After 1,821kms it came down to 1mm

So after 20 events, 23 races and 1,821kms it came down to this.

(pic1, Graham’s finish line photo – Roland Tilley – left, Andy Rivett – right)

After gathering all the evidence I could hardly split them. I’ve replayed the video, slowed it down frame by frame and seen Graham’s High Res photo’s, imported them into Photoshop messed around and tried to measure distances and it was so still to close to call, virtually impossible.

As the bunch hurtled towards the line it looked like Roland Tilley (Team Ride) was going to take it but Andy Rivett (VC St Rapheal) was clawing his way back from the opposite side of the road. Andy needed to beat Roly into 5th place to take the overall 2010 WXCRL championship, before the race only 2 points had separated them. This was the tightest of finales.

As this picture shows, taken a moment before they hit the line, the two top riders of the year could hardy be separated.

(pic2, This is how close it was, can you split them? I zoomed right down so I could see the pixels and measured the shortest distances to the line. I’m not kidding but it was something ridiculously close like .3 of a pixel. The two wheels were virtually identically level at this point in time)

The video (normally good enough to split the riders) wasn’t any clearer…

(pic3, This clip is a still frame from the video)

(pic4, This pic shows Andy was travelling slightly faster the Roly, so if he was identically level in pic1, about 30cm before the line then he must have been a fraction further on when the wheel actually hit the line)

On this evidence I have given Andy the verdict. It’s as close as it could ever be and has prompted us to update our rules because both riders ended up finishing level on points in this year’s final WXCRL table (Note: These new rules and removal of non-members have yet to be applied to the entire table).

1st New Rule; If two riders are equal on points the winner will be the rider with the most wins.
2nd New Rule; If both riders have same number of wins, the winner will be the highest number of second places, and so on.

So there you have it. Andy Rivett with 154 points is our new 2010 champion thanks to his wins on stage 2 of the Dorset Tour and the Autumn Road Race last week. Andy’s late season form has seen him pick up 76 WXCRL points in the 3 events an excellent effort brought about from his super ride in the Dorset Tour in late August.

Mr. consistent, Roland Tilley, has to settle for 2nd after his 4th place last year. Roly having not ridden the Dorset Tour this year has amassed even more points than his 2009 tally (124), an impressive achievement, especially after not competing in our flagship 3 day.

So there you have it, Andy wins the Ray Price Memorial Cup for one year – well done Andy!

Rumble On The Heath

The final league race to the year came to an action-packed conclusion, as Thomas Knowlton of organizing club Sotonia took the win in the third of the Heath Road Race events. Two minutes further back, Andy Rivett of VC St Raphael took the final overall points lead from season long rival Roland Tilley by a matter of centimeters.

After yesterday’s hot sunshine, the weather returned to its more usual autumnal fare, with overcast skies and a strong wind whipping over the open heathland. Rivals Andy Rivett of Velo Club St Raphael and Roland Tilley of Ride Team were eyeballing each other, as both went into the event separated by a total of two points. Andy had the advantage of numbers, with his club turning out in force but Roland was a hard rider and not likely to give up without a fight.

(photo Gordon Skillen)

A further 46 riders signed on – none too impressive for this time of year and before the race, Don issued a stern warning to the riders to stick to the correct side of the road at all times. The Police had been… shall we say not wholly helpful in the run up to this event and any riders riding like idiots might well have scuppered any future runnings of this event. However we are pleased to say that the race went smoothly, so WELL DONE to all off you. Seriously.

As the first lap got under way, the bunch seemed happy to sit and wait for something to happen. A few digs were made. Rob Edgell of Somer Valley CC made his first of many attacks up the rise to the start/finish line but the strong headwind along that road was not of a friend of the solo breakaway. Another attempt was made out of the final turn on the same lap, as Stephen Bradbury (AW Cycles.co.uk), Tom Knowlton (Sotonia) and Richard Rumbleow (GA Cycles) broke away. A few lengths back, David Curtiss and Philip Peters (Cannondale Racing) chased and, behind them the bunch was being blown apart. Tom Knowlton continued driving on, shedding his co-escapees. Others followed in the shape of Jay Eastwood (VC St Raphael), Michael Leech (Tor 2000) Rob Edgell (Somer Valley CC) and the sole survivor of the previous gap’s break Stephen Bradbury. They had by now a gap big enough to have the rest of the race worried but the bunch was either unwilling or unable to mount too much of a chase.

