X marks the spot for Sagar
By TMX Archives on 6th May 09
IN complete contrast to the first two rounds of the GBXC series, the course at Maeshafn caused riders to battle over the harsh and rugged hills of North Wales. The GBXC series provides all types of terrain and most riders agreed that this was one of the toughest. The venue was home-turf for Steve Ireland and the course laid out was a real tester. Technical and rocky, it didn't suit those who were out for a nice ride around on Sunday. Every finisher had to work hard for a result. Tom Sagar breezed to a win in the afternoon Pro class race as Ade Bradley took the ultra-competitive Over 40 class in the morning.
The five-mile course wasn't all rock and shale. A couple of small woodland sections and plenty of open straights, which whooped out, made it a course where riders had to hang on tight and many had the added annoyance of arm-pump.
Torrential overnight rain did the course no end of favours and as the first race took to the line, the weather was perfect.
As the Over 40 class blasted off, Ray Whittle, a regular top runner, was dead last away and had his work cut out. Richard Main took the early lead as Ade Bradley and Keith Jenkins struggled to get to grips with the course. Disaster struck Main when his rear wheel collapsed. His race was over and Jenkins took up the running with Bradley in hot pursuit. Both riders had their problems but both battled on and in the closing stages Bradley took the lead and clung on to take the win just three-seconds ahead of series leader, Jenkins.
Sneaking into the line-up was TM Electraction boss, Nick Craigie, who doesn't ride that often but still managed to amass eight-laps and finish inside the top 30.
After two-hours of fierce riding, Ray Whittle had fought back to a top three finish just ahead of Murray Thompson in fourth. Thompson, from Garveld in Scotland, was chuffed with his top five finish.
Leominster rider Chris Pryce had tough competition in the Sportsman ranks but proved himself by taking the win with nine-laps to his credit and a narrow gap of 12-seconds over second placed, Nathan Holtby.
Danny Morris led the Novice category for most of the race but Mike Windsor never gave up and made his move on virtually the final corner to snatch the win.
George Bayliss once again showed why he is regarded as a real up-and-coming talent by taking the Youth class win some three-minutes clear of Gethin Humphries.
Jane Daniels and Sophie Thomas battled it out in the Ladies class with Daniels taking the win.
A long delay separated the two races. The afternoon riders waited patiently on the line for nearly 90-minutes while an Air Ambulance made its way to the venue for a Sportsman rider who was in difficulty. Despite the delay there was a good outcome as the rider returned home at the end of the day.
When the race finally got underway, Matt Ridgway took the hole-shot and early lead, but Tom Sagar soon reeled him in. Sagar had a terrible start but rode like a man possessed, took the lead on the opening lap and never looked back. He wanted to finish quickly to make his way north to ride the Scottish Six Days Trial.
Initially Darryl Bolter, Si Wakeley and Greg Evans were in the chasing pack but Evans clipped a tree branch with his head and retired after only two-laps. He wasn't alone in retiring as Mark Roberts completed four laps then DNF-ed with broken bones in his hand following a big crash.
Bolter charged on and got to within a minute of Sagar although the two were in different classes. Bolter went on to win the Pro-Lites some seven-minutes clear of Lee Edmondson and Lincoln Brewster.
Si Wakely cut Sagar's gap to four-minutes when he took second place in the Pro class with Aston Bird third.
Ben Wootton looked like finally taking a well deserved victory in the Expert ranks and led for most of the race but stomach cramps over the final two-laps slowed him down and allowed a chasing Rob Reese to overhaul him for the win. Wootton struggled on to secure second just ahead of Joe Jones.
The Clubman 2T class went to Callum Hicks. He managed to keep second placed Ross Benton at bay by just eight minutes.
The top four Clubman 4T riders all did 12 laps and less than four-minutes covered them at the finish. Shaun Buchan took the honours ahead of Lee Hattersley, Jamie Faulkner and James Harvey.
Standing atop one of the hills co-organiser, Paul Edmondson commented: This course requires some thought from riders. They need to use their heads. Its not all about power, it is really about endurance, pace and knowing where and when to push hard.
GB X-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP
Rd 3 Maeshafn, North Wales (GBXC)
Pro: 1 Tom Sagar, 2 Si Wakely, 3 Aston Bird, 4 Phil McLaughlin, 5 Matt Ridgway.
Pro-Lite: 1 Daryl Bolter, 2 Lee Edmondson, 3 Lincoln Brewster, 4 Jon Hinam, 5 Gav Houson.
Expert: 1 Rob Reese, 2 Ben Wootton, 3 Joe Jones, 4 Gary Daniels, 5 Jake Gowan.
Clubman 2T: 1 Callum Hicks, 2 Ross Benton, 3 George Knowles, 4 Dennis Harrison, 5 Tom Howe.
Clubman 4T: 1 Shaun Buchan, 2 Lee Hattersley, 3 Jamie Faulkner, 4 James Harvey, 5 Mark Cheetham.
Over 40: 1 Ade Bradley, 2 Keith Jenkins, 3 Ray Whittle, 4 Murray Thompson, 5 Colin Jones.
Sportsman: 1 Chris Pryce, 2 Nathan Holtby, 3 Luke Smith, 4 Ian Skillicorn, 5 Graham Owens.
Novice: 1 Mike Windsor, 2 Danny Morris, 3 Ian Blackwell, 4 Elfyn Evans, 5 Chris Coulson.
Youth: 1 George Bayliss, 2 Gethin Humphries, 3 Joe Wootton, 4 James Dent, 5 Alex West.
Ladies: 1 Jane Daniels, 2 Sophie Thomas, 3 Kate Lloyd, 4 Rhian George, 5 Leah Jones.