Results – Hove Park Crit Series 4

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Ian Robins & Mark Amicucci-Brown winners at the final  round of the George Samuel Memorial Hove Park Crits  last Friday in Brighton

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Results – Hove Park Crit Series 4

NOTE: Send your results as well as club, team & event news here

Race 4 4th July 2014

Cat 4 Race
They say when one door closes another one opens…the final race in the George Samuel Memorial Hove Park Crits Series comes just as the UK prepares itself for the start of another bicycle race…something to do with France I think?

Now the dust has settled on the Grand Depart and the selfies have all been uploaded to various social media platforms we find time to wrap up race 4 of the 2014 Hove Park series. The 4th Cat only race got off bang on time in good conditions with a healthy field cranking things up from the gun. This quickly saw riders on the back foot with a lead group form very early on with a chase group trying to keep the leaders in their sights.

The lead group comprised of some riders who had clearly had promotion to the Cat 3 ranks on their minds and Mark Amicucci-Brown (Evans Cycle Team), Edward Britton (Dulwich Paragon) and John Aston (Private) were looking very focused.
With the riders taking the long drag up to the finish each lap the relentless pace saw the lead group whittled down to only 8 riders with Aston and Oliver Morris-Jones (Private) taking turns to make little digs.

When the 5 laps to go board was held up the ever-decreasing lead group started to settle down for the final sprint whilst what was left of the field were just hanging on for the bell. The inevitable attacks came in the last couple of laps but in the end it was Amicucci-Brown (Evans Cycle Race Team) who proved the strongest and took a well-deserved win, followed by the very smooth looking Oliver Morris-Jones (Private) and Edward Britton (Dulwich Paragon).

All in all it was a display of great riding from the Cat 4 riders which proves that cycle racing is going from strength to strength in the UK with no shortage of talented and dedicated Cat 4 riders getting stuck in to bike racing.

Race 3 – Cat 4 Results
1. Mark Amicucci-Brown (Evans Cycle Race Team)
2. Oliver Morris-Jones (Private)
3. Edward Britton (Dulwich Paragon)
4. John Aston (Private)
5. Michael Davey (Eastbourne Rovers CC)
6. Andrew Brown (Thames Velo)
7. Gregor Ross (Brighton Mitre)
8. Rob Paynter (Brighton Excelsior CC)
9. Howard Shaw (Eastbourne Rovers CC)
10. Anthony Grey (Crawley Wheelers)
11. Mark Edwards (Eastbourne Rovers CC)
12. Graham Winstanley (On The Rivet)
13. Elliot Brown (Eastbourne Rovers CC)
14. Stephen Roberts (Eastbourne Rovers CC)
15. Liam Brightmore (Brighton Mitre)
16. Lee Benson (Fareham Wheelers)
17. Simon Mercado (Private Member)
18. Simon Waller (Kingston Phoenix)
DNF Alex Marlow (Brighton Mitre CC)

Cat 2/3 Race
So we come down to it at last…the final race in the 2014 Hove Park series. With double points on offer all night it was a chance for the top 3 riders in the overall standings to upset the applecart. Paul Flynn (Pivot Boompods) was the clear leader but a mechanical or DNF could see him lose his chance to take the series title.

The overall series winner would be receiving the George Samuel Memorial Trophy plus a voucher from The Bike Store, 65 Brighton Road, Worthing (they also kindly donated prizes given out during the evening to various categories such as ‘most aggressive rider’ and ‘lanterne rouge’).

A field of 20 riders lined up at the start and as soon as the flag dropped the pace was whipped up immediately. The series contenders parked themselves on the front and quickly tested each other with digs up the finishing hill. Straight away several riders saw their races over as they blew just trying to hang on to the group.

Prime 1 came early on and with double points on offer the series leaders were taking no chances. Ian Robbins (Brighton Mitre) took top points followed by Paul Flynn (Pivot Boompods) and Zak Corum-Haines (VC Jubilee). This had the effect of splitting the bunch completely and a small lead group of 10 opened up a sizable gap over the remnants of the field.

All the movers and shakers were in the lead group so there were no attempts from the chasers to pull back the leaders. The group of 10 quickly set about cranking out a high tempo with the main contenders ensuring the pace was kept high. There were a couple of passengers who were unable to contribute to the pace but grimly hung on to the back wheels.

