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Autumn is here, we’re into October and that can mean only one thing – it’s Cyclocross season! The Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli team headed to Round 1 of the National Trophy Cyclocross series taking place at the iconic Moorways, Derby venue. With a healthy sized team spread over a wide range of race categories Wheelbase was well-represented over a weekend packed full of elbow-to-elbow racing on a fast track, which despite a week of rain, stayed dry and hard-packed throughout the weekend.
The Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli team were back in action at Round 1 of the National Trophy Cyclocross series.
Scottish lad Rory McGuire was returning to national-level racing for Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli, hoping to continue where he left of last season; Rory won a round of the Trophy series in 2021 and consistently placed in the top ten, finishing 3rd overall in both the Senior and Under 23 categories. Giles Drake was back between the tapes 2 weeks after his strong showing at the infamous 3 Peaks Cyclocross race where he placed 4th, a result he was frustrated by as a series of untimely punctures had impacted his race while leading on Whernside and looking good for the win. Meanwhile Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli’s very own Vet 40 World Champion would do his customary ‘double-header’ looking resplendent in his Rainbow jersey on Saturday in the Vet 40 race before donning his standard Wheelbase team jersey for the elite race on Sunday.
Lewis Craven would race twice over the weekend.
With the popularity of cyclocross racing in the UK growing each year we once again saw huge fields of racers in every age and gender category throughout an incredibly busy weekend of racing. Nowadays it’s not unusual to see whole families racing cross, with Mum, Dad and the kids all lining up in their respective races; their collective love for the sport shared within a super-social and safe environment. A great example of this shared passion comes in the form of our very own Wheelbase team racers Dave and Elsie Haygarth; Dave has been racing cross for decades and his family have always been in close attendance, now his Daughter Elsie can rival his own obsession with ‘cross and is gradually working her way through each age category as she continues to grow.
Elsie Haygarth has grown up racing cyclocross from an early age.
Dave Haygarth is one of the most passionate cyclocross advocates in the UK.
Elsie would ride strongly within the Youth Girls (U16) category in a fast and frenetic race made up of 48 girls all vying for position on a tight and technical course that saw fast laps thanks to the dry terrain; when the checkered flag was waved Elsie would cross the line in an excellent 27th position. The Vet 50 race category is stacked full of racing talent that can be traced back 30 years or more to the hey-day of cross country mountain biking in the UK. The results sheet typically reads like a who’s who of successful racers who have dominated the domestic calendar in MTB and Cyclocross races; the best example of this is good friend of Wheelbase, Nick Craig, riding for SCOTT Racing who took another fantastic win in a super-competitive field. Wheelbase’s Dave Haygarth raced well to take a very respectable 16th place, setting the scene for another successful season of national-level racing.
Elsie took an excellent 27th place in the Youth Girls (U16) category.
Dave had a strong showing in the V50 category, finishing in 16th place.
The Vet 40 race was another opportunity for our very own World Champion Lewis Craven to pull on his special Rainbow jersey and line up for a fast-paced battle with his fellow competitors. It’s well-known within the Wheelbase team that Lewis prefers his cyclocross races to take place in wetter, more muddy conditions; he tends to really find his racing sweet-spot later on in the season when conditions are much more grueling and his jedi-like bike-handling skills combined with his enviable power-output all but guarantee him the win. Despite the dry conditions Lewis would race strongly at the head of the race eventually taking an excellent 3rd place podium spot while still keeping half an eye on the elite race still to come on the Sunday.
In his first race of the weekend Lewis Craven got to wear his Vet 40 World Champion rainbow jersey.
Lewis prefers wetter, more muddy conditions but still took an excellent 3rd place in the V40 race.
Fast forward to the 2nd day of competition and Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli would field 5 riders in the biggest race of the weekend; the elite race saw last year’s revelation Rory McGuire line up alongside seasoned campaigners Giles Drake and Lewis Craven along with Flynn Gregory who showed real promise last year and Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli’s newest recruit Callum Laborde, a talented young racer who has competed overseas for Team GB.
Callum Laborde is Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli’s newest recruit and is a major cyclocross racing talent.
With dry weather and blue skies once again the technical course remained hard-packed, encouraging fast-paced racing from the start. Rory’s high overall placing at the end of last season meant he was gridded on the front row and was able to take his customary fast start before beginning to jostle with the very best racers in a field packed with racing talent. The front of the racing pack seems to be increasingly dominated by strong U23 riders with a similar look and feel to where we left of last year and Rory racing elbow to elbow with the likes of Toby Barnes and National Cyclocross Champion Thomas Mein. At the end of the race 21 year old Belgian Witse Meeuseen of the Pauwels Sauzen – Bingoal team would get the better of our top UK competitors with Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli’s Rory McGuire taking an excellent 5th place as well as finishing in 3rd place overall within the U23 category.
A front row gridding and Rory’s signature fast start saw him in the thick of the racing from the gun.
The dry racing conditions suited Rory’s powerful, dynamic style of racing.
Rory McGuire made short work of the barriers.
Rory was competing against some familiar faces at the head of the race, as the young U23 riders excelled in the dry conditions.
Rory would take to the podium as 3rd place overall in the Under 23 category.
A little further down the results we saw strong and consistent racing from Giles Drake and Lewis Craven who both finished in the top 20 taking 17th and 19th place respectively. After spending a good majority of the race riding together Giles joked at the finish that he had been part of a ‘Lewis Craven bike-handling skills workshop’ for the duration. Flynn Gregory wasn’t far behind the pair finishing a very creditable 21st while our new recruit Callum Laborde had a fantastic race, showing real strength to be consistently positioned in the top 10 before misfortune would strike on the last lap. A minor but ill-timed crash snapped his Shimano Di2 gear shifter leaving his bike unrideable, however a quick run to the pits ahead of him saw him jump on his spare bike to eventually take 29th place. His frustration after the race was understandable and he’s now itching to show us what he can do when luck is on his side.
Giles Drake was back in action, racing strongly in the top 20 of the Elite race.
Lewis was back in his standard Wheelbase race kit for Sunday’s Elite race.
Flynn Gregory pretty much picked up from where he left off last season and was racing strongly throughout the race.
Giles found himself riding the majority of the Elite race with teammate Lewis Craven and enjoyed the impromptu skills masterclass.
Callum Laborde had an impressive debut race for Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli.
With a solid result under his belt Giles Drake is ready for another consistent cyclocross season.
Callum Laborde suffered some misfortune towards the end of the race but is already ambitious for round 2.
Well done to all of our Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli team riders for a great showing at this first round of the National Trophy Cyclocross Series. A massive thanks to all of our team helpers behind the scenes who worked hard before, during and after the races to make sure each rider was able to focus solely on the racing. The team now head to Falkirk in Scotland for round 2 of the Trophy series; will Rory McGuire’s ‘home race’ spur him on to take the win? We’ll have to wait and see!..
Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli Team Results
Day 1 Saturday
YOUTH Girls (U16)
27th Elsie Haygarth
Vet 40 Men
3rd Lewis Craven
Vet 50 Men
16th Dave Haygarth
Day 2 Sunday
Elite Men
5th (3rd U23) Rory McGuire
17th Giles Drake
19th Lewis Craven
21st Flynn Gregory
29th Callum Laborde
Written by Johnny Dodgin
Photos by Man Down Media
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