Race Date: 12/05/19
Divisional Road Race Championship – Round 5 of 12
Holymoreside 10k, more like holy **** there’s more hill? Another bumper turn out of Striders saw the Green & Gold train take on this challenging course that separates the mountain goats from the flat track bullies.
Phil Skelton once again showed his class, finishing 1st overall on the day in eye watering 36:25 to make him 4 for 4 on races he’s entered this season. Ben Jones & Sam Needham fought out what proved to one a of number of close contests on they day to take 17 and 16 points each. Chris Guy, perhaps motivated by the announcement by the committee that there will be no parachute payments for those relegated from the Prem made his debut for a tidy 15 points:
| Name | Points |
|---|---|
| Phil Skelton | 20 |
| Stephen Schubeler | 19 |
| Liam Turner | 18 |
| Ben Jones | 17 |
| Sam Needham | 16 |
| Chris Guy | 15 |
With current leader Dave Forrest an absen-tree on the day, there was a chance for his fellow Division 2 members to make up some ground with Ed Startup duly obliging, home in 41:44 to pick up the maximum. Daniel Cubitt kept himself in touch at the top with another 19 pointer, while Lucy Broom swept up the table and out the relegation zone with her first run of the season to take 17 points:
| Name | Points |
|---|---|
| Ed Startup | 20 |
| Daniel Cubitt | 19 |
| Michael Slater | 18 |
| Lucy Broom | 17 |
| Michael Squires | 16 |
I feel at this point I’d be safe in pre-writing the Division 3 report, detailing another fine performance by Jordan Moat whose time of 40:44 on the day lends weight to calls for him to be moved into the Premiership next season. In the “everyone not called Jordan” race, Colin Hardy showed why this is one of his favourite courses to claim 19 points. There were a couple of good battles behind, with Steve Smith and Simon Ross separated by 3 seconds while Adam McAuley and myself has a less than pleasant sprint at the end to finish a mere second apart:
| Name | Points |
|---|---|
| Jordan Moat | 20 |
| Colin Hardy | 19 |
| Warren Brown | 18 |
| Steve Smith | 17 |
| Simon Ross | 16 |
| Sergei Shkul | 15 |
| Nick Burns | 14 |
| Alex Green | 13 |
| Adam McAuley | 12 |
| Jonathan Legon | 11 |
No doubt there were some sore quads in Division 4 after some cracking efforts up the hill, James Boreman firming up his grip on top spot in 43:39. Behind him Rob Davies once again overcame his severe tarmac allergy, cruising to 19 points in 44:13. Another photo finish was required between Seth Kirby and Fran Cummins who also conspired to finish a second apart:
| Name | Points |
|---|---|
| James Boreman | 20 |
| Rob Davies | 19 |
| Charlie Field | 18 |
| Neil Schofield | 17 |
| Stuart Jones | 16 |
| Regan Hanson | 15 |
| Seth Kirby | 14 |
| Fran Cummins | 13 |
| David Naisbitt | 12 |
| Jeni Harvey | 11 |
Ben Elmore really threw the kitchen cinque at the hill in Division 5, powering himself to another strong showing for 20 points, finishing in 44:16. Dominic Sleath was able to overcome his pre-race Radcliffes and pick up 15 points despite perhaps not daring to go quite full throttle:
| Name | Points |
|---|---|
| Ben Elmore | 20 |
| Peter Brown | 19 |
| Phil Howson | 18 |
| Nicky Rafferty | 17 |
| Maz Kaczmarczyk | 16 |
| Dominic Sleath | 15 |
| Dan Bell | 14 |
| Matt Broadhead | 13 |
| Chris Hodson | 12 |
| Kim Bateman | 11 |
| Tom Brooks | 10 |
| Letty Hancock | 9 |
Division 6 was full of a number of intriguing stories on the day, Joe Sinnott taking the honours, but Claire Grisdale behind him, continues to show her track pedigree is translating on the road. Steve Irvine’s rehab form injury seems to be progressing well, picking up a solid 18 points, while Scott Liddle (17 points) did enough to put him back in the overall lead. However it would not be remiss of me not to mention our own Clive Downing, celebrating his 57 birthday, and getting a very well deserved ovation from the crowd:
| Name | Points |
|---|---|
| Joe Sinnott | 20 |
| Claire Grisdale | 19 |
| Steve Irvine | 18 |
| Scott Liddle | 17 |
| Frances Norman | 16 |
| Sarah Allcard | 15 |
| Al Dalton | 14 |
| Stephen Slater | 13 |
| Andrew Pembroke | 12 |
| James Mason | 11 |
| Kate Scott | 10 |
| John Bridgman | 9 |
| Clive Downing | 8 |
No doubt there were tears in (Division) 7 as Daniel Driscoll again showed his rapid improvement shows no bounds, fresh off a storming London performance, he clocked 43:33 to take another 20 points. James Broomhead finishing next and keeping his hold on top spot, with Gareth Pert keeping himself in touch too, claiming 17 points:
| Name | Points |
|---|---|
| Daniel Driscoll | 20 |
| James Broomhead | 19 |
| Will Day | 18 |
| Gareth Pert | 17 |
| Nicola Ross | 16 |
| Mark Davies | 15 |
| Philip Swirles | 14 |
| Sarah Ward | 13 |
| Emma Norton | 12 |
Mr Dooley once again had his fill in Division 8, coming in below 50 minutes to take 20 points and open up a gap on Matt Gibson. The only other 2 8’s who took part were Loz Harvey and Steven Lewis, with Loz continuing to position himself well for promotion:
| Name | Points |
|---|---|
| Phil Dooley | 20 |
| Loz Harvey | 19 |
| Steven Lewis | 18 |
Sam Keen lived up to his name in Division 9, picking up his 2nd 20 pointer, finishing in very respectable 49:00. Mark Warriner and Helen Jones also scored well to make up ground on leader Luke Prest who didn’t run on the day:
| Name | Points |
|---|---|
| Sam Keen | 20 |
| Mark Warriner | 19 |
| Helen Jones | 18 |
| Stephanie Street | 17 |
| Morven Lowe | 16 |
| Simon Gleadhall | 15 |
| Vikki McAuley | 14 |
| Caroline Welton | 13 |
| Zoe Dickinson | 12 |
Helen Eberlin turned in another great performance to build on her Dronfield time, suggesting she could be challenging at the end of the season if she can just Troy to get 4 more races under her belt. However for the now Dave Rooney is the stand out, having amassed 117 points, the highest total overall in the competition currently:
| Name | Points |
|---|---|
| Helen Eberlin | 20 |
| Tracy Davies | 19 |
| Dave Rooney | 18 |
| Caroline Brash | 17 |
| Peter Brash | 16 |
| Ruth Jacks | 15 |
| Corinne Howse | 14 |
| Richard Slater | 13 |
| Jade Rose | 12 |
David Bailey was once again picture perfect in Division 11, picking up another maximum to push him up the table in the absence of current leader Helen Smith. Jane Huws was eventually awarded 19 points following an inquiry into whether her new Striders T-Shirt was deemed to be performance enhancing. Julia Waldron really did give it her all to belt out a 1:05:46, good for 17 points:
| Name | Points |
|---|---|
| David Bailey | 20 |
| Cath Ager | 19 |
| Jane Huws | 18 |
| Gayle Dooley | 17 |
| Julia Waldron | 16 |
| Eleanor Bull | 15 |
| Jo Gleig | 14 |
For the full division standings see here.