Prime 2 once again saw Robbins power up the finishing straight to take the points with Flynn taking second and Kieran Ali (Cycleworks) third. Straight after the prime, Eliot Lipski (VC Elan) attacked and got a bit of daylight but was swiftly brought back….almost immediately a counter move was launched by Barney Willard (PB Cycle Coaching RT). This looked to be a smart move and Willard stayed away to claim prime 3 with Flynn and Robbins taking second and third.

Quick calculations suggested that Flynn was going to take the title but it would all come down to the finish…

Just before the 5 laps to go Lipski made another bid for glory but was once again chased down – they were not going to get anyone get too much distance. Once again a counter was launched and it was Willard’s teammate Paul Butler (PB Cycle Coaching RT) who made the move of the race earning him the most aggressive rider at the end of the day.

With two laps to go Butler looked like he had it in the bag but was brought back…in a classic cycling 1-2 Willard launched another move. Was PB Cycle Coaching RT going to snatch victory away from the series leaders?

The last lap saw the spectators holding their collective breath willing on the solo break but it was Robbins who repeated his powerful uphill sprint (which saw him claim the primes) to take the race win. Kieran Ali took second with Chris Wilkinson (Dulwich Paragon) third but fourth place for Paul Flynn meant he had sealed overall victory.

It was a cracking race and a fitting finale to the 2014 series: Paul Flynn (Pivot Boompods) was a deserving overall winner but he had some strong challengers in the form of Ian Robbins (Brighton Mitre), Zak Corum-Haines (VC Jubilee) and last year’s winner Phil Glowinski (VC Londres).

The 2014 series saw some great racing over the summer and the organisers would like to thank all the riders who took part and all the volunteers that helped and made the racing possible. Chapeau to all!

Race 3 – Cat 2/3 results
1. Ian Robbins (Brighton Mitre)
2. Kieran Ali (Cycleworks.co.uk)
3. Chris Wilkinson (Dulwich Paragon CC)
4. Paul Flynn (Pivot Boompods)
5. Zak Corum-Haines (VC Jubilee)
6. Oli Pepper (Kinesis Morvelo Project)
7. Christian Faires (Blazing Saddles)
8. Elliot Lipski (VC Elan)
9. Barney Willard (PB Cycle Coaching)
10. Paul Butler (PB Cycle Coaching)
11. Tim Warner (Blazing Saddles)
12. Rory Wilkinson (Dulwich Paragon)
13. Chirs Hewitt (Brighton Mitre)
14. Matthew Reid (Sussex Nomads)
15. Douglas Fox (Crawley Wheelers)
16. Rupert Robinson (Crawley Wheelers)
17. Joel Draper (Brighton Mitre)
DNF Declan Egan (Kingston Wheelers)
DNF Matt Walters (Sigma Sport)
DNF Richard Moult (Private Member)

Final Overall Standings (after race 4)
1. Paul Flynn (Pivot Boompods)………………………..108pts
2. Ian Robins (Brighton Mitre)………………….……….86pts
3. Zak Corum-Haines (VC Jubilee)………….……………42pts
4. Chris Wilkinson (Dulwich Paragon CC)………….42pts
5. Barney Willard (PB Cycle Coaching)……………….21pts
6. Michael Coyle (Brighton Mitre)………………….…..14pts
7. Marc Townsend (Neon-Velo Cycling Team)..…..13pts
8. Alex Briggs (Rollapaluza)……………………………….12pts
9. Daniel Clark (Brighton Mitre)…………………………10pts
10. Oli Pepper (Morvelo)……………………………………..10pts
11. Will Adams ……………………………………………………8pts
11. Jules Birks (VC Londres)………………………..……….8pts
11. Elliott Lipski (VC Elan)……………………………………8pts
11. Christian Faires (Blazing Saddles)…………………..8pts
12. Euan Adams (Private Member)…………….…………7pts
13. Paul Barnard (Southdowns Bikes)…………………..5pts
14. Mark Smith (Crawley Wheelers)……………..………5pts
15. Kairan Ali (Cycleworks)…………………………………4pts
16. Jon Cannings (i-Ride.co.uk)………………………..……4pts
17. James Plumb (i-Ride.co.uk)……………………….……3pts
17. Matt Farren (Brighton Mitre)……………………..……3pts
18. John-Paul Brophy (Neon-Velo Cycling Team)…….2pts
18. Andy Ten-Broeke (PB Cycle Coaching)…………….2pts
19. Jed Williamson (Brighton Mitre)……………………..1pts
19. Paul Bulter (PB Cycle Coaching)…………………..……1pt

 

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