CycloCross

2 Jan Midlands Cyclo-Cross champs
The rescheduled Midlands championships were held near Bakewell in the grounds of Thornbridge outdoor centre. With the ground having now thawed out several big muddy sections made the course a real test of fitness.
In the under 16s event Peter Cocker rode well for 8th position although not with the same racing fitness he showed earlier in the season in the Lincs league. Winner was Joe Kirkham from Nottingham.
In the senior event Simon Cocker struggled with the muddy sections to finish 21st in the over 50s event with Ian Wright of Raleigh Road team the winner.

19/12 Final Round, Rossington Wheelers Doncaster
After a blank couple of weekends, causing cross withdrawal symptons, the final round of the Lincs league promoted by Rossington Wheelers event near Doncaster, was on.
However with the temp gauge around -6 deg C it was only the hardy few who made the trek North. The course seemed OK in the morning with the grass field made bumpy by the frozen ground and the tracks through the wooded area seemingly rideable.
A reduced field in the Juveniles event of around a dozen riders saw 4 riders quickly establish a lead Simon Beedhan (Scunthorpe), Adam de Smit (VC Lincoln), Peter Cocker (Witham Wheelers) Jake Poole (Lincoln). They stayed together until around half distance until Simon Beedham attacked to open up a gap which the others didn’t respond to quickly enough and he stayed clear for a good win, from Adam in second. Peter suffered his usual mechanical problem, puncturing on the last lap, but with a quick bike change was able to just get back in front of Jake in a sprint for the line in 3rd place.

Only 3 riders started the U12s with Bradley Sproggis of Lincoln taking the win.

In the senior event around 35 riders started, with the conditions still looking reasonable but by the second lap the wooded section was becoming increasingly icy as the temperature dropped and the commisaires took the decision to reduce the race to around 40 minutes, to avoid any serious injuries. Winner was Rapha Condor professional rider Graham Briggs just 2 seconds in front of James Thompson with Mark Cotton a further 30 seconds behind in 3rd. Sole club rider was Simon Cocker who after loosing an argument with a muddy ditch on the first lap, rode steadily round to finish 29th.

Next events are the rescheduled Midlands championships on the 2nd January at Bakewell and the final round of the National Series at Rutland Water on the 16th Jan which unfortunately clashes with the Linc’s League Handicap Race and Prize Presentation.

28/11 - Round 10 - VC Lincoln Cross Bardney
With snow on the ground and the car temp gauge showing minus 7 deg. it was sure to be a challenging ride at Bardney for the 10th round of the Lincs league. The course was completely different from anything else so far this year with some long flat frozen grass sections, farm tracks, 5 dismounts and some tricky climbs up and down the bank of the river Witham.
With his main rivals riding the national series Peter Cocker took a comfortable win in the Under 16 event, managing to avoid any mishaps to take his first win of the cross season after 9 consecutive second or third placings.
In the Under 12s Eleanor Crawford continued her consistent performances this season with 7th overall and first girl despite a nasty fall on the last lap.
Considering the conditions a good sized field of almost 50 senior riders still took to the start line with 2 even spotted in shorts. Gavin Hardwicke of the Ashfield Road Club took a good win by some 50 seconds from Rick Lister. Of the club riders taking part Sean East looked to be possibly finishing in front of Simon Cocker for the first time this season but Simon managed to edge back in front to take 27th with Sean not far behind in 29th.
Pictures show a bleak view of the course and Peter running across the finish line for his first win in front of a 'large' crowd. Photo Album»
Next weekend there is break in the Lincs League as riders head to Bakewell for the Midlands championships with Peter Cocker riding the under 16s and Simon Cocker the Veteran 50s and sure to be taken out of their normal comfort zones, weather permitting.

21/11 - 9th Round at Lincoln Wheelers
With the club dinner the night before, an early start on a cold damp Sunday morning to ride the 9th round of the Lincolnshire league was a true test of dedication for club riders taking part. It was held in the grounds of the Police HQ at Nettleham on a fast grass based course with a greasy top surface catching a lot of riders out, if they tried to take one of the many corners too fast but also giving some close exciting racing.

Under 16s - With no national series event clashing this week a strong field started the under 16s event. On the first lap Jake Poole of Lincoln, Jack King from Sleaford and Jordan Gell of Lincoln broke away from the rest with Peter Cocker chasing a few seconds further back. The pace at the front was too much for Jordan who fell back to be overtaken by Peter who could could make no impression on the 2 leaders. After 30 minutes it came down to a sprint finish with Jack proving too strong for Jake to take the win with Peter comfortably in third place to consolidate his overall lead in the Lincolnshire League.

