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YELLO VELO CYCLING CLUB

2005-2006

 

All the up-to-date news from the Yello Velo Cycling Club 2005-2006

 

 

OCTOBER reports for the 2005-2006 season

 

 

REPORTS ARCHIVE 2005-2006

Week ending October 30:

 

For round seven of the Lincs Cyclo-Cross League, a change of venue was the order of the day. Organising club Alford Wheelers were forced to re-locate to a new course at South Ormsby in the Wolds. The new site though, was just as challenging as the previous course at Kenwick Park near Louth situated in the grounds of the Manor House in South Ormsby.

 

It featured rolling grass land with several steep banks and descents. Unfortunately for the riders, as the site hasn’t been used before there were no defined tracks to ride in the grass and the going was extremely hard work in places. It wasn’t until half race distance that the surface became a little easier to ride on.

 

As usual for a Lincs League race, the youths were first in to the action tackling most of the adults’ course apart from the steep bank and drop off. With a short Tarmac section from the start it was a fast depart and eventual race winner Sam Jackson of VC Lincoln left all the other riders in his wake.

 

Behind Jackson was a posse of riders, including the Yello Velo duo of Tom Garwell and Ryan Forman. This time around Ryan made his move early in the race and was in second place for most of the 30-minute race until leading girl Katie Colclough of Sleaford caught him in the final stages of the race.

 

Tom Garwell was also in determined mood and on the third lap he put in a determined attack to shake off Finian Haynes of the Louth Spire Club although he was unable to catch Paul Clarke of Lincoln and had to be content with fifth place in the end.

 

With this race being held in half-term the entry for the under-12s was a little down on recent weeks and the Yello Velo team were short of a few riders as only Joe Sellars and Sam Relton were in action, Joe coming home in ninth place and Sam 12th.

 

For the main seniors, vets and juniors race, the entry was also down as this race coincided with round three of the national trophy and several of the usual top finishers were absent on trophy duty. Still, though, the Yello Velo-Bodycare-Don White Cycles team were well represented with seven team riders in attendance.

 

Back in action after his recent foray on the track junior Charlie Porter had a good start and was quickly away with the leading riders having an early battle with second placed Steve Poole on the Fat Birds Team and James Shaw of VC Lincoln.

 

After nearly one hour of racing Charlie finished in an excellent fourth place and first junior on the day.

Also finishing in the top 10 was first year vet Martin White who, after his puncture the previous week, had a trouble free run this time, other finishers for the team were Rob Ruck 15th, fourth junior, Andy Woodcock 24th after another impressive ride, Steve Blackburn 27th, Nigel Dymond 30th and Scott Relton 33rd suffering with his shoulder on this punishing course.

 

It had been a really hard grind on this new course and next weeks race will be no different as the action locates to Hubbards Hills in Louth for this notoriously muddy race site.

 

Week ending October 23:

 

The sixth round of the Lincolnshire Cyclo-Cross League was hosted by the CRC Hull promotion at Winterton showground on the banks of the Humber. It was a wet affair, with the main seniors race completed in torrential rain. The race organisers who had used this site the previous year laid on a twisting route over the showground’s fields.

 

However, the ground quickly turned to mud, making several sections of the course almost unrideable.

The youths were the first into action for 30 minutes of racing. And 11 riders took the start line — among them two Yello Velo riders Tom Garwell and Ryan Forman. After a fast start, the race split into three groups with eventual race winner Vincent Cartwright of Hull Thursday Club and Lincs League leader Sam Jackson of VC Lincoln out at the front.

 

Paul Clarke of Lincoln Wheelers was one minute behind. And a further minute back was the trio of Ryan Forman, Tom Garwell and Louth Spire’s Finian Haynes. These three were locked in an epic battle for most of the race with Ryan undertaking most of the work at the front. After his impressive rider the previous week at Grantham, Tom Garwell was not able to hold the pace of his two compatriots and he had to be content with sixth place.

 

Ryan, though, was having a better race this time and even though he was overtaken by the Louth rider, he had enough left in the tank to put in a last lap surge and cross the line four seconds in front of the Louth rider to grab fourth spot. Even the under-12s race was an arduous affair as the young riders tackled a small loop around the race pits and the start finish loop.

 

Riding for the Yello Velo team were Aaron Rymer, Sam Relton and Joe Sellars. This time around Aaron was the strongest rider on the team and with some impressive climbing on show he recorded his best finish of the season so far with third place. Sam also had a strong rider to finish in seventh while Joe was unlucky not to finish the race with a broken chain.

