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NATIONAL TROPHY CYCLO-CROSS ROUND 6 – RACE REPORT

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli Cyclocross Team

Feature Image by James Vincent

 

The Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli Cyclo-Cross Team had barely got the mud out of their hair following last weekend’s National Cyclo-Cross championships down in Crawley before it was time to load up the van once again and head out to the final round of the National Trophy Series, which thankfully for our predominantly north-based team, was hosted on our doorstep at Broughton Hall near Skipton in Yorkshire.

The team rode brilliantly last weekend with some great results including a Silver medal in the Vet 40 category for Lewis Craven. The current Vet 40 World Champion would be in action again at Broughton Hall and back in his World Champs jersey for this final race of the season. Unfortunately our most successful racer of the season Rory McGuire had to miss the National Championships last weekend due to testing positive with COVID shortly before; he would be back racing for Wheelbase at Broughton Hall, but would he have enough time to make a full recovery? Lying in 2nd place overall in both the Senior and Under 23 categories going into this final round, would Rory be able to make a full return to health in time to defend his position or even improve on it in the main race Elite of the weekend on Sunday?..

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli

Photo James Vincent

SATURDAY RACES

Hope Technology were the event hosts for Round 6 of the National Trophy Cyclo-Cross Series and it was left to one of their very best racers Paul Oldham to set the course for a weekend packed full of fast and frenetic racing. Paul was able to call on years of racing experience to devise a course that suited all the race categories but still provided lots of technical challenges throughout as well as demanding climbs to help thin out the pack and make the racing as selective as possible. After a week of rain in the lead up to the races the course was incredibly slick and slippery; happily it’s exactly these sort of racing conditions that suit our very own Vet 40 World Champion Lewis Craven and following a short pre-race recce Lewis was very happy with both the technical course and the rutted, muddy surface.

Alongside Lewis in the Vet 40 race was Wheelbase’s seasoned campaigner Davie Lines who had made the long trip down from Scotland; equally adept racing on or off-road Davie was on form and ready to compete on a course that suited him just as much as teammate Lewis. A very fast start saw some select riders escape the pack and begin to pull away from Lewis; calling on years of racing experience Lewis kept a cool head and started to pull back the race-leaders by stealing time on the technical descents we’re he could really play to his strengths as an incredibly skilled bike handler. This race-tactic paid off quickly with Lewis catching the leaders and quickly building his own lead over the rest of the pack; with almost Jedi-like skills in the mud Lewis was able to continue to extend his lead staying upright where others faltered and fell on the super-slick track. After a consistent season and multiple podium spots at previous rounds of the National Trophy Series, Lewis was able to put his hands up in the air this time round as race winner! It was a great way for Lewis to end his season, looking all the more resplendent in his World Champion’s Rainbow Jersey. Pointing to the Wheelbase logo on his jersey as he crossed the line Lewis was quick to name-check us in post-race interviews, thanking the team for all of their support and hard work behind the scenes over the last few months.

Davie’s trip down south from Scotland proved fruitful as he raced consistently and in relative control on this challenging course, as others around him made small mistakes and lost time. Stretching things out on the long physically-demanding climbs Davie managed to ride into a top 10 place finishing an excellent 7th on the day. Elsewhere our Vet 50 racer Dave Haygarth lined up against another stacked field of racing talent, struggling to hide his glee at both the brilliantly laid-out course and the super-slick conditions which Dave has a long history of excelling in. After another long season of not only racing but acting as a race organiser, event host, cyclo-cross-focused multimedia guru and so much more it was great to see Dave take his highest placing at a National level with a brilliant 4th place in the Vet 50 race. Elsie Haygarth continues to develop her racing skills and experience at a national as well as league level; after taking on a full season of national racing she has made competing consistently against a very packed field of racing talent in the Under 14 Girls category look easy. Showing a mature, steely-eyed-focus on her racing and training bodes well for future seasons with another cool, composed race performance giving Elsie an excellent 13th place at Broughton Hall.

 

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli Race Results

Veteran Men MV40

1st – Lewis Craven

7th – Davie Lines

Veteran Men MV50

4th – David Haygarth

Under 14 Girls

13th – Elsie Haygarth

 

SATURDAY

(All Saturday photographs by Man Down Media )

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli

Lewis Craven excels in slick conditions like this.

 

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli

Davie Lines made the trip from Scotland to race in Yorkshire.

 

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli

Line choice is everything, Lewis looks ahead for his next move.

 

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli

Part of the course quickly became un-rideable. 

 

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli

World Vet 40 Champ Lewis Craven knows how far he can push the grip of his tyres.

 

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli

Lewis is pretty fast on his feet too when there’s no other option.

 

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli

Davie Lines rode to a brilliant 7th place in the Vet 40 race.

 

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli

Ever the professional, Lewis doesn’t forget his sponsors as he takes the win.

 

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli

World Champion Lewis Craven takes the Vet 40 win for Wheelbase.

 

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli

Lewis looks pretty composed after the race.

 

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli post-race debrief.

 

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli

Dave Haygarth chose the final national-level race of the year to take his best result.

 

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli

A fine 4th place for Dave Haygarth in the Vet 50 race.

 

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli

Elsie Haygarth rounded out her season-long National Trophy Series campaign with a fine 13th place in the U14 Girls category. 

