Ryde Town Criterium, A Win for Stainton-Ellis! Report, Results

George Stainton-Ellis (ASL Projects RT ) won the Ryde Town Criterium, sprinting from the front along the Esplanade . The 45 minute + 5 lap race on the Isle of Wight was the warm up race for the first round of the Pearl Izumi Tour Series and just like the main event; it was the climb up Union Street that shaped the race.

Harvey Morcombe (Fareham Wheelers) stretched the field out early on as a select group of ten formed but it was Andy Shackel (Team Wiggle) who did the damage. Pulling away on the hill, first with Kieran Page (Wightlink/LCM RT) and then going alone, Shackel opened a ten second gap which started to grow. The Team Wiggle man settled into TT mode and looked comfortable on the wet roads as the chasers looked at each other and lapped riders were pulled from the race.

It was looking good for Shackel but Adam Moore (ASL Projects RT) & Charlie Leech (Soton Uni CC) got the pursuit organised, the gap closed and with three to go the catch was made. Twenty three times up Union Street had sapped the strength but Stainton-Ellis had just enough to hold off Joe Barry (Performance Cycles) and “Man of the Match” Shackel

Rider Reaction
George Stainton-Ellis “Andy did a great effort, I did not have it too chase, so we worked a little bit to bring it all together, we were all a bit tired on the hill by the end and I managed to get in there for the sprint. It crossed my mind to jump across to Andy but then I went up the hill again and I realised that it probably would not work for me"

Andy Shackel “ Its always nice with a crowd it makes a big difference, I am not a climber but they were definitely helping, It was hard out there on my own although Keiran made life a bit easier, it was a bit of a gamble, it did not quite pay off but I am still happy that I managed to hang in there."

1 30 George Stainton-Ellis ASL Projects Racing Team 51:18.7
2 5 Joe Barry Performance Cycles 51:18.7
3 38 Andy Shackel 51:18.7
4 21 Adam Moore ASL Projects Racing Team 51:18.7
5 22 Harvey Morcombe Fareham Wheelers Cycling Club 51:18.7
6 20 Scott Michaels Southampton University RC 51:21.3
7 2 Sam Baker LCM Systems Cycle RT 51:24.7
8 19 Charlie Leech Southampton University RC 51:30.0
9 23 Kieran Page LCM Systems Cycle RT 51:31.6
10 1 Matthew Allsopp LCM Systems Cycle RT 52:04.5
11 9 Bruce Dalton Morvelo 52:32.8
12 6 Alex Collins Fareham Wheelers Cycling Club 52:36.8
13 35 Tim Wiggins Team Wiggle 52:36.8
14 7 Darren Compton Ride 24/7 52:52.8
15 32 James Vanieris Blazing Saddles Cycles 53:01.2
16 36 Jim Jones Team Optima 53:01.2
17 34 Jed Webber Andover Whls 53:42.6
DNF 27 Lee Rutland
DNF 12 Mitch Evans Ride 24/7
DNF 31 Edward Sutton Panagua CC
DNF 11 James Ebdon LCM Systems Cycle RT
DNF 37 Ash Sinfield
DNF 14 Kerry Greenham Army Cycling Union
DNF 33 Stuart Waite LCM Systems Cycle RT
DNF 10 Brendan Drewett Fareham Wheelers Cycling Club
DNF 4 Christopher Barritt Southampton University RC
DNF 15 Ian Hayden LCM Systems Cycle RT
DNF 39 Rob Merrison Team Optima
DNF 8 David Cooper LCM Systems Cycle RT
DNF 24 Cole Pearce
DNF 29 Gary Smith Ride 24/7
DNF 13 Kevin Foster LCM Systems Cycle RT
DNS 3 Daniel Baker ASL Projects Racing Team
DNS 16 Will Houghton Hillingdon Cycling Club
DNS 17 Thomas Key Southampton University RC
DNS 18 Adrian Lawson Ride 24/7
DNS 25 Andrew Pickett Eden Veranda Racing
DNS 26 Edward Rollitt Eden Veranda Racing
DNS 28 Martin Sanders LCM Systems Cycle RT