Paul Hopkins (Merida UK), stamped his authority on this 2 hour Enduro deep in Wareham forest on the first lap. Breaking away with teammate Gregg Shrosbree the Merida pair worked well together. However Shrosbree was unlucky to puncture and by the time he had rejoined the race he was left salvaging pride. Hopkins pushed on alone and steadily built a lead of over 4 minutes;
Hopkins & Shrosbree looked comfortable.
Roland Tilley (ridebike.co.uk) & James Horton (Primera) chased hard but could make no impression. The reigning national Veterans Points Champion, Hopkins, looked very comfortable on the mix of Single track, fire trails and dusty gravel paths that made up the bone dry course.
The long drag up to the finish line broke more than a few dreams but Hopkins looked very smooth. "I am racing elite in the SAMS series this year To bring me on a bit more” said the 40 year old Hopkins; he went on “I am as strong as I have ever been”. “We did say before the race we (Greg) would work together because it was quite windy, Gregg is getting really strong, and if he had not punctured it would have been close. I have been getting some more training in and it makes a difference. The next couple of months are pretty busy, I am getting married in July and I am on a 6 week pass!” he joked. Hopkins, who lives in Shaftesbury, is looking to win both the season long point’s competition & the national vet’s title.
Roland Tilley (ridebike.co.uk) & James Horton (Primera) rode most of the race together. Tilley was doing most of the work but could not shake Horton till halfway round the last lap. The experienced roadman/sprinter, twice a winner of the South Division Road Race Title, spends most of his time Off-Road these days and is also targeting the National Championships. Tilley had finished 2nd at the Moreton RR on Thursday evening.
Leading lady was Liz Gilmour,(ridebike.co.uk), who held off the challenge of Heidi Gould. (cc Weymouth) with Carol Tilley (ridebike.co.uk) rounding out the top three. Dorset Rough Riders put on a cracking event, with enthusiastic marshals, free post race massage and plenty of tea and cake on offer.
No comments:
Post a Comment