Report – Interservices Cycling RR Championships

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The Army Cycling Union showed their strength in depth as they cleaned up at the Interservices races inSouthwick

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Report – Interservices Cycling RR Championships

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

Wednesday 1st October 2014 | by Graham Robins

The Army Cycling Union showed their strength in depth as they cleaned up at the Interservices races inSouthwick just to the north of Portsmouth

The races were based near the home of the service police training established in Southwick and took in a six mile rolling course out towards Denmead, Worlds End before returning to Southwick to complete a lap. The mornings support and Women’s races were four laps with the afternoon’s senior race being seven laps.

InterServicesRRCHamps
The morning started wet as the support race rolled away from the HQ and through the village onto the course. The women’s race started five minutes later and both races were very well supported by all three branches of the armed forces. It took both races nearly three laps to settle with attacks soon being brought back very quickly. The Army riders in both races were managing to control both races and it was on lap three when both events opened out.

First the men’s race saw six riders ease of the front and build up a minute lead before two riders from the Army forced the pace and got away. Both Capt Tony Ireland and SSgt Robert Jones now working hard together soon saw their gap increase quickly with only one other rider SSgt Robert Froud managing to match the pace and he was soon across the gap and joined up with the two other team mates. With three riders from the Army away up the road the rest of the team came to the front to control the race and marshal any attacks.

In the Women’s race there were also three riders up the road but this time the gap was well over three minutes. The riders away were 2Lt Elizabeth Jane Harris and SSgt Chanel Mason of the Army and SqnLdr Victoria Webb from the RAF CC.

At the finish both Ireland and Jones were locked together with Capt Ireland taking the honours on the line. With the three leading women for far in front we knew who was going to win just not the order As they came to the line the two Women were locked together and they sat upheld hands and crossed the line together with Elizabeth taking it from Chanel and Victoria third.

The afternoon’s senior’s men’s race had the better of the weather as the early morning rain had gone to be replaced by warm sun and a drying road service. It didn’t take too long into the race before the Army riders started to show their strength at the front of the race which saw two riders slip away. WO1 Kev Sheppard (ACU) and Fg Off Anthony Richardson (RAF) soon built up a good little lead of 45secs and these two were allowed to stay away for nearly two full laps before the bunch reeled them back in, but the active bunch soon as the leaders were caught four riders escape off the front.

Soon after the catch two riders from the Army SSgt Tom Stringer and WO2 Paul Jones pulled away down the closed road sections where they were out of sight of the remainder of the bunch. There were three chasers at 48secs; they were Sgt Deacon Cutterham and Spr Alex Royle of the Army and Sac Dan Watts (RAF).

At the bell the order remained the same at the front although the three chasers were starting to be caught by the bunch. The two leaders came into sight together and they rode across the line with Jones taking the win from team mate Stringer. We then had to wait over a minute for the peloton to appear, and when it did the three chasers had been caught and a bunch kick for the final podium position was on offer. Dan Watts had the legs at the end to pop off the front leaving two riders from the Army to contest the scramble for the other leading places.

After the races the awards were presented in the map room on the camp where the D Day landings were planned and executed by Captain Mike Young the officer in charge of Physical Development and Tracy Cox the Client Services Director for TOM TOM.

Provisional Results

Senior Men
1st WO2 Paul Jones ACU
2nd SSgt Tom Stringer ACU @st
3rd Sac Dan Watts RAF CC
4th WO2 Paul Jones ACU
5th Sgt Deacon Cutterham ACU
6th WO1 Kev Sheppard ACU
7th Sgt Dan Lewis RAF CC
8th Off Cdt Roberts Willcocks RAF
9th Po Stuart Mackenzie RN&RM
10th Capt Ryan Perry ACU

Women
1st 2Lt Elizabeth Jane Harris ACU
2nd SSgt Chanel Mason ACU @st
3rd Sqn Ldr Victoria Webb RAF
4th Pte Kimberley Preston ACU
5th SSgt Donna Short ACU
6th Maj Susan Jeffrey ACU
7th LReg Sam Kelly RN&RM
8th WO1 Elizabeth Dunne ACU
9th SSgt Sarah Hardy ACU
10th LBdr Sam Wilson ACU

Support Race
1st Capt Tony Ireland ACU
2nd SSgt Robert Jones ACU @st
3rd SSgt Rick Froud ACU
4th Sgt Kev Bell ACU
5th Maj David Walker ACU
6th Sgt Wes Cummings RAF
7th Capt Rick Smith ACU
8th Cpl Sam New RAF
9th WO2 Danny Boulby ACU
10th Pt Toby Spibey ACU

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