Location: South Molton, Devon
Event: 12 May 2013
Report: Snowdon Sports
Recording his third win in a blossoming debut season, Calum Croft (Mud Sweat n Gears) proved the strongest of a leading group of nine riders on the finishing climb to take victory in Taw Velo’s 44-mile road race over six rain-soaked laps of the Stags Head circuit in Devon.
The weather and the testing nature of the circuit, containing two stiff climbs on each lap, soon took a toll on the 77-strong field with the leading group coming together on the second lap and steadily pulling away from the rest.
With no danger from behind, the leaders called a truce on the last lap until exploding into action at the foot of the climb to the line where Croft took the verdict ahead of 17-year-old junior Scott Gurnett (Minehead CC) and Steve Ferguson (Certini).
“It’s going great,” said 24-year-old Croft, from Bridport in Dorset. “Obviously things get tough, but I feel pretty happy with the way the results are going for me.
“I think I’m quite good at suffering – I’m quite big in stature so when it comes to the hills it gets difficult, and I’m really proud of today because I won going up a hill.
“My first target was just to get up to the next category, and now I’m realistically close to second category which I hope I can get in the next month or so.
“I’ve always cycled as a hobby, and I’ve enjoyed it so much that I decided to try my hand at racing.”
Results:
1 Calum Croft (Mud Sweat n Gears)
2 Scott Gurnett (Minehead CC)
3 Steve Ferguson (Certini)
4 Dean Robson ((Somerset RC)
5 Jamie Howard (Exeter Wheelers)
6 Sean Henderson (north Devon Wheelers)
7 Sam Dansie (Berwick Wheelers)
8 Will Harrison (Taw Velo)
9 Joel Kelly (Mid Devon CC)
10 Jason Poore (Mid Devon CC)
Junior: Scott Gurnett
Woman: Heidi Viles (Exeter Wheelers)
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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.
