Hales and Wells lead the way in cycling series

Tomos Hales and Hayley Wells are setting the early pace in the Friction Hydraulics Series as they bid to retain their respective titles, writes Dave Fletcher.

The round two action saw riders doubling the distance in the Ludlow CC Scenic 20, held on the beautiful Long Meadowend-Purslow-Hopton Heath triangle.

A testing 10-mile circuit, previously only used for club events and in the SB Sports Injuries Series, was made even tougher by adding a lap, and throwing in a rising wind and bitterly cold conditions.

But that didn't stop reigning Friction Series and Friction Female Series champions powering to victory.

Hales (Aerologic) moved to the top of the overall standings after stopping the watch on 47 minutes, 36 seconds for a excellent winning margin of 4:18 over nearest challenger Chris Riley, having only entered the event last minute.

“I was a bit apprehensive about an early spring race on this course as the weather could have been anything," said Hales. "Fortunately, it was just a cold spring morning. However, I would have preferred the usual weather on this course when we race in August and only have to do one lap.

"I attacked the hills hard and didn’t really get warm until the second lap. I was happy to average over 25mph over the two laps and take the win.

"I was super impressed with the Ludlow CC organisation, with a fantastic village hall for the HQ and so many marshals out in the cold. Well done Ian Connolly for running a great event and I’m hoping it becomes a permanent feature on the calendar."

The event attracted some quality riders from outside the SCCA orbit with Wells (Aerologic) taking the major scalp of ex-professional Lauren Creamer, by 1:53.

Having already lowered a course record in round one, Wells set the inaugural female benchmark at 52:49 to take sixth spot overall, and open up her lead over Paramount’s Thea Osmund-Smith to 15 points.

Wells said: “A chilly Sunday morning, which meant pushing hard up the hills to get warm!

"I started off conservatively knowing this wasn’t an easy course, then found a little more confidence in the second lap."

The battle for overall runner-up was split by just 10 seconds as Paramount’s Riley got the better in the overall standings of Stuart Proctor, but lost out in the Veterans to the same rider when the age-related standards were applied.

Riley crossed the line in 51:54, but the one year older Proctor got the better of things by five seconds in the Veterans' class with +4:04.

Aside from taking the winner’s spot in the Veterans' class and third overall, Dave Scott Coaching rider Proctor also took the win in the Road Bike category in a handicap time of 49:03. Ludlow CC’s Hannah Lancaster was second in 54:58.

Like many riders he appreciated the effort that went into promoting a successful new event while lamenting the wind chill factor.

“It certainly was a fresh morning, more suited to winter kit than a skin suit!" said Proctor. “A great new course addition to the Series, and having raced the route on local 10s some years ago I knew what to expect.

"I was really chuffed with my time, I think the cold conditions helped by making me want and need to work harder than normal, and it paid off for me on the day."