Report: Velo29 North East Trophy
Saturday 26 February 2011, Croft Circuit, Teesside
Report: Richard Williamson
The North East road season opened in style with the first ever running of the Velo29 North East Trophy.
At 12 noon on the Croft Motor Racing Circuit near Darlington, a full field of 100 riders took to the 2 mile circuit and with a brisk pace expected, handicaps were not more than 90 seconds between each group. Early rain soon cleared and circuit was soon dry though there was a rising breeze.
The 100 riders were split across 4 groups: 4th Cats; 3rd Cats; 2nd Cats; and 1sts / Elites. The Elite / 1st Cat group had most of the top UK teams represented, including stars such as Dave Clarke, Tom Barras, David Lines and Gary Hand as well as local pros including Matt Kipling representing his new team, Raleigh.
The riders set off at a very rapid pace and all the groups were lapping rapidly; there were some sub 4 minute laps, which given the conditions was extremely quick! With a "Cash Prime" on offer after 6 laps, riders were no doubt motivated by the potential reward!
With 23 laps to go the Elite / 1st Cat group caught the 2nd Cats and the pace quickened with the now bigger group. However, little time was gained on the other groups racing hard to stay away until the prime. With 4 laps covered the 3rd and 4th Cat groups came together, and on the 5th lap some small breaks were going clear but only gaining a small advantage from the speeding peloton.
With 20 laps to go there was a 4 man crash on the finishing straight resulting in Jamie Davison being taken to hospital, but fortunately he had only superficial injuries. The prime was a bunch sprint taken by Daniel Warwick of Active Cycles ahead of Liam Cowie and Nathan Edwards.
With 18 Laps to go, a break of 4 riders moved clear and gained a gap of around 5 seconds. This was short lived and Josh Teasdale of Team Jewson took advantage with a bold solo counter move. His move lasted 5 laps with Josh time-trialling powerfully round the circuit.
As the race crossed the line with 16 laps remaining, the Elite / 1st/ 2nd cat group caught the 3rd / 4th cat group and now the field was almost 100 riders! However, this was short lived and the attacks came immediately. The field was strung out as the Elite riders sped through the group, looking to break away. A few select groups gained advantages but the field, keen to keep things together at this stage always brought them back.
However on the 10th Lap what was to be the winning move broke clear, a group of 11 including most of the race favourites quickly gained a gap of 100 metres. This group was to become 12 on the 12th lap when Josh Teasdale was finally caught, though he found the legs to go with the break and contribute further to what was turning out to be an excellent race.
The Peloton chased but could not hold the gap, and the leaders who were working well together continued to move away. Smaller groups started to jump from the main field and with 10 laps to go, Michael Dales (Velo29) and Dougie Young (Endura / Pedal Power Development) broke away. Michael dropped Dougie after a few laps and spent the rest of the race alone.
The pace remained high and with 6 laps remaining, the break of 12 started to attack each other. With several powerful attacks, the 12 were split and soon became 9 with Phil Mark (Velo29), Liam Armstrong and Josh Teessdale missing out.
This was to be the final split. Back in the peloton there were various attacks, but no headway was made on the lead group, the 3 chasers or on Michael Dales who was still pursuing alone.
After 25 laps of racing the lead group of 8 came thundering up to the finish line. The sprint was wound up 200 metres to go and local star Matthew Kipling timed his run perfectly to cross the line a bike length ahead of Tom Barras with David Lines in 3rd place. Local knowledge and excellent form stood Matt in good stead, and as he crossed the line with arms held high, it was obvious this victory was a sweet start to his season.
Matt Kipling celebrates a well-timed sprint win
Adam Robertson brought the peloton home 3 minutes and 22 seconds down on the race winner. Lauren Brown deserves a special mention for getting round the race and for being 1st lady.
Organiser Richard Williamson said: "We could not have asked for a better start to the 2011 season and the first ever Velo29 North East Trophy. A huge field of quality riders, good weather, and a worthy winner in Matt Kipling. I would like to individually thank every rider, spectator and helper for turning up today and making this event such a success for Velo29. Your support means a huge amount to us!"
Results
1. Matt Kipling Team Raleigh
2. Tom Barras Cycle Premier Metal-Tek
3. David Lines Endura/ Look/ Pedal Power
4. Dave Clarke Endura
5. Simon Baxter Herbalife/ Wheel Base
6. Gary Hand Endura/ Pedal Power Development
7. Alex Bottomley Fietsen Tempo
8. Giles Harrison Active Cycles
9. Liam Armstrong VC Briganti
10. Josh Teessdale Jewson
First Women: Lauren Brown
