National Masters Road Race Championships

by Simon Whiten · June 1, 2015

The racing itself provided a double challenge for a single reporter – having two races on the road at the same time would be a problem under any circumstances, but in addition some of the races contained a number of age groups, so medal winners could be anywhere in a finishing bunch, and in the case of the most senior of the ladies, some way off the back. Since it’s not possible to give a blow by blow account of every race, I will restrict myself to what I actually saw and heard.

The Ladies’ Races

There were two races run concurrently, the first for the 30-34 and 35-39 age bands, the second for the other four over 40 age groups, starting five minutes behind the first race.

Perhaps surprisingly, the older ladies got going significantly faster than their juniors, and for a while there seemed a serious possibility that they would have to be ‘neutralised’ to prevent them from catching the younger group. However, by mid distance the natural order of things had re-established itself.

Both ladies races ended with bunch sprints. Laura Massey (Ikon Mazda) convincingly won this first race, taking the youngest group championship. She commented that although she did get a useful lead out from a team mate for the final sprint, there was generally not much teamwork. So after a few unsuccessful tries at a break she decided the race would be resolved by a bunch sprint and that she should save her strength for the finale. She was proved correct.

The second ladies’ race finished in the same manner with Maryka Sennema (Kingston Wheelers) and Suzetta Guerrini (London Dynamo) taking the gold medals in their respective groups. Bronze medallist in her section, Sarah Godwin (Somerset RC – Bike Chain) said that since this was her first try at masters racing she was reluctant to ride at the front and this does sum up the feeling that the women were more lacking in confidence than strength. However given that masters racing is about celebrating vigour in the non-youthful, it must be said that it was hard to believe that these ladies were not younger than they claimed to be!

2015 National Masters Road Race Championships
Women Cat A 30-34 Saturday 30 May at 0900

Pos Number First Name Surname Club / Team Name
1 14 Laura Massey IKON – Mazda
2 8 Jennifer George Les Filles Racing Team
3 6 Charlotte Colclough Team Jadan
4 3 Laura Cameron London Phoenix CC
5 16 Claire Richardson Zappi’s Racing Team
6 9 Tanya Griffiths Velosure Starley Primal
7 12 Eleanor Jones VC St Raphael
8 11 Joanne Jago Performance Cycles
9 10 Victoria Grimmer Paramount CRT
10 5 Corinne Clark Ride 24/7
11 2 Lucy Burgess Bristol South CC
12 17 Victoria Strila PMR@Toachim House
13 1 Karla Boddy IKON – Mazda

2015 National Masters Road Race Championships
Women Category B 35-39 Saturday 30 May at 0905

Pos Number First Name Surname Club / Team
1 49 Ruth Taylor Manchester Whlrs Club
2 34 Maxine Filby Team Mulebar Girl – Sigma Sport
3 38 Bella Leach London Phoenix CC
4 44 Melanie Potter Bromsgrove Olympique CC
5 51 Heidi Viles Somerset RC – The Bicycle Chain
6 43 Karen Poole Team WattCycle
7 41 Nicole Oh Les Filles Racing Team
8 39 Louise Marsden VC Norwich
9 37 Jennifer Lake Squadra Donne
10 40 Claire Munton Malteni Race Team
11 50 Katie Thilthorpe Ride 24/7
12 42 Lesley Pinder Elitecycling

Women Category C 40-44 Saturday 30 May at 0905

Pos Race no. Name Name Club / Team Name
1 92 Maryka Sennema Kingston Wheelers CC
2 81 Victoria Collins London Dynamo
3 86 Sarah Godwin Somerset RC – The Bicycle Chain
4 89 Tamala McGee London Phoenix CC
5 88 Elaine Maitland Bonito Squadra Corse
6 87 Alison Kinloch PH-MAS VCUK Women’s Cycling Team
7 90 Nikki Metcalfe Team WattCycle
8 84 Michelle Forster GB Cycles.co.uk
9 83 Jane Dennyson London Phoenix CC
10 91 Judith Philip Cycling Club Hackney

Women Category D 45-49 Saturday 30 May at 0905

Pos Number First Name Surname Club / Team
1 104 Suzetta Guerrini* London Dynamo
2 108 Juliet Milward Zappi’s Racing Team
3 101 Catherine Coley Ludlow CC
4 109 Nicola Moore Squadra RT
5 102 Sarah Cramoysan Carnac-Planet X
6 107 Sandra Mackay Carnac-Planet X
7 110 Nicky Russell
8 105 Lisa Leonard Squadra Donne
9 111 Alexandra Stubbs Ride 24/7
10 103 Vikki Filsell Les Filles Racing Team

Women Category D 50-54 Saturday 30 May at 0905

Pos Num First Name Surname Club/ Team
1 122 Diane Moore Ride 24/7
2 124 Sarah Short Bonito Squadra Corse
3 123 Jayne Paine Willesden Cycling Club
4 121 Alison Gravatt Twickenham CC

Women Category E 55-59 Saturday 30 May at 0905

Pos Number First Name Surname Club/ Team
1 125 Christine Higgs Macclesfield Wheelers
2 126 Deborah John* Lune RCC
3 127 Victoria Valentine Peterborough CC