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Report: 2011 North West Regional Road Race Championships

Anybody expecting the glorious weather that bathed the Lazonby course for the 2011 holding of the North West Regional Road Race Championship in Cumbria that 2010 encountered was to be much disappointed.

Heavy rain and hail showers preceded the race, leaving standing water on parts of the course. Luckily other than the odd minor squall, the rain held off, though a strong South Westerly wind prevailed throughout.

Matthew Holmes (Team Wallis CHH) took the Junior Championship said his race was "very slow, then very fast, with lots of stop and start" with only 15 riders in the Junior field. He thought that there weren't the usual numbers required to keep a high pace throughout.

Sam Clark (Buxton C.C/Sett Valley Cycles) Fifth place in the Support Race. " I didn't know the course so I sat in for a bit, I saw a mini break on the A6, so I got in with that, as it looked it would get away, which soon split into a seven, and that was it for the race. We were all working well together, but it got really grippy towards the end, the road surface was savage."

So, Sam happy with your fifth place? "Well I'd come here looking for a top three place, but top five is still good." Sam Clark's points from today move him up to 2nd Cat. Result.

In the E123 race, on the first lap Jack Cousins (Wills Wheels) took the top corner before descending back to Lazonby, and caught a puddle or maybe gravel, and for him the race was over. Thankfully only cosmetic damage: "How did that happen, that's the first time I've done that".

Matt Cronshaw (Team Raleigh) was on a flyer from early on,and it looked like he'd be home and having his Cumberland Sausage long before everyone else had got off their bike. Riding well in front of the main field showing ability in the several laps he spent solo with only the gusting wind for his company.

Back in the bunch Cronshaw. still showed at the front, but glory on the day wasn't to be his.

As they descended back into Lazonby approaching the finishing line I hear over the walkie talkie
"They're both attacking each other, I'd say Raleigh is the strongest of the two, with Wilkinson taking a while to get back." Only this time it was Handley and not Cronshaw applying the pressure.

As they came round the corner towards the finish though it was clear that Wilkinson had got the upper hand. Over the line he had accrued 13 seconds from Richard Handley, (Team Raleigh).

Ian Wilkinson (Endura) had this to say after the race.

" It's a great circuit, and CDNW have put on another great championship. Team Raleigh and Wheelbase Herbalife got themselves organised on the front with three or four laps to go. The crosswind on the A6 gave us the opportunity to make a break, leaving a group of seven. On the last lap Rich Handley (Team Raleigh) made a couple of real good digs, and at the top of Lazonby Moor he'd rode off a bit. But in for a penny, I dug in. Then with two hundred metres to go I squeezed something, which considering it's my first race back after breaking my collar bone seven weeks ago, I'm pretty pleased with that."

Results

E123.

1 Ian Wilkinson (Endura Racing)
2 Richard Handley (Team Raleigh)
3 Grahame Sumner (Great Britain Fire Service RT)

Juniors.

1 Matthew Holmes (Team Wallis-CHH)
2 Jack Penrice (SIS.COM)
3 Chris Latham (Planet X)

Support Race.

1 Adrian Dalgleish (Lune Racing CC)
2 Dan Spashett (Wheel Guru)
3 Adam Pratt (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.