Event: Mid-Suffolk Road Race
Venue: Somersham, near Ipswich, 76km
Promoted by: Stowmarket & District CC
Date: Sun, August 14 2011
Report: Snowdon Sports
CC LUTON rider Martin Badell won a bunch sprint finish to the Mid-Suffolk Road Race staged over a course at Somersham near Ipswich on Sunday.
The 45-year-old from Hitchin edged ahead at the end of the 76-kilometre race which took in seven and a quarter laps of a 10km circuit.
While there were one or two breakaway attempts nothing managed to stick as the alert bunch chased down any escapees, and the one occasion where two riders looked like making their attack stick, they were thwarted by outside forces.
Two riders managed to get about 20 seconds up the road and their gap was growing sufficiently for commissaires to be considering placing a car between them and the bunch.
But a JCB pulled onto the course near the bunch, forcing them to neutralise the race while the danger was dealt with. By the time the race was started again, the bunch took no time at all in chasing down the unlucky duo.
Plenty of riders tried to break clear but many were also thwarted by headwinds and the climb of Willisham Hill, which they had to climb eight times and proved easier to tackle as a bunch than a small group.
Results:
1 Martin Badell (CC Luton) 2-35-00
2 Steve Hurrell (Strada Sports)
3 Andrew Brown (VC Pelton)
4 Tom Stephenson (Ipswich BC)
5 David Bamford (East London Velo)
6 Peter Hargreaves (VC Norwich)
7 James Jobber (Colchester Rovers CC)
8 Ian Hibbert (West Suffolk Wheelers)
9 Matthew Conan (PCH UK RT) all @ same time