Under 12s - Another win for Matt Elis of Spalding with Eleanor Crawford again first girl home in 10th position overall.

Seniors - A very close race with the lead changing throughout the race came down to a sprint between 3 riders with Rick Lister just taking the win from Gareth Whittall and Mark Cotton. Club riders taking part were Simon Cocker 46th, Sean East 51st, Chris Crawford 59th, John Hill 63d, Karen Crawford 66th
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14/11 - Round 8, Lincs League at Woodhall Spa
Promoted by Boston Wheelers at Ostlers Plantation, Woodhall Spa. An interesting course through the woods, mainly flat but with some 'bomb' holes to add excitement made for a pleasant change after the 2 previous weeks slogs around wet grass field based courses.

Under 16s. Peter Cocker again managed to snatch second place when well placed to take the win. A heavy crash on the penultimate lap whilst riding comfortably with regular rival Adam de Smit from Lincoln lost some 30 seconds and despite a big effort to get back to the front he was still 10 seconds behind at the finish.

Under 12s Eleanor Crawford rode well for 8th overall and first girl again, Kerrigan Robb not going quite as well as in the previous weeks a little bit further back in 11th, with Matt Ellis from Spalding taking the win.

Seniors - Another big field with 80 plus riders taking to the start line. This developed into a race long duel between Lincs league regular Rick Lister and road professional Graeme Briggs riding his first league event of the season. However Briggs crashed on the run in to the finish line leaving Lister to take a clear win in 50:58. Gareth Whittall came through to take 2nd 37 seconds behind, with Briggs eventually finishing 3rd a further 22 seconds behind. Witham Wheelers riders competing were Simon Cocker in 47th, Sean East in 52nd, Chris Crawford in 73rd and Karen Crawford taking her first scalps of the season in 78th.
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7/11 - Round 7: Yello Velo - Hubbards Hills Louth
The recent rain made for hard going on the grass based course at the aptly named Hubbards Hills - just keeping forward momentum became an issue at times.

Under 16s - Peter Cocker maintained his consistent finishes this season with another 2nd place some 20 seconds behind Jordan Gell of Lincoln who had made his customary fast start but this time continued to ride well throughout the 30 minute race to hold off Peter's attempts to close the gap. Adam de Smit also of Lincoln finished third.

Under 12s - Biggest smiles of the day from Eleanor Crawford who enjoyed the shortened course used for the under 12s and rode well for 6th overall and first girl again.

Seniors - Mark Cotton of Lincoln made light work of the difficult conditions to win by a clear 2 minutes from usual close rival Rick Lister. Club riders taking part were Simon Cocker in 39th, Sean East in 47th, Chris Crawford 60th and Karen Crawford showing great persistence to finish in 61st.
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31/10 - Round 6 at Witham Wheelers
Witham Wheelers promoted the 6th round of the Lincolnshire cyclo-cross league at Stroxton on a calm but misty morning, with the rain in the previous week making the grass field based course a real test of stamina in probably the hardest race of the season so far.
In the Under 16s a depleted field with some of the regulars riding in the National series at Ipswich, this left club rider Peter Cocker as the pre-race favourite but mechanical problems struck again to leave him back in second place some 40 seconds down on winner Adam de Smit of Lincoln. However half way through the 12 event series Peter retains his lead in the Youth league.
In the Under 12s a good field of 20 riders took to the line with Jacob Feetham from Wakefield winning by almost a minute from James Swadling of Nottingham and usual winner Matt Ellis of Spalding back in third. Witham Wheelers Kerrigan Robb rode strongly for 9th with Eleanor Crawford again first girl in 11th
The senior event saw an excellent field of some 80 riders take to the start line and it quickly developed into a 2 rider race with Rick Lister (Gabby Day Cycles) and Leigh Andrews (Zepnat) breaking clear from everyone else and only being separated by 1 second at the finish on the hour long race. Rick almost lost the race making a mistake over the final jump with 400m to go but managed to recover in time to just out sprint Leigh on the line. Lee Shunburne of Matlock CC was in third place almost a minute further behind.
Witham Wheelers taking part were Simon Cocker 43rd, Peter Barnes 52nd, Sean East 60th, Chris Crawford, 66th, John Hill in 72nd and Karen Crawford in 77th.
Full results can be seen at www.lincscyclocross.com
Thanks to Tony Mendham for promoting the event and all the club members for setting the course out and helping on the day. Photo Album»

24/10 Round 5 - Spalding CC
With the unavailability of Bourne Woods Spalding CC still managed to produce an interesting course out of flat school playing fields for the 5th round of the Lincs League. Using a mixture of chicanes, plank jumps and some tight corners through a small wooded area and a drop into a ditch produced some fast competitive racing.

