Tom Wins in Wasing Park MTB
The hottest day of the year marked a first Cross Country Mountain Bike win for Sotonia's Tom Budden in the Sport Category at Wasing Park in West Berkshire. A big event turnout of around 350 riders raced round three of the Southern XC MTB park and hilly woodland course in the sunshine. A challenging and technical course with A, B and C lines for some steep, technical drop offs (A-line for the very brave only) were complemented by woodland scenery stuffed full of bluebells, sharp climbs and descents on the flowing and mainly single track course.
Off the back of his highly successful cyclocross season where he finished 4th Senior in the Wessex League, Tom has quickly found his feet in MTB racing. After a good start on the long open field and tarmac sections, Tom settled into a lead group of three riders. By lap three of four, he found himself out front alone and never looked back from there, finishing a minute ahead of Nicholas Try (West Drayton MBC).
Tom told us how the race unfolded:
[quote align="center" color="#999999"]I really enjoyed that today. Great course, very technical in places with some pretty nasty drop offs (which maybe didn't suit me). But then a few tough climbs which did work well for me! I was with a group of three for the first lap, one of them punctured at end of the lap. Then I worked with the other guy for the second lap, he tried to make a move then blew up so left me out by myself for the last two laps... just had to not make any mistakes![/quote]
Red rocks it at Thruxton
It was another good night of racing at Thruxton yesterday for Behind the Bikeshed Summer Series round 1 and Sotonia were out in force! With fourth place for promising junior Red Walters in only his second outing in the 4th cats, Matt Dixon in 7th and Russell Speight rounding off a trio of Sotonia in the top 10 with 9th place.
Red Walters: "It started off a bit slower than last week so I spent some time in the wind and tried to stay near the font. After a couple of laps I burnt out and spent another two recovering at the back. I stayed mid pack until the last lap when Phil Godfrey made a move with one other guy so it was strung out chasing them down. I was around 10th wheel on the back straight which was great and left me around 6th before the sprint, after which I nabbed 4th."
There was also another top five finish for James Peckham, fourth in the 3rd cat race - not bad sprinting on a flat tyre! Great riding guys!
James Peckham: "Another good race with Paul Ransom and Andy McKay active on the front. I did attack half way through, and drew out a good group including Paul and Brook Elgie (Rock n Road). Paul attacked with three to go, Andy bridged to a promising move but were caught with two to go. Last lap a break hung out until just before the chicane, the eventual winner hopping from that into the front five. I was about 6/7th at that point. I left it late to open up the sprint and finished 4th. After the race my tire was flat, so who knows if that was going soft during the finale!"
#teamSotonia
Kicking off Behind The Bikeshed Summer Series in style
It was a fully booked season opener for the Behind the Bikeshed circuit race series this Tuesday at Thruxton with a large contingent for Team Sotonia making the journey to a very cold motor circuit.
In the 4th cat race, Sotonia had five riders - Phil Godfrey, Russell Speight, Matt Dixon and two new juniors - Josh Bakker and Red Walters.
Phil Godfrey reports: "The 4th cat race was pretty hectic from the off really. Lots of dodgy riding and getting caught by women on the left and some E/1/2 riders on the right! Then there was a big crash involving a few DHC and Josh, about 10 riders came down. I was a bit disappointed to miss the break - a Venta guy and Matt went away soon after the crash and noone, except Russ who did a lot of work on the front, seemed interested in chasing. I won the bunch sprint for 5th and Russ just behind 6th."
In his first race, Matt held on for a very impressive 2nd place in the breakaway. Red also looked strong in his first race as a junior and was near the front all race, finishing 25th in the large field.
Josh Bakker described his crash hampered race: "Two guys locked bars right in front of me, I went flying over the top. I tried to catch up but never quite made it back to the bunch."
The 3rd cat race was also pretty 'eventful' where we had James Peckham, Paul Ransom and Andy MacKay riding.
James: "There was some confusion in our race with laps, we had an extra lap, I think it was while commissaires were dealing with the aftermath of the crash in 4ths. On what should have been our bell lap there were questions in our group as to whether it was the last lap. However the pace picked up and there was a sprint on what turned out to be the bell lap. Riders all over the road, slowing and others speeding on etc. Luckily no one attacked and I got into a good position in the top 5, held that onto the hill, as the pace slowed near the chicane I opened up my sprint and held on down the finishing straight for 3rd place with Paul close behind in 9th."
