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Report: Plomesgate CC Grass Track
CC Ashwell was well represented at the Plomesgate grass track event near Woodbridge yesterday, held in very wet & windy conditions. Every five minutes the sky would turn black, the temperature would drop, and the rain would come down in bucket loads, before blue sky & sunshine reappeared for five minutes' respite. This pattern repeated all afternoon. As the day went on the surface of the tight 250m oval became slower & slipperier so riders were dropping their gear size, changing tyres and reducing tyre pressure to the absolute minimum. I never expected that a pressure washer would be useful to clean bikes at the end of a track event... Riders ended the afternoon looking like they had ridden a muddy cyclocross race.
The main event of the day was the National 8km championship race, in which we had two riders - Craig and Cameron. We also can claim a third rider really in Andrew who was riding in his VC St Raphael club colours, although as a sprinter his main interest lay in other events rather than the 8km race.
In his typically aggressive style Cameron attacked almost from the gun with past champion Richard Meadows and Ipswich rider Graham Collins for company.The break couldn't quite establish a decisive lead and it was caught after several laps. The race fragmented around halfway, and ended with Cameron's breakaway partner Meadows taking the national title. Cameron finished 10th and Craig (riding a national championship in only his second ever grass track event) 12th.
Cameron and Craig both animated the other senior events too. Both had some very sketchy moments, with Craig discovering the limit of his grip by taking a tumble as he exited a bend in an 800m event. He slid about 5m but no harm was done.
We had three Under 14 riders in action: Ollie, Henry and Lottie, up against a couple of very well-trained Green Arrow youth riders and a talented Colchester Rover. All that grass track training at the field paid off as they held their own against tough competition. Their U14/16 Omnium was very close fought but Ollie emerged victorious and took home the cash. The prize for first girl was happily received by Lottie.
All U8, U10 and U12 riders raced together in the U12 Omnium. Harley maintained her 100% record of podiums-per-race since she joined CCA a few weeks ago by taking third in the U12 category, showing promise that there is a lot more to come from her too. James made sure of winning the U10 event by beating all the U12s too, and winning four out of the five races outright. Archie rode with determination to win the U8 category, growing in strength & experience with every outing.
Many thanks to Plomesgate CC for running a great event in difficult conditions, and well done to every CCA member who competed.
Mark F
The main event of the day was the National 8km championship race, in which we had two riders - Craig and Cameron. We also can claim a third rider really in Andrew who was riding in his VC St Raphael club colours, although as a sprinter his main interest lay in other events rather than the 8km race.
In his typically aggressive style Cameron attacked almost from the gun with past champion Richard Meadows and Ipswich rider Graham Collins for company.The break couldn't quite establish a decisive lead and it was caught after several laps. The race fragmented around halfway, and ended with Cameron's breakaway partner Meadows taking the national title. Cameron finished 10th and Craig (riding a national championship in only his second ever grass track event) 12th.
Cameron and Craig both animated the other senior events too. Both had some very sketchy moments, with Craig discovering the limit of his grip by taking a tumble as he exited a bend in an 800m event. He slid about 5m but no harm was done.
We had three Under 14 riders in action: Ollie, Henry and Lottie, up against a couple of very well-trained Green Arrow youth riders and a talented Colchester Rover. All that grass track training at the field paid off as they held their own against tough competition. Their U14/16 Omnium was very close fought but Ollie emerged victorious and took home the cash. The prize for first girl was happily received by Lottie.
All U8, U10 and U12 riders raced together in the U12 Omnium. Harley maintained her 100% record of podiums-per-race since she joined CCA a few weeks ago by taking third in the U12 category, showing promise that there is a lot more to come from her too. James made sure of winning the U10 event by beating all the U12s too, and winning four out of the five races outright. Archie rode with determination to win the U8 category, growing in strength & experience with every outing.
Many thanks to Plomesgate CC for running a great event in difficult conditions, and well done to every CCA member who competed.
Mark F
Comments
Can i ask a favour for future reports, can you add the rider surnames too as i need them for my paper reports, i know of some but can't keep up with the youngsters!
Yes and that Master Fraser is really fast! Ha.......
James is like a flash of lightening on his white bike! Well done everybody we have some very talented people! - fab day - even if we did have to get the Muc-Off out!
Sal
Mark F
Have we got anything we can hand out at registration?