Soon enough, Tom Knowlton had been joined by the breakaway and together they pushed their advantage out to a minute. Stephen Bradbury fell off the back of the leading group while Richard Horton of Bournemouth Jubilee Wheelers and Philip Peters of Cannondale attempted to bridge across. They, too, suffered in the headwind on the long drag and the now 4 man breakaway went into the final lap well clear of the chasers. Tom Knowlton made his final move on the hill to the automobile museum. He was on his own for the last half of the lap and soloed to the win 45 seconds clear of the rest of the break. Of the remaining three riders, Jay Eastwood (VC St Raphael) sprinted to second place with Michael Leech (Tor 2000) third and Rob Edgell fourth.

All eyes now turned up the road to where, two minutes behind Tom Knowlton, Roland Tilley (Ride Team) went for a long sprint up the rise to the finish line.

“I could see someone coming to my left.” He said afterwards. “I had no idea that it was Andy. They say he won by a wheel but it was a lot closer than that.”

It was. Andy Rivett (VC St Raphael) had chased hard after Roland who had looked most likely to take the sprint until Andy threw his bike at the line Mark Cavendish style.

“I tried to get in a few early moves to make Roly work for it.” Andy said. “With the wind it would’ve been quite easy to get on the wrong side of a break in the bunch. A few guys were trying to make a go and I’d let them get a bit of a gap and then bridge it but Roly pegged me every time. By the end I thought I was finished but obviously I had half a wheel left in me.”

Or, as we mentioned earlier, even less than that. With their placings (fifth and sixth), they moved to an equal points total but Andy’s two wins gave him the edge on count back. Full listings are here. Full race results are here, or will be soon. In all the excitement no one was really looking at who came seventh. But don’t worry its all on video so all your hard work will not have been in vain.

And that, we are afraid to say, concludes the 2010 Wessex League. We’ll be back in 2011, bigger, better and with a few surprises for you lucky, lucky people. Meanwhile, this website will be trundling on over the winter, finding stuff to write about.

So… see you all soon.

All photos Graham Robins except where indicated.

Bournemouth Arrow Road Race 18/09/10

Richard Horton managed one better than his second place last week with a solo breakaway win in this Saturday’s Bournemouth Arrow Road Race.

Organising club Bournemouth Arrow had done well mustering a full quota of marshals and were rewarded with some wonderful late summer weather. Entries were disappointing, with only 24 riders signing on but then a race on the same course in the wind and rain in March will be fully subscribed while a race on a bright, sunny day in September will struggle for entries.

Even those that turned up were complaining of burnout. Roland Tilley (Ride UK), who is fighting for the league overall with Andy Rivett (VC Raphael) was still suffering from the mountain bike championships last weekend. Many others were suffering stiff legs and took a while to get going, as the field rolled out for the first lap.

Eamonn Deane (Bournemouth Jubilee Wheelers) was not one of them. He attacked on the hill out of Horton village along with Robert Cranstone (Royal Navy and Royal Marines CA). However the field had other ideas and they were soon caught. An attack by Roland Tilley (Ride) on the next lap received the same treatment – there was no way Andy Rivett was letting him out of his sight.

On lap three, Eamonn tried again, attacking on the hill and taking Matthew Connor of Banjo Cycles with him. For a while it looked like they were away, pulling out a minutes gap but a concerted effort by a group of six riders riding through-and-off on the front of the bunch slowly dragged them back over the course of the next two laps. A third group, meanwhile, was happily sitting in at this stage in proceedings but more on them later.