Andy finished in the pack after an active race, riding strongly to chase down attacks and was unlucky not get in a break.
Ben Scott-Munden lined up for Sotonia in the E/1/2/3 race, where there was an early two man break of Ken Buckley (Eden Verenda) and Paul Double (VC Venta). With the race in pieces and seemingly noone willing to chase, Ben waited to the last lap to get away from the main bunch and take 14th.
So plenty of great top 10 results for the team for the Summer series opener. We're looking forward to next week!
Thanks to Steve Oliver of the pics.
Youth coaching update
The spring/summer of 2016 has seen a great start for our youth coaching for Sotonia. This weekend marked our third session back at Southampton University Avenue Campus and we've been seeing bigger groups every week. With 16 kids in attendance this week and a further two new recruits - over 30 kids on our records and an appearance by our very own chairman, the future for Sotonia Youth is looking bright.
This week's sessions consisted of the older group (8+) lead by Jez, learning the art of leading and following and riding together, taught on a circuit of corners where communication and steady pace were the order of the day. A great way to introduce them to group riding and riding close to someone’s wheel... the kids are loving it and we're struggling to get a word in edgeways by the end of a session with their noisy enthusiasm!
The younger ones (under the age of eight) coached by new trainee coach Mel, concentrated on balance and weight shifting, to help them maintain control whilst moving their body about their bike. This was achieved by negotiating narrow channels and then attempting to lower themselves enough to fit under a limbo bar which kept getting lower throughout the session.
We’ll be at Avenue campus car park next Saturday (9.30-11am), if you know of any kids who like riding their bike and would like to come and give our sessions a go, please let them know!
May Family Ride
Coming up too is our monthly Family Ride, departing the Standing Hat car park near Brockenhurst at approximately 10am on Bank Holiday Monday May 2nd. Again please do come along as it’s a great way to enjoy cycling with the family.
Strong team showing at Sandie Radford
The Sandie Radford Road Race was once again held on the Woodfalls circuit in the New Forest last weekend. With three large laps and just one final blast up the steep Pipers Wait climb in Nomansland in this years edition to the finish of the 40 mile race and there was some confident riding from the 10 Sotonia racers taking up the challenge.
Sotonia riders were in the mix throughout the race with James Peckham and Ed Slot active on the front of the bunch and a valiant breakaway effort by Andy McKay at mid point in the race as he bridged over to form a short lived three-man-break with Matt Downie (Eden Veranda) and James Hywel-Davies (Gillingham & District Wheelers).
Nothing stayed away though and it all came down to the final climb with Phil Godfrey and Ben Scott-Munden doing a great job of stretching out the group as they rode to put Ed Slot in position for the last ramp to the line. Ed put in a big dig and was just pipped to third spot on the line by James Horton (Cannondale) to take fourth behind winner, Calum Croft (Primera-TeamJobs). Just behind in 6th place was James Peckham, followed by Phil Wilks (13th) and Jonathan Hall (16th - and winner of his age group) giving Sotonia an excellent four riders in the top 20 of a high quality field.
Ed Slot powers his way to fourth place.
190bpm heartrate = Automatic tongue deployment for Phil Wilks
Racing and TT news roundup - 10 April 2016
Last weekend (9th and 10th April) was a very busy one for the Sotonia racers.
James Peckham and Ben Scott-Munden went to Hillingdon on the Saturday to race on the 0.94 mile closed road cycling circuit. James finished in the bunch in 3/4 Cat race, and Ben took an excellent 12th in the E/1/2 race, continuing a string of good results after moving up to 2nd Cat this year. James said...
"Rolled in with the bunch, couldn't really move up later in the race. I put in a cheeky dig mid way but wasn't going to stay away. Fun circuit!"
Dan Edwards had a chance to catch up with James and Ben whilst going through roadworks on the M3, but was instead heading up to Newmarket for an early season blast on the fast E2/25 time trial course, and getting a 25 mile PB of 53:56 with hopes of going even faster in the next couple of weeks.
"I made the journey up to ride the fast E2/25 (or 25.2!!) course. Conditions were good with a circa 10mph headwind for the run out to the turn which meant a lovely tailwind assisted return. I didn't have much in mind for the race, I mainly wanted to get a fast 25 in the bag and test the legs a bit. I decided that I would press on hard up to the turn, knowing the return leg would be much easier, sadly I got a bit carried away and went out way too hard. I was in a pretty bad way by about 8 miles but managed to hang on and reach the turn at an average of about 26mph. The return leg was a blast, and I averaged 30.1mph for 12.5 miles back to the finish - provisional result is 53:56 which is a bittersweet PB - I lost about 5 seconds at the turn stopping for a couple of cars but mainly my terrible pacing meant that I really could/should have done better. Will I ever learn to keep a lid on it in the first few miles?! Next race is another 25 on another fast course (and one I know from last year) so hopefully all going well I'll be able to shave a bit off that time."
Jez Hart and Tobie Charlton both journeyed up to Surrey to enter the Gorrick MTB race at Frimley Green, both racing in the Open category and finishing inside the top 10. Jez reports...
"Tobie and me rocked up at the race with 10 minutes to spare. So no pre-ride but a really good course full of peaty twists in the woods, climbs and sketchy descents. Tobie got 6th, I was 9th."
Matteo Charlie Ichino hopped across to the Isle of Wight to ride the third and final round of the SpyVelo Cyclocross Cup. Matteo finished 4th in Round 1 and 5th in Round 2.
"On the island it was tough! Wight Mountain and Spy Velo were in contention for the teams classification, so they were ganging up hard, getting me in the crossfire (this is me trying to find excuses). I got 4th senior, 5th overall after a disappointing sprint against the first of the V40s. I think I still got third overall, but the official standings are not out yet. Overall it was a good series, and there is words going around that they might host a Wessex league event next season."
Ed Slot was on holiday in Devon and decided to make the most of the trip by entering a local road race...
"I managed to get into the Plymouth Corinthians RR at Modbury (after being 10th reserve). Great course that really suited me but very windy conditions. The race was going well for me until someone crashed in front of me around 15 miles into the race, luckily I avoided crashing myself but I had to stop and then after chasing back on, was held up by another crash. I did my best to get back into the bunch but wasn't gaining any ground so pulled out after an unplanned 10 mile TT a minute behind the race. Winner was James Hywel-Davies, Andrew Lockwood (from So'ton Uni) came 2nd - both riders finished around 30 seconds ahead of a very whittled-down bunch. Not the result I hoped for but happy I raced and that I didn't crash."
For Phil Wilks, Sunday morning was the Sotonia Hill Climb. The sunny weather helped attract a great turnout of 22 riders, with about a further 20 gathered at the top of Dean Hill strategically positioned to see the maximum amount of pain...
"One of my goals for the year was be beat my PB of 2:10, and I'd done 2:13 in training the previous week so everything was going to plan, but there was a pretty strong headwind so I decided that this probably would have to wait until the Autumn event. Gemma (my wife) was also riding the event, which was lucky as 5 minutes before my start I realised my back tyre was flat and informed her that I'd be borrowing her wheel which would be promptly returned. Somehow I managed to pull a 2:04 out of the bag which I was very pleased with to say the least, and I believe equals the course record set by Paul Double (VC Venta) in 2015."
Sandie Radford Road Race, Start List
| No. | Name | Club | Cat |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bob Tyrrell | Dursley R.C. | |
| 2 | Garry Squires | Bournemouth Jubilee | |
| 3 | Roland Tilley | Ridebike.co.uk | |
| 4 | Julian Lockwood | Hub C.C. 11634 | C |
| 5 | Rich Stephens | Sotonia C.C. 15045 | C |
| 6 | Faye Faber | I.O.W. Cycling Club 15227 | L |
| 7 | Richard Burch | Sotonia C.C. 11065 | B |
| 8 | Jay Eastwood | Primera/Teamjobs 11165 | B |
| 9 | Stuart Peckham | New Forest C.C. 11623 | B |
| 10 | Lizzy Campbell | Bournemouth Jubilee 13821 | L |
| 11 | Tim Cooke | Sotonia C.C. 13912 | B |
| 12 | Jonathan Hall | Sotonia C.C. 14704 | B |
| 13 | Rick Garman | Unattached 15003 | B |
| 14 | Gary Hill | DHC Racing 15081 | B |
| 15 | Jason Gault | Primera/TeamJobs 14206 | A |
| 16 | Simon Merritt | UK-Biking/Copyrite 15088 | A |
| 17 | Rowan Horner | V.C.St. Raphael 15161 | A |
| 18 | Kim Little | Merida Factory Racing 10777 | M |
| 19 | David Pusey | Primera/Team Jobs 11041 | M |
| 20 | Rupert Silman | Bournemouth Jubilee 11042 | M |
| 21 | James Horton | UK-Biking/Copyrite 11408 | M |
| 22 | Simon Rogers | Royal Navy & Royal Marines CA 12862 | M |
| 23 | James Ash | Rock N Road 13217 | M |
| 24 | Phil Wilks | Sotonia C.C. 13720 | M |
| 25 | Andrew MacKay | Sotonia C.C. 14266 | M |
| 26 | Michael Ford | V.C.St. Raphael 14622 | M |
| 27 | Stewart Ward | New Forest C.C. 14671 | M |
| 28 | Brook Elgie | Rock N Road 14720 | M |
| 29 | Matthew Rollinnson | Bournemouth Jubilee 14941 | M |
| 30 | Philip Godfrey | Sotonia C.C. 15085 | M |
| 31 | James Cotty | Unattached 15124 | M |
| 32 | Daniel Stephens | Rock N Road 15144 | M |
| 33 | Liam Somerville | I.O.W. Cycling Club 15234 | M |
| 34 | Edward Usher | Unattached 15237 | M |
| 35 | Samuel Wadsley | Poole Wheelers 12612 | S |
| 36 | Calum Croft | Primera/Team Jobs 14124 | S |
| 37 | Cole Pearce | Vectis Roads C.C. 14566 | S |
| 38 | James Peckham | Sotonia C.C. 14572 | S |
| 39 | Ben Scott-Munden | Sotonia C.C. 14717 | S |
| 40 | James Meakin | UK-Biking/Copyrite 14722 | S |
| 41 | Tom Stocker | Bournemouth Jubilee Whls 15105 | S |
| 42 | Ed Slot | Sotonia C.C. 15119 | S |
| 43 | Jack Bailey | Mud Sweat N Gears 15133 | S |
| 44 | Oscar Hutchings | Primera/Team Jobs 15214 | S |
| 45 | Robert Williams | Army Cycling Union 15216 | S |
| 46 | Joshua Hooper | Primera/TeamJobs 12317 | J |
| 47 | Edward Hatfield | Primera/TeamJobs 12525 | J |
| 48 | James Hywel-Davies | Gillingham & District Whlrs 13202 | J |
| 49 | Jacob Aries | Primera/Teamjobs | |
| 50 | Alex Collins | Unattached 14990 | J |
| 51 | Charlie Cooper | Eden Verandas Racing 15194 | J |
| 52 | Tom Temple | Primera/TeamJobs 15213 | U16 |
| 53 | Freddie Broadmead | Frome & District Wheelers 15009 | M |
| 54 | Neil Adlem | Andover Wheelers 15248 | M |
Youth coaching back to the road
After a successful winter series of youth cyclocross coaching at Southampton Sports Centre, we are back "on the road" from Saturday 9th April for the spring and summer at the University of Southampton, Avenue Campus car park, the use of which is kindly granted by the University of Southampton, so a big thank you to them.
2016 event news
The next Family ride will be on the first bank holiday in May, 2nd May. Details to follow at a later date.
We'd also like to let you know of some up coming events which you may be interested in entering or coming along to support and watch.
Winchester Criterium and Cyclefest
We're looking forward to a good showing of our youth team at the Winchester Cyclefest on Sunday 5th June. This takes place in the heart of Winchester through the high street, what a great arena to start ones entry into the sport of road racing! Details are on the British Cycling event entry page. This event is becoming quite a big event on the road race calendar so we would advise early entry.
Winchester Park and Ride Criteriums
Taking place a week before is the start of a series of six events at the South Winchester Park and Ride, two of which are organised by Sotonia which would be good to have a good showing from our little ones. There are events for U8, U10, U12, U16 taking place between 9:30am and 11am.
These take place on 29th May, 19th June, 24th July, 7th August, 14th August and 18th September. Details of each event and how to enter are below.
VC Venta Summer Criterium 1, 29th May
Sotonia Summer Criterium 1, 19th June
VC Venta Summer Criterium 2, 24th July
Sotonia Summer Criterium 2, 7th August
VC Venta Summer Criterium 3, 14th August
VC Venta Summer Criterium 4, 18th September
Hope to see you soon at Avenue campus!
Sotonia coaching team
Test Valley Weekend: Antelope RT Two-up - Results
James Copeland and Gary Chambers (Fareham Wheelers) were winners of the Antelope RT Two-up 10, in a time of 20:42 on a cold, morning along the Test Valley. It was a weekend double for Copeland having won the Sotonia CC 'Chalkie White Memorial' 10 the previous day on the same course.
| Pos | Names | Club | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Copeland Gary Chambers | (Fareham Wh) | 20:42 |
| 2 | Ben Keightley Lewis Keightley | (Primera-Teamjobs/Bournemouth Jubilee) | 21:07 |
| 3 | Paul Double James Champken | (VC Venta/VC St Raphael) | 21:08 |
| 4 | Tom Lane Andy Langdown | (Blazing Saddles) | 21:10 |
| 5 | Henry Nixon Thomas Key | Soton Uni CC | 21:14 |
| 6 | Stephen Whitewick John Sibley | (Velorefined Aerosmiths) | 21:25 |
| 7 | Aran Stanton Simon Berogna | (VC St Raphael/Waites Contracts) | 21:29 |
| 8 | =Gregg Parker Chris Randall | (VC St Raphael/Waites Contracts) | 21:36 |
| 8 | = Sam Wadsley Ryan Weston | (Poole Wh) | 21:36 |
| 10 | Jamie Franklin William Flemming | (VC Venta) | 21:39 |
| 11 | Trevor Allen Charlie Leech | Soton Uni CC | 21:40 |
| 12 | Mark Valentine Simon Mclaughlin | Poole WH | 21:49 |
| 13 | Phil Wilks James Peckham | Sotonia CC | 21:50 |
| 14 | Ed Leeming Tim Wallis | Soton Uni CC | 22:02 |
| 15 | =Gerry Mcgarr Simon Healey | Gloucester City /Andover WH | 22:25 |
| 15 | =Gary Lock Ben Boardman | NfCC | 22:25 |
| 17 | Daniel Edwards Gawain Young | Sotonia CC | 22:33 |
| 18 | Jonathan Hall Jahan Hunter | Sotonia CC | 22:37 |
| 19 | Andrew Lockwood Scott Michaels | Soton Uni CC | 22:39 |
| 20 | Hamish Walker Paul Helyer | Blazing Saddles | 22:41 |
| 21 | Thomas Hayward Tim Smales | VC Venta | 23:03 |
| 22 | Darryl Barr Rob Sherrin | A3crg | 23:05 |
| 23 | Luke Trussler Craig Weston | Poole WH | 23:11 |
| 24 | Jame Brickell Chris Ewing | Fareham WH | 23:17 |
| 25 | Nick Burrell Tony Gifford | Andover WH | 23:35 |
| 26 | Martin Rowland Luke Rendall | Poole WH | 23:37 |
| 27 | Stephen Longman Jan Labrooy | Andover WH | 23:44 |
| 28 | Gary Parmenter Jed Webber | Andover WH | 23:51 |
| 29 | Chris Tomsett Rhys Thomas | Soton Uni CC | 23:52 |
| 30 | =Cameron Thompson Stuart Thompson | Andover WH | 23:53 |
| 30 | =Ollie Beresford Oliver Winwood Bratchell | VC Venta | 23:53 |
| 31 | Alberto Lapedriza Felix Young | VC Walcot | 23:55 |
| 32 | Garry Ferrett Dennis Tapping | Hants RC | 24.07 |
| 33 | Christopher Barritt | Soton Uni CC | 24:17 |
| 34 | Nick O Hara Phil Butchers | 3c Cycle Experience | 24:18 |
| 35 | Harry Griffiths Tom Ellis | Soton Uni CC | 24:19 |
| 36 | Andrew Deans Richard Cudlip | VC Venta | 24:30 |
| 37 | Les Pick Howard Pankhurst | Poole WH | 24:31 |
