Wilks wins Alpe du Zwift handicap
Congratulations to Sotonian Tom Wilks who won our 2024 Alpe du Zwift handicap challenge. 50 riders set off up the hill on Tuesday night, of whom 21 were from Sotonia (other riders were from VC Venta and Poole Wheelers).
Tom’s time of 41:39 saw him beat his handicap by a full 11 minutes, overtaking Nick Henson from Poole in the final straight. Kent Langridge from VC Venta was the third finisher.
For Sotonia, the first three finishers were Tom Wilks and Jos Robson (both of whom were U16), followed by Evan Jardine Skinner. But the fastest overall rider on the night and also new Sotonia champion was Joey Wynne with an extraordinary time of 41:24, pipping Tom by 15 seconds. Andy Gardiner was the third fastest Sotonian, on 42:50.
In the ladies event, first female finisher was Sonia Whiteman from Venta, followed by Angela Laycock (Poole) and Vikki Sutcliffe (Sotonia). But Angela Laycock was the fastest overall female finisher (57:23) followed by Sonia (66:50) and Vikki (just 4 seconds behind).
That makes Vikki the new Sotonia champion, with Gemma Wilks (68:39) and Claire Johnson (86:23) filling out the podium.
Full results can be seen here
Thank you, and congratulations to all riders. We hope to see you again for our next challenge, a chase race to be organised at the end of the ZRL season.
Sign up for the Alpe du Zwift handicap race
Sotonia’s annual handicap chase up the Alpe has been set for Tuesday 9 January 2024, with the first riders setting off at 1830.
This is a great event for all Zwifters, whatever your level of experience or skill. The handicap system will give slower riders an advantage over the faster riders, with the intention that everybody gets to the top at the same time. You can set yourself the challenge of completing the ride, beating your handicap, or being the first to the top. While it’s available, this really doesn’t have to be proper type II suffering.
We’ll be joined by riders from VC Venta and Poole Wheelers. Last year I 'fiddled the handicaps' which led to me being the first across the line. Can I defend my title? Can Will Weynberg defend his fastest men’s segment time? Can Sarah Champion defend hers? And who’ll challenge Sam Ridgment’s U16 title? Can Oscar Hoult retain his crown as the fastest non-Sotonia rider?
All will be revealed on Tuesday 9 January. Find out more details here and sign on in our Sotonia CC companion app club.
Tim Cooke
Wessex CX League, Round 8, Dalton Barracks
Round 8 of the Wessex Cyclocross League at Dalton Barracks put on its trademark technical course based on a M.O.D 4x4 training area full of deep ruts and even deeper puddles on Sunday. It was 3°c and it was raining – pretty standard for Abingdon – needless to say there weren't many bare arms or legs on show!
You were doing well if you stayed upright in the super slippery conditions, but plenty of our boys and girls did on their way to race highlights like another win for Izzy Hall (U16 girls), Tom Wilks – 2nd U14 boy and there were a trio of Sotonians on the U16 boys podium with Monty Flavell nipping past Niclas Olley and Tom Allen in a thrilling sprint for 2nd, 3rd and 4th.
Elsewhere, Andy Gardiner didn't let a mere flat tyre stop him while sitting 2nd in v40 Open with two laps to go and no spare bike - he still managed 5th place behind Tom Budden in 4th. There were also top fives for Freddie Trosh and James Sutton (U10 boys), Matilda Wilks and Eve Carline (u12 girls) and Emma Harrison - 3rd Junior woman. George Connell was also clearly loving the technical stuff with his best results of the season – a fantastic 3rd place as a first year Junior.
Great riding everyone!
Photos: Pitchside Paul
Segment of the month final results
October saw the end of the 2023 segment of the month competition, with only a little bit of shuffling of the orders at the top of the rankings. Emma Harrison cemented her position at the top of the U16 women’s competition, beating Izzy Hall into second place.
In the overall women’s competition, Sophie Sellars, who had established an early lead, held on to this, from the hard chasing Jen Dawson, with Debbie Hallett rounding out the podium. Curiously, Izzy Hall came in 4th, ahead of Emma Harrison, because her times were often slightly faster than Emma’s. Indeed, Izzy was actually the fastest female on three of the months, and second fastest on two more. Things look good for her in the future.
In the U16 men’s competition, George Connell took the top step, just one point ahead of Niclas Olley. There’s going to be some battles to come between those two in future years.
Andy Gardiner had established a strong lead in the men’s overall competition, and cemented this in October. He gave himself a slack month though, only coming in fourth fastest (an off month for Andy, but something the rest of us can only dream of). Jeremy Hubbard brought cunning and strength to the competition, saving his joker to the final month, and setting the fastest time this month. This helped him leapfrog into second place overall, ahead of George Connell. Special mention to Paul Macken, mixing it with the young ‘uns, and only just being pipped to the podium.
Final results can be seen here.
So that’s a wrap for 2023. We’ll be back in April 2024. Thanks to those of you who have filled in the google form asking for suggestions for next round.
