Riley and McGregor secure a repeat success

It was a case of 'as you were' in round two of the Mower Mec 2-Up Series, the North Shropshire Wheelers 10.

Paramount CRT duo Chris Riley and Rob McGregor followed up their success in the opening race by claiming another victory.

And the same four-second gap separated the winners and from the runners-up, Dave Scott and Jack Young (Dave Scott Coaching).

Previous Series winners Riley and McGregor stopped the watch on 22 minutes, 22 seconds.

The choice of machines proved vital, with Riley and McGregor choosing dedicated time trial bikes.

Riley explained: “Aero versus power. The Dave Scott Coaching road bike boys both have big engines, but we have aero bars and disc wheels. I suspect they will improve their pacing strategy and win in the end, but for now that four seconds must be frustrating.”

Young’s former 2-Up partner Peter Fletcher went one better than in round one with new partner Karl Lombardi, crossing the line in 24:38 to push namesakes Mitchell and Evie Fletcher down to fourth on the night in 25:19.

The husband and wife Fletcher team also suffered in the conditions, but opened up a 22-point lead in the Mixed Team standings, with the nearest challenge coming from Elaine Beckett and Terry Price of North Shropshire Wheelers in 31:45.

Another team going home with the maximum 40 points across the two rounds so far were Sophie Edge and Thea Osmund-Smith, who took the Female category win in 25:58, ahead of Jane Morris and Jo Evans of Market Drayton CC in 27:54.

Edge has made a great start in her maiden season with three straight wins, but wasn't initially looking forward to the race given the conditions.

“Motivation was low going into the event: the cold blustery weather was not very inspiring!" she said. "However, once we got going, we got into a good rhythm. And although the last couple of miles were a slog into the headwind, Thea was super strong to the finish.”