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News, Results

East Devon Evening Ten Series event 1 results and report

The East Devon Evening Ten series on the Honiton ‘Fenny Bridges’ course got under way this week, with the first race organised by Exeter Wheelers. This year EWCC’s main man on the TT front, Mike Rose, has recruited a couple of senior citizen apprentices to help him run the events this year, and the three of them were out on the course in plenty of time getting the signage in place. 

The signs are good !

Twelve riders signed up on an overcast and slightly chilly evening, but at least the wind was only minimal.

Jimmy Richards of Pure Endurance was fastest on the night, on his road bike. Jimmy’s TT bike is broken after he was driven into by a car in the Four Firs Hilly – “Yeah, I still trying to get the insurance sorted” said Jimmy, but it was good to see him back in action after his scary experience at the Four Firs – “Thanks, yes, I’m okay, I was a bit groggy the day after the accident, it shook me up, but yeah, I feel okay, thankfully“. Jimmy’s winning time was 24:38.

Runner-up was Rich Babbage, of EWCC, who is back racing again after a couple of years away due to some health issues, and also due to the demands of becoming a dad again. He will be pleased with his excellent time of 24:50.

Another Wheeler took third place, this being Stu Pollard, on a road bike, with 25:09.

Above – Stu Pollard being a cheeky chappy as he swooshes past the marshall at the second turn.

A couple of younger riders made their time trialling debuts on the night – Lennox Turner, 18, finished with a time of 27:55 whilst his friend Harry McMahon, aged 19, recorded a creditable 26:20 despite having buried himself in a triathlon last weekend.

A mention also goes to Chard Wheeler John Hutchins, who previous to this evening had not ridden a time trial for 37 years, when he was a member of the St Budeaux CC club of Plymouth. John nearly got round on ‘evens’, missing it by a single second with 30.01, but not bad after a near-40 gap, and this was on a cyclo-cross bike, with the biggest rear sprocker the size of a small dustbin lid.

Full results:

        Age cat. Bike type Time points
1 Jimmy Richards Pure Endurance M senior road 24:38 21
2 Rich Babbage Exeter Whs. CC M vet D tt 24:50 20
3 Stuart Pollard Exeter Whs. CC M vet A road 25:09 19
4 James Salter Sid Valley CC M senior tt 25:16 18
5 Tim Fowler Exeter Whs. CC M vet C tt 25:18 17
6 Stewart Dunn Mid-Devon CC M vet A tt 26:15 16
7 Harry McMahon guest M senior road 26:20 15
8 Andrew Haydon Exeter Whs. CC M vet E road 26:27 14
9 Doug Parker Tor 2000 M vet E road 27:51 13
10 Lennox Turner guest     road 27:55 12
11 John Hutchins Chard Wheelers M vet D road 30:01 11
12 John Baker Exeter Whs. CC M vet D road 30:41 10
               
  age categories            
  40 – 44 A          
  45 – 49 B          
  50 – 54 C          
  55 – 59 D          
  60 – 64 E          

Thanks go to Mike Rose, Ann Owens, Phil Harris, Pete Bishop and Ken Evans for their time and energy in organising and running the event, and the club would also like to say special thanks to Mike’s partner Sally, who has now stepped back from her ‘evening ten’ duties after many years of devoted service, bless you Sally.

The next race in the series is next Wednesday, May 13th. 

The evening ten on the 20th of May is our ‘Women Only’ event, so if you are a female, come along ! and if you are a male then tell your mum, your wife, your aunt, your sister, and the lollipop lady at your local school all about the joys of evening tens, and encourage them to enter.

 

News

EWCC Open Ten Mile TT – open for entries now !

Our Open Ten Mile Time Trial is due to take place on Wednesday the 27th of May.

This was to have been on the Smeatharpe 10 mile course (the A30 dual-carriageway course had become too dangerous). However, on inspection three weeks or so ago there were found to be many serious potholes on the Smeatharpe course. These have been reported to DCC’s Highways Division, but they are unable to guarantee that they will be repaired in time, and furthermore some of the potholes, whilst of a nature that would endanger the safety of cyclist meeting them, do not fit the criteria for DCC to attend to them.

