New Mixed tandem record for Wilks and Corbett
There were rather a lot of happy Sotonia CC faces last weekend in the Paceline RT 10 mile Timetrial on the P881r course. Evan Jardine-Skinner broke the 20 minute barrier for the first time (19:48) and was pretty delighted, as was Tim Cooke and Graham Harman who both produced pb's.
Phil Wilks and Mary Corbett powered round in a time of 21:34, a new mixed tandem Club record and only 10 seconds off the Club all-comers record. Thanks to Norman Harvey for being chief supporter and mechanic.
Results: Sotonia Open 10 mile TT (P164), 4 Aug
| Pos | Name | Gender | Club | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Tarmey | Male | Velo Club Venta | 21:41 |
| 2 | Paul Jones | Male | Primera-Teamjobs | 21:50 |
| 3 | Paul Lockyer | Male | New Forest CC | 21:51 |
| 4 | Neil Mackley | Male | a3crg | 22:02 |
| 5 | Aron Kelly | Male | New Forest CC | 22:38 |
| 6 | Simon Berogna | Male | Velo Club St Raphael | 22:50 |
| 7 | Julian Lockwood | Male | Primera-Teamjobs | 23:03 |
| 8 | Phil Wilks | Male | Sotonia CC | 23:05 |
| 9 | Stuart Gillies | Male | Twickenham CC | 23:28 |
| 10 | Ray Claridge | Male | New Forest CC | 23:35 |
| 11 | Nick Ohara | Male | New Forest CC | 23:35 |
| 12 | Bradley Perkins | Male | PDQ Cycle Coaching | 24:00 |
| 13 | Barry Hards | Male | New Forest CC | 24:44 |
| 14 | Pete Harris | Male | Andover Wheelers | 24:47 |
| 15 | Caitlin Peters | Female | Storey Racing | 24:48 |
| 16 | Kirsty Mcseveney | Female | a3crg | 25:05 |
| 17 | Terry Icke | Male | CC Weymouth | 25:27 |
| 18 | Martin Beale | Male | Velo Club St Raphael | 25:30 |
| 19 | Ian Turner | Male | Tornado Road Cycling Club | 25:35 |
| 20 | Mike Anderson | Male | Club Cycliste Moncontourais | 25:42 |
| 21 | Matthew Gilmour | Male | Velo Club Venta | 25:42 |
| 22 | Simon West | Male | Andover Wheelers | 25:53 |
| 23 | Adrian Watkins | Male | Tornado Road Cycling Club | 27:28 |
| 24 | Jonathan Legg | Male | Sotonia CC | 27:38 |
| 25 | Oliver Berney | Male | Royal Sutton CC | 27:39 |
| 26 | William Simmons | Male | Christchurch Bicycle Club | 28:24 |
| 27 | Sien Van Der Plank | Female | University of Southampton RC | 29:06 |
| 28 | David England | Male | Crabwood CC | 29:29 |
| 29 | Kevin Bannister | Male | Hardley Runners | 32:22 |
| 30 | Martin Balk | Male | 3C Cyclexperience | 33:16 |
| 31 | Mary Corbett | Female | Sotonia CC | 37:44 |
Sotonia Summer Criterium report
It may have started wet but that didn’t put the riders off for what turned out to be a great day’s racing in our Summer Criterium at Winchester Park & Ride circuit last Sunday.
The youth turnout was dominated by Sotonia riders, who made up 25 of the 72 youngsters - the total being a 22% increase from last year and proof that while senior race numbers may be stagnating in recent times, the future is bright with so many kids getting involved.
In the U8s all our riders rode confidently in the wet conditions, Fred finishing 3rd boy and Tilly winning the girls race with Tess 2nd and Eve 3rd.
The U10 race was nearly at full capacity with 22 riders with our top finishers Tom in 6th boy and Skye 2nd placed girl.
There were 16 riders in a closely fought and tactical U12 race where working as a team really helped in the strong headwind on the uphill finish straight. Charlie and George pairing up to attack and break free with Sam and Iz sharing the work together just behind. George won his sprint battle with Charlie in a reversal of last weeks city centre crit.
The U14s featured two of our riders - Ethan and Louis who both gave it their all.
In the senior races Gemma Wilks finished 6th, with Ryan Durrant 8th, Joseph Wynne 9th and Jamie Doel 11th in the 4th cats.
In the 3rd cat race, new Sotonia member, Kouros Driscoll was looking to make moves when a minor spill on the sharp bottom corner put him out of contention. In the end, it was another new club member, Andrew Gardiner who took the sprint win after strong work on the front by chairman, Phil Wilks and a breakaway move that nearly stuck, initiated by Patrick Stumpf.
Big thanks to everyone who raced, supported or helped out.
