NWCCA Round 5
Sunday saw the 5th round of this year’s North West cyclo-cross series at Towneley Park and the venue certainly lived up to it’s reputation as an extremely tough course. Heavy rain during the 2 days previous left parts of the course treacherous and rain during the morning’s races didn’t help either. The sun broke out for the afternoon which was a blessing for the marshals and spectators but by then, riders were having to dismount and run many parts of the circuit.
The first race involving Rossendale club riders was the morning’s Men’s V60 race, and it was Adrian Watts who used his skills and power through the mud to finish in a season’s best of 14th, although he still couldn’t quite catch the fast starting Mick Taylor. The conditions weren’t to Derek Schofield’s liking who finished in 15th, 20 seconds behind his club team-mates. Graham Wright also got bogged down to finish 24th.
In the Ladies Senior race, the lone local rider was Tottington’s Katie Taylor and she battled through to a 16th place finish.
By the time of the Men’s V40 event, lap times had dropped as the course deteriorated but this seemed to suit top fell runner and cyclist Rob Jebb of Hope Racing as he appeared to cruise to another league win. Rossendale’s Iain Hazell improved on the previous week to a well-earned 14th place finish.
The league takes a break this weekend with the National Trophy round at Newcastle on Tyne, returning on Saturday 2nd November at Stadt Moers, St.Helens.
Photos:
Katie Taylor in the wooded section at Towneley Park
Adrian Watts having a good result in the heavy conditions
