Round 3 of the Wattbike league at Friary Grange Leisure Centre, kicked off with the familiar 500m time trial. The 3 groups racing during the evening’s proceedings had been reshuffled following the previous weeks performances and resulted in some very different racing as a consequence.
Group 1’s race was won by Chris Stilgoe in 31.02 seconds, a faster time than he recorded the previous week whilst riding in Group 2. Alex McDonald took the top spot in Group 2 in 30.98 seconds. Ian Beard, after being promoted into group 3, set the early pace with a 27.85 second ride, almost 2 seconds ahead of second placed Paul Askey.
The second event traditionally called the Course des Primes, or the race of sprints, sees the riders sprinting to the 300m distance marker, in a bid to earn the single point on offer. The rider who accumulates the most points is declared the winner. Up to 7 sprints would be contested before the final 400m dash, so it becomes a test of tactics, sprinting and the ability to recover well. Mike Yardley won in Group 1, Alex McDonald won again in group 2 and Dave Smith won group 3.
The organisers threw in a twist for the Team Sprint; riders were placed into teams of 3, instead of the usual pairings. The team of Chris Stilgoe, Bertie Newey and Ian Simms took top spot, over 2nd placed Alison Holmes, John Yates and Dave Smith.
The 4th race of the evening traditionally seems to be the endurance event and so it remained. Group 1 rode over 2km and Mike Yardley finished in 2.50.27. Alison Holmes kept the pressure on him to finish in 2.51.63 to take second place, followed by Stilgoe. Group 2 ride 3 km and the time of 4.01.90 gave Mark Stodgell the top spot followed by Rob Cox in 4.06.71. A 4km ride faced the group 3 riders, but unfazed by this Bertie Newey stormed home in 5.18.99 just ahead of Graham Birch’s 5.19.49
The traditional end of evening race is the 500m Handicap. With start times based on the results of the first of the evening races, riders start with the slower riders first and the faster riders last. Group 1 was led off by Anne Robinson, who led all the way and recorded a ride 1 second faster than her effort in the first race. Alison Holmes took second followed by Mike Yardley in 3rd. Rob Cox led the field home for group 2 followed by Mark Stodgell and Richard McDonald. Bertie Newey took his third win of the evening in Group 3 followed by Dave Smith and Ian Beard.
By the end of the night, Mike Yardley won Group 1 followed by Stilgoe and Alison Holmes. Group 2 experienced a joint first by Alex McDonald and Mark Stodgell, with Richard McDonald given 3rd place. Group 3 proved to be a keenly fought group with 4 riders all accruing the same points tally and being awarded joint firsts. They were Newey, Dave Smith, Graham Birch and Ian Simms.
Bertie Newey now leads the league after 3 rounds with 39 points ahead of Alison Holmes with 35points. After missing this round Steve Clayton drops to 3rd place with 34 points. The next event is on Friday 3rd December, all bikes have been reserved and organisers are only able to take reserves for the final round before the Christmas break. There is a Christmas special on Wednesday 30th December, so if you would like to ride contact Nigel Capewell on 07768 560 932 or the leisure centre on 01543 308842, alternatively email friary.grange@lichfielddc.gov.uk for details.
