25^th September

Isla wins Three Peaks Classic in Yorkshire

Former National Cyclo Cross Champion Isla Rowntree scored a notable victory in North Yorkshire on Sunday in the most testing “off road” race in the Cyclo Cross calendar. The Three Peaks covers 40 plus miles in the Yorkshire Dales including the severe Pen-y-Gent climb and descent back to the finish in Ribblesdale.

Isla’s win in the women’s category was hard fought. At one point she held a 10 minutes lead over her nearest rival only to suffer from cramp. Following the lung bursting ascent of Pen-y-Gent her lead had been reduced to 10 seconds. Isla recovered sufficiently to open a gap on the run in to win by 1min 20 secs. Her winning time was 4:04:44 which is an indication of the severity of the course.

The event is unisex and attracted a total entry in excess of 300 riders. The club also had four finishers in the men’s category. Leading them home was Tim Goodall who has had a season away from competitive cycling to concentrate on his studies. Tim finished in 4:19:43. Richard Bowater a previous winner of the Schoolboy National Cyclo Cross title came home in 4:26:32.

Veteran Kevin Payton had the misfortune to puncture which meant he had to replace his inner tube. He still finished in a creditable time of 4:33:13. Finally Matt Bowker came home in 5:12:23.

Alan Colburn at 75 years young returned to winning ways in the VTTA 10 at Alcester when his actual time of 24.40 gave him first on standard. Riding the same event Mike Donnelly maintained a fine first racing season with the Stourbridge squad. His time of 21.07 gave him second overall beaten by just 4secs.

New World Champion Roger Iddles continued his winning ways back home taking 1^st place in the Inkberrow Road Race. This means that Roger has won his category in the season long Percy Stallard Series. This weekend at Matlock will be the final event in the Rudy Project Time Trial Series. At present “on standard” Roger shares the lead with former international rider John Woodburn, both having two wins. The result is very much in the balance as both riders are in top form.

Les Archer