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Location: Otterspool Park, Aigburth, Liverpool
Event: 29 October 2011
Report: Snowdon Sports

Paul Bethell led a 1-2-3 for Team Elite in the seventh round of the North West League promoted by East Liverpool Wheelers at Otterspool Park in Liverpool on Saturday.

The 39-year-old from Gawsworth in Cheshire edged ahead of team-mate Giles Drake at the end of the race, which was run off on a fast and dry course which included an ascent of the infamous Otterspool cobbles on each of ten laps.

Drake streaked away from the start, but Bethell worked his way up to him and the two were inseparable during the second half of the race.

It all came down to a sprint finish where Bethell just edged his wheel in front to take victory, while Roy Davies took third to ensure Team Elite would dominate the podium.

Bolton’s Roy Hunt (Dutch Wolf) was fourth spot and best veteran, the 56-year-old just missing out on the podium. And at the other end of the age scale 19-year-old Burnley rider Martin Woffindin (Cycle Sport Pendle) was best under-23 rider in fifth place.

Preston’s Andrew Nixon was fastest junior, while another junior from Preston – Becky Preece – was first female as well as first junior female.

As well as having the first under-23 rider, Cycle Sport Pendle were celebrating Oliver Payton’s win in the youth race, where he won by 46 seconds from Jessica Wilkinson (Birkenhead North End CC), while Matthew Walls (Velocity) was third and leading Under-14 rider.

Results:

Seniors:
1 Paul Bethell (Team Elite) 57:16
2 Giles Drake (Team Elite) @ same time
3 Roy Davies (Team Elite) @ 30sec
4 Roy Hunt (Dutch-Wolf)
5 Martin Woffindin (Cycle Sport Pendle)
6 Jerrod Hartley (Horwich CC)
7 Cal Difalco (Colnago)
8 Adrian Lawrence (Team Bglobal)
9 Adam Palmer (Horwich CC)
10 Luke Beswick (Buxton CC)
Veterans: Roy Hunt. Under-23s: Martin Woffindin. Juniors: Andrew Nixon (Red Rose Olympic). Women: Becky Preece (Red Rose Olympic).

Youth:
1 Oliver Payton (Cycle Sport Pendle) 27:55
2 Jessica Wilkinson (Birkenhead North End) @ 46sec
3 Matthew Walls (Velocity) @ 54sec
4 Adam Hartley (Eastlands Velo) @ 56sec
5 Martha Gill (Bolton Hotwheeels) @ 1:52
6 Tom Figgins (Bolton Hotwheels) @ 2:20
Under-14s: Matthew Walls. Girls: Jessica Wilkinson.

Under 12s:
1 Nathan Hawthorn (Cycle Sport Pendle) 12:15
2 Lewis Hartley (Eastlands Velo) @ 33sec
3 Alistair Leivers (BYCA) @ 49sec
Girls: Anna Armstrong (Border City Wheelers)

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.