Dave Wade sends this report on Stage 2, Will Stephenson (Primera/Specialized) takes an impressive 6th place overall. (all results provisional)........
A hard race today, all the riders should be congratulated on their efforts, the climbs were brutal and to just finish was an accomplishment
"A sunny but chilly morning greeted the riders as they prepared for stage two Junior Tour of the Mendips. All the talk this morning was about the steep climbs that awaited the riders. So, 1000hrs the riders prepared for the start, 9 riders with a 23 second lead over the Peleton but this not a big time gap considering the hills they have to ride up.In respect of the South BC Riders positions at the start of Stage two, Joe Kirkham Hargroves 7th and leaders group, Sam Lowe Hargroves 12th @ 11 secs, Andy Shackell VC St Raphael 17th, Jon Dibben Hargroves 19th, Andy Hargroves 21st, Jordan Wade VC St Raphael 36th, Will Stevenson Primera 44th all at 23 secs back.On hill climb one, 4 riders had a 1.45 sec lead over the Peleton, all South BC riders safely in the Peleton apart from Andy Shackell who suffered a puncture at the foot of climb one and was never able to get back on in such difficult circumstances. The climb was proving difficult as now about 6 riders off the back finding the climb tough but the steeper climbs are yet to come. Riders in front were James Newey (Cadence sport) Ashley Proctor Sports (Cover Altura) and Adam Lewis (Wolverhampton Wheelers.)Now on top of the Mendips where the roads were fairly flat but undulating, the riders who had the lead after the first climb were still away but their lead from the peloton was coming down and was now at about one minute. The riders now will be negotiating some downhill stretches before coming up against climb two.As the riders negotiated climb Two the difficulty of the accent became clear as the field was very spread out, first over the climb was Jo Moses (Sportscover Altura RT) together with Jon Dibben (Hargroves) & William Macke (AW Cycles) with the field getting over in two and three’s but well spread out. At this stage Will Stevenson was showing his climbing ability and was well placed near the front and looking strong however Jordan Wade was about 4 minutes back and apparently had a mechanical problem and the foot of the second climb. Away the riders went across the Mendips once more attempting to get together to form a Peloton but this was proving difficult. So with the riders now negotiating climb three it was Jon Dibben (Hargroves) who was now in the lead on his own with about a 50 second lead over two or three riders and then a further bunch was another 1.10 seconds adrift. With the riders now well spread out spectators gathered at the finish at the top of climb four fully expecting to see Jon Dibben emerge over the top in first place but this was not to be as first up were two riders driving for the finish Alex Peters (Mosquito Bikes) & Tao Geohegan-Hart (Cycle Club Hackney) with Peters just nicking the win. Next over was a tussle between Jon Dibben (Hargroves) and Dan pearson (Willier/Live Ride2) with Dibben Grabbing third spot. Will Stevenson had a great ride and finished close behind in 6th place. Jordan Wade (VC St Raphael) completed the race and finished in 43rd place with Andy Shackell (VC St Raphael) at the back of the field having never recovered from getting a puncture at the foot of the first climb".
Unconfirmed Results Stage 2 Top riders
1 Alex Peters
2 Tao Geohegan-Hart
3 Jon Dibben
4 Dan Pearson
5 Seb Bayliss
6 Will Stevenson (Primera/Specialised)
South BC Riders Sam Lowe (Hargroves) 7th, Joe Kirkham (Hargroves) 11th , Matt Hargroves Unknown but down the field (Bad day for Matt, his own admission not mine)
Many thanks to Dave Wade, even though he was busy scribbling dow notes and taking numbers, stil found time to pass bottles up to son Jordan!
No comments:
Post a Comment