If there were prizes awarded for attacking then Eamonn Deane would have been the easy winner for, no sooner had he and Matthew Connor been caught then he went away again, spending a further lap riding about 5 seconds ahead of the bunch.

He was caught on the penultimate lap and at this moment his clubmate Richard Horton made his move. The 18yr old Bournemouth Jubilee rider had been quietly hiding in the bunch, experimenting with his new tactic of not attacking repeatedly. He made his move with a lap and a half to go and had pulled out a full minutes lead.

Behind him, the bunch were more concerned with each other. Roland Tilley did a lot of chasing. Eamonn Deane, understandably, didn’t and Richard remained over a minute up as he turned into the finishing straight. He was delighted to take the win, having found some good form in the late season and was suddenly confronted with the question of how to get to tomorrow’s race in the New Forest to continue his winning streak.

A minute later, Tom Marshall of Chippenham and District Wheelers took second place a few lengths ahead of the chasing pack, with James Jones of Beeline leading in the bunch sprint in third. Andy Rivett (VC St Raphael) came in fourth with Jon Marchini of OUCC splittling Andy from his arch rival Roland Tilley of Ride UK. Chris Roxburugh of Tor 2000 was seventh, inspired by his ride to Glastonbury to see the Tour of Britain, while Shane Pope of Swindon RC was eighth. Grant Grant (were assuming that’s not a typo, its how it was written on his licence) was ninth and Neil Wass of Anders TMG Horizon was tenth.

Full results are here.

Now the series move on to Appelmore in the New Forest for tomorrow’s third WXCRL Sotonia Heath Road Race, where Roland Tilley and Andy Rivett will have their final battle for the overall. Its tight and there has already been a lot of trash-talking, so it should be a belter. Entry details are here but it closes at midnight so you ought really to get a shuffty on if you’re going to enter.

WXCRL Autumn Road Race 12/09/10

Andy Rivett of VC St Raphael continued his late season run of form this Sunday, winning from a two man breakaway with Richard Horton of organising club Bournemouth Jubilee Wheelers. The club’s Autumn Road Race suffered a fairly low turnout (29 riders) and a last minute change of venue – the original route had been due to run across the heathland from higher row to the cross keys pub but after the installation of cattle grids in the spring, the heath now had ponies and cattle roaming across it, which was considered an unnessacary hazard. A new route was hastily drawn up, running through Gaunts Common and dropping down past the Horton tower and through a sweeping series of bends into Horton village. The HQ had also shifted, to Witchampton, which caught a few people out, not least somebody (cough) who’d posted the venue change onto this very website – cutting and pasting without actually bothering to check the content.

But it all came good in the end, with the field rolling out for the 10.30 start, lacking a few heavy hitters, who were riding either at a cyclocross event up the road or an MTB race up north. However, there was some international flavour in the shape of Ann Bowditch of Science In Sport, who was getting some race miles in in preparation for the commonwealth games in Dehli next month. Men’s 2nd cat racing, you will be flattered to know, is about as fast as international level women’s racing. Ann, who will be riding for Guernsey, was getting acclimatized to the pace, although sadly not the heat.

The pace was fairly high on the first couple of laps, with plenty of breakaways . Philip Peters of Cannondale Racing and James Cartridge of Inverse Racing made a go of it on the first lap, getting about 10 seconds up before getting pulled back again. On the second lap, Micheal Leech of Tor 2000 went away on his own. Jason Flooks of ProBikeKit.com, who had been getting jumpy in the bunch, went after him.

Turning into the junction by the Horton Inn, it all went horribly wrong for him as he went wide on the exit of the corner, lost the back end trying to get back over and slid into a 4×4. He suffered some nasty road rash, as well as snapping his back wheel and frame and was a little surprised to discover that the car immediately behind the 4×4 that he had hit was a Police armed response unit. They helped clear up the mess, while the bunch came round the corner about 40s later, squeezed through and set off after Leech.

By the next lap, Micheal Leech had been joined by Junior Hefferman of Revo Racing and James Cartridge, making in his second breakaway of the morning. They were drawn back largely by the work of Charles Rees of Raleigh RT, who was doing some huge turns on the front but lacking enough of a kick to drop the riders behind him.

