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Location: Herne Hill, London
Event: 5 February 2012
Report: Snowdon Sports
Matt Webber secured the overall London League title in style on Sunday, the London Phoenix rider winning the 14th and final round at a snowy and cold Herne Hill in London.
Webber, 37 and from the capital, has ridden a dozen of the 14 races this season and won four times. It has proved to be an intriguing battle between Webber and his rival Sylvain Garde (La Fuga Sigma Sport). But Webber has prevailed with his consistent performances, and has finished ahead of Garde seven times in the 10 races where they were head to head.
In the final round, Webber crossed the line 1:13 ahead of runner-up Paul Sheers of Vicious Velo, who in turn just managed to hold off Finsbury Park CC rider Ben Lewis.
After a slow start, Webber hit the front alongside Darren Barclay (Arctic), and after a tussle between those two Webber prevailed and went on to cross the line alone.
What they said
“The race seemed to suit me very well today,” said Webber. “I had a slightly shaky start but once I got used to the conditions I was OK and I seemed to be able to stay upright where others couldn’t. There were a lot of people coming off their bikes, and while I had a couple of slides there was nothing serious.
“I was battling with Darren Barclay at the front early on, and we tangles a couple of times, but I managed to get ahead of him on the technical sections and a couple of crashes behind gave us a helping hand.
“My and Sylvain have been having a good battle all season, and there’s been a couple of races where I’ve been lucky and he’s been unlucky. When everything’s equal, there’s very little between us. I’ve been lucky and haven’t had mechanicals and I’ve managed to stay fit and healthy.
“This is my first full season of cross, I’ve been doing MTB before and I wanted to have a proper crack at cyclo-cross. It’s been good, and I may try the National Trophy next season and step up a bit.”
Results:
1 Matthew Webber London Phoenix S 1:00:52
2 Paul Sheers Vicious Velo S 1:02:05
3 Ben Lewis FPCC S 1:02:07
4 Darren Barclay Arctic S 1:02:09
5 Jack Finch PM Racing J 1:02:44
6 Jules Birks VCL S 1:03:47
7 Chris Dick London Phoenix S 1:04:01
8 Gabor Doroghazi Fruit 4 London S 1:04:17
9 Russell Jones Brixton V 1:04:51
10 Martin Weiss London Phoenix S 1:05:02
11 Matt Hinshelwood Vicious Velo S 1:05:12
12 James Wilson LA Fuca Sigma S 1:05:13
13 Kieran Laurie VCL J 1:05:35
14 Chris McGovern Sutton CC J 1:05:37
15 Ashley Dennis Prestige VC J 1:05:37
16 David Rees Dulwich Paragon S 1:05:54
17 William Jones S 1:06:00
18 Andrew Snowball VC Londres S 1:06:01
19 Andy Pollintine Dulwich Paragon S 1:06:02
20 Vojtech Blazejovsky Brixton Cycles S 1:06:23
21 Andy Powers Rollapaluza CC V 1:06:30
22 Mark Simmonds Kingsnorth V 1:07:01
23 Simon Scarsbrook Mosquito V at 1 lap
24 Edwin Burden London Phoenix S at 1 lap
25 Phil Hersey Eagle RC S at 1 lap
26 Charlie Codrington Dulwich Paragon V at 1 lap
27 Alex Ioannides Dulwich Paragon S at 1 lap
28 Duncan Moden C.R.C. S at 1 lap
29 John Polak V at 1 lap
30 Philip Murrell Finsbury Park V at 1 lap
31 James Solly VCL S at 1 lap
32 Steve Brown S at 1 lap
33 Andrew Han S at 1 lap
34 Alex Pettett Leeds Uni Gryphen S at 1 lap
35 Tony Bartlett Team Corridori V at 1 lap
36 Ian Cleverly Mosquito V at 1 lap
37 Mike Kangelos Push Cycles S at 1 lap
38 Kevin Carter London Phoenix V at 1 lap
39 Graham Freer Mosquito V at 1 lap
40 Adrian Wain Beds Road S at 1 lap
41 Steve Blackmore Seeds V at 1 lap
42 Steve Treanor HCTB V at 1 lap
43 Phil Shemmings Bigfoot CC V at 1 lap
44 David Smith VC Londres S at 1 lap
45 Lee Dobson S at 1 lap
46 Len Delicaet Phoenix V at 1 lap
47 Phil Wright VCL V at 1 lap
48 Pete Lawrence Condor Cycles V at 1 lap
49 Greg Anderson S at 2 laps
50 Adam Harman HHYCC V at 2 laps
51 David Rose Dulwich Paragon S at 2 laps
52 Simon Tottle Festival RC V at 2 laps
53 Harry Moore CC Hackney V at 2 laps
54 Howard Swejwik S at 2 laps
55 Tabitha Rendall Club Cyclopark W at 2 laps
56 Lee Rae-Byford Cycle Europe V at 3 laps
57 Julian McGovern Sutton CC V at 3 laps
58 Jony Hudson S at 3 laps
59 Jo-Anne Perry Deal Triathlon W at 3 laps
60 Jason Cattermole VCL S at 4 laps
61 Simon Clarke GS Avanti V at 4 laps
62 Rob Milton Push Cycles S at 4 laps
63 Sam Judd VCL J at 4 laps
64 Andrey Padiy Rollapaluza CC S at 5 laps
65 Elliot Phillips VCL J at 6 laps
66 George Holland Brixton Cycles S at 7 laps
67 Spencer Harradine Big Foot V at 7 laps
68 Lan-Lan Smith W at 7 laps
69 Kevin Ball Dulwich Paragon S at 9 laps
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.
