Being caught only 300 metres from the
finish line, Richard Robinson’s late bid for victory
was taken away from him by the main pack all wanting
the win in the last mile of the Thurcroft Road Race
held on Sunday 24th April. With Richard being caught
so close to the finish it was down to a 60 rider sprint
for the line with Gareth Williams (Cherry Valley RT)
finishing 7th overall.
The riders covered 6 laps of a short 6 mile circuit
on the busy roads around Thurcroft and Laughton Common
before turning off the circuit on the last lap to finish
at the top of short but hard climb into the wind. The
race started fast in the tailwind section and a crash
occurred in the first mile with nervous riders touching
wheels. The first and only serious action saw Gareth
Williams jump clear of the main bunch on the first lap
on the climb through Laughton Common. He quickly gained
a 10 second advantage staying clear of the chasing pack
for 4 miles before being joined by team mate Richard
Robinson. The two riders worked hard together for a
further 2 miles before being caught by a negative bunch
who then just slowed down.
The race continued to follow a routine pattern for
the following laps and on the final lap Richard tried
his luck once more with a hard attack taking 3 riders
with him. With the other riders failing to put any hard
work into staying clear, the break only lasted a mile
and was brought back half way around the final lap approaching
Laughton Common. As the race approached the final mile,
all the riders now realised it would be 60 rider sprint
up the climb to the finish, except Richard who seized
this opportunity of stalemate and flew out of the main
bunch at 35 mph and held a slim lead of a few seconds
as he approached the turn off into the finish. Riders
from other teams, most notably Dinnington RC and Thurcroft
RC, now sacrificed their own chances of victory by working
tirelessly to bring Richard back to the main pack which
they did with only 300 meters to the finish line.
Fast approaching the uphill finish line, Jonathon Tennick
(Thurcroft CC) and Dave Thorpe (Dinnington RC) made
their bid for victory. At this point Gareth was only
3 bike lengths behind when he started his sprint. The
finish line was fast approaching and Gareth realised
he left the sprint too late but still put in an all
out lunge for the line to finish 7th in a tight sprint
and right on the wheel of the winner Jonathon Tennick.
‘If the finish line had been another 20 yards
up the hill, I would have caught Tennick’, saif
Gareth, ‘but we didn’t have a look at the
finish hill before we started. It was a brave move by
Richard, being caught so close to the finish having
put in a huge effort meant he ended up finishing in
the main bunch and this finish would have suited Richard
more than me’.
1. Jonathon Tennick Thurcroft
CC
2. David Thorpe Dinnington RC @ st
3. Robert Blackburn Unattached @ st
4. Richard Gouldburn Rutland CC @ st
5. Steve Thompson Dinnington RC @ st
6. Robert Day Dinnington RC @ st
7. Gareth Williams Cherry Valley RT
8. Brian Hughes Dinnington RC@ st
9. Lewis Jackson Bridlington CC @ st
10. Stephen Ellis Rutland CC @ st
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