Crawforth wins battle of the Field

CRAWFORTH WINS BATTLE OF THE FIELD

National cyclo-cross champion Jody Crawforth got the better of his younger rival Ian Field in the Wessex Cross League in Southampton yesterday.

Crawforth and Field rarely get the chance to race one another, with the latter based in Belgium for most of the season and making the trip back for the Hargroves Cycles-sponsored round of the Wessex League.

"I knew it wasn't going to be a walk in the park and he followed me from the start of the race to the end," said Field.

"I managed to get a gap a couple of times but then made small errors or was blocked by lapped riders allowing Jody back to my wheel. Come the last lap and the usual battle took place, bouncing off each other nearing the finish.

"Neither of us wanting to be second come the final corner, he managed to get some better drive out of one of the final corners though and led into the important final corner. I was not left with enough track to get back past before the finish line but was catching," Field added.

Field will now return to Belgium for the World Cup race in Koksijde and the next time the two will meet is likely to be at the national championships on January 9.

Brief results

1. Jody Crawforth (Arctic RT)

2. Ian Field (Hargroves Cycles)

3. Jamie Newell (VC Meudon)

Above: Crawforth got the better of Field this time around

CUMBRIAN BRIDGES LEAVE CYCLISTS STRANDED

Workington in Cumbria was cut in two following torrential downpours that brought chaos to the county and left its cyclists facing a forty-mile detour to reach the other side of town.

Cracks appeared in Calva Bridge, forcing its closure, after the collapse of both the pedestrian/cycle crossing Navvies Bridge and Northside Bridge, where PC Bill Barker was swept to his death in the River Derwent.   

"What took 10 minutes on the bike will now be a two-hour detour," said Gerard McCarten, club President of VC Cumbria. "People are being told not to cross bridges until they have been checked."

While Cockermouth was devastated by flooding, other parts of the county emerged relatively unscathed. Seven-time Three Peaks winner Rob Jebb travelled to Bingley from Staveley in the Lake District on Sunday for the Yorkshire cyclo-cross league having seen the nearby river come perilously close to his front door.

"We had to put sandbags out and the water was coming up the garden path, but that was as far as it got," said the relieved Wheelbase rider. "If you live in a place like this, you get used to it."

WYMAN BACK TO WINNING WAYS IN GERMANY

After a mid-season training camp in Portugal, Helen Wyman returned to winning ways in Germany with a comfortable win in the Dohlauler International.

Wyman attacked on the first descent and was never seen again, taking the victory by over a minute from former team-mate, Birgit Hollmann.  

"The course could have been anywhere in the UK really," said Wyman, "it reminded me of the some the courses I have ridden back home. The most important thing for me was to see that my season's building well and my training camp was pitched at the right level."

Wyman then followed her win with a close second by Hanka Kupfernagel.

"It's always a pleasure to do battle with Hanka," said Wyman.

"It's basically like bike school when you get to go wheel for wheel with the best ever female crosser. You can't pay for that kind of training anywhere in the world. Yeah, I'm annoyed I couldn't finish it off and win, but it's been a great weekend.  Bring on Koksijde," said the national champion.

ORBEA TESTING THE LIMITS

Domestic squad Orbea-For Goodness Shakes got together on Saturday at the Human Performance Unit at the University of Essex for physiological training before the team start its winter training in earnest.

"It was a tough day's work," said team manager James Whatling, "but the results were good and gave us our base levels to work on as we start to clock up the miles over the winter."

The team made a video of its efforts in the lab and can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoWKlWk1z3k

CLOCKING THE MILES FOR CHARITY

Team Midland's 24-hour Trackathon for Children in Need covered a mighty 558 miles on the Calshot track at the weekend in aid of charity.

The eight teams of riders averaged 24.5mph on the tight wooden track to go five miles better than 2008's total.

Magnus Maximus All-Stars must have been drinking the boss' coffee to produce the fastest hour of riding towards the end of the session, with 28.52 miles covered in 60 minutes.

Double Paralympic gold medallist Simon Richardson and former GB academy rider Russell Hampton led the way.

"The sight of Russell Hampton circling that track at 30mph was something else," said event organiser Graham Hewson, who aims to raise £15,000 thanks to the team's efforts.

To make a donation, go to www.justgiving.com/tmpudsey24hr

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