Report: Shropshire and South Staffs Road Race League

JONATHAN Perry upset the odds by sprinting clear to his first ever victory in the second round of the Shropshire and South Staffs Road Race League.

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Report: Shropshire and South Staffs Road Race League

JONATHAN Perry upset the odds by sprinting clear to his first ever victory in the second round of the Shropshire and South Staffs Road Race League.

 Charlie Fisher: Charlie Fisher (right) with Newport Shropshire CC team-mates Tom Colley (left) and Adam Roper. Picture Diane Jeggo

The 42-year-old from Wombourne was part of the first group to start and used the handicap system to their full advantage to hold off their faster rivals and sprint out the top placings.

The first group consisting of 28 riders had a total of nine minutes head start of the last of five groups based on ability. After 32 miles of fast racing the first group saw their winning margin cut to 40 seconds over the rest of the riders who came together as one big bunch.

Perry was the fastest of the front group clinching victory in his second ever road race after puncturing in his first last week.

“I’m over the moon and the race it couldn’t have gone any better for me today,” said Perry following the victory. The group worked well together and just kept going to the finish. We kept the speed high and just managed to keep the rest of the bunch at bay”.

“I just went for the sprint at the end and managed to hold the rest off. We were expecting to be caught by the faster groups but it was all down to timing. After not finishing last week I just wanted to get round today so I couldn’t have asked for any better.”
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Riders completed five laps of flat ‘Charlton triangle’ circuit on the outskirts of Shrewsbury including a fast drag up the old A5 during the race hosted by local team Revolution Racing along with Mammoth Lifestyle RT. The last group to start contained 20 riders including many of the best riders in the region and last week’s winner Matthew Morris.

They clocked an average speed of 29 miles an hour and caught all but the first of the remaining groups well before the finish.  However, it was to be the night of the first group and Perry was a clear winner ahead of Stourbridge CC team-mate Simon Haycock.

In a close sprint for the remaining positions 16-year-old Charlie Fisher (Newport Shropshire CC) took a fine third place, in his first season in adult racing. Matthew Gathwaite (Rhino Velo) led the chasing bunch home for 25th on the night with overall series leader Matthew Morris finishing two places behind him.

Like most of the riders Perry juggles work commitments with competitive cycling but the handicap system allowed him to beat many of the sponsored riders. He added: “The handicapping makes it more competitive and gives everybody a chance. I have been riding a bike for four years but this is the first year I have actually taken it more seriously as I can with day to day life.”

“This morning I was in London at 7.30am with work so only had four hours sleep then went back to work and rushed over to ride the race.”

Results
1 Jonathan Perry (Stourbridge CC) 32 miles in 1:12.00
2 Simon Haycock (Stourbridge CC) same time
3 Charlie Fisher (Newport Shropshire CC)
4 Chris Bragg (Stourbridge Velo)
5 James Tate (Beacon Roads CC)
6 Dave Woodvine (Mid Shropshire Whls)
7 Robin Kyte (Wolverhampton Whls)
8 Thomas Colley (Newport Shropshire CC)
9 Philip Richardson (Wolverhampton Whls)
10 Andy Jones (Wolverhampton Whls)

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