Results: Sotonia v New Forest CC Interclub TT, 30 May
The first leg of the Sotonia vs New Forest Inter club Time trial competition held on the p128 course, featured a strong turnout for the hosting club and was won by Sotonia's Ant Gritton in a time 20:59 - just 9 seconds off the course record!
| Pos | Name | Club | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ant Gritton | Sotonia | 20.59 |
| 2 | Graham Harman | Sotonia | 22.55 |
| 3 | Pawel Niewiadomy | VC Venta | 22.56 |
| 4 | Matt Dixon | Sotonia | 23.13 |
| 5 | Patrick Stumpf | Sotonia | 23.31 |
| 6 | Stuart Peckham | NFCC | 23.56 |
| 7 | Stuart Martingale | Sotonia | 23.56 |
| 8 | Phil Grant | NFCC | 24.19 |
| 9 | Jon Dudley | Sotonia | 24.19 |
| 10 | Phil Harris | NFCC | 24.32 |
| 11 | Cameron Taylor | Sotonia | 24.35 |
| 12 | Angela Burnikell | Sotonia | 24.43 |
| 13 | P. Jones | 25.00 | |
| 14 | Mike Vickers | Sotonia | 25.01 |
| 15 | R. Dowling | 25.14 | |
| 16 | Neil Vincent | Soton Tri Club | 25.53 |
| 17 | Jon Legg | Sotonia | 26.10 |
| 18 | John Phillips | Sotonia | 26.15 |
| 19 | Martin Olney | Sotonia | 26.16 |
| 20 | Russell Wynn | NFCC | 26.16 |
| 21 | Sonia Louine | NFCC | 26.41 |
| 22 | Ian MacDonald | NFCC | 27.51 |
| 23 | Mick Anglim | NFCC | 28.04 |
| 24 | Wayne Prevett | Sotonia | 28.05 |
| 25 | Chris Summers | Sotonia | 28.12 |
| 26 | Wendy Knowlton | Sotonia | 28.52 |
| 27 | Ted Knowlton | Sotonia | 28.54 |
| 28 | Justin Davies | Sotonia | 29.17 |
| 29 | Gary Charalambous | Sotonia | 29.33 |
| 30 | Peter Hawker | NFCC | 30.53 |
| 31 | Charlotte Keeler | Sotonia | 31.24 |
| 32 | Steve Wilks | Sotonia | 31.47 |
| 33 | Martin Napier | Sotonia | 32.24 |
| 34 | Colin Witt | Sotonia | DNF |
2018 Road Racing round up of the year
It's fair to say 2018 wasn't a bad road season for Sotonia. Following a trend of increasing performances for the last four years, 2018 saw success at all levels.
What were the highlights? An incredible 28 podium finishes, 12 race wins, 11 second places, 7 third places, 4 category promotions and a whopping 53 top tens. 4 category promotions for Harry Parsons, Tim Cooke, Lee Shirley and Red Walters who gained his first category licence.
We had race wins for Phil Godfrey, Red Walters, Ed Slot, Brook Elgie, James Peckham and Tim Cooke. Podiums for Jon Hall, Patrick Rucki and Phil Wilks.
Oh and the small matter of a professional contract for one particularly talented rider!
The wins started in March with a 1-2 from Red and James Peckham in the Sandie Radford Road Race and a 1-2-3 in the Crabwood Heath Races from Red, Brook and Phil Wilks. Culminating in second place for the club in the British Cycling Southern Region rankings.
A big thank all the race team members for their hard work to make this possible.
In June, we once again ran our Criterium races at the Winchester Park and Ride circuit and it was great to see the youth numbers growing – especially from our own youth squad with over 30 riders now taking part in road and cyclocross competitively.
Our most successful rider in all this abundance of riches was of course Red Walters, one of our first coached riders, when he took up road cycling just 3 years ago. In 2018, he racked up an incredible 180 regional and national points on his way to attracting the attention of Continental team, Vitus Pro Cycling, We are extremely proud to say that Red will be riding alongside the likes of Olympian Ed Clancy in 2019. We wish Red the very best in the start of his professional career.
Forest Fourscore Reliability Ride
The first Reliability Ride of the 2018–19 Winter season will run on Sunday, 28 October. The Forest Fourscore is an 80-mile route starting from and ending at Carlo's Ices and Tea Rooms (Romsey Rd, West Wellow, SO51 6BG); it takes in some of the Dean Valley and Avon Valley before cutting through the New Forest. Although it is a long route, there are few hills apart from the lane linking Alderbury to Downton.
You will set off at 9:00; your finishing time will be recorded between 2pm and 4pm; before you attempt this ride, be confident of being able to ride at an average speed of 12mph for about seven hours.
If you drive to the start, you can park at Carlo's Ices. Please arrive by 8:45, so that everyone can sign on in time for a prompt departure.
Reliability Rides are not races! They test your endurance, and your ability to follow a paper routesheet or a gpx file uploaded to a navigation device. You can do them solo, or with a group of friends who ride at similar speeds, that is, you can think of them as club runs with the café stop at the end of the route, not in the middle.
The next Reliability Ride is scheduled for the last Sunday in November.
