Location: Welland, Worcestershire
Event: 22 April 2012
Report: Snowdon Sports

Adrian Bird (Rapid Performance Coaching RT) won the 65-mile Gerry Hughes Memorial Road Race on Sunday - his first win of the year.

The race opened up early on as four riders pulled away from the rest of the field and opened up a time gap of around a minute.

But then, with one-and-a-half laps to go, a group of around 15 chasers caught up with the leaders and the group stayed together for much of the race.

With four miles to go, Bird attacked and held off the others behind him. Heading up a gradual drag to the finish line, the 37-year-old Worcester rider crossed the line with Nick Noble (Bristol RT) ten seconds behind.

Adrian said: “It was a good race and my first win this year, I came sixth last week so it was good to come here and win.

“It was a bit windy and there was a shower halfway through but I think that benefitted me, when I have won it usually has been in the rain. I think when some people give up in the rain, I just carry on.”

Results:

2/3/4
1 Adrian Bird (Rapid Performance Coaching RT)
2 Nick Noble (Bristol RT)
3 James Ratcliffe (Fred Williams Cycles)
4 Steven Fidler (Team-Elite/Paul Bethell Electrical)
5 Andy Eagers (Derby Mercury RC)
6 Barry Charley (Wolverhampton Wheelers)
7 Henry Latimer (Dream Cycling)
8 Adam Lewis (Wolverhampton Wheelers)
9 Mathew Bonehill (Stafford Road Club/Henry Burton Cycles)
10 Joe Charley (Wolverhampton 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.