Next to try to get away was Eamonn Deane of Bournemouth Jubilee Wheelers, which caused some amusement as he had organized this race. However there is nothing in the rules against winning a race that you set up and Eamonn certainly wasn’t ashamed to be doing so. Despite a 30s lead at one point, he was chased down by Charles Rees of Raleigh RT, who was starting to get a little fed up with doing all the work.

Still, his efforts, plus those of few others, split the bunch, with nine riders breaking away. Richard Horton (Bournemouth Jubilee Wheelers), Phillip Peters (Cannondale Racing), Tom Marshall (Chippenham and District Wheelers) and Andy Rivett (VC St Raphael) put some hurt on up the hill to Horton getting some distance between themselves and the pack and then, coming up through Furzehill for the last time, Andy Rivett made his move.

“After the split, everyone had sat up a bit.” He said. “So I just went really hard on the hill.” Richard Horton of Bournemouth Jubilee Wheelers made it across to him.

“I didn’t want to initiate an attack on the first three laps.” He said. “I don’t like holding back. But after the third lap Eamonn got away, so obviously I didn’t want to attack him. Then a couple bridged across to him and that was the winning break formed. I knew Andy was strong so when he went I went after him.” They put some fast miles in, with thirty seconds over their co-escapees as the turned onto the Cranborne road for the final time.

At the final turn, into Hinton Martell, Andy Rivett cramped up, taking most of the finishing straight to get his sprint going. However he did and beat Richard Horton to the win. Richard got second, very much upholding club honour after some good tactical riding split between him and his club mate. 25 seconds back, Thomas Marshall of Chippenham and District Wheelers, the last of the escapees came in third, three seconds ahead of Philip Gough of Red Kite Cycles. Behind them came the rest of the breakaway group: Ian Cullen of Le Col came in fifth, Eamonn Deane (Jubilee) sixth, Philip Peters (Cannondale) seventh, Junior Hefferman (Revo Raving) eighth. A very knackered Charles Rees (Raleigh RT) was ninth, at the back of the group, and then Stephen Locke (Plan B Racing) led the rest of the field home three minutes back.

Full results are here. No photos we’re afraid, our photographer was busy shooting people with knobbly tyres riding round a field. Apparently they pay better. Anyway, don’t forget the final two rounds of the league next weekend, the Bournemouth Arrow Road Race and the Heath Road Race. Then that’s IT for the rest of the year.

Autumn Road Race Venue Change

HQ and Circuit change for this Sunday’s WXCRL Autumn Road Race – New HQ will be at the Witchampton Village Hall, Witchampton (on the S bends in the village). Unfortunately Holt Football Club have a game on and they double booked with us, seeing as it’s their Football Club we’ve had to change, luckily we’ve found somewhere just up the road.

We are also going to use a variation of the Gaunts Common circuit. We won’t be racing across the Heath from now on due to the new cattle grids, grazing cattle and now the grazing horses.

Click this link to see the new Course Map

Entries will close Saturday night, so still time to book your place there is plenty of space…

Races In September pt 2

So where were we? Well we’ve had the Cove Road Race and the Autumn Road Race is on this Sunday 12th, starting at 10.30 and based at Holt football club in… um… Holt. Actually, Holt football club is on the way to Gaunts Common, rather than in Holt itself – HQ is now at Witchampton Village Hall [Mark]. But anyway, once you’ve found the place then its a 90km event on a ‘sporting’ course (don’t bring your deep-section rims) and organised by the Bournemouth Jubilee Wheelers.

Not to be outdone, a week later, on Saturday 18th September the Joob’s arch rivals Bournemouth Arrow run their own event, called, imaginatively, the Bournemouth Arrow Road Race. Where do they get these crazy names from? This is a 90km event, based at Woodlands and using the popular Horton village course, which is a good deal flatter than the one around Holt and doesn’t have any cattle grids or ponys on the course. More details and entry can be found here plus a course map here although its exactly the same as the one we used three times this season already. The race starts at 10.30.