It has thus been decided to move the Open Ten to the ‘Fenny Bridges Course‘. The necessary Police Notification Form has been submitted and accepted, and the race is open for entries on the CTT website now. 

The club realises that the ‘club course’ does not offer the same potential for fast times, but felt that in the interests of safety we needed to take the action outlined above.

News

SWCX League AGM, a report.

EWCC Committee Members Jon Hare and Pete Bishop attended the AGM of the South-West Cyclo-Cross League, which was conducted online via Zoom on the 22nd of April .

Here are some of the salient proceedings and such:

  • The SWCX committee has lost three officers (treasurer, secretary, and social media co-ordinator), but recruited two, with Timothy Dodd the new treasurer and Jennie Thurston  the new secretary. It is still hoped to get a new social media co-ordinator recruited over the next few months. All the roles are of course voluntary and unpaid.
  • A review of participation figures looks generally positive, with a slight increase of 3% in rider numbers, or 5% on a like-for-like basis (the number of rounds increased to 10 last season). Female participation showed an 11% increase.
  • On the financial front, there was a net loss of £86 last year, which is essentially a break-even figure. £7,000 is in the bank, which has been stable year on year.
  • The presentation afternoon remains the largest expense, but it is felt that the venue (Exeter City AFC’s ‘Heritage Lounge’ is a fitting venue, and that holding the presentation there wins hearts and minds, which is very important in trying to keep especially the younger riders engaged. SWCX will, however, explore other possible venues that might also be suitable but more economical.
  • The SWCX Marquee tent is now approaching the end of its life, with a replacement likely to cost c. £1,200. It was proposed and agreed that committee members and race organisers would be asked to reach out to their respective clubs to see if they would be willing to help cover the cost via a donation of £100 per club, that would come with donating clubs having their logos incorporated in the fabric of the marquee.
  • The confirmed rounds for next season are:

Round 1

13th September

Torbay Velo Park

Round 2

27th September

Redruth School

Round 3

4th October

Arlington

Round 4

11th October

Wadebridge Showground

Round 5

1st November

Newnham upper    

Round 6

15th November

Escot

Round 7

29th November

Exeter Bike Park (Exminster)

Round 8

6th December

Newnham lower

Round 9

13th December

Perranporth Airfield

There is potentially another round that would be on the 22nd of November, but no organiser has yet been found or come forward. There may also be a Summer CX event, in early August, to tie in with Paignton Circuit Races.

  • Whilst some BC CX leagues have separate women’s races, SWCX do not (a survey of rider’s opinions on the subject was carried out by SWCX, with the majority of riders voting for no change). However, the league is under pressure from BC to review this again, so there will be further consultation of members at the end of the coming season. There will, however, be a separate Women’s Race at the Regional Championships this year. It is also hoped to run some SWCX women’s coaching sessions, possibly in August.
  • Junior boys will now race with the Senior and v40+ men rather than in the Women, V50+ V60+ race. It is also possible that the current order of the Senior & V40’s following the Women/V50+/V60+ race might be reversed, with the latter race the last of the day, but this would go out to consultation before any changes were considered, and the consensus of opinion of committee members seemed to be that such a move isn’t that likely to occur.
  • The cost for entry to SWCX races will remain the same i.e. no increase. There will, however, be an increase of £1 for each rider’s League Registration.
  • The move to digital BC licences rather than physical cards is posing problems in that riders are tending to go home with race chips. Payment of a deposit that would be returned when chip is returned would be logistically difficult and place undue burden on organisers. It was proposed and passed that, as in CTT Time Trials, if a rider, after their race, does not sign out and return chip then they will not get a result. A time limit for sign-out & chip return to be set.
  • The committee were thanked on behalf of Exeter Wheelers for the time and work they all put in to keep SWCX running.