Wayne Crombie & Jules Birks winners of the events at the third round of the George Samuel Memorial Hove Park Crits
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Thanks to Bruce Samuel Brighton Mitre CC
The third in the series of four races at Hove Park saw the riders greeted by one of the sunniest evenings so far but with a strong wind gusting down the back straight it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park…
With overall series leader Jules Birk (VC Londres) and third placed rider Mike Coyle (Brighton Mitre) not in attendance this was a golden opportunity for the other riders with designs on the series trophy to move up the scoreboard.
This was quite clearly what was on Stuart Bettis’ mind (Southdowns Bikes and currently lying 5th overall) as he broke clear in the very early stages of the race after contesting the first prime of the night. Bettis banked valuable points by winning the prime whilst Philip Glowinski (VC Londres) added to his position in the series by bagging second. Securing third spot was Wayne Crombie (East London Velo) – currently in cracking form having just placed in the top 10 at London Nocturne support race – who then bridged to Bettis in his bid for victory.
Both riders settled into a rhythm and established a strong working partnership which saw them edge away from the bunch who still seemed unsure as to exactly what they should be doing about the escapees.
The pair started to put some distance between themselves and the bunch (now with Glowinski back in the fold) as the pressure started to build and riders started to cling on to the back of the field like Cav going up an Alpine pass. Unfortunately for some riders, Brighton Mitre rouleur Ian Robbins put in a massive dig in an attempt to bridge the gap to the break and this proved too much for as the elastic snapped and they were consigned to no-man’s land.
Primes 2 and 3 saw Bettis score a first and second whilst Crombie scored top points on prime 3…again Glowinski kept himself in running for the series top spot by hoovering up third spot in both primes.
At just over the halfway mark Robbins was again winding up the pace but couldn’t close the gap and the bunch were soon back together whilst Bettis and Crombie traded turns on the front, consolidating their lead. The increase in pace however saw more riders shelled out the back and the pack was whittled down even further. It was looking like the dynamic duo of Bettis and Crombie were about to lap the field!
When the junction was finally made Crombie surprised with a canny move around the field that Bettis couldn’t match and suddenly Crombie was clear. He then soloed to a fine victory whilst aggressive Bettis secured a deserved second place. The much reduced group scrapped for the third step on the podium with Glowinski rounding off a fine race with winning the bunch sprint.
Race 3 has set the scene for a dramatic final in July: the top 3 in the series standings are all within touching distance of each other and with double points on offer (for both the primes and final placings) this series is not going to be a foregone conclusion. The George Samuel Memorial Crits 2014 is really going to come down to the wire!
Race 3 – Cat 2/3 Results
1. Wayne Crombie (East London Velo)
2. Stuart Bettis (Southdowns Bikes)
3. Philip Glowinski (VC Londres)
4. Iain Cook (VC Londres)
5. Iain Robin (Brighton Mitre)
6. Elliott Lipski (VC Elan)
7. Gavin Starling (Brighton Mitre)
8. Joe Hyatt (Brighton Mitre)
9. Matt Hill (V02 Development Team)
10. Robert Quin (Brighton Mitre)
11. Elliott Lipski (VC Elan)
12. George Higgs (Crawley Wheelers)
13. Jack Evans (Brighton Mitre)
14. Chris Fletcher (ASL 360)
15. Andy Bradshaw (VC Londres)
16. Michael Vance (Dulwich Paragon)
17. Barney Willard (In-Gear)
