Swindon Road Club Rider Places Top Ten in National Cyclocross Race
Sunday 13th November
The National Cyclocross Trophy is a countrywide series of cycle races providing an outstanding showcase for British Cyclocross racing. Elite riders from home and abroad travel far to compete in these events
Southampton Sports Centre is the closest round of the National Trophy. The race was run by Wessex League organisers and many of the regulars were there, making it 'home turf' for Swindon Road Club and an opportunity to give a good showing. Crispin Doyle had only competed in one of the previous two rounds and was placed in a mid-field grid position, on the outside, four rows back but that's not such a handicap at Southampton. The course is fast and technical but with plenty of wide areas for overtaking, if you've got the legs. It was also quite draggy, the last rain having been three days before the race and some of the corners were still quite slippery.
Swindon Road Club's Doyle got a good start, where 'good' means clipped in first time and not losing any places as the field got up to speed and got its collective elbows out as it headed to the first corner. A couple of creative line choices saw him move up to 18th by the end of the first lap but the race was already beginning to split under the pressure from the Belgian visitors at the front. Doyle moved up from group to group until at about half-distance he found himself in a group with three U-23 riders: Jack Clarkson (Hope Factory Racing), Luke Gray (Baboco RT) and Andy Hargroves (Hargroves Cycles). Clarkson and Doyle kept trying to split the group, without much success. They'd pull out a few seconds but it would come back together soon enough. Hargroves began to tail off the back and then Gray, who had looked like he was suffering too, put in a big attack. He pulled away briefly but it was a bluff -he was soon caught, slowed a little, then slid out on a corner.
Gray never recovered from that mistake and with a couple of laps to go it was just Doyle and Clarkson, with a Belgian pair twenty-odd seconds ahead. Doyle put in a couple of efforts on the longer straights and made a gap of a few seconds which held to the end, despite feeling the beginnings of cramp in his legs.
Doyle finished eighth very pleased to finish so close behind the UK's best cyclocrossers.
Swindon Road Club would like thank all the Wessex League regulars who were there, cheering us locals along, especially Peter Moore for doing the pits and Andy Roberts for plenty of shouted encouragement.
Seniors/Under-23:
1 Floris De Tier (Cycling Champs, Belgium)
2 Jelle Brakman (Van Der Vurst CT, Belgium)
3 Zandro Meurisse (Baboco CT, Belgium)
4 Paul Oldham (Hope Factory Racing)
5 Jody Crawforth (Hargroves Cycles)
6 Kris Lapere (Mez CT, Belgium)
7 Kristof Cop (CT Kessel, Belgium)
8 Crispin Doyle (Swindon RC)
9 Jack Clarkson (Hope Factory Racing)
10 Michael Cotty (Wheelbase)
