Imperial Winter Series 2014/2015

 

Lucy Collins

 

The Final Round of the Imperial Winter Series 2014/2015

 

The final round of the Imperial Cycles Hillingdon Winter Series, Round 9, took place on Saturday 14th February 2015

 
Each race of the final round of the series provided a shake up to the established order with a few riders more focused on winning on the day rather than riding for an overall place on the leader board.
 

Two riders clipped off the front in the 4th cat race – previous solo winner Henry Sheldon and Benoit Ramsay (Clapham Chasers) – and stayed together until the last few laps having just enough in hand to hang on to take the top two places, Sheldon taking two wins from two starts. Josh Curtis (Berkhamstead CC) led in the chasers for third.
 
Benoit Ramsay (Clapham Chasers) in 2nd wins the Imperial Cycles random prize and can get down to Imperial Cycles for a tune up ready for a summer season of racing.
 
Ruth Summerford (PMR@Toachim House) produced another stand out performance taking off on her own again mid race after a number of attempts by the main protagonists. Clem Copie (Pearl Izumi Sports Tour) showed improving form to take second in the run in from Detta Guerrini (London Dynamo), Helen Ralston (Les Filles RT) and Anna Marie Hughes (Bonito Squadra Corse); the latter three filling making up the podium for the 123 women’s series.
 
New series rider Alexander Murison (Eastern Ritte) shone through in the men’s E123 race featuring in the main break of the day and prominent in almost every move; he topped this off with the win drawing out the field over the last 200m. The sprinter’s cemented their overall places with top 10 positions only Graham Crow (Handsling Racing) missing out on the points.
4th Cat winner Henry Sheldon and winner of the 3rd cat race Gareth Dickinson (Farnborough and Camberley CC) get their choice of a Ritchey handlebar/stem combo or saddle courtesy of Aprire Bicycles.
 

Series report:
 
So it’s all over for another year – again there’s much to remember from this series – the racing was scintillating at times and bizarre occasionally: the second race finish line images of riders careening through the air travelled the globe and earned the moniker as the World’s most bizarre finish photo. Some new names stepped into the fray in every class blending some fine moments of inspiration with heaps of determination mixed with a bit of luck.
 
No one dominated the men’s E123 which was refreshing, so it was all down to the final race of series. Tom Hargreaves (London Dynamo) took the victory.
 

 
The standard of riding in the 4th cat races has definitely improved: yes there were some soppy crashes and some riders have yet to understand the holding the line principle but on the whole it was great; Phil Dempsey of Aprire Bicycles acted as riding observer in a few rounds and this helped immeasurably. The women’s fields were their best yet, particularly the 3rd/4ths which sported more than 30 starters on a few occasions. As is the way with things all the positives were overshadowed with the passing of London Dynamo series rider Akis Collaros in a road accident. We all felt this sadness.
 
We are indebted as always to our sponsors – our own Imperial Cycles taking pole position supported admirably by new partners Aprire Bicycles and Stitch-Mi-Lane – we would encourage you to take a few moments to check out their products and services. Each of them have similar aims which make them such a great fit with the series – they are all committed to cycling with passion preceding pure business aims, so you can be confident that they care about making sure their customers are happy.
 
Thanks go as always to the Imperial support crew – Doug and Isabel in the judge’s hut recording the results – Harry providing refreshments – and occasional support from Tracey, Maisy, Sally and Tom. Barry was on hand to tend to the bumps and bruises as well as taking an active role in the finish line crash in round 2! Les Filles RT stepped up to support Lucy at sign on and assisted in overcoming our traumas with the photo-finish equipment.
 
Enjoy the Spring and Summer – safe riding – see you in December!
 
