Second to top Belgian rider Kenny Geluykens in the last round a fortnight ago, league leader Andrew Naylor (Ashfield Road Club) stepped on the top of the podium for the first time this season with victory in round nine of the SRAM Notts and Derby League staged by Derby Mercury RC at Sinfin Moor Park in Derby on Saturday.
Consistency has proved the key to success for 31-year-old Naylor from Hucknall, who took the win on Saturday by 19 seconds over Sigma Sport’s Steve Lampier who won the previous round but is not eligible for League points.
And it proved a double winning weekend in the Naylor household, with Andrew’s wife Sarah being fastest of the women and finishing 50th overall in a senior field of 144.
Lampier had led for much of the race before Naylor struck late on to take the win, while Lampier held on for second spot on a muddy Sinfin Moor Park course, just three seconds ahead of in-form Chris Metcalfe, the 29-year-old Charge Cycles rider from Crich in Derbyshire.
Metcalfe has finished on the podium in four of the six races he has ridden, and if he continues to ride league events and gain the eight qualifying rides, he could well be a challenger for the overall league.
In the youth race, league leaders Tom Weeds (Derby Mercury RC) secured his fourth maximum points haul of the season with victory over team-mate Olivier Arnoux on Saturday.
Weeds was 50 seconds ahead of Arnoux, while top Under-14 rider William Gascoyne (Matlock CC) was third overall, just 11 seconds further off the pace and cemented his lead in the Under-14 competition.
And another Matlock rider, Sarah Lomas, boosted her total in the girls category, although on the day she was second behind Hannah Blount (Derby Mercury RC) by about a minute.
John Webster continued Matlock CC’s good results on Saturday when he won the Under-12 race by 20 seconds from Nottingham Clarion rival and league leaders James Swadling – only the second time this season that Webster has got the better of his rival in League events.
Results:
Seniors:
1 Andy Naylor (Ashfield RC) 49:30
2 Steve Lampier (Sigma Sport RT) @ 19sec
3 Chris Metcalfe (Charge Bikes) @ 22sec
4 Lee Shunburne (Matlock CC) @ 48sec
5 Gareth Whittall (Clay Cross RT) @ 1:05
6 Matt Barrett (Forme Coaching) @ 1:20
7 Lawrence Frost (Ashfield RC) @ same time
8 Rob Parkin (Buzz Cycles) @ 1:36
9 James Thompson (Boneshakers) @ 1:55
10 Adam Bigg (Buzz Cycles) @ 2:02
Under-23s: Lawrence Frost. Veterans: Pete Harris (unattached). Women: Sarah Naylor (Ashfield RC). Juniors: Alastair Parker (Heanor Clarion).
Youth:
1 Tom Weeds (Derby Mercury RC) 25:01
21 Olivier Arnoux (Derby Mercury RC) @ 50sec
3 William Gascoyne (Matlock CC) @ 1:01
4 Alex Thorn (Melton Olympic) @ 1:04
5 Will Perrett (Heanor Clarion) @ 1:13
6 Josh Waters (Plan B Racing) @ 1:24
Under-14s: William Gascoyne. Girls: Hannah Blount (Derby Mercury RC). Under-14 girls: Isabelle Boon (Belper BC).
Under-12s:
1 John Webster (Matlock CC) 16:22
2 James Swadling (Nottingham Clarion) @ 20sec
3 Tom Dusseik (4 Tri) @ 25sec
Girls: Poppy Wildman (Nottingham Clarion).
Under-9s:
1 Ben Chilton (Derby Mercury RC) 7:36
2 Alex Coleston-Shiels (Lichfield City CC) @ 1sec
3 Josh Giddings (Heanor Clarion) @ 23sec
Girls: Libby Smith (Matlock CC).
British Cycling would like to thank the organising team, officials and everyone else who helped promote this event. Our sport could not exist without the hundreds of people, many of them unpaid volunteers, who put in many hours of hard work running events, activities and clubs.
