Report/Result: BUCS Road Race/Criterium Championships

Archie Peet, Madeline Cooper, Jessica Morrish and Harry Codd champions at the BUCS Road Race/Criterium championships in Devon on the weekend

Report/Result: BUCS Road Race/Criterium Championships
Held by the University of Exeter near Okehampton, Devon, thank you Travis and Aegean Bramley for the words and pictures

The sun was shining on Okehampton’s Pump & Pedal café workshop as almost a hundred students rolled out adjacent to Dartmoor’s Granite Way and onto the 45km-long Bridestowe circuit.

The Men’s  race was unfortunately stopped after just a minute or so of racing when a crash sadly took down several riders just outside the neutral section. Once racing resumed, following the neutralisation of one of the circuit’s most decisive climbs, the pace was aggressive from the get-go until a break of eight riders formed.

This group featured Archie Peet (Swansea), Alex Galpin (Loughborough), James Satoor (Notts Trent), George Cottrell (Nottingham), Carl Jolly (Oxford), Nathan Hardy (Loughborough), Hamish Johnstone (Swansea), and Craig Paterson (Glasgow). The octet built a sizable gap of over ninety seconds along the narrow lanes descending towards Roadford Lake. The advantage held steady until shortly after the first pass of the finishing circuit, when the gap tumbled, courtesy of a motivated chase behind, and Johnstone (Swansea) and Paterson (Glasgow) slipped out of the break as they crested the long, dragging climb.

Just as the break, now down to six, looked set to be swallowed by the peloton, with a gap of just ten seconds, the bunch seemingly sat up, with no team committing to the chase. The six were allowed to push on once again and rebuilt an advantage of over ninety seconds with 10km to go. Several riders, including Piers Mahn (Birmingham) and George Spooner (Cambridge), had the legs to break free from the bunch, both finishing solo in 9th and 10th respectively.

However, it was Thomas Gardner (Exeter) and George Stephen (Nottingham) who truly lit up the final 6km, bridging to the leaders with just a handful of kilometres remaining. With 200m to go, the break was spread almost seven abreast across the uphill dual carriageway, but it was Archie Peet (Swansea) who proved strongest, clearly delighted with an emphatic win. Nottingham tried to use their numbers to their advantage, with George Stephen opening up the sprint, but in the end, it proved to be every rider for themselves on the final rise to the line.

The women’s race saw a select field roll out of HQ, with Loughborough making up almost a third of the total field. The bunch largely stayed together over the first of the two long laps, with Elena Day (Loughborough) leading the group through the finish line for the first time. At that point, nearly the entire field remained intact. However, the finishing climb proved decisive, as the race quickly split into two distinct groups, with a few more riders off the back. Ellen Inglis (Loughborough), Madeline Cooper (Leeds), Lucy Harvard (Cambridge), Phoebe Roche (St Mary’s), Hannah Clough (Nottingham), Hope Inglis (Birmingham), Jess Morrish (Birmingham City), and Elena Day (Loughborough) had made the front selection.

Over the next 45km, the gap continued to grow, with the winner increasingly likely to come from the front half of the race. All three of the previous day’s BUCS Criterium podium finishers featured in this group, with Elena Day surprisingly isolated as the only remaining Loughborough rider at the front.

This group truly split apart in the final kilometre as the road ticked uphill from the village of Bridestowe. Madeline Cooper (Leeds) seized an emphatic victory, upgrading her silver medal from the criterium championships the day before. Elena Day (Loughborough) proved her class on tough finishes once again to take the silver medal, while BUCS Criterium Champion Jessica Morrish (Birmingham City) clinched the final podium position in the colours of the Royal Navy.

