Location: Llandow Motor Racing Circuit, near Cowbridge, Wales
Event: 11 September 2011
Report: Snowdon Sports
CC Abergavenny veteran Gerry Bowditch won a sprint finish to secure the Welsh Masters Road Race Championship at Llandow near Cowbridge on Sunday.
The 41-year-old from Raglan held off his seven breakaway rivals to take the crown after 62 miles of racing on the mainly dry but windswept circuit.
Within the first half lap, the high early pace had forced 11 of the 55 starters off the back of the bunch, but at the front the strong riders were attacking.
Abergavenny RC riders Ian Sutcliffe and Julian Bunn establish a gap of 1:18 at the start of the second lap, and it reached 1:43 before the bunch responded and began trying to reel them in.
The effort of trying to stay clear proved too much for Bunn and he dropped back to the bunch, while Sutcliffe maintained a lead of around 20 seconds.
He was then joined by Energy Cycles' Gareth McGuinness who had been lurking at the back of bunch until then.
A group of five chasers eventually formed and caught the two leaders with about five miles to go, and in the sprint finish Bowditch took the title from Jonathan Shepherd (Forza Cycles), while Abergavenny RC's John Wylie was third.
The race also doubled up as the Welsh Women's Road Race Championships, and Hannah Rich (Horizon Fitness RT) took the win, holding off Abergavenny RC's Lowri Bunn.
Video: Final Sprint (Inc Gerry Bowditch)
Results:
1 Gerry Bowditch (CC Abergavenny)
2 Jonathan Shepherd (Forza Cycles)
3 John Wylie (Abergavenny RC)
4 Courtney Rowe (Cardiff JIF) 50+ Winner
5 Ian Sutcliffe (Abergavenny RC)
6 John Holt (Bynea CC)
7 Gareth McGuinness (Energy Cycles)
8 Steve Edwards (Cardiff JIF)
9 David Mills (Bush Healthcare)
10 Steve Evans (unattached)
Welsh Women's Championship:
1 Hannah Rich (Horizon Fitness)
2 Lowri Bunn (Abergavenny RC)
3 Angharad Mason (For Viored)
Video: Bunch finish (Inc Hannah Rich)
Video: Lap 2, Death Valley
Video: Lap 3, Cowbridge Bypass (Bunch chases break away)
British Cycling would like to thank the organising team, officials and everyone else who helped promote this event. Oursport 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.
