Feature Q&A: 5th title for Ian Field

Report and feature question and answer for Ian Field of Hargroves Cycles/Ridley/Montezuma’s/Ridley who won his fifth British Cyclo-Cross title on Sunday

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Feature Q&A: 5th title for Ian Field

Ian Field Wins His 5th National Championship | Team Press Release plus VeloUK Q & A

Sometimes it’s not how hard you’re hit but how hard you get up. Ian Field was a dejected sight 12 months ago when he lost his national title.

But as great champions do, he went back looked at himself, changed things and made sure he came back stronger! He started the year with Britain’s best male World Cup results and it was clear he’d taken it up a notch! Come to Sunday evening in Bradford and we have the National title back with Ian!

Here is a quick fire Q & A with Ian after the race …

1. How was the course at Bradford compared to the others you have ridden this season.
Ian: Bradford was back to it’s best, technical and physically very demanding. One of the best courses I have ridden all year.

2. After battles week in, week out in the trophy, how was the form for the championships?
Ian: I knew the form was good, as I had a good race at the end of my Christmas block in Belgium after illness. Then I was back to my best for the New years Day Novacross where I felt really strong and managed to comfortably win on an equally tough course against a good bunch of riders.

3. What was your strategy for the race knowing the course and also your rival Liam?
Ian: The plan was to start fast and put Liam under pressure because I know he normally starts quite slow but he got quite a good start today! But I seemed to get 9-10 seconds quickly, and then the pressure was on him to make up 10 seconds which wasn’t easy around there!

It was so slippery out there if you took risks in the corners you were putting everything on the line, I was just trying to get the power out when I could and remain smooth and calm in the corners. I think the best he did was peg me for a couple of laps, the legs started to hurt with 3 to go and I just hoped his (Liam Killeen) were hurting just as much! I backed it off and maintained the gap and then it went out and it meant I could cruise the last lap and avoid any mistakes! I took a bike change to make sure it was all ok and I have 5 National Titles!”

4. Did the race go smoothly or were there a few challenges?
The race went really smoothly, bikes were faultless as always and the pit crew did their job fantastically! Didn’t have any major slips as was trying to really ride smoothly and not have to take risks.

5. Was the mud causing you to have bike changes and if so, how often did you have to change?
Ian: I didn’t change for about three laps, taking the advantage of running disc brakes and therefore not so much mud was clogging on my bikes compared to some of my rivals. Then quickly swapped to lap changes by the end of the race again to avoid any unforced problems.

7. What now for your season with no National trophy and the Worlds a few weeks away?
Ian: I will get a good block of training in now over the next 10 days then I will have the final World cup in Hoogerheide, Holland and then the World Champs at end of the month in Luxembourg. So really hoping for a strong end to the season.

8. Who did you have in the pits looking after today?
Ian: I had a number of people helping out, mainly Gary Westwood on the jetwash then Mick Davies and Harry Yates handing up and catching bikes. No doubt other people were in there putting a hand in for the Hargroves team like always. We are such a close team that everyone does their bit.

9. finally, what does it mean to wear those stripes?
Ian: It is really special to wear the stripes and I am just proud to represent them in Europe each season I can.

Not as easy as it looked …
Winning solo, it looked like Ian was winning at a canter but it was far from it. No National Championship comes easily. Despite being nervous, Ian got off to a flying start taking up the front of the race after half a lap and never looking back.

The gap grew to 30 seconds quite quickly and extended as far as 50, on the last lap Ian took no chances with a new bike and a gentle lap to make sure he made no mistakes eventually taking the win by 34 seconds.

Behind Ian, Nick Barnes, Jody Crawforth and Mike Butler all produced stellar performances; finishing 13th, 14th and 19th respectively, which ensured Hargroves Cycles/Ridley/Montezuma’s had four riders in the top 20!

On Day 1 of the weekend Helen Pattinson, one of the founders of our new sponsor Montezuma’s, took an incredible Silver medal in the Veteran women’s category! Helen took an an early lead before dropping into 2nd place, but as debuts go we think it’s an exceptionally good one!

In the Veteran’s over 50 race, Steve Davies took the Bronze medal after an interrupted season but it was a great way to start Day 2! Crispin Doyle was disappointed with his ride in the Over 40’s race coming home in 52nd place but as Crispin said: “There’s always next year!”

Earlier in Day 2, Harry Yates finished in 12th in the Juniors, a ride he was disappointed with but with the highest calibre of junior races for many years it was no result to be disappointed with! Will Cooper finished in 20th place after a race long battle, Charlie Cooper was 32nd and Fletcher Adams finished 41st.

In the Elite women’s race, Ruby Miller had a great performance finishing in the top 10. In the junior women’s race Kara Perryman in her debut national championship for the team took a very strong 7th place with Ella Freeman following in 16th place!

All these collective results meant that Hargroves Cycles- Ridley – Montezuma’s became national team champions! An incredible achievement for the entire team from every individual!

We must also make a special mention to our pit crew, without them, our team wouldn’t succeed! They get covered in mud and rush around to ensure our riders have fresh clean bikes every lap! You are all a special bunch and you know who you are!

Thank you to our sponsors, friends and family that made this season yet another truly successful one! We are national champions again!

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