RR Result: Capenwray Road Races

Sunday (March 12) saw round 1 of the Proper Northern Road Race Series at Capenwray where the winners were Ollie Peckover (mens race) and Cat Ferguson (womens race).

RR Result: Capenwray Road Races

RESULT

REPORT – event press release
A few weeks earlier than usual in the (already early season) calendar, Sunday 12 March saw the traditional early-season British road racing classic at Capernwray. This year there were full fields for men’s and women’s National B level as the first round of three in the Cold Dark North’s Proper Northern Road Race Series.

After a week of yellow weather warnings that saw parts of the country under heavy drifts of snow, the riders were pleased to be met with a relatively clement day in North Lancashire. Although they couldn’t feel it at the sheltered HQ, there was a very strong wind blowing all day and this made the traditionally difficult race even tougher. The course famously includes multiple ascents of Sunny Bank as part of an undulating 12 kilometre course through the quiet back lanes around Borwick and Arkholme.

The next round of the Proper Northern Road Race Series will be at Oakenclough on 30 April and entries are open now.

Men’s Race – Win for Ollie Peckover (trainSharp)

Photo by Ellen Isherwood

The Men started in patchy sunshine and after the long neutralised ride to the start/finish line at the top of Sunny Bank the riders set off on 8 laps of this tricky course. Although it naturally lends itself to breakaway attempts, in recent editions there hadn’t been much successful escaping from the peloton. Sunday’s race saw a change of tack with Jack Crook (Richardsons Trek DAS) and Ollie Peckover (trainSharp Elite) getting away on Lap 2 and building over a minute lead into the savage headwinds on the quiet lanes at the back of the course.

That lead grew over the following laps to 1’30” and then nearly 2 minutes with 3 laps to go before a group of 9 riders including Ben Granger (Mg.K VIS Colors for Peace VPM), Adam Lewis and Leon Mazzone (both Saint Piran), Jacob Smith (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli), Tomos Pattinson (Tofauti Everyone Active), Huw Buck Jones (Wales Racing Academy), Damien Clayton (Embark Spirit BSS) and Matthew Warhurst (ROKiT-SRCT).

Despite their efforts, Peckover and Crook took the bell with over a minute advantage from a swelling group of about 20 riders. And in the end it was Peckover who took a dominant victory by over 20 seconds. However, it was a rampaging Jacob Smith who pipped a visibly juiced Crook in the sprint for second. Crook held on for the last podium spot – a truly heroic effort after being away for over 80km in the wind with Peckover.

The team prize was taken by Wheelbase who now lead the series and the leading junior was Tomos Pattinson (Tofauti Everyone Active). KOM for the race was Ollie Peckover and Jack Crook picked up the Commissaires’ Combativity Award.

1 Oliver Peckover trainSharp Elite
2 Jacob Smith Wheelbase CabTech Castelli
3 Jack Crook Richardsons Trek DAS
4 Leon Mazzone Saint Piran
5 Ben Granger Mg.K VIS Colors for Peace VPM
6 Tomos Pattinson Tofauti Everyone Active
7 Huw Buck Jones Wales Racing Academy
8 James McKay Cycling Sheffield
9 George Wood Cycling Sheffield
10 Benjamin Bright Wales Racing Academy
11 Dexter Leeming-Sykes Wold Top The Edge Pactimo
12 Oliver Peace Tofauti Everyone Active
13 Tom Martin Wheelbase CabTech Castelli
14 Matthew Warhurst ROKiT-SRCT
15 Adam Lewis Saint Piran
16 Damien Clayton Embark Spirit BSS
17 Jude Taylor Team PB Performance
18 Jacob Gilkes BCC Race Team
19 Matthew Cole Beeston Cycling Club
20 George Peden Team PB Performance
21 Daniel McDermott Moonglu Race Team
22 Taylor Hill Cycling Sheffield
23 Matthew Ellis ROKiT-SRCT
24 Lee Rosie Wheelbase CabTech Castelli
25 Josh Whitehead AT85 Pro Cycling
26 Cameron Jeffers Ribble Collective
27 Joseph Beckingsale ROKiT-SRCT
28 Ben Wiggins MAS Design – Fensham Howes
29 Bradley Symonds Saint Piran
30 Alexander Foster Innovation Racing
31 Cameron McLaren Kalas Motip Race Team
32 Nicholas Cooper Sweden Cycling Academy
33 Liam Flannery Team PB Performance
34 Dean Watson Embark Spirit BSS
35 Christopher Booth Giant Kendal-Sidas Uk
36 Spencer Davies Wales Racing Academy
37 James Bevan trainSharp Elite
38 Carl Potter Tactic Sport UK Race Team
39 Raphael Tabiner Tofauti Everyone Active
40 Harvey Stroh TAAP Cervelo
41 William Dykes Spokes Racing Team
42 Alexander Foster Innovation Racing
43 Joe Boothroyd Giant Kendal-Sidas Uk
44 David Hill Giant Kendal-Sidas Uk
45 Edward Moss Giant Kendal-Sidas Uk
46 John Bardsley Innovation Racing

1st Junior Tom Pattinson – Tofauti Everyone Active
KoM Oliver Peckover – Train Sharp Elite
Team: Wheelbase Cab Castelli
Combativity Jack Crook – Richardson’s Trek Das

WOMEN – won by Cat Ferguson

Photo by Ellen Isherwood

Organisers Cold Dark North pride themselves on putting women’s racing at the forefront of their race calendar – in their 8 years of running races, they have always had equal prize money and equal prominence for the women’s events – and Sunday’s field reflected the faith returned to them by the women’s peloton. The field was stacked with talent. Previous winner Mary Wilkinson (Team Boompods), last season’s National Road Series winner Sammie Stuart (Das Handsling) and a number of other notable rising stars including the new Shibden Hope Tech Apex squad took to the start line.