Lucy and Rich
 

 
Compare prices and buy road bikes from:

 
The Results
 
E 1 2 3 cat race
Place Club Series Points
1st Alexander Murison Easton Ritte E 200
2nd Jerzy Kuzminski London Bicycle Workshop 2 190
3rd Rory Townsend Pedal Heaven RT 1 180
4th Gareth Dickinson Farnborough and Camberley CC 3 170
5th Charlie Taylor North Hampshire Road Club 3 160
6th Chris Rees Pearson CC 2 150
7th Tom Hargreaves London Dynamo 2 140
8th Gavin Ryan London Dynamo 2 130
9th Vincent Halpern Handsling racing 1 120
10th Jo Skelton Look Mum No Hands! 2 110
11th Daniel Tamplin High Wycombe CC 2 100
12th Chris Jubb pearson cc 3 90
13th Chris Burns Welwyn Wheelers 3 80
14th Robin Basford Wyndymilla 3 70
15th George Glassby Das Rad Klub 3 60
16th Adam Thompson Reading CC 2 50
17th Steve Morgan Twickenham CC 3 40
18th Will Houghton Hillingdon CC 2 30
19th Basil Adamo London Phoenix 3 20
20th Neil Heffernan unattached 3 10
21st Matthew Radford Wolverhampton Whlrs 3
22nd Will Ranoe VCGH/Sovereign FM 2
23rd Richard Bradfield Dulwich Paragon CC 3
24th Aaron Espin London Dynamo 3
25th Craig Barnett WyndyMilla 2
26th Simon Jones G. S. Henley 3
27th Andrew Fleet Hemel Hempstead CC 4
28th Nathan Taylor unattached 3
29th Luke Danckert Cycle Club Ashwell (CCA) 3
30th Darryl Green Watford Velo Sports 3
31st Steve Tribe Velosport RT 2
32nd Craig Drake Imperial RT 3
33rd Dylan Kenneway London Dynamo 3
34th Andy Self North Hants Road Club 3
35th Helen Ralston Les Filles RT 2w
36th Paul Moore Kingston Wheelers CC 3
37th Neil Murphy Ashwell CC 2
38th Alex Tinsley Twickenham CC 2
39th Alvaro Alves Da Cunha unattached 3
40th Ewan Evans Dorking CC 3
41st Nick Davis Kingston Wheelers CC 3
42nd Neil Kerr Twickenham CC 3
43rd Mark Sharratt Outdoor Traders CC 3
44th Nathan Taylor unattached 3
45th Joshua Hobbs Kingston Wheelers 3
46th Alistair Gurney Rapha CC 3
47th James Bradley Twickenham CC 2
48th Mario Manelfi Blazing Saddles 3
49th Joe Brindley Felt Racing 3
50th Richard Balfour McCheesefour 3
51st Thomas Whatley Paceline RT 4
52nd Neil Wass TMG Horizon Cycling Team 3
53rd Peter Cole Handsling Racing 3
54th Sam Taylor Zappi’s 3
55th Graham Crow Handsling RT 2
56th Simon Oxenham VC10 3

 
4th cat race
Place Club
1st Henry Sheldon unattached
2nd Benoit Ramsay Clapham Chasers
3rd Josh Curtis Berkhamsted Cycling Club
4th James Spackman London Dynamo
5th Ethan Davies Wolverhampton Whlrs
6th Neil Shier Eastbourne Rovers CC
7th Stuart Gillies Twickenham CC
8th Jonathan Hines Rapha Cycling Club
9th Kenny Henning London dynamo
10th Rob Saunders Rapha Cycling Club
11th Darren Yorston London Dynamo
12th Pete Ganderton Unattached
13th Oliver Gill Dorking CC
14th James Marvin Unattached
15th Samuel Doll Islington CC
16th Joseph Gillies Twickenham CC
17th James Sherwood Oxford Brookes University Cycling Club
18th Anthony StJohn-Bond Oxford Brookes University Cycling Club
19th Jon Train Westerley CC
20th Mark Tonge Kingston Wheelers CC
21st Thomas Mead-Herbert WatfordVeloSport
22nd Lawrence Hayes Unattached
23rd Robert Cliff Brixton Cycles Club
24th Robert Abbey Hemel Hempstead Cycling Club
25th David Loveman Verulam CC
26th Barron Mendelssohn Ashwell CC
27th Richard Anderson Twickenham CC
28th Kieran Presland Kingston wheelers
29th Nicholas Palmer Islington CC
30th Jonathan Berryman unattached
31st Nick Clarke Berkhamsted Cycling Club
32nd Mark Hughes G.S.Henley
33rd Greg Russell TMG Horizons
34th Ben Wrigglesworth G.S Henley
35th Iain Campbell VC Londres
36th John Bland London Dynamo
37th Spencer Wilson Berkhamsted CC
38th Dominic Thomas Twickenham CC
39th Massimo Saetta Kingston Wheelers
40th Paul Hollingsworth unattached
41st George Scott unattached
42nd Edward Roll unattached
43rd Christian Moxon Clapham Chasers
44th Paul Searle Team De Ver
45th Paul Cope High Wycombe CC
46th Adam Taylor Twickenham CC
47th Nicholas Bland Twickenham CC
48th Amey Gokarn LFGSS
49th Jacob Bridges Kingston Wheelers CC
50th Andrew Haigh Brixton
51st Alex Elferink Serpentine
52nd Kevin Monaghan Willesden Cycling Club
53rd Joshua Higgins high wycombe cycle club

