Location: Cranfield, Bedfordshire
Event: 5 May2012
Report: Gordon Wiseman
The powerful looking Jonathan Shubert (High Wycombe CC) was one of only a handful of riders to bravely put his nose into the strong wind blowing around the Cranfield circuit in Saturday’s 65km Andy Morrison Memorial Road Race and picked up a well-deserved win for his efforts.
Whilst it was Shubert who took the win, it was London Dynamo’s Richard Simmons who took the race by the scruff of the neck in the opening laps and started a solo ride at the front that lasted until there were just 10 laps of the tight, 3.5km circuit to go.
“I guess it was really a suicide effort to go off on my own straight from the off with that strong wind blowing across the circuit” the 38-year-old Londoner explained after the race, “but I kept looking over my shoulder hoping a small group would join me”.
Ticking off the laps, Simmonds opened a gap of over 45 seconds at one point but the long drag to the top of the circuit started to drain his legs and as the bunch got closer and closer, the eventual third placed man (Malcolm Smith – St Ives) clipped off the front of the chasers to join him.
But rather than the peloton sweeping up the now leading pair, Simmonds got a new lease of life having been joined by Smith and the pair started to open their own gap.
Shubert now played his hand and a couple of laps later, the youngster bridged the gap with his own solo effort to join the front of the race.
From that point on, the now leading trio worked tirelessly together, each taking turns on the front, especially on the very exposed back end of the circuit and with the rest of the field drifting further back, it was clear that these three would now contest the win.
Up to the top of the climb on the final lap, Simmonds tried to pull way but was out jumped by Shubert as they passed the kilometre to go sign. And turning into the fast, tail-wind assisted finishing straight, it was the younger Shubert who had the most in reserve as they headed to the chequered flag, opening a winning gap of some 20 metres over the hard working Simmonds.
Results:
1 Jonathan Shubert (High Wycombe CC) 1:45:20
2 Richard Simmonds (London Dynamo) @ 10sec
3 Malcolm Smith (St. Ives) @ 8sec
4 Ed Ashby (Private Member) @ 1:27
5 Henry Latimer (Dream Cycling)
6 James Norris (High Wycombe CC)
7 Patrick Martin (Wyndymilla UK Youth)
8 Leighton Davies (Bio Candenza RT)
9 Will Hayter (London Dynamo)
10 Geoff Williams (Python RT)
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.