BUCS Road Race Results – Pump & Pedal, Okehampton 18/05

MEN
1. Archie Peet (Swansea University)
2. Alex Galpin (Loughborough University)
3. James Satoor (Nottingham Trent University)
4. George Cottrell (University of Nottingham)
5. Thomas Gardner (University of Exeter)
6. Carl Jolly (Oxford University)
7. George Stephen (University of Nottingham)
8. Nathan Hardy (Loughborough University)
9. Piers Mahn (University of Birmingham)
10. George Spooner (Cambridge University)
11. Joshua Knowles (Loughborough University)
12. Edward Charles (University of Nottingham)
13. Jacob Hardy (University of Southampton)
14. Matthew Coulson (Oxford University)
15. Will Lowden (Cambridge University)
16. Caleb Pain (Loughborough University)
17. Harry Codd (University of Bath)
18. Dan Gaplin (Loughborough University)
19. Jack Sutton (University of Sheffield)
20. Cal Davies (University of Leicester)
21. Matthew Brown (University of Nottingham)
22. Dan Barnes (Loughborough University)
23. Charlie Mactear (University of Sheffield)
24. Max Duckworth (Cardiff University)
25. Barnabas Pickford (University of Nottingham)
26. Benjamin Flatau (University of Derby)
27. Harry Howlett (University of Birmingham)
28. Tom Charles (Cardiff University)
29. Sam Chaplin (Loughborough University)
30. Mark Agent (Loughborough University)
31. Renzo Casale (University College London)
32. Elijah Kwon (University of Bristol)
33. Matthew Britton (University of Exeter)
34. Craig Paterson (University of Glasgow)
35. Hamish Johnstone (University of Swansea)
36. James Maxen (Cambridge University)
37. Kade Straker-Meads (University of Exeter)
38. Oscar Eddis (Oxford University)
39. Tsz Shun Cheung (Coventry University) – 1 lap
40. Jack Baugh (University of Derby) – 1 lap
41. Rhys Thomas (University of Derby) – 1 lap
42. Louis Hay (University of Exeter) – 1 lap

WOMEN:
1. Madeline Cooper (University of Leeds)
2. Elena Day (Loughborough University)
3. Jessica Morrish (Birmingham City University)
4. Hope Inglis (University of Birmingham)
5. Hannah Clough (University of Nottingham)
6. Ellen Inglis (Loughborough University)
7. Lucy Harvard (Cambridge University)
8. Phoebe Roche (St Mary’s)
9. Georgia Lancaster (Loughborough University)
10. Roisin Lally (Loughborough University)
11. Florence Lissaman (University of Nottingham)
12. Eva Callinan (Loughborough University)
13. Freya Taylor (Cambridge University)
14. Olivia Kelly (Loughborough University)
15. Matilda Gurney (University of Nottingham)
16. Daisy Barnes (University of Central Lancashire)
17. Natasha Reddy (University of Warwick)
18. Bethany Barnett (University College London)

BUCS Criterium Results – RNAS Merryfield 17/05

WOMEN
1. Jessica Morrish (Birmingham City University)
2. Madeline Cooper (University of Leeds)
3. Daisy Barnes (University of Central Lancashire)
4. Hope Inglis (University of Birmingham)
5. Lucy Harvard (University of Cambridge)
6. Natasha Reddy (University of Warwick)
7. Greta Carey (Cardiff University)
8. Florence Lissaman (University of Nottingham)
9. Zoe Bainbridge (University of Bath)

MEN
1. Harry Codd (University of Bath)
2. Max Bolton (University of Oxford)
3. Lucas Byam (University of Bristol)
4. James Maxen (University of Cambridge)
5. Cai Davies (University of Leicester)
6. George Spooner (University of Cambridge)
7. Andrew Dalzell (Coventry University)
8. Kade Straker-Meads (University of Exeter)
9. Ben Flatau (University of Derby)
10. Barnabas Pickford (University of Nottingham)
11. Will Deely (University of Southampton)
12. George Williams (Cardiff University)
13. Elijah Kwon (University of Bristol)
14. Matthew Britton (University of Exeter)
15. Zhenyu Li (University of Warwick)
16. Jack Baugh (University of Derby)
17. Reece Thomas (University of Derby)
18. Oscar Eddis (University of Oxford)
19. Tom Hale (University of Cambridge)
20. Jacob Hardy (University of Southampton)
21. Matthew Coulson (University of Oxford)
22. Luke Tamblin (University of Oxford)
23. Jack Sutton (University of Sheffield)
24. Archie Wright (University of Southampton)
25. Evan Schofield (University of Derby)
26. Renzo Casale (University College London)
27. Travis Bramley (University of Exeter)

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