Sunday saw this year's National 10 held north-east of Newbury.
According to the Organiser's website (Newbury CC):-
The H10/3A course is not a drag strip. The start is downhill for about 500m before the road rises over the M4. There is then a short uphill to Wickham village before dipping down into the village and then a good climb back out. From the crest of the hill its pretty much downhill or flat (and fast) to the turn, passing through Stockcross village and then just a small dip and climb 500m before the roundabout on the A4. Coming back is (obviously) the reverse, mostly a steady but very manageable slope before the steeper downhill into Wickham village. Speed will easily carry you back out of the village and to the finish before you get back to the M4 bridge.
Well Done to both Natalie Creswick who finished a creditable 20th in a time of 24:10, and Emma Williams who clocked 27:18.
The event was won by Julia Shaw (Utag Yamaha), who finished 50 seconds ahead of Lynn Hamel (Team NCA), with Sarah Storey (VC St. Raphael) in third.
Sandy King recorded the fastest time so far this year in the Hounslow & District Thursday evening 10 series, held on the HCC083 near Chertsey.
Sandy King - 23:47
Stuart Stow - 27:29
Stuart King - DNF
An entertaining evening's racing unfurled as we transferred our Club Night to the circuit at Hillingdon.
With 7 Twickenham riders competing, alongside a large supporting
contingent, Navy, Red, & White uniforms stood out against a
darkening sky.
As per the previous Sunday's affairs at this location, a strong
south-easterly wind taxed the riders, though as per the Tuesday night
norm racing was held anti-clockwise, so the flat back straight was the
preferred spot to seek the shelter of the peleton.
Declan Higgins stood out to the fore of the U16's race for much of the proceedings, but was overwhelmed in the final shake-up.
As usual, the 4th Cats race saw some spirited riding, with Vince Leon always in the mix. Vince's final position is unknown at this juncture, however, we think he was just outside the top 10.
A quality field lined up for the start of the E/1/2/3 event, with the race being dominated by ex-TCC rider Andy Betts and his Sigma Sport team-mate. A group of 8 finally formed and, as expected, Tony Gibb took the flag. Tom Sutherland powered his way to 12th place, leaving Andy Brown (who led him out) to finish in the pack alongside the lively Mark Spindler who had been driving the chasing group throughout. Stuart Ward was unfortunately held up early on in the race in the aftermath of a crash, whilst Natalie Creswick bravely held onto the blistering pace, until about 5 laps to go, where she was laid victim to a stray safety pin on the track.
Official results to follow.
