1-2 for Ross and Luke

Brothers Take It To The Wire as Season nears end

Ross and Luke Clarke both put their early season difficulties behind them as they posted the fastest times at the Stevenage Cycling Club Time Trial yesterday.

just 3 seconds in it, but Ross took the win

Held on the F14 course, the 12 mile event was especially challenging in windy conditions, but the idea of a head-to-head seemed to motivate the brothers and they finished within 3 seconds of each other.

Ross took the win: "It's great to finish the season with this," he said. "We've had a lot to deal with this year and we haven't really had a single point where you could say we were at our best."

Luke continues: "It feels good to come back from where we were and you can see that next year there's more in the pipeline."

Stevenage Cycling Club Time Trial Result 14/09/13 F14/12

1	Ross Clarke	TMG Horizon CT	26.00
2	Luke Clarke	TMG Horizon CT	26.03
3	Simon Cannings	www.twenty3c.co.uk	26.26

 

2-2 takes Mick to 2nd Cat

A regular at the Hillingdon Masters Series this season, Michael Skipsey has worked hard on both his fitness and his 'crit craft'.

tenuous pun on a gun calibre

He was the team's fastest finisher at the Paul Simon Homes Masters Meeting on March 2nd, which boded well for the coming season, and after a minor dip in form dip, proved to be prophetic.

"I messed around a bit last year. Joining TMG this year gave me a bit more focus and motivation, so I've tried to be as consistent as possible," he explains.

Having raced most of the Wednesday Evening Masters Series at Hillingdon this year, he has enjoyed mixing with top category riders and experimenting with varied strategies.

in the group, and in the zone

"I targeted the Masters Series, mainly because there's usually a selection of faster, more experienced riders which tends to make the whole thing a lot safer than some of the younger 3rd cat races."

Having built up a library of experience and a background knowledge of the key protagonists, he started to finish consistently nearer the front as the series wore on through the summer.

"It's been great to have a gradual improvement," he says. "Really, it's about adding speed onto speed for the finale, timing it right, but also being able to keep pushing when you're already in the red. And I always am!"

With 2nd places on both the August 7th and August 21st rounds, Mick finally took delivery of his 2nd category licence. "That was my main objective for the year," he concludes. "Now I need to prepare for some longer races next year!"

TMG Verulam Criterium Report & Results

TMG Horizon Cycling Team and Verulam CC joined forces to put on their first LVRC race which was held at Hog Hill on the 7^th September using the lower circuit. Fortunately, although there was a keen westerly wind, the afternoon stayed dry and bright.

Race 1 saw some early skirmishes but ti was not long before Bob Downs and Dominique Gabellini broke clear building a healthy advantage. A chase group formed between these two and the bunch comprising Keeler/Schils/ Cackett who seemed to be working together well although they split up towards the end. Unfortunately Gabellini touched a pedal which caused him to fall heavily resulting in a trip to A&E with a suspected broken collar bone. Downs continued on alone lapping the field twice before taking a well deserved win.

The Race 2 report could have almost have been written before the start, with Anthony Wallis soloing to victory although the strengthening wind perhaps stopped him from gaining more than 30 seconds. The TMG duo of Neil Wass and Michael Skipsey responded to his initial acceleration and did all they could to bring him back but, despite a recent layoff due to injury, Wallis remains a force to be reckoned with. The peloton stayed together until the last few laps when the combination of a modest field, strong wind and high pace took its toll. Having cleverly conserved resources in the closing laps, Robin Parker took the sprint for second ahead of Neil Wass.

Huge thanks to Pete Wilson and Knocker Shields for their help with the day.

We think Paul Brown took some pics but we don't have them yet

Results 

Race 1 for CDEF Riders
1	Bob Downs	Condor Team	D
2	Patrick Schills	Velo Schills	D
3	Ralph Keeler	Wheels in Wheels	E
4	Paul Cackett	Verulam CC	D
5	David Brown	LBRCC	F
6	Terry Divine	Braintree Velo	F
7	Steve Barnsley	GS Vecchi	D
8	Chris Edwards	4T+ Velo Club	D
9	Wayne Thomas	GS Henley	E
10	Richard Frazer	Essex Roads CC	E
11	Peter Jones	Hillingdon CC	F
12	Oli Mc Pherson	Planet Velo	E
13	Colin Smith	West Kent	C
14	John Leitch	Redhill CC	F
15	John Duckworth	Kingsnorth	F
16	Andy Grant	GS Vecchi	D
Race 2 for ABC Riders thanks to Jackie Irvine for her pics here
1	Anthony Wallis	Ciclos Uno	A
2	Robin Parker	East Grinstead	B
3	Neil Wass	TMG Horizon CT	A
4	Barry Neal	Ciclos Uno	B
5	Andrew Macey	Ashford Wheelers	C
6	Martin Meades	Ciclos Uno	C
7	Toks Adessanya	Addiscombe CC	B
8	Raun Forsyth
9	Andrew Elderfield	VC Revolution	B
10	Michael Skipsey	TMG Horizon CT	B
11	Savasil Aniba	Private	B
12	Craig Stevens	Ciclos Uno	C
13	Sean Bolton	Eagle RC	C
14	Andrew Tebutt	Private	B