Race Report - Winter CX Round 2 - Sponsored by Cycleworld
The weather is always the stand-out feature of at least one race in the Guernsey Velo Club Cyclocross calendar, and Sunday’s second round of the series sponsored by Cycleworld delivered some close racing in strong winds and wet conditons at Mont Herault.
After a glorious sunny Saturday during which the setup team planned and mapped out the longest CX course the club has seen in recent years, race day couldn’t have been more different.
“You couldn’t see much of the course from the start line and even aDer the warm-up lap, I really had no idea where the course went. The organisers did a great job building a challenging course and the headwinds made it really tough!” said one rider.
In the main race Zach Smith took full advantage of a pole position start to make it two wins in a row. “It was a tough race. My only thought at the start was to go hard, get in the lead and dictate the pace. It’s a good feeling to brave the elements and know I’ve left it all on the course.”
The Youth Under 14 rider used his mountain bike and downhill racing skills to expertly navigate the fast and slippery course, posting the fastest lap of the race and taking victory by over 30 seconds from Jason Kon. The senior rider has impressed this season with several podiums in road racing and is now finding some good form in CX too with his best result so far. Third across the line Nathaniel Jones couldn’t quite match the pace of those ahead but was delighted with his third place. He con?nues to post consistent results and remains a contender in the overall series.
In the battle of the juniors Kiko Rocha is now third in the points standings after a strong fourth place in the race, stretching away from Tim White at the finish line. Both riders have impressed in their debut CX seasons.
Mark Naftel crossed the line in 7th, narrowly losing out to Alex Margison after a race long battle but maintains his lead in the veterans points over Mark Smith (8th) and Ben Walden (9th). Alex Clark rounded off the top ten with another good performance to consolidate seventh place in the points.
Esther Reid found a late race charge which saw the female points leader make up three places for a best ever finish of 12th place.
In the shorter mountain bike race, Seth Davey dominated to take the victory. The Youth Under 16 rider finished 3 minutes ahead of the rest of the field and now leads the series standings aDer two races. Second place went to Mark De La Mare, who missed round 1. Remi Le Compte (Youth Under 14) took the final podium spot and moves up to second place in the standings, six points behind leader Davey. Peter Sargent in fourth, Braden Morris fifth and Wayne Piercey sixth.
Izzy Grierson leads the female points standings after a strong 13th place finish in the race ahead of Amy Smith who leads the Youth Under 14 standings.
In the earlier race Jacob Piercey opened up a huge lead at the start and powered to victory ahead of fellow Under 12’s Humphrey Brimson, Scott Bradbury and Joshua Stuart. Hugo Johnson won the Under 10’s race ahead of Ethan Shorto. Alfie Le Cheminant was fastest Under 8 just gejng to the line ahead of speedy female Erin Pipet who took family bragging rights ahead of sister Orla by just a few seconds at the flag! Esther Martel won the battle of Under 8 females ahead of Harriet Grierson.
Anyone considering trying Cyclocross or any other form of cycle racing is encouraged to contact the club coaching team and register for coaching sessions.
Full results and standings can be found at gvc.gg