Report/Results: Clayton Velo Classic

2014_August_Prendas_Bannerr4

Junior Tom Pidcock adds his name to roll of honour at Clayton Velo Spring Classic 

RST Cycle Clothing & Trigon Bikes

Report/Results: Clayton Velo Classic

Tom Pidcock adds his name to roll of honour at Clayton Velo Spring Classic

TomPidcock_Clayton_2016_report01

The Clayton Velo Spring Classic is a handicap race where the juniors, many of whom are good enough to be Elites and world class riders as Tom Pidcock showed at the cross worlds. The race entry is broken up into groups with the Juniors off first and then the category 2/3/4 riders 3 minutes later and the the scratch group with first and elites at six minutes.

It has to be said that final group was looking light on numbers but no matter as the race did see selections being formed and a drag race between them over the 15 laps of the small laps outside of Clithero (Bashall Eves).

2016_ClaytonReport_02

The juniors get underway at Clayton with six minutes lead

The Juniors led the way and soon two riders were clear including Rob Scott. Behind, the Pedal Heaven led scratch group made short work of the gap to the next group but as Ian Wilkinson later explained, it was getting dangerous and so he and Pedal Heaven teammate James Gullen went off to chase the juniors.

They had split as well as in twos, they chased down the two leaders to form a group of around six. It was them versus the two elites and each time they came past, it was easy to see the power going through the pedals.

From five minutes to four, three, two and so on, the gap came down and with a lap to go, it was under 50 seconds. As Tom Pidcock explains the lead group of juniors were tiring so him and Rob Scott went off and it was now two versus two.

2016_ClaytonReport_03

Jack Pullar of Pedal Heaven leads the chase group early on at Clayton Velo Classic

No one was sure if the leaders would get caught and as it happens, they did in the last few hundred metres and Wilkinson explained how he was laying off them ready to hit them when he realised that the chase over 58 miles had damaged the legs and he couldn’t match the speed of Pidcock and Scott and they held on for a 1-2 for their team.

Tom Pidcock: “On the last lap, the motorbike came up and said 40 seconds. We weren’t pushing on as much as we were, and we saw them and we were like, it doesn’t matter who wins it, we just have to go. Credit to Rob (Scott) because he didn’t flick me through on the last lap, he just gave me a good lead out so I owe him for that.”

2016_ClaytonReport_04

Second placed Rob Scott leads the race before being joined by more and more riders to form a group of around half a dozen.

Two riders went up the road early including Tom’s teammate who was second, Rob Scott. Asked what he was thinking in the chase group behind seeing them away, Tom replied “I was thinking I’d jump across when they have a bit of a gap and that worked out well.”

Tom explained he hasn’t had a break post cross worlds but has been ill so had to back off because of that. I’m pretty pleased to add my name to the list of winners here. Its my first road race, over 58 miles, so it’s a pretty pleasing start.”

2016_ClaytonReport_05

Tom Pidcock forces a split to chase down the leaders

Robert Scott (2nd) On going away early, Rob explained “it was just a bit slow to be honest and I thought the elites will be proper going through to catch us so I thought I may as well get away because if I get away, then the juniors will chase me so either way its going to speed up.”

“So I got away with a Provision rider and we were away for probably five laps and then Tom and another Provision rider bridged across to us and we were working well together and then it was a nice surprise when Harry Hardcastle and Adam Hartley bridged to us so we had four riders in the group of six.”

“We were all working but then a few of the riders started to get pretty tired so I said to Tom, do you want to go with about four to go so we stuck in a double attack and got away straight away and we worked together form then on. As Tom said, we were told it was fourty seconds on the last lap so we weren’t panicking.”

 

2016_ClaytonReport_06

After winning a time trial the day before, Pedal Heaven’s James Gullen and Ian Wilkinson go clear of the scratch group to chase the leaders.

Ian Wilkinson (Pedal Heaven) 3rd: “It was a perfect finish as we caught them in the finish straight and I held off them with a view of taking a run at them, but after chasing them down for six minutes, the legs had taken a battering”.

“I don’t care if they are juniors, they are young professionals so all credit to them. They rode really well. We managed to get a few people riding in our group but some of them, I don’t know why they bother racing saying ‘I’m not coming through” so why pin a number on. So I think we did a good job.”

“At one point, it got real messy and dangerous with loads of people in the group so we put some pressure on and there was two of us away which was hard work. James, who is an incredible time trialist was so strong. We had a breather when we caught the remaining juniors and took off again but the gap was still a few minutes with five or six to go.”

Then we caught four of the six who’d been leading with two from the same team still in front. James led me out up the hill and round there it was a tailwind, I was thinking if I can just get up the hill and hit it and take a run at them in the finish which I did but I just run out of legs. But as we gave them six minutes, we probably won by five minutes fifty six seconds!” he finished with cheekily.

2016_ClaytonReport_07

They had their work cut out through the as the junior group at the front had the taps wide open at the front of the race.

2016_ClaytonReport_08

James Gullen leads Ian Wilkinson and a group of others hanging on for dear life.

AlpsCyclesMidstory

1 Thomas Pidcock VCUK PH-MAS Cycling Team 02:19:15 J
2 Robert Scott VCUK PH-MAS Cycling Team J
3 Ian Wilkinson Pedal Heaven
4 James Gullen Pedal Heaven at 0:02
5 Owen Line Pro Vision SJ Academy at 0:05 J
6 Ryan Coulton Pro Vision SJ Academy J
7 Tomos Owens Pro Vision SJ Academy at 0:13 J
8 Adam Hartley VCUK PH-MAS Cycling Team at 0:18 J
9 Jack Pullar Pedal Heaven at 1:15
10 Jacob Tipper Pedal Heaven at 1:18
11 Harry Hardcastle VCUK PH-MAS Cycling Team at 1:41 J
12 Alexander Foster Bikehaus by Ridley at 1:47
13 William Lewis High Peak Cycles RT
14 Jonathan Wong Salt Ayre Cog Set at 1:53 J
15 Jake Womersley Pedal Heaven at 1:58
16 James Claydon The Nab Racing
17 Richard Haughton THR Racing
18 Michael Ashurst Champion System VCUK Racing Team
19 Stephen Abbott THR Racing
20 Andy Brown Glasgow Cycle Team
21 Alistair Rutherford The Nab Racing
22 Matthew Nowell Wheelbase Altura MGD
23 Ben Harrison Prima Team Racing
24 Jonathan Fowles Champion System VCUK Racing Team
25 Stephen Feeney Team Chronomaster
26 Jack Barrett Bikehaus by Ridley
27 Luke Grivell-Mellor JLT Condor
28 Andrew Webster Bikehaus by Ridley
29 Brian Rigby Champion System VCUK Racing Team
30 Martin Woffindin Bikehaus by Ridley
31 Craig Battersby Team Chronomaster
32 Richard Bott Team Aspire
33 David McGowan Pedal Heaven
34 George Greenhalgh Identity Race Team at 2:11 J
35 Darran Acton VELO CLUB UK at 3:54
36 Ralf Hodgson Champion System VCUK Racing Team
37 Harry Paine VCUK PH-MAS Cycling Team J
38 Joseph Auty Cycle Sport Pendle
39 George Wharton Salt Ayre Cog Set J
40 Ewan Grivell-Mellor Mid Shropshire Wheelers J
41 Elliott Reed Identity Race Team J
42 Jake Wright Identity Race Team J
43 Samuel Monkhouse Salt Ayre Cog Set J

2016_Feb_Caspv2

 

Send your results as well as club, team & event news here

Other Results on VeloUK (including reports containing results)

Other News on VeloUK

Tags: , ,