We’re hoping that both of these great clubs have mustered an armada of marshals for their events but that doesn’t mean that we’ll turn any volenteers away.

And come the Sunday 19th September – thats the next day – there’s another race for you over at Applemore in the New Forest. This is run by Sotonia and is the third of their ‘Heath Road Race’ events, running over the beautiful and pretty much pan-flat circuit across a windswept heathland. A chance to practive your ‘spring classics’ style echelons. The event is run over 70km, open to riders up to 2nd cat and starts at 10.30 am. Entry details are here and, sadly, we do not have a course map available but it runs in an anti-clockwise oblong around Beaulieu Heath railway station towards the Motor Museum, taking a sharp left about half a mile short of the museum and running back towards Applemore [We do have a Map actually that’ll be here, Mark]. It’ll make more sense when you’re there. Signing on is at the leisure center, in a room just to the side of the main entrance.

And after that… that’s it. There’s Glenn Longlands 2 dayer in October which is nothing to do with us but still a good race (see the TLI website for details). Then its all hill climbing, track and cyclocross till next spring.

WXCRL Cove Road Race 05/09/2010

“I Like Very Much.”

On a day best described as ‘changeable’ and on a distinctly lumpy course, Marcin Bialoblocki took a win for the Wilier/Big Maggys/Prendas team, breaking away with a team mate and Ross Adams of Red Kite and pulling out well over three minutes over the rest of the bunch. This was one of the Wessex League’s two National B events, open to Elite level riders and catering for those elite and first cat riders that fancied something in between airfield circuit crit racing and getting a pasting in the Premier Calendar. The course included two short, sharp climbs, one out of Winfrith to Durdle Door and the other out of Lulworth Cove and both into a strong headwind.

Wilier/Big Maggys/Prendas had turned out in force, while most of their elite level competition were riding for themselves, while further town the grid a fair smattering of lambs to the slaughter local riders looking to test their mettle against the big boys filled out the field. All rolled out later than scheduled, the start having been delayed by the removal of a large amount of grit on one of the corners. Washed down by the recent rains, it took a full 45 minutes of shoveling and then sweeping by course marshals to get the road cleared but the race got under way only 10 minutes late. Happily, by this time an early rain shower had stopped and the roads had dried by the end of the first lap.

It was a nervous first few laps, with plenty of attacks but no one willing to commit themselves this early on.

“It was all stop start.” Said Ross Adams of Red Kite. “I’m used to mountain biking, which is start, go hard and then finish but with this I tried to get something going but nothing was really working.”

This went on until the fourth lap, an hour and a half into the race, when Bialoblocki decided to make his move. The Bristol-based Polish Premier Calendar rider attacked down the hill into Lulworth Cove, taking team mate Chris Spence and Ross Adams with him and “going steady for a few laps”. In actual fact they had pulled a full minutes and twenty seconds out of the bunch on the climb to Lulworth Camp and continued so until they were three minutes clear a lap later. By this time, Chris Spence (Wilier/Big Maggys/Prendas) had blown up on the climb out of Lulworth Cove, going straight on to the HQ for an early bath, days work done. The remaining pair’s epic lead now had a substantial amount of traffic, including a double decker bus, between it and the rest of the field.

Back in the bunch, there were more problems for Wilier/Big Maggys/Prendas. They had been doing a good job of controlling the race but Mark Perry had a flat. Team mate Ben Lapthorne gave up his wheel and, with both temporarily out of the equation, several riders saw their chance. Harry Furniss (Wyndymilla Maxifuel), Gary Chambers (Southforkracing.co.uk) and Chris McNamara (Team Corley Cycles) put in a successful attack. In fact Harry Furniss tried to go it alone but suffered a problem in the style of an Andy Schlek.
“I was planning an attack out of Lulworth.” He said. “But as I changed to the little ring, the chain came off. The other riders waited for me and, after that, I couldn’t really attack, could I?” Contador would have but that’s another story.

