In a field of 26 starters including six Sotonia riders, the 4th cat race saw a fast start on the Park & Ride circuit, with Andrew Pickett and Paul Double of VC Venta going up the road straight away. After three laps the bunch split up and a small chasing group was established, including James Peckham and Tim Dawkins – animating the chase for Sotonia and four other riders. They pulled back Paul Double and shortly after, Tim put in a big attack. He was away for a long time, then as he was pulled back, James played the perfect 1-2 and attacked himself. James was then caught just before the half hour mark.
With three laps to go, instead of waiting for the sprint, James launched another attack, taking second before Tim won the bunch kick for third place. The two other groups behind that contained Ben Scott-Munden (9th), Jonathan Wren (11th), Jez Hart (14th) and Ben Hames in his first ever race (18th).
It was really good to see so many Sotonia racers again. Bring on the next one!
Some great pics by Graham Robins: https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/99077595@N00/sets/72157644777264308/
4th Cat Results
| Pos | Name | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Pickett | Velo Club Venta | 10 |
| 2 | James Peckham | Sotonia CC | 8 |
| 3 | Timothy Dawkins | Sotonia CC | 7 |
| 4 | Christian Hatton | VC St Raphael | 6 |
| 5 | Ian Hayden | Wightlink LCM Systems Cycle RT | 5 |
| 6 | Darren Orchard | Portsmouth North End CC | 4 |
| 7 | Paul Double | Velo Club Venta | 3 |
| 8 | Steven Williams | Army Cycling Union | 0 |
| 9 | Ben Scott-Munden | Sotonia CC | 1 |
| 10 | Michael Gallagher | Uni of Bristol Cycling Club | 1 |
| 11 | Jonathan Wren | Sotonia CC | 0 |
| 12 | Andrew Banks | Salisbury Road and Mountain CC | 0 |
| 13 | David Scott | Behind The Bikeshed | 0 |
| 14 | Jez Hart | Sotonia CC | 0 |
| 15 | Phil Butchers | New Forest CC | 0 |
| 16 | Graham Lenton | New Forest CC | 0 |
| 17 | Julian Sheppard | New Forest CC | 0 |
| 18 | Benjamin Hames | Sotonia CC | 0 |
| 19 | Ben Baxter | VCGH | 0 |