 

The combined seniors, vets and juniors race saw a big field as the Lincs League race was bolstered by riders competing in the Scott Cycles sponsored super league. With several of the team’s riders not making the long trip, it was a welcome return for Paul Rymer in his first race of the season after injuring himself a few weeks before the season kicked off.

 

With the main race tackling the full course, it was going to be a race of attrition as one of the showground’s fields was almost under water. Best rider on the Yello Velo team was Martin White who, despite suffering a puncture and riding almost a whole lap on a flat, came home in excellent 19th place. Paul Rymer had a steady debut to finish in 34th.

 

Next finisher for the team was Andy Woodcock who, after an initial slow start impressively moved his way up the field to finish in 39th with team-mate Nigel Dymond in 44th after a good race which saw him in a battle with Team Fig Rolls’ Matthew Lea.

 

The team’s only lady rider Amy Willoughby, was back in action after missing the previous week. And despite the difficult riding conditions she did well to finish in 47th and finish as third lady on the day.

Not recording a finish was Tom Dymond who suffered a puncture early on and despite swapping to a spare bike called it a day one lap later.

 

The heavens opened with 10 minutes to go and everyone got drenched making the going even more treacherous, especially near the pits. Race winner, however, Jim Bryan of the Ace Racing team was giving a masterclass in how to ride in the mud, finishing some three minutes clear of the first Lincolnshire riders in second and third place.

 

Next race in the series will see the Alford Wheelers promotion at South Ormsby in the Wolds, a new venue for cyclo cross as the intended site at Kenwick Park near Louth is unavailable. This new site promises a mix of grass parkland and paths with several steep banks which may need riders to dismount and carry their machines.

 

Week ending October 16:

 

After four of the 13-round Lincolnshire Cyclo-Cross League, Yello Velo riders are well represented in a number of rider categories.

 

Junior Charlie Porter, currently lies in second place, while team-mate Martin White is fourth and also leads in the vets category.

 

In the youths’ section Tom Garwell lies in second spot while in the youngest category (the under-12s), Aaron Rymer, Luke Thompson and Sam Relton are all well placed. Round five of the series was a reasonably short trip to the village of Stroxton near Grantham for the Witham Wheelers’ promotion.

 

First into action was the youth category for 30 minutes on a slightly shortened section of the main course. It was a fast start and right from the gun Tom Garwell looked like a man on a mission as he attempted to stay with early race leader Sam Jackson of VC Lincoln and his arch-rival Paul Clarke of Lincoln Wheelers.

 

As the race wore on, Tom was unable to match the pace of these two and had to be content with third on the day. Still, it was a solid performance on a course he normally doesn’t like.

 

Also making his debut for the team was Ryan Foreman riding his first ever cycle race and he found the going hard. But he stuck with it and had enough left in the tank to sprint for fourth place after he was caught by Spalding rider Will Hare.

 

The under-12s entry was a little down on recent weeks but there was still plenty of exciting racing for the 15 riders taking part. The race was won by Midlands rider Ben Bailey of Team Clean. But best finisher for the Yello Velo team was Luke Thompson with a superb third place. Aaron Rymer was fifth, Joseph Sellars eighth, Sam Relton 10th and Jody McNichol 11th in the first race of the series.

 

For the last race of the day — the combined seniors, juniors and vets events — the weather perked as the early morning mist began to clear.The field was a little depleted due to the national trophy race. It was a good opportunity for the Yello Velo riders to grab some points towards the season-long competition. Also missing from the Yello Velo team was junior Charlie Porter who was away competing at the revolution track meeting at Manchester.

 

Making the most of the day was vet rider Martin White who had an untroubled race to take 10th place and first Lincolnshire vet on the day. Next home for the team was first year senior Tom Dymond in 18th and Rob Ruck in 24th and fourth junior rider as well.

 

A bit further down the field, three more of the team’s riders were involved in their own private battles. This week it was Andy Woodcock who, after a slow start, came through after passing team-mate Steve Blackbourn with just one lap to go. Andy finished 27th, Steve 29th and Nigel Dymond was 32nd. After an early first two-lap surge he slowed on this punishing course.

 

Next race in the series will be a long trip to the Winterton showground where the Lincs League joins forces with the new Scott Bikes-sponsored regional series.

 

Week ending October 9:

 

Round four of the Lincolnshire Cyclo Cross League saw riders and helpers of the Yello Velo-Bodycare-Don White Cycles team making an early start for the two hour journey to Epworth.

