Rachel 2nd at Salt Ayre

"Me and Rachel Murray raced at Salt Ayre today. Decent standard field with a fair amount of attacking. I managed to stay away with Zoe Armstrong for a good while until she gave up and we got swallowed up. I went too early for the finish and ended up 11th but Rachel bossed the sprint to take 2nd. Well done!"

Nikola Butler

Full Reults:
WOMEN ONLY – 40 mins + 3 laps – 16 starters
1st Lauren Brown Abergavenny
2nd Rachel Murray VC St Raphael
3rd Sarah Stephen Stirling BC
4th Zoe Armstrong Scott Contessa
5th Gaby Shaw All Terrain Cycles
6th Frances White Champion Systems Maxgear
7th Amy Gornall Scott Contessa
8th Sarah Rose Team 22
9th Lynn Hamel Herbalife Leisure Lakes
10th Jess Atkinson Team 22
11th Nicola Butler VC St Raphael
12th Joanne Street Manchester Wheelers
13th Claire Rutherford Wheelguru
14th Amy O’Halloran Dirtwheels
15th Laura Stafford Manchester Wheelers
16th Gemma Sargent Dave Hinde RT

Jenny and Hannah 2ndat Mountbatten

Jenny, Nicci, Hannah and Ellie raced today at Portsmouth for the Easter Crits hosted by Omega racing.  The girls had their own separate race again.  It was an aggressive race from the start with Nicci getting away solo and then again with another rider.  Jenny then managed to get away in a pair and they worked hard to stay away for the rest of the race and Jenny had the strength and speed to take the sprint for the win at the end.  An impressive turn of speed by Nicci saw her take the bunch sprint from Hannah and Ellie.  The end result being 1st, 3rd and 4th for the team, another great result.

The afternoon racing was on the track bikes and there was a separate women's omnium which Hannah rode and came 2nd overall.  Brilliant result Hannah!

Keep the results coming in girls!

Jenny winning

1st - 5th placings at Mountbatten

5 of the girls raced at Mountbatten circuit today, hosted by Omega Racing Club, myself, Laura, Hannah, Jenny and Ellie.  We were given our own race as there were more than 10 riders.  Being a short race at 30minutes plus 3 laps we decided to dictate the race by attacking as we had strength in numbers.  A few attacks were launched from the off and it was after a few laps that an attack that I launched stuck....unfortunately I found myself alone!  And that is how I stayed for the next 20minutes as I chipped away at the distance between me and the back of the bunch.  I finally gained a lap with roughly 5 minutes left of racing.  A brief lap back in the bunch and Ellie attacked which I followed to help her out.  Hannah also made the break and so the three of us stayed clear until the end of the race securing the podium placings.  It was down to Jenny and Laura in the bunch and it was Laura who started an early sprint with a lap to go to hold the bunch off and Jenny coming in soon behind her.  This was a true show of dominance in team-working rules all!
Well done to all the girls who rode today and another great display of team-work.

Maz and Ellie in the final break

Maz winning

Preliminary Results:
1. Marianne Britten
2. Ellie Gilham
3. Hannah Manley
4. Laura Clode
5. Jenny Hudson

Full results to follow.

1st, 2nd and 5th at Portsmouth

Three of our riders, Nicci Meadows, Laura Clode and new signing Hannah Manley, travelled to Portsmouth today for another round of the Omega sponsored races in the South.  As there were 11 women racing they were started separately from the mens 3rd cat race on this occasion.
The race came down to an inevitable sprint and it was Hannah that took the win from Laura, with Nicci coming in 5th.
Another great result for the womens team!

Hannah on the attack during the race

Full results to follow.

1st and 2nd at Castle Combe

Mick gives Adel some pointers!

The team travelled to Castle Combe race circuit for one of the Omega promoted races. Riding today was Maz, Adel, Jackie, Eleanor, Ellie and Jenny. There was a bunch of 20 riders with Team Zappi in full force as well as ourselves.

Team line up on the start line

The pace was fast from the start with Team Zappi eager to race and break away. The back straight was a block headwind, meaning a fast tail-wind finish :) Our team put in some spirited attacks but it was a few laps in when Adel got into a break with two riders from Team Zappi. With members of each of the most represented teams in the break I thought we'd be in for an easier ride...... Two more of the Team Zappi girls had other ideas though and decided to chase it down. As they were the strongest riders remaining in the bunch I knew we couldn't let them go so I chased and found myself in another break of three, not quite the plan! Needless to say I did not contribute to the chase, having a team-mate in the break already. They proceeded to catch the break with 5 laps to go. Seeing as it was now 4 Team Zappi riders to 2 VC St Raphael riders, we were in a weak position. We used our tactical nouse though to claim 1st and 2nd.

Maz winning sprint for the win

Brilliant days racing, well done all!

Thanks to Jamie and Chris Streather for some brilliant photos, gathered in very cold conditions!!

Full result:
1st Marianne BRITTEN VC St Raphael / Waite Contracts / Hewitt Cycles
2nd Adel TYSON-BLOOR VC St Raphael / Waite Contracts / Hewitt Cycles
3rd Anna REID Zappi Ladies Team
4th Clare LEAVER Zappi Ladies Team
5th Vittria BUSSI Zappi Ladies Team
6th Siân CAHILL Zappi Ladies Team
7th Eleanor JONES VC St Raphael / Waite Contracts / Hewitt Cycles
8th Bonnie van WILGENBURG Zappi Ladies Team
9th Jennifer HUDSON VC St Raphael / Waite Contracts / Hewitt Cycles
10th Ruby BAKER Behind The Bikeshed
11th Georgina SNOWDON-BRETT University of Bristol Cycling Club
12th Ellie GILHAM VC St Raphael / Waite Contracts / Hewitt Cycles
13th Lili McLEAN Andover Wheelers
14th Nikki Wheeler Team Wiggle
15th Greta COWAN Personalbikefit.com
16th Jackie GARNER VC St Raphael / Waite Contracts / Hewitt Cycles
17th Louise GEORGI Giant CC – Halo Films
18th Bethany TAYLOR Bristol Cycling Development Squad
19th Sarah STEWART Bristol Road Club
20th Danielle BURRY Poole Wheelers CC
21st Madeleine IAFRATE University of Bristol Cycling Club
22nd Harriet SIMPOLE-CLARKE University of Bristol Cycling Club

Team-work wins Springtime pursuit final round and series

At the final round of the springtime pursuits in Decon, we fielded a team of 6 riders to help secure the win and 3rd places overall in the series.  As a team we protected Ellie and lead her out to deliver her to the win of the race and the series overall.  Jenny placed 3rd in the race, enough to claim 3rd overall in the series.  This is an excellent result as this is only Jenny's 3rd road race.

Well done to the team for some excellent team work and the result we had worked towards.

Personally this was my first race back since last march and it was a shock to the system....but nice to be back.

Nicci and Jason win mixed 2-up

Jason and Nicci rode the Antelope 2-up time trial on sunday, run by cycling time trial legend, Glen Longland.

Here is Jason's take on events!:

"We got there nice and early to try out this new time trial course down south between stockbridge and Romsey.  Once again it was a very cold start so we had to wrap up for the warm up, then we got back to the hq and got ready for the start , numbers on , aero helmets  , overshoes etc, but I still kept my leggings on!!"

"Then we had a little drama when Nicci lost her car keys just before riding to the start and then riding to the start her bar end levers fell off in her hands but lucky enough she held onto it and screwed it back.  The actual race was straight forward, Nicci called me the Human derny as i paced her around the course, but I still made her do a few turns on the front, the last mile was abit grippy which hurt a little.  But it was good fun and I think Nicci was also pushed to the limit too, so she was happy.  We went round in 24-51 for first mixed team (male + Female) and also finished 15th overall in the event."

Well done to both!  I know first-hand how tough it is trying to hang on to Jason's wheel for 10 miles!