| 38 | John Vinson Gary Tuskin | Poole WH | 24:46 |
| 39 | Richard Bradley Ian Sherrin | 3C Cycle Experience | 25:18 |
| 40 | Barry Watkinson Michelle Walter (L) | Bournemouth Arrow | 25:22 |
| 41 | Mike Webber Nick Cooper | Andover WH | 25:23 |
| 42 | Neil Watts Duncan Hermer | Fit To Ride | 25:24 |
| 43 | Chris Kelly John Rivett | Poole WH | 25:40 |
| 44 | Martin Mckinlay Tom Vaux | Team Wiggle | 25:44 |
| 45 | Anna Morris Sophie Herbert | Soton Uni CC (L) | 25:48 |
| 46 | James Fox Rupert Gastor | VC Venta | 26:02 |
| 47 | Tom Maschio Tim Cook | VC Venta/Sotonia CC | 26:36 |
| 48 | Einar Thorsen Darren Lewis | 26:51 | |
| 49 | Neil Adlem Alison Jennings (L) | Andover WH | 27:37 |
| 50 | Narriet Hernando Ashia Fenwick (L) | VC Venta | 27:46 |
| 51 | Jez Hart Phillip Connell | Sotonia CC | 28:47 |
| 52 | Paul Burrows John Burrows | Msg/Poole WH | 30:03 |
| 53 | Sebastian Keats James Rowe | Poole WH | 30:45 |
| 54 | Anna Covey Emily Slavin (L) | Soton Uni CC | 31:08 |
| 55 | Martin Balk Sean Williams | 3c Cycle Experience | 31:47 |
| 56 | Reg Holden Susannah Davies | Poole WH | 35:45 |
Sotonia Time Trials are organised by Club members – this event could not have taken place without:
Timekeepers: Norman Harvey, Dave Crocker
Other helpers: Penny Cossburn, John Dudley, Martin Napier
Easter race news round-up
It was a busy weekend of road racing and time trials for Sotonia over the long Easter weekend. Here's how our riders got on...
Bournemouth Arrows Good Friday 10TT
Dan Edwards top club finisher and a fine 15th pace overall out of 99 starters in 22:49, Gawain Young (23.40) and Ed Slot 24:21 (road bike). The winner was James Copeland (Fareham Wheelers) who finished in 21:10 - an outrageous time on that course, which despite it's flat profile could hardly be described as fast.
Dan: "The glorious bank holiday weather was a nice change from last years grey and drizzly event. There was a tailwind which really pushed hard in the first couple of miles, it was very easy to get carried away - but of course you paid for it in the last couple of miles. I had a good ride, certainly better than my atrocious season opener at the test valley weekend!"
Coombe Castle Easter Classic
In his first year as a second cat rider, Ben Scott-Munden had a stellar circuit race debut in the E1/2 in a full field of 100 riders, finishing 15th.
Ben: "We did 44 miles of racing at an average of 28mph. I was worried that I'd be spat out the back in the crosswind sections but found that it was well within me and actually felt pretty easy in the bunch. There were a few dodgy moments with a Pedal Heaven rider taking a spill. A break went after about 20 minutes containing seven riders including Ken Buckley (Eden Veranda) and an NFTO rider (an actual NFTO rider) which just stayed away with the NFTO guy outsprinting Buckley by a tyres width. I managed to muscle my way to the front and finish well within the top ten of the bunch!!!"
Yorkshire Day at the Races round 5
Up in Yorkshire, new Sotonia rider, Russell Speight had a successful first taste of crit racing in the 4th cats.
Russell: "I took part in my first ever race today at York Cycle Circuit (I'm home for Easter so didn't travel just for the race). Lovely day for racing. Managed to get myself an 8th place finish in a sprint after a few people went off the front towards the end. Safe to say I'm pretty happy with points in my first event!"