 

The first race of the day was the youth class, held over 30 minutes. And the organisers wisely chose to make the riders tackle a slightly shorter lap than the seniors, missing out some of the worst sections.

 

It was a fast start and eventual race winner Sam Jackson of VC Lincoln moved in to the lead on the first hill and never looked back. Behind Jackson, however, were a trio of riders who were locked in battle for the next three laps — Paul Clarke of Lincoln Wheelers, Will Hare of Spalding and Yello Velo’s Tom Garwell.

 

After his impressive ride in the trees the week before at Bourne Woods, Tom didn’t find the pace of this race to his liking and he eventually lost contact with Hare and Clarke having to be content with fourth place this time around. Still, it’s a long season. And with different venues each week, no two races are the same.

 

In the under-12s section there was another good turnout with some 20 riders on the start line and with only a short lap at times the racing was a little crowded. The Yello Velo squad was back to full strength as Aaron Rymer rejoined fellow riders Luke Thompson, Sam Relton and Joseph Sellars. Luke was fastest for the team in fifth sport closely followed by Aaron in sixth, Sam eighth and Joe ninth.

 

The last race of the day — the combined seniors, juniors and vets race — was held over 50 minutes and had nearly 50 riders competing over the full course. Lapping in a little under five minutes, the pace at the front was full-out as usual and a trio of riders quickly pulled away from the chasing. Race winner Scott Weekly of VC Lincoln made his move after half distance and never looked back.

 

Best finisher for the Yello Velo team was first year junior Charlie Porter in 13th place securing second place in the juniors as well. Team-mate Martin White was next finisher for the team in 15th place after having a good solid rider and picking off riders lap by lap. Also having his best ride so far of the season was Tom Dymond in 21st while Andy Woodcock had a storming final section of the race to catch team-mates Scott Relton and Steve Blackbourn who had been embroiled in their own private battle for most of the race. Andy finished in 39th, Scott 40th and Steve 43rd. Final finisher for the team was lady rider Amy Willoughby in 45th and third lady on the day.

 

Week ending October 2:

 

The third round of the Lincolnshire Cyclo-Cross League was held at Bourne Woods. And despite the unseasonably mild weather, the course was waterlogged in places with mud being the order of the day. With the Forestry Commission also having carried out logging recently, race organisers Spalding CC had to devise a new course as the normal paths were unusable.

 

The youth race was one of the most closely fought of the day as the leading four riders broke free of the rest of the pack led by Yello Velo-Bodycare-Don White Cycle rider Tom Garwell. He held the lead for the first lap before a reshuffle took place on lap two and Spalding’s Will Hare took over the front spot, closely followed by visitor Luke Newby of Diss.

 

With the muddy sections making life difficult for the riders, Newby made the most of the conditions to move into the lead and finish in first spot with Tom having to be content with third place — although he was pleased to have finished in front of Lincoln Wheelers rival Paul Clarke.

 

The under-12s field was once again well supported with 23 riders on the start line. Best finisher for the Yello Velo team was Luke Thompson in an excellent fourth place, this was Luke’s first race of the year although he had been to quite a few practice sessions this year. So he knows what he needs to do. Behind Luke came team-mates Joseph Sellars and Sam Relton. These two have been involved in a tussle all season and this time round Joe emerged the victor in eight place and Sam ninth. In the combined race for the seniors, juniors and veterans over 50 minutes, there was thankfully not a repeat of last year’s start line pile-up. The introduction of a new gridding system proving successful in getting more than 40 riders away on a narrow forest track.

 

With nine Yello Velo riders having signed on, there was plenty of work for the team’s support crew giving out drinks and preparing spare bikes. But as the race wore on a more defined line began to emerge in the mud and riders were able to complete the course on just one machine.

 

Making the best start for the team, junior Charlie Porter was riding for the second time over the weekend, having ridden the day before at Lea Green near Matlock in the Notts and Derby League. Charlie kept up with the leading riders and finished an excellent fifth place overall and first junior on the day. Behind him came Martin White in 10th place having had to stop to fix a problem with his bike. Third for the team in his first race of this season was Rob Ruck in 15th place and second junior, Tom Dymond 18th, Steve Blackburn 34th, Nigel Dymond 36th, Amy Willoughby 37th (first lady), Andy Woodcock 40th and Scot Relton 41st after a promising start was ruined by a broken chain late on.

 

Despite the conditions it had been a good day for the Yello Velo-Bodycare-Don White Cycles team, especially in the seniors race with first and second juniors, two riders in the top 10 overall and first lady.