Location: Willand Village Hall, Devon
Event: 18 February 2012
Report: Snowdon Sports
Junior Jake Alderman (One and All Cycles) won the opening round of the 2012 Springtime Pursuits Series staged near Willand in Devon on Saturday.
The 16-year-old from Falmouth crossed the line 16 seconds clear of his breakaway rivals, who were all juniors after managing to stay on the pace with the seniors who had caught them in the handicapped race.
Six groups were set off, with the scratch group starting seven minutes after the first riders. By the end they had closed this gap to two minutes, but they couldn’t catch the best of the juniors from the front group who stayed clear throughout the 29.4-mile race.
Alderman, who was last year’s GHS South West 10-mile time trial champion, attacked the leading group in style as they were 3.5 miles away from the finish. Although largely flat, the circuit includes a slight hill and Alderman came from the back of the group, powering past and gaining a gap quickly which he held to the line.
He won by 16 seconds, while Exeter 17-year-old George Pym (Exeter Wheelers) took second and Chard 18-year-old Sebastian Baylis (Mid-Devon CC) was third.
The main race was run off in largely dry conditions, although a rain shower before the race started meant that the largely rural roads threw up all sorts of muck at the riders.
Having now established who the strong juniors are, for round two they will be set off further back to allow for a more even race.
Women
In the women’s race, Somerset’s Miriam Freemantle (Hope Factory Racing) secured victory after helping drive the scratch group off in search of the front group.
The 43-year-old from Cheddar won a ten-rider sprint for the line from Plymouth’s Carla Haines (WXC World Racing), while YOGi Cycling’s Sarah Austin took third and was the first of the riders from the front group.
The race came together after about two of the five laps, and while some of the front group couldn’t stay with the pace of the more experienced riders four did manage to keep up, and Austin did well to take third spot.
Bristol RC’s Robyn Golding, Selina Graham and Louise Georgi (Giant CC) were the other riders from the front group who stayed at the head of the race and finished in the top ten.
Results:
E/1/2/3/4:
1 Jake Alderman (One and All Cycles) 1:11:31
2 George Pym (Exeter Wheelers) @ 16sec
3 Sebastian Baylis (Mid-Devon CC)
4 Jack Plummer (Cadence-Cannondale)
5 Rob Smye (Exeter Wheelers)
6 Ashley Martin (Cadence-Cannondale) all @ same time
7 Doug Dewey (Terra Footwear) @ 1:56
8 James Smith (Primal Europe)
9 Rob Smale (Team Wallis CHH)
10 Steven Whitehurst (Hope Factory Racing)
Women:
1 Miriam Freemantle (Hope Factory Racing) 1:02:58
2 Carla Haines (WXC World Racing)
3 Sarah Austin (YOGi Cycling)
4 Adele Martin (GB Cycles)
5 Robyn Golding (Bristol RC)
6 Wibke Rietz (1st Chard Wheelers)
7 Claire Fraser (Army CU)
8 Lyndsey Glazier (Shred Racing)
9 Selina Graham (unattached)
10 Louise Georgi (Giant CC)
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.