 
Women’s 123 Cat race
Place Club Cat Series Points
1st Ruth Summerford PMR@Toachim House 3 100
2nd Clemence Copie Pearl Izumi Sports Tour 1 90
3rd Detta Guerrini London Dynamo 2 80
4th Helen Ralston Les Filles RT 2 70
5th Anna Marie Hughes Bonito Squadra Corse 2 60
6th Louise Laker PMR@Toachim House 2 50
7th Gabriella Nordin GB Cycles.co.uk 2 40
8th Nicole Oh Les Filles RT 2 30
9th Natasha Reddy RP Racing Team 3 20
10th Abigail Van Twisk Corley Cycles – Drops RT 3 10
11th Claire Hammond London Dynamo 3
12th Emma Towers Twickenham CC 2
13th Chloe Weller PMR@ToachtimHouse 2
14th Gemma Stuart Performance Cycles 2
15th Helen Gravatt Twickenham CC 3
 
Final Overall Series Leader Board E123 Round 9 of 9
Place Club Series Points
1st Tom Hargreaves London Dynamo 1380
2nd Jerzy Kuzminski London Bicycle Workshop 1230
3rd Vincent Halpern Handsling Racing 1180
4th Jo Skelton Look Mum No Hands! 1140
5th Alex Tinsley Twickenham CC 1030
6th Graham Crow Handsling RT 880
7th Adam Thompson Reading CC 820
8th Will Ranoe VCGH 780
9th Laurence Kirby Welwyn Wheelers 780
10th Daniel Tamplin High Wycombe CC 530
11th Rory Townsend Pedal Heaven RT 490
12th Joshua Outram Sp-torm 390
13th Jamie Pine Pedal Heaven RT 380
14th Tom Smith Handsling Racing 380
15th Andrew Davis Kingston Wheelers 380
16th Liam Yates Catford Equipe Banks 370
17th Neil Wass TMG Horizon Cycling Team 360
18th Gareth Dickinson Farnborough and Camberley CC 340
19th Sam Henning Catford CC 310
20th Gavin Ryan London Dynamo 290

 
The Final Result – Imperial Winter Series Women’s 123 Cat 2014/2015 after 4 rounds
Place Club Series Points
1st Anna Marie Hughes Bonito Squadra Corse 270
2nd Detta Guerrini London Dynamo 250
3rd Helen Ralston Les Filles RT 250
4th Clemence Copie Pearl Izumi Sports Tour 250
5th Abigail Dentus De Ver Cycles 210
6th Gabriella Nordin GB Cycles.co.uk 170
7th Ruth Summerford PMR@Toachim House 100
8th Helen McKay Les Filles RT 100
9th Rose Osborne Team WNT 90
10th Natasha Reddy RP Racing Team 90
 
www.imperialracingteam.com for all race information
www.imperialcycles.co.uk for all your bike needs
 
Compare prices and buy road bikes from: