Location: Alexandra Palace, London
Date: 28 October 2012
Photos: Wig Worland
Report: Ian Cleverly
An enthralling encounter in the final round of the Rapha Super Cross Series resulted in defending champions Hope Factory Racing taking the spoils again - but only just.
An estimated 4,000-strong crowd packed Alexandra Palace park for the big finale and were treated to a day of thrilling cyclo-cross racing in the Capital.
Hope went into the final round with a healthy two-point lead, but Hargroves-Specialized and ROTWILD-Forme Coaching rode inspired races on the slippery and hilly terrain to push the series leaders down to third on the day.
Only count back separated the top two squads, with Hope’s wins in the two previous rounds at Broughton and Misterton giving them the edge.
The rapidly improving ROTWILD-Forme Coaching squad sealed third in the team standings, led home by under-23 winner Ben Sumner.
Delia Beddis repeated her previous day’s victory in Misterton after a storming last lap to catch Leona Kadir in the women’s race.
Once the serious competition was out of the way, entrants in the Fun category were subjected to the compulsory wall of foam and the optional tequila shortcut, both proving popular with the cowbell-toting throng.
Results:
Rapha Super Cross Elite Results:
1 Paul Oldham (Hope Factory Racing)
2 Jody Crawforth (Hargroves-Specialized)
3 Ben Sumner (ROTWILD-Forme Coaching)
First under-23: Ben Sumner (ROTWILD-Forme Coaching)
Team of the Day Award: Cycle Premier-Kovert
Rapha Super Cross Series Final Standings:
1 Hope Factory Racing
2 Hargroves-Specialized
3 ROTWILD-Forme Coaching
4 Rapha-GB Development
5 Cycle Premier-Kovert
6 Endura Racing
7 Dirtwheels Cycles
8 Charge Bikes
Under-23 series winner: Steve James Hargroves-Specialized
Please credit www.britishcycling.org.uk and link back if you use any of our race results.
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.