U16s A competitive race with the lead changing several times amongst the top 5 riders with Jake Poole of Lincoln taking his first win of the season overhauling a tiring Jack King (Sleaford whs) with just over a lap to go. Although closing on the leaders in the final stages Peter Cocker ran out of time and finished 3rd again just ahead of Adam de Smit.

U12s Matt Ellis of Spalding continued to dominate with another win with Witham wheelers Kerrigan Robb starting to get the hang of cross for 7th place and Eleanor Crawford again first girl home in 9th.

Senior Event - In a sprint finish Mark Cotton just out sprinted Rick Lister to take his first win of the season. Club riders taking part were Simon Cocker in 35th. Chris Crawford in 55th and Karen Crawford in 59th.

Next Sunday 31st October Witham Wheelers promote the 6th round at Stroxton, all welcome to come and give it a go or spectate. U16s start at 10.30, U12s at 11.30 and Seniors at 12.15. The course is suitable for mountain bikes.
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17/10 The 4th round of the Lincolnshire League Cyclo-Cross was held at Quibell Park on an interesting course featuring a mixture of grass and tarmac round the outside of the cycling track and a wooded climb and descent. Warm dry conditions made a pleasant contrast to last years event which had turned into a quagmire due to a heavy rainstorm.
Juvenile - A group of 6 riders broke away on the first lap and looked to dominate the race until Jack King from Sleaford began to apply the pressure on the front and slowly pulled away around halfway through the 30 minute race. Peter Cocker gave chase but a fall on a muddy corner lost a few seconds leaving him to win a close sprint for second place ahead of Jake Poole some 15 seconds behind the winner Jack King.
Under 12s- Eleanor Crawford continued her consistent rides this season again taking seventh overall and first girl with Matt Ellis of Spalding taking another win.
Senior - Another big field of 75 riders saw Jim Bryan of Zepnat CC take a clear win. Club riders taking part were Simon Cocker in 43rd overall, Sean East moved up to 63rd after a derailed chain right at the start relegated him initially to last position and Chris Crawford in 68th. Photos»
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10/10 - Alford Wheelers Cyclo-Cross
The third round of the Lincolnshire Cyclo-Cross league took place at South Ormsby in the Lincolnshire Wolds in warm dry conditions as a pleasant contrast to the 2 previous weeks.
In the Juvenile event Peter Cocker established a clear lead with 2 laps to go, when a stick lodged in the rear wheel snapping off the rear gear mechanism. By the time a compatible spare bike was found, Adam de Smit from Lincoln had taken a big enough lead to hold for the win with Peter gaining but back in second and still looking for his first win of the season.


Under 12s Eleanor Crawford came in 7th overall and first girl.
The Senior event was won by Lee Shunburne of Matlock CC. Club riders taking part were Simon Cocker in 37th, Sean East 44th, Chris Crawford 54th and a special mention to Karen Crawford finishing her second event on a tough course in 58th.

3/10 RAF Cranwell
Despite the heavy overnight rain there was still a good turnout for the 2nd round of the Lincs Cross League at Cranwell. An interesting varied course with the climb up through the woods made difficult by the sticky mud.

U16s - Kieran Tennyson from Heanor won for the second week in a row, with Jack King (Sleaford) just beating Peter Cocker in a sprint for the line for second after a race long tussle.

U12s - Winner Matt Ellis with club riders Kerrrigan Robb 7th and Eleanor Crawford 8th

Seniors - Another big field of 80+ riders soon spread out over the demanding course with Dan Lewis taking a clear win and club riders Simon ccoker 52nd and Sean East 63rd. Photo Album»

26/9 - Sleaford Wheelers
The first round of the 2010 Lincs League took place at Chandlers Barkston and the club was represented in all the events.

Under 12s - Kerrigan Robb took a good 12th place in his first event against riders quite a bit older with Eleanor Crawford not far behind in 16th.

Under 16s - Peter Cocker rode strongly to place third overall and first Lincolnshire rider behind Kieran Tennyson and James Shaw both from Heanor Clarion.

Seniors - Nearly 100 riders started the senior event held over an hour on a fairly flat grassy course with some tricky bits along side the stream.
Although not troubling the prize presentation party all club riders enjoyed the event won by Dan Booth, with Simon Cocker 61st. Sean East 76th, Crawford 87th and special mention to Karen Crawford 93rd in finishing her first ever cyclo-cross event.
Photo Album»