2013 George Samuel Memorial Hove Park Overall Points Standings (After Race 3)
1. Jules Birks (VC Londres)……………….50pts
2. Philip Glowinski (VC Londres)………..48pts
3. Stuart Bettis (Southdowns Bikes)……..43pts
4. Michael Coyle (Brighton Mitre)…..……27pts
5. Wayne Crombie (East London Velo)…..27pts
6. Dan Gardener (ASL 360)…………….…20pts
7. Paul Flynn (Brighton Mitre)……………14pts
8. Georgios Crouch (VC Meudon)………….14pts
9. Iain Cook (VC Londres)…….…………..10pts
10. Iain Robin (Brighton Mitre)……………6pts
11. Patrick Martin (Wyndymilla)……………6pts
12. James Solly (VC Londres)………………6pts
13. Elliott Lipski (VC Elan)…………………5pts
14. Barney Willard (In-Gear)…………………5pts
15. Gavin Starling (Brighton Mitre)………..4pts
16. Paul Butler (In-Gear)……………………..4pts
17. Joe Hyatt (Brighton Mitre)………………3pts
18. Jack Evans (Brighton Mitre)……………3pts
19. Matt Hill (V02 Development Team)…….2pts
20. Mark Westrun (Strada-Sport)…………..2pts
21. Robert Quin (Brighton Mitre)………..….1pt
CATEGORY 4
The Cat 4 race at Hove Park always proves to be a happy hunting ground for those riders who are prepared to ride strongly and who want to get the points to move up to Cat 3. Race 3 of the series saw over 30 riders take to the start line – all sporting the look of steely determination which said ‘I want the win’ – it was going to be a hard race.
The commissaire allowed the only two female riders in the group (Rachel Prybylski from WyndyMilla and Lizzy Brama from Brighton Mitre) to set off 30 seconds before the rest of the bunch and they quickly set about eating up the circuit – the bunch was going to have to work hard if they wanted to catch them!
The girls built up a solid lead and the bunch set about getting motivated – the tempo was high with riders being dropped after only a few minutes. Eventually the catch was made but the work the group had done took its toll – 17 riders were going to be fighting it out for the win with another group of riders (begging for the pain to end) behind them.
With riders scattered all over the circuit this was one of the hotly contested Cat 4 races of the series so far – and the leading group were not going to give an inch when it came down to the gallop.
As the laps counted down the leading group wound up the pace but no one was allowed to go clear. Anthony Barker (Crawley Wheelers) delivered a powerful sprint up the testing final drag creating some daylight between him and second placed rider Barney Kennard (Sussex Nomads). Third place went to Ross Stringer (also from Sussex Nomads).
All in all a cracking Cat 4 race which illustrates just how Hove Park can deliver some great racing – many congratulations to all those in the race that made such an exciting one to watch!
Race 3 – Cat 4 Results
1. Antony Barker (Crawley Wheelers)
2. Barney Kennard (Sussex Nomads)
3. Ross Stringer (Sussex Nomads)
4. Jon Woolrich (Velo Sport Jersey)
5. Matthew Leary (In-Gear)
6. Simon Parker (Crawley Wheelers)
7. Philip Wallace-Tarryrs (Crawley Wheelers)
8. Alex Stephenson (Brighton Mitre)
9. David Harries (Eastbourne Rovers)
10. Simon Dowling (Brighton Mitre
11. Josh Dunne (Sussex Nomads)
12. Nigel O’Brien (Brighton Mitre)
13. Nick Smith (Lewis Wanderers)
14. Kane Moore (ASL 360)
15. John Marinku (Brighton Phoenix)
16. Jake Fieldsend (VC Jubilee)
17. Robert Paynte (VC Jubilee)
18. Josh Beath (Sussex Nomads)
19. Lizzy Brama (Brighton Mitre)
20. Richard Harper (Kington Wheelers)
21. Daniel Justin (Dulwich Paragon)
22. Gregory Ross (Private Member)
23. Jonty Tacon (Brighton Mitre)
24. Darren Haynes (Crawley Wheelers)
25. Andy Tedd (A3CRG)
26. Rachel Prybylski (WyndaMiller)
27. Trevor Roberts (Brighton Mitre)
28. Alex Bayfus (Sussex Nomads)
29. Daniel Fagg (Brighton Mitre)
30. Jeff Geyre-Walker (VC Jubilee)
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