Three VCB riders move up the third cats

Three of Velo Club Baracchi’s road racers moved up a category to third cats in the same week.

A collection of VCB racing men

Luke Rowell of VCB took fourth place in last Saturday week’s 4^th cat racing at Woodbridge.

Three riders got away within twenty minutes and he formed the nucleus of a second break, as only one of the four who went away with him was taking his turn on the front.  He said, “I managed to conserve enough energy to sprint for 4th.”

Rowell went on to ride with Paul Hayward of VCB in the 4th cats race at the Eagles Crit at Woodbridge on Wednesday and took second place to Hayward.  Both earned the points needed to earn 3^rd cat licences.

At the popular Lotus league midweek Crits series Paul Wright of VCB won the 4^th cat race and also moved up a category.

Mark Richards rode in the E/1/2/3 cats race, which was fast from the off and after just two laps a break of twelve to fourteen was off the front. There was a cross headwind on the start/finish straight which brought echelons in to play.

This group soon became 11 riders, the gap to the bunch quickly opened up to 1 minute 30 where it stayed for the rest of the race.  Strada’s Tommy Power went off the front on a solo attack but was eventually caught.  With just over a quarter of a lap to go Harley Matthews of Dap CC made a winning attack and the rest sprinted for second.  Richards said, “I somehow managed to hold off some great sprinters and get 6th for the second time in only a few days.”

Richards and VCB club-mate Nick Esser raced on Saturday in the Pedal Norfolk event at Holkham Hall.  It was a tough race with no breaks being allowed to get away. The long straight driveway through the grounds was in to a direct head wind which brought the pace right down.

Other sections were very fast. The bunch sprint was into a block headwind over a small hill. Richards managed to hold on to 6th place after losing out a few places on the hill.  Esser was unplaced and he also suffered a shortened race at Woodbridge in the morning while in a breakaway after two laps when he got a puncture.

Charles Jones represented VCB in the Abberton Road Race for 3^rd and 4^th cats and found the standard of some of the riding very unruly.  He attacked and got away, shortly joined by about ten others, but not all were happy to work so in the end it came to a bunch sprint.  After receiving a blatant push Jones eased back for safety and did not pick up a place in the points.

In the Shaftesbury CC middle markers 25-mile time trial on dual carriageways Paul Dennington overcame the stiff westerly wind to ride a personal best time of 56:56, placed 21^st.

Chris Womack and Paul Hayward rode the Orwell Velo 20-mile open time trial at Debenham BS33 course.  Hayward’s time of 49:27 was a course best and Womack won the 70-75 age group with 52:38. Leon West (CC Sudbury) won in 45:13.  The fastest Lady Verity Smith (Stowmarket and District CC) set a course record of 50:16.

Womack and Hayward

VCB times in the Godric 10-mile club time trial were Haywood 22:13, Lucas He 23:11, Alex He 26:17 and Paul Reed 26:30.  Dave Chesterman (UEA CC) won in 21:35.