SUNDAY RACES

Sunday’s racing saw more of the same when it came to technical racing conditions. With a cool, damp evening having no effect on the course in terms of potentially drying it out overnight and following the impact of all the racing from the day before if anything the course was even more challenging for the biggest races of the weekend. After a difficult week following a positive COVID test result the weekend before Rory McGuire was back on track and ready to defend his brilliant 2nd place overall in both the Senior Elite and Under 23 Elite race categories. Even without the extra pressure brought on by the COVID positive Rory was heading into the end of the long cyclo-cross season on the back of a lengthy spell racing in Belgium and following numerous high placings in the National Trophy Cyclo-Cross series including a fantastic win at Sunderland shortly before Christmas. Would Rory’s racing fitness and that valuable experience racing in Belgium outweigh his difficult spell of ill-health and the potential of fatigue following such a long spell of racing? Only time would tell…

Alongside Rory the Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli Cyclo-Cross team had a strong team for this final race of the series with Adam Bent lining up after a very impressive 20th place last weekend in his first Senior National Championships. Our evergreen Vet 40 World Champion Lewis Craven made the most of having a National Trophy race on his doorstep and returned to Broughton Hall following his big win from the day before to line up against the Elite Seniors for the final race of the weekend. Giles Drake had risen to the challenge of the National Championships taking a brilliant 13th place in Crawley and with course conditions very similar here his race held a lot of promise too.

As the flag dropped and the racing began it was no surprise to see the newly-crowned National Cyclocross Champion Thomas Mein take a commanding lead; having spent the majority of the season racing on the continent Thomas was on another level showing a great level of skills and fitness. Behind him the Wheelbase Team’s support crew had their focus set firmly on Rory’s progress and his potential to wrap a high overall placing in the series standings; racing in a composed manner despite the difficult conditions Rory was able to consolidate a high placing in the the top ten during the race. The effects of the difficult week in the build-up to the final round of the series were not to be underestimated and Rory showed a great level of maturity to bounce back, remain positive and stay focused on the job in hand, eventually finishing in 7th place to secure a 3rd place overall and a Bronze medal for the Senior Elite series. Thanks to Rory’s young age he was also eligible for the Under 23 Category too and he was able to secure 3rd place in that competition too. Despite that late-season bad luck off the track Rory has been the revelation of the Cyclo-Cross season and holds a great deal of promise for the future; after a short break Rory will be shifting disciplines, moving over to Cross-Country Mountain Bike racing at both a national and international level and Wheelbase look forward to continuing to support him in his endeavours.

Elsewhere in this demanding race Adam Bent continued his good patch of racing form with a brilliant top-ten placing, making short work of the difficult course and excelling on the long, draggy climbs onboard his Cannondale SuperSix EVO CX bike which does a particularly good job of shedding mud and keeping the wheels rolling thanks to that extra tyre clearance engineered into this new-generation Cyclo-cross bike. Unfortunately Giles was on an extremely rare off-day, eventually pulling out of the race due to feeling unwell; meanwhile Lewis Craven, back in action after his win yesterday, was racing strongly in the mud and showing his superior bike-handling skills to take his best result in the senior Elite this season. His brilliant 10th place meant that the Wheelbase team placed 3 riders in the top 10 – a fantastic showing at the end of a long race-season!

 

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli Race Results

Elite Men

7th – Rory McGuire

9th – Adam Bent

10th – Lewis Craven

DNF – Giles Drake

(National Trophy Elite Overall – Rory McGuire 3rd Senior, Rory McGuire 3rd Under 23)

SUNDAY

(All Sunday Photographs by James Vincent)

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli

After a difficult week Rory knew what he needed to do.

 

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli

Lewis Craven was back in his conventional Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli jersey to compete in the Elite Senior race.

 

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli

Giles Drake was having a very rare off day and eventually ended up with a DNF.

 

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli

This portion of the course was catching out some riders, not Rory though.

 

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli

Adam Bent racing to a top 10 place onboard his Cannondale SuperSix EVO CX bike.

 

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli

The weekend’s difficult conditions kept the pit crews busy.

 

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli

Rory had to go deep to hold on to his overall race series ambitions.

 

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli

Rory McGuire was on the podium to take 3rd overall in the Under 23 category.

 

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli

3rd overall Senior, 3rd overall Under 23. What a fantastic race season for Rory!

 

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli

It’s been a long race season, but it’s been a successful one! Thanks to everyone involved.

 

A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR WHEELBASE CABTECH CASTELLI TEAM RIDERS FOR THEIR CONTINOUS HARD WORK, PROFESSIONALISM AND FANTASTIC RESULTS THROUGHOUT THE SEASON. MASSIVE THANKS TO ALL OF OUR TEAM SPONSORS WHO CONTINUE TO HELP US TO RACE WEEK IN, WEEK OUT. SPECIAL HEARTFELT THANKS TO EVERYONE BEHIND THE SCENCES WHO HELPS KEEP THE WHEELS ROLLING DURING SOME OF THE HARSHEST MONTHS OF THE YEAR.

UNITE – FIGHT – BELIEVE!

 

Written by Johnny Dodgin

Saturday Photos by Man Down Media

Sunday Photos by James Vincent

 

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