Season results
Women’s U16
1. Emma Harrison 155 points
2. Izzy Hall 144 points
Women’s overall
1. Sophie Sellars 162 points
2. Jen Dawson 159 points
3. Debbie Hallett 145 points
Men’s U16
1. George Connell 166 points
2. Niclas Olley 165 points
3. Corbin Gregson 36 points
Men’s overall
1. Andy Gardiner 166 points
2. Jeremy Hubbard 139 points
3. George Connell 131 points
Wessex CX League, Round 5, Southampton
It's been a busy few weeks for the team preparing for the club's biggest event of the year - round 5 of the Wessex Cyclocross League at Southampton Sports Centre. Our volunteers were amazing as always... days spent setting up the course, event village, marshalling and taking it all down at the end, took a team of 30 fantastic people. Well worth it to see over 450 riders (including 54 from Sotonia) race of all ages!
We put on our trademark flowing but technical course, testing rider skill and power and cold conditions arrived for Sunday, but the sun resulted in the ground baking, so the course was fast – although we're sure many riders were caught out by the notorious off-camber bank.
Race highlights saw brilliant wins for Izzy Hall (U16 girls), Tom Wilks ((14 boys) and Andy Gardiner (v40 open). There were also top fives for Annie Forsyth, Flo Boustred (u8 girls), Freddie Trosh and James Sutton (U10 boys), Matilda Wilks and Eve Carline (u12 girls), Reuben Harrington (u14 boys), Skye Martingale (u16 girls), Niclas Olley, Tom Allen and Monty Flavell (u16 boys) and George Connell (Junior open).
Photos: Pitchside Paul
Podium finish for Sotonia
The first round of 6 races in the Zwift Racing League came to an end this week. Sotonia Bees (men’s category B team) capped a superb series, coming 2nd in the Team Time Trial around Greatest London Flat. This cemented their third place on the podium.
Congratulations to all the squad who contributed this round: Adrian Robinson Chris Moody, Greg Sanger James Peckham Jerome Bakker, Joffrey Carlier, Mike Marsh Nick Jennings, Niels Langhout, Rob Gasson, Russell Speight, Sam Cooper
Sotonia Cranks (women’s C category) finished their season in 10th place overall. They finished strong in the team time trial, pulling out a huge 4 minute gap on their chasing team, and closing well onto the team that set off ahead of them.
SotoniAs (men’s A team) had just 3 starters in the final race, but rode bravely to the line. They finished 13th in their league, and would be more than keen to have new riders join them.
There’s now a short break before the next 6 week round starts on November 14th. More than enough time for you to join our team of Tuesday night riders. Just let us know. We really need more men’s category A and men’s category B riders, please. Wherever you fit in those categories, there’s a place for you.
Sotonia win again in the Zwift Racing League
Sotonia recorded their third win of the round this week. Sotonia Bees (men's category B team) topped the table on the bumpy Temples and Towers route.
Strong riding from James Peckham, Russell Speight, Chris Moody, Rob Gasson, Adrian Robinson and Greg Sanger gave them their second win of the season (SotoniAs having claimed the other first place this season), and puts Bees in third place overall in their league. With the team time trial to come next week, Bees are confident that they'll cement their place on the podium.
SotoniAs (men's category A team) and Cranks (women's category C team) both found this week's course tougher. There were only 3 finishers in each of their teams (although much to celebrate in Cranks, where Suzy Howick was very pleased that her chain didn't fall off this week), so they're very keen to recruit more riders. We also want to split our Bees into two teams. So if you want to join a winning team, create a new one, or just have lots of Type II fun in your garage on the dark winter nights, let us know. There's a brief pause in the fun until the next round starts on November 14th. Just let us know below, or contact an existing rider, if you fancy joining in.
September Segment Of The Month results
Perhaps because of all the shenanigans with the segment changes, only 24 Sotonians ventured up Woodgreen Hill this month.
Izzy Hall continued her run at the top of the U16 female competition, beating Emma Harrison into second place. Emma, though, has the lead in the overall competition, and, if she passes through this month’s segment, will claim the overall win. Izzy was also fastest in the women’s open competition, with Sophie Sellars and Jennifer Dawson coming in 2nd equal. It’s tight between those two at the top of the overall competition: just two points separate them, so it’s all to ride for next month.
George Connell stormed his way to the top of the U16 men’s competition, beating Niclas Olley into second. George holds first place in the overall, but will be worried by Niclas’ joker in the final month.
Andy Gardiner did what Andy does, and led the overall men’s times (snagging the second fastest all-time on the segment). George Connell came in second, beating Joey Wynne into third. Andy has the overall competition sewn up now, leading Paul Macken and George Connell. But Jeremy Hubbard, yet to play his joker, will have his eye on second spot.
Full results can be viewed here.
So, October is the final month of the 2023 competition, and takes us back to the Forest, this time to the Hamptworth Road segment: ra3. This was postponed from September, and don’t worry: I went out today to check the gravel "top-dressing", and its now safe. Good luck. While it’s the last month for the competition, we’re still open to newcomers. Find out how to join here.