Unlike the men, the women faced the high winds with occasional rain on the forecast, not sunshine. The early stages of the race were cagey. The peloton remained together for over three laps until on the difficult headwind affected section past Arkholme on lap 4, Bexy Dew (Pro Noctis) and Ellen McDermott (Team Boompods) clipped off the front of the bunch on a determined but speculative attack. Through some incredibly gutsy riding, it stuck and by the same point on lap 5 of 6 they had over a minute and a half’s advantage as the rain started to strengthen.

When the leading pair took the bell, that advantage was up to two minutes. In (what she later admitted was) an attempt to claim the QOM, Sammie Stuart set off ahead of the peloton at the summit with Shibden’s 16 year old first year junior track and cyclocross prospect Cat Ferguson for company. With 15 seconds over the main bunch at the line, they wouldn’t be seen again. In the lap that followed, McDermott lost her chain and with it touch with Dew. The Pro Noctis rider battled bravely on her own out front in the headwind whilst McDermott tried to cling on to the now flying Stuart and Ferguson. As the noise of supporters rolled up the final drag of Sunny Bank it was Ferguson who rounded the final corner with her arm up in celebration (making up well over 2 minutes on the final lap) and Stuart that rolled in a little surprised to have earned second. Ellen McDermott rounded off a stellar effort with third and Dew, who had given everything, took a gutsy sixth. There were impressive rides by Zoe Langham (Pro Noctis) and Imogen Wolff (Shibden) in fourth and fifth respectively.

The team prize was taken by Shibden Hope Tech Apex on their competitive debut with great performances from Imogen Wolff and Esther Wong to secure the prize in a very close competition. QOM was Stuart and the leading junior was Ferguson. It was Bexy Dew that won the Combativity Award for her efforts on the final lap before eventually reaching empty on the slopes of Sunny Bank.

1 Cat Ferguson Shibden Hope Tech Apex
2 Sammie Stuart DAS – Handsling Bikes
3 Ellen McDermott Team Boompods
4 Zoe Langham Pro-Noctis – Heidi Kjeldsen – 200 Degrees Coffee
5 Imogen Wolff Shibden Hope Tech Apex
6 Bexy Dew Pro-Noctis – Heidi Kjeldsen – 200 Degrees Coffee
7 Lucy Lee DAS – Handsling Bikes
8 Mary Wilkinson Team Boompods
9 Connie Hayes AWOL- O’Shea
10 Francesca Hall Loughborough Lightning
11 Frances Owen Wahoo – Le Col
12 Laura Gray Wahoo – Le Col
13 Olivia French StolenGoat Race Team
14 Corinne Side Pro-Noctis – Heidi Kjeldsen – 200 Degrees Coffee
15 Maddie Heywood FTP-Fulfil The Potential-Racing
16 Jayati Hine Team Boompods
17 Isabel Darvill Team Spectra Cannondale
18 Abi Plowman Jadan Vive le Velo p/b Glasdon
19 Esther Wong Shibden Hope Tech Apex
20 Beth Harley-Jepson Jadan Vive le Velo p/b Glasdon
21 Gemma Mitchell Team Boompods
22 Amy Gornall Pro-Noctis – Heidi Kjeldsen – 200 Degrees Coffee
23 Rachel Galler Saint Piran WRT
24 Emma Jeffers DAS – Handsling Bikes
25 Jo Tindley Pro-Noctis – Heidi Kjeldsen – 200 Degrees Coffee
26 Lucy Ellmore Pro-Noctis – Heidi Kjeldsen – 200 Degrees Coffee
27 Arianne Holland Alba Development Road Team
28 Sophie Thackray DAS – Handsling Bikes
29 Robyn Clay Pro-Noctis – Heidi Kjeldsen – 200 Degrees Coffee
30 Sian Marsh Team Boompods
31 Kim Baptista Ayr Roads Cycling Club
32 Lauren Robinson Team Boompods
33 Alice Colling Shibden Hope Tech Apex
34 Skye Davidson Jadan Vive le Velo p/b Glasdon
35 Natalie Stevenson Glasgow Ivy CC
36 Savannah Morgan Private Member
37 Lauren Langham Wahoo – Le Col
38 Lucy Glover Shibden Hope Tech Apex
39 Georgina Oakley INFLITE Femme
40 Isabel Mayes Shibden Hope Tech Apex
41 Eilidh Shaw Alba Development Road Team
42 Annabel Ramsay RFDA
43 Anna Weaver Team Kirkley Cycles
44 Adele Battersby Wahoo – Le Col
45 Evie White Alba Development Road Team
46 Katherine Handy Valley Striders CC
47 Maya Branfoot Wahoo – Le Col
48 Vivienne Tomlin FTP-Fulfil The Potential-Racing
49 Maisy Vasic Team 22

1st Junior Cat Ferguson – Shibden Hope Tech Apex
QoM Sammie Stuart – Das Handsling
Team Shibden Hope Tech Apex
Combativity Bexy Dew – Pro Noctis – Heidi Keilson – 200 degrees Coffee

The Organisers would like to thank the Comms, Volunteers, Medics, Accredited Marshals and NEG riders as well as their sponsors for helping make the Proper Northern Road Race Series possible – they are Ribble Cycles, Wheelbase, Become Wild Edale, Fell Brewery and Atkinsons Coffee.