Zoe Backstedt, Max Greensill and Nick Craig all added to their collection of titles as they were among the winners on day one of the HSBC UK | National Cyclo-cross Championships in Shrewsbury today.
The veteran and youth categories were all contested, with a total of 16 individual titles awarded.
Backstedt (Storey Racing) overcame a slow start to secure a dominant victory and retain the under-16 girls’ jersey. Speaking of her performance, she said:
“I was struggling with the first camber a fair bit in practice, and couldn’t quite get the high line, so took the low line and ended up slipping going up the bank on the first lap. I tripped going up the steps, but that’s racing. I also cracked the front wheel, so the whole race was a bit dramatic to be fair!
“But I got into a zone on the last lap and a half, went as hard as I could, and I really enjoyed that.”
Equally as dominant was Greensill in the equivalent boys’ category. Last year’s under-14 champion backed up his strong showing in the HSBC UK | National Trophy series with a stunning ride in Shrewsbury. Behind him was the most dramatic finish of the day, as Euan Woodliffe crashed on the final corner when well positioned to take silver, and ended up slipping back to an unfortunate fourth place.
The two under-14 races were won by Florence Greenhalgh (East Bradford Race Team) and Seb Grindley (North Cheshire Clarion) respectively.
All veterans’ titles were contested in the morning, and Craig (SCOTT Racing) – who now finds himself in the 50-59 race – added to his numerous national titles as he broke away from defending champion Pete Middleton and eventual silver medallist Darren Atkins to claim another national champion’s jersey.
Afterwards, he said:
“I had a really good race with Pete and Darren. I thought Pete rode really well in defending his title – he set off really fast and is great technically, so he got the lead straight away. I had to get around quite a few people to catch him up, and once I got small gaps I decided to press on the pedal.”
World champions Dave McMullen and Kate Eedy were also among the morning’s winners, and a full list of podium results is below:
Women veterans 40-44
1. Kate Eedy (Team Empella)
2. Tracey Moseley (T-Mo Racing)
3. Verity Appleyard (Brotherton Cycles)
Women veterans 45-49
1. Helen Pattinson (Hargroves RT)
2. Lucy Siddle (Allen Valley Velo)
3. Maryka Sennema (Paceline RT)
Women veterans 50-54
1. Karen Summers
2. Miriam Whitehurst (Somer Valley CC)
3. Catherine Kilburn (Mid Devon CC)
Women veterans 55-59
1. Tracey Fletcher (Magspeed Racing)
2. Elizabeth Clayton (RT 23)
3. Carol Miller (Cardiff JIF)
Women veterans 60+
1. Sally Reid (Magspeed Racing)
2. Nicola Davis (www.cyclocrossrider.com)
Men veterans 40-44
1. Lewis Craven (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli)
2. Adrian Lansley (Pedalon.co.uk)
3. Rob Jebb (Hope Factory Racing)
Men veterans 45-49
1. Daniel Alexander (Zepnat RT – Lazer Helmets)
2. Benjamin Lewis (Forest Side Riders)
3. Mike Simpson (Beeline Bicycles)
Men veterans 50-54
1. Nick Craig (SCOTT Racing)
2. Darren Atkins (Zannata Ride Coventry GSG XGear)
3. Pete Middleton (Zepnat RT – Lazer Helmets)
Men veterans 55-59
1. Philip Roach (Team Jewson-M.I Racing)
2. Grant Johnson
3. Mick Style (Element Cycling Team)
Men veterans 60-64
1. Peter Harris (Pearce Cycles RT)
2. Kirby Bennett (Team Jewson-M.I Racing)
3. Mike Davies (Pedal Power Loughborough)
Men veterans 65-69
1. Dave McMullen (Cotswold Veldrijden)
2. Roy Hunt (Team Kinesis UK)
3. Clifford Featherstone (MTS Cycle Sport)
Men veterans 70+
1. Michael Webb (Lichfield City CC)
2. John Newton (Leslie Bike Shop/Bikers Boutique)
3. Martin Hackley (Team Jewson-M.I Racing)
Youth under-14 girls
1. Florence Greenhalgh (East Bradford Race Team)
2. Lucy Glover (Derwentside CC)
3. Imogen Wolff (Holmfirth Cycling Club)
Youth under-16 girls
1. Zoe Backstedt (Storey Racing)
2. Ella MacLean-Howell (Cardiff JIF)
3. Emily Carrick-Anderson (T-Mo Racing)
Youth under-14 boys
1. Seb Grindley (North Cheshire Clarion)
2. Ben Coppola (Hillingdon Slipstreamers)
3. Joseph Cosgrove (PH-Mas/Paul Milne Cycles)
Youth under-16 boys
1. Max Greensill (Hope Factory Racing)
2. Huw Buck Jones (Marsh Tracks Racing – Trek)
3. Ben Askey (Backstedt Cycling)
