Tom Budden continued his fine run of form with a brilliant top five performance for Sotonia in the senior race at Sparsholt for round 7 of the Wessex Cyclocross league last Sunday. Foggy weather at Sparsholt College threw up some challenging conditions and first real mud of the season, using the grass fields, bankings and tricky off camber turns on an excellent cross course that made racing difficult for some.
The senior race saw a great turnout of six Sotonia riders take the line – Tom Budden, Phil Wilks, Phil Godfrey, Tobie Charlton, Vytas Jakimavicius and Niels Langhout. Niels and Phil Wilks both had great starts but a tangle with the course tape left Niels at the back of the field, he recovered well to finish 37 of 50 riders. By the end of lap one, Tom was right at home in the sloppy conditions and sitting in second place behind Jody Crawforth (Hargroves Cycles). Tom held his top 3 position for most of the race until a dropped chain allowed Matt Macdonald (EVR) to pass, with Tom finishing in fourth place! Phil Wilks battled on with Tobie to 19th and 22nd then Phil Godfrey in (36th) and Vytas (37th).
First race of the day was the under 12s with George Connell showing some real determination. In the field of 67 v50 racers, we had Mike Mclachlan (59th) and new member Simon Fitzjohn (43rd). The Vets 40 race saw Jez Hart and Phil Connell team up again. Phil was unfortunate to suffer a mechanical that meant he had to run the last lap to finish the race. Jez also shipped his chain in the latter stages and despite losing a couple of places, finished 23rd of 79 starters.
We’re really looking forward to our own race event, sponsored by Hansford Cycles at Southampton Sports Centre on Sunday November 15th. Hope to see you all there! You can enter online here.