By the sixth lap, three hours into the race, the rain had started again. A short, heavy shower, actually coming as more of a relief to the riders on what was still a quite hot day. The pace had settled down, with the two leaders two and a half minutes ahead of the three rider breakaway, which was another two minutes ahead of the bunch. Up front, Ross Adams (Red Kite Cycles) was suffering a little.

“He was a little tired.” Explained his co-escapee Marcin Bialoblocki. “He does mountain biking and his longest race is two hours. I could see his in face he was tired.”

“I’m not used to racing for three and a half hours.” Ross Adams agreed. “He’s a lot stronger than me and, by the end there wasn’t a hope in hell that my legs would do anything. I just stood up and pppffft, nope.”

So, Marcin Bialoblocki took the win with Ross Adams of Red Kite Cycles ten seconds back in second place. There was a three minute, four second gap back to the next group, who would rue their act of charity to Gary Chambers (Southforkracing.co.uk) as he outsprinted them up the hill to take third. Chris McNamara of Team Corley Cycles got fourth with Henry Furniss of Wyndymilla Maxifuel a lucky fifth after riding most of the final lap in one gear after his derailleur broke. This was as well as arriving for the race 15 minutes before the start. And riding in pink kit.

The final group came in six minutes and eight seconds behind the leaders but still racing hard. Martin Ford of Team Goldtec lead them in for sixth place, with Marc Perry of Wilier/Big Maggys/Prendas in seventh and Roland Tilley of Ride Team eighth. Mark Baines of Spirit Racing Team got ninth while Dexter Gardias of Team Zappis finished off the top 10. Full results are here.

Next week, the Wessex League returns to its staple diet of 2nd cat road racing, with Bournemouth Jubilee Wheeler’s Autumn Road Race on Sunday September 12th, based out of Holt football club. Enter here. Course map here. For this one we guarantee you won’t have any premier calendar regulars rip your legs off. Promise.

Photos Graham Robins.

Races For September

‘Oh **** is that this week?’ Said our Mark the other day, in reference to the Cove Road Race. Yes indeed, The Cove Road Race on Sunday 5th September. The Dorset Tour was so good we thought we’d let all the elites and first cats have a go, using the same hill as stage 3 of the DT but in the other direction. That is to say downhill. Top riders were hitting 50 mph last year… There’s another downhill plummet into Lulworth Village, plus too short, sharp climbs. If ya go down, ya gotta go back up again, its not like there’s a chairlift or anything. Course map here. Riders do this seven times, over 122km and on the 7th time up the hill to Durdle Door, who ever’s first across the line wins. But if you haven’t worked that out by the time you get to elite level then there’s no hope for you.

So yeah, the race is open to Elite, first, second and third cat riders. Last year we had a couple of guys from Rapha Condor, limbering up for the Tour of Britain but don’t be scared, its a great course and it’ll be a great race. And if you are scared, why not help us out by marshalling? You get five – count ’em – Wessex League points for basically sitting by a road junction for a few hours and sticking a flag out every 20 minutes. Do this often enough and you could get yourself a decent position in the overall standings without barely having to turn a wheel in anger.

Entry closes the day before (Saturday 4th Sept) with the race starting at 10.30. EOL is probably going to be available at the HQ in D’Urberville Hall in Wool but will be a load more expensive.

Then, a week later, on Sunday 12th September we have The Autumn Road Race. Which is much the same as the Summer Road race, except later in the year. That’s the one with the hills and the cattle grids – and now cows roaming free on the Heath. Its a Regional A race open to riders up to 2nd cat and is run over 90km or 4 laps of the course, starting at 10.30 and based out of Holt Football Club. Yes, Holt has a football club.

No surprises but we’re after marshals for this one too. We’re ALWAYS after marshals. Tell you what, have a look here, find yourself and check how many people are 5 points above you. You can beat ALL of them, merely by helping out. Incredible, really. Well, unless they’re going to be getting top placing in the race, in which case you’re better advised try and beat them the old fashioned way.

