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Report: Cheshire Classic Women's Road Race
17 April 2011
Promoted By: Weaver Valley CC
Race HQ: Weaverham High School
Words And Photography By Andy Whitehouse
The smile on winner Lucy Garner's face crossing the line on Acton Lane said it all. A race that was always going to be an eventful hammer round the 7.7km Weaverham/Acton Bridge circuit, with names such as Sarah Storey (Horizon Fitness Prendas), Olympic champion Rebecca Romero (XRT-Elmy Cycles/Orbea) and Corrine Hall (Team Corridori/Specialized), all eyes were looking for a big name victory on the final haul up to the finish line. But it was to be the Motorpoint juniors that played their cards just at the right time to allow Lucy Garner to outsprint the lead group and take the Jo Burton Trophy.
With punctures coming thick and fast on the opening couple of laps the service cars ran out of spare wheels, before it was found there were a box full of tacks on the start of the Acton climb.
While the supporters cleared away the offending objects the race was stopped because of a crash in the peleton resulting in a hospital visit for Fern Cotterill and Kimberley Ashton.
Following the accident the race was restarted with two laps were deducted because of the delay. With riders abandoning because of the hold up the now reduced field were on a mission and only the strongest girls managed to hang on to the blistering pace being set by Horizon Fitness' Penny Rowson who had strung out the rest of the field shedding small groups out of the back.
With three laps to go it was Sarah Byrne (VC St Raphael) who picked up the pace at the top of the Acton climb but the main group were digging deep to hold on, by the bell the front of the field were grouped together and that group were to stay together for a bunch gallop to the line; but it was Motorpoint's Lucy Garner who shot from the middle of the pack to claim the victory and the smile on her face said it all.
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.
