London X League Round 12 - Cyclopark Badlands -Race Report
Jan 8, 2018 18:35:51 GMT
David Joss Buckley, Olivia Campbell, and 5 more like this
Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2018 18:35:51 GMT
It was a good day in the Badlands for Dulwich as the London X League descended on Gravesend this Sunday.
The course, offering magnificent vistas of the picturesque A2, was largely grassy, with a twisting inner section, a couple of long drags into the wind and a series of sharp ups & downs the key features. Despite recent rain the conditions underwheel were surprisingly firm and fast on raceday, to the pre-race concern of those who had readied their mud tyres for the occasion.
With a chicken sandwich on offer for race winners the competition was fierce, the commissionaires warning against fowl play in the pre-race briefing.
In the V40 category Mike Simpson of Beeline RT (me neither) took the win, whilst Paragon's James Malone & Dylan Bexley came home in 10th & 11th respectively; a show of strong, synchronised riding that bodes well for the upcoming end-of season Team Championships. There were also strong placings in this category for Jonathon Maher (36th) and Aaron Haines (42nd).
Hot on the heels of the V40s were the V50s & Senior Women. In the V50s Crawley's George Higgs triumphed as perrenial Dulwich favourite Charlie Codrington just missed out on a top ten, claiming 11th. He was however heard to express his relief at the lack of aggressive Christmas trees on the course.
Meanwhile Olivia Campbell was powering to a superb victory in the Senior Women, a win richly rewarded with the aforementioned packed lunch. However all the post-race discussion was of Campbell's unorthodox approach to heating & cooling, with rolled down arm & leg warmers the order of the day in windswept Gravesend. It remains to be seen if the rest of the field will be copying this Brailsford-esque innovation in upcoming races. Paragon's good showing was boosted further by Dalila Lecky's 5th place finish.
The final action of the day came in the Senior Mens, and despite deafening chants of "Cheesy! Cheesy!" for local favourite James Cheeseman, Paragon's own fan favourite David Rees took an impressive second place and with it the traditional leftover pastry. Josh Jones took the win and Cheeseman claimed a 36th place that will do little to sate the demanding Crawley fans.
Behind Rees a great day for Dulwich got even better as Andrew Boyd took 7th and Alex Windett took a career-best 13th, confirming pre-race murmerings that the course was "made for Windett".
Oliver Scott took 19th on his return to the fray after a tentative venture into the world of working weekends, closely followed by John Cox in 23rd. Alex Ioannides took 28th, whilst Aidan Scully took 38th.
Chris Platt failed to finish after a stray length of tape left by a fanatical Crawley "Cheesehead" became intimate with his rear derailleur.
Next up is the final round of the East Kent League, at Betteshanger Country Park on January 21st.
The course, offering magnificent vistas of the picturesque A2, was largely grassy, with a twisting inner section, a couple of long drags into the wind and a series of sharp ups & downs the key features. Despite recent rain the conditions underwheel were surprisingly firm and fast on raceday, to the pre-race concern of those who had readied their mud tyres for the occasion.
With a chicken sandwich on offer for race winners the competition was fierce, the commissionaires warning against fowl play in the pre-race briefing.
In the V40 category Mike Simpson of Beeline RT (me neither) took the win, whilst Paragon's James Malone & Dylan Bexley came home in 10th & 11th respectively; a show of strong, synchronised riding that bodes well for the upcoming end-of season Team Championships. There were also strong placings in this category for Jonathon Maher (36th) and Aaron Haines (42nd).
Hot on the heels of the V40s were the V50s & Senior Women. In the V50s Crawley's George Higgs triumphed as perrenial Dulwich favourite Charlie Codrington just missed out on a top ten, claiming 11th. He was however heard to express his relief at the lack of aggressive Christmas trees on the course.
Meanwhile Olivia Campbell was powering to a superb victory in the Senior Women, a win richly rewarded with the aforementioned packed lunch. However all the post-race discussion was of Campbell's unorthodox approach to heating & cooling, with rolled down arm & leg warmers the order of the day in windswept Gravesend. It remains to be seen if the rest of the field will be copying this Brailsford-esque innovation in upcoming races. Paragon's good showing was boosted further by Dalila Lecky's 5th place finish.
The final action of the day came in the Senior Mens, and despite deafening chants of "Cheesy! Cheesy!" for local favourite James Cheeseman, Paragon's own fan favourite David Rees took an impressive second place and with it the traditional leftover pastry. Josh Jones took the win and Cheeseman claimed a 36th place that will do little to sate the demanding Crawley fans.
Behind Rees a great day for Dulwich got even better as Andrew Boyd took 7th and Alex Windett took a career-best 13th, confirming pre-race murmerings that the course was "made for Windett".
Oliver Scott took 19th on his return to the fray after a tentative venture into the world of working weekends, closely followed by John Cox in 23rd. Alex Ioannides took 28th, whilst Aidan Scully took 38th.
Chris Platt failed to finish after a stray length of tape left by a fanatical Crawley "Cheesehead" became intimate with his rear derailleur.
Next up is the final round of the East Kent League, at Betteshanger Country Park on January 21st.
