A little rain overnight may have dampened the grass but otherwise conditions were perfect for Round 4 of the Welsh Cyclo-Cross League at Penlan Sports Fields in Brecon.
With the Brecon Beacons as a stunning back-drop the venue is a popular one and hosts the Welsh Schools Cyclo-Cross Championships on the Saturday.
Local lad and winner of the previous round, Joe Lally (CC Abergavenny) was soon to the fore in the main race of the day, heading a group of seven that included promising Juniors Matthew Thompson and Adam King from Cardiff JIF.
Lally's strength was evident though and it was not long before the others lost contact with him and gaps started to appear in the now chasing group.
Brecon boy Ryan Bevis (Bad Ass Bikes) worked with Thompson and King in an attempt to chase down Lally, but to no avail, and it was a second consecutive win for the CC Abergavenny rider by 30 seconds ahead of Bevis and King.
Many of the younger riders made it a weekend of 'cross, having contested the Schools Championships the previous day, and had their courses reversed or altered to keep them on their toes. Their enthusiasm was undiminished and the racing as exciting as ever.
Rhys Thomas (Abergavenny RC) won the closely fought duel with Guto Daydd of Towy Riders in the Under 10 Boys' race and Towy Rider Emma Finucane held off club-mate Eluned King in the Under 10 Girls category.
In the Under 12 Boys Joe Beckingsale (Abergavenny RC) took the win in a sprint finish with Owain Roberts of Towy Riders. Megan James, also of Abergavenny RC, finished in third place (and first Under 12 Girl) despite having injured her arm in a judo throw.
Bynea CC's Joe Holt finally proved the stronger and managed to shake off Towy Rider Nicholas Jones to win the Youth race, with U14s Teifion Best (Abergavenny RC) and Jessica Roberts (Towy Riders) getting the better of many of their elders in finishing third and sixth respectively.
Results:
Senior:
1 Joe Lally (CC Abergavenny) 49:11
2 Ryan Bevis (Bad Ass Bikes) @ 37sec
3 Adam King (Cardiff JIF) @ 50sec
4 Mark Davies (Cardiff JIF)
5 Mark James (MI Racing)
6 Matthew Thompson (Cardiff JIF)
7 Ross Porter (Cwmcarn Paragon)
8 Adrian Peall (Forza Cycles)
9 Chris Bates (Bynea CC)
10 Luke Cornish (Cwmcarn Paragon)
Junior: Adam King. Veteran: Mark James. Woman: Stephanie Best (Abergavenny RC).
Youth:
1 Joe Holt (Bynea CC)
2 Nicholas Jones (Towy Riders)
3 Teifion Best (Abergavenny RC)
4 Alister Williams (Abergavenny RC)
5 Ben Dunster (Brecon Wheelers)
U16 Girl: Ffion James (Abergavenny RC). U14 Boy: Teifion Best. U14 Girl: Jessica Roberts (Towy Riders). U12 Boy: Joe Beckingsale (Abergavenny RC). U12 Girl: Megan James (Abergavenny RC). U10 Boy: Rhys Thomas (Abergavenny RC). U10 Girl: Emma Finucane (Towy Riders). U8 Boy: Joshua Tarling (Towy Riders). U8 Girl: Heledd Hunt (Towy Riders).
British Cycling would like to thank the organising team, officials and everyone else who helped promote this event. Our sport could not exist without the hundreds of people, many of them unpaid volunteers, who put in many hours of hard work running events, activities and clubs.