There’s more at the end of the month that we’ll get to that in another post.

Behind The Scenes At The Dorset Tour

Zoom Gordo at the Dorset Tour

Behind every great race there is a great bunch of people who give their free time to help the event run smoothly. This is for you guys. And gals.

As always, Mark and Don put in a stupendous amount of effort. So much that I didn’t manage to get a single picture of Mark standing still, while Don was barely at the HQ long enough to be photographed.

Come Saturday, the race convoy was hugely enthused at the prospect of several more hours of riding in clothing still soggy from yesterday’s efforts.

The 100 rider field, plus damp kit bags.

And all these 100 riders, plus helpers, plus officials and marshals have to be fed. Amani and Lyn tended to their every whim.

This, incidentally, is the amount of sugar, tea and coca cola that the 100 rider field got through in 3 days.

As the advert goes, ‘Hi, I’m Kris, lets hope that we don’t meet.’ He’s the guy that scrapes you off the road and bandages you up when you hit the deck. Obviously, if you’re in a small village hall for 3 days, chances are you will meet him so the statement doesn’t really stand up to scrutiny but hey. Apparently, he’s quite a good baritone.

The winner and the previous years winner plus long suffering helper (I was going to say brolly dolly but thought better) looking down the hill wondering where the rest of the field have got to.

Sam (left) also had the prospect of a long drive back to his station and a night shift as a fireman to look forward to before tomorrow’s stage.

This picture just has ‘ow’ written all over it.

Revo Racing said they’d beat me up if I didn’t take their picture.

This is Keith, whom I’m sure you all know by now. He used to ride motorcycle trials at a very high level, so 2 1/2 hrs riding a bike in the rain was probably a bit wussy in comparison. Although, as he pointed out ‘but I had an engine then’.

I didn’t catch this guy’s name but his face just summed up the whole day.

If a picture says 1000 words, then there’s another 1000 words on the DT over at Gordo’s World of Zoom, easily south Dorset’s most popular whimsical cycle-sport based blog.

WXCRL Dorset Tour Stage 4 23/08/2010

Stage 4
Lawrence of Arabia Circuit

Dorset came alive on Monday morning after one of the wettest August nights in years. There was standing water around most of the course which was added to by a small shower just before the off, but as the race got going so did the rain. The main drag to Weymouth was being shaken by the gravel Lorries and even the British Army came out to play at the Tank training area of Bovington camp.

The riders rolled away from the HQ under a dark skies and a small shower. The yellow jersey holder Sam Gardner had his three team mates around him trying to protect what they had. I was a very nervy first lap with loads of attacks but nothing was sticking. At one point Jack Cousins (Wills Wheels) slipped of the front and started to make headway but on lap two he came back to the bunch as Cannondale were very much in control. Several attacks on laps three and four came to nothing, and it was all down to the sprint finish.

At the bottom of the climb leading to the finish it seemed like the whole bunch could have taken the stage win. But as the road went upwards it was Tim Allen (Cyclesport Pygott &Crone) that crossed the line just ahead of Matthew Theobalds (CS Grupetto) and Shane Pope (Swindon RC).

Stage 4 Result
1st Tim Allen Cyclesport Pygott &Crone 2:20:15
2nd Matthew Theobalds CS Grupetto @st
3rd Shane Pope Swindon RC @st

Other places to be sorted once video has been viewed, but the bunch all finished together.

General Classification Day 3
1st Sam Gardner Cannondale Racing 8:06:52
2nd Crispin Doyle Swindon RC @34secs
3rd Adam Bright Revo Racing @58secs
4th Andy Rivett VC St Raphael @1min:4secs
5th Eamonn Deane Bournemouth Jubilee Wheelers @1min: 13secs
1st Green Jersey Sam Gardner
1st U/23 Jersey Tom Stockdale

report and photos by Graham Robins. There are literally thousands more pics at www.grahamrobins.net. And if you liked that then don’t miss the Cove Road Race open to E/1/2/3s and also running out of Wool in a fortnight’s time.