool Youth Cycle Association
8 Daniel Vescovi Ribble Valley Juniors
9 Maddox Howe Cycle Sport Pendle

Youth E (Under 8) Boys
1 Trayden Jarrett Blackpool Youth Cycle Association
2 Felix Cuerden Bolton Hot Wheels CC

Youth E (Under 8) Girls
1 Holly McHugh Team Terminator

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