New cyclocross season off and running at Newbury Race course
The new cyclocross season is off and running at Newbury Race course for the 2018/2019 season! Sunny skies and an “easy” grassland course to stretch the legs. Riders had to keep pushing those pedals as there was no coasting in the long grass! Hurdles provided a good skill test for team Sotonia’s 18 youth and 15 adults.
Highlights were a podium for Tilly Wilks in the U8s, 8th place for Tom Budden in the senior men. Jon Hall and Ben Darnton 13th and 14th v40 men, Gemma Wilks 13th senior woman.
Successful return for the Heath Races
After several years absence, the Heath Races returned in June - with Crabwood CC hosting the TLI series in their 75th anniversary celebrations, for four races on the circuit near Beaulieu and attracting big turnouts for Sotonia racers in both senior and vets races.
Race one saw Three Sotonia riders smashing it up in the break - Brook Elgie, Phil Wilks and Red Walters, who rode away for the win. To top it off James Peckham got 4th place making it a clean 1-2-3-4 sweep for Sotonia!
In race two the seniors split to bits, with a Venta 1-2, Sotonia taking 3rd, 4th, 6th and 7th with Brook Elgie, Patryk Rucki, Phil Wilks and James Peckham. The vets race turned out to be a fast, attacking affair that came back together for a final sprint with Jon Hall taking 2nd, Justin Menhenett 7th.
Race three was held in glorious weather again with 15 Sotonia riders and a sprint win for Brook Elgie from the break in the vets race. 2nd place for James Peckham in the seniors.
The final senior race was again dominated by Sotonia - James Peckham, winning solo after a tactical tussle with a strong Venta team. Red Walters and Brook Elgie rounded out a Sotonia top 3 and Justin Menhenett 5th in the Vets race.
View the Heath race #4 photo gallery here
Sotonia Summer Criterium report
Returning for the fifth year running, youth numbers were good for the Sotonia Summer Criterium on Sunday with 59 youth riders – 17 of which were Sotonia in a season that has seen falling race entries for many events. In warm, breezy conditions, Tom Wilks finished 3rd U8 boy, Marit Davidse 1st U8 girl, Jaya Martingale 3rd, Tilly Wilks and Theresa Bignell 4th and 5th U8 girls, Izzy Hall 2nd U10 girl, Monty Flavell 3rd U10 boy and a great team effort by our U12 boys.
The E123 race featured five Sotonia riders. The group stayed together until around the halfway mark when Matt Downie (TAAP Cervelo) put in a trademark stinging attack that took several laps to bring back. A trio of riders then got away including Matt and Brook Elgie which split the pack in two as others bridged across to make a group of seven. With two laps to go Ed Slot made a solo bid but was chased down to leave the final group sprint won by Rhys HIDRIO (HJL), Mike Smith (MB Cyclery) 2nd and Matt Downie 3rd. Sotonia taking positions 6-10: Brook Elgie, Ed Slot, Tom Budden, Patryk Rucki and James Peckham.
Many thanks to all the club members who helped make this event possible.
Full results here
Sotonia 1-2 at Sandie Radford
Popular spring classic, the Sandie Radford Memorial Road Race returned this weekend to attract a quality field of 48 riders, including past winner Matt Downie (TAAP Cervelo) and Sotonia rising star, Red Walters.
Sotonia fielded a big team of eight riders keen to make their mark on the 45 mile ‘sporting’ course around Nomansland in the New forest.
The action got off to a quick start with club riders James Peckham and Brook Elgie stringing the bunch out and after half a lap, a dozen riders had a 25 second gap on the bunch in a biting cold tailwind on Roger Penny Way. By the end of lap 1, the race was back together but Red was already on the attack in a two man break with Lee Rutland (Bike Jockey). The two forged on, forcing others to chase as a dozen again rode clear of the bunch in pursuit.
By lap three, the lead group, including Red, James Peckham, Tom Budden, Phil Godfrey and Brook Elgie was back together. The winning move came on the final lap as James got a gap and Red quickly bridged to him. With Half a lap to go they had forced a lead of over a minute from the chasing break - any attempt nullified with strong Sotonia teamwork by Tom, Brook and Phil chasing down any attempts to pursue the leaders.
As the road pitched up for the steep final climb of Pipers Wait, Red pulled clear and he crossed the line alone, James taking a fine second place in only his first race of the year and well ahead of the pursuing break. Tom Temple (Primera Team Jobs) rounding out the podium, after pipping Matt Downie in the final dash for the line.
Red: “Just after the bell, James got a gap, I bridged over, we stuck our heads down and the gap grew. Basically E3 Harelbeke!”
So a fantastic and well deserved 1-2 for Sotonia, with Phil, Tom and Brook finishing 11, 12 and 13th after brilliant support work. Our other riders all finished in the pack not far behind - Phil Wilks (23rd), Tim Cooke (25th), and Nick Austin (31st).
Our thanks to Glenn Longland, TLI Cycling league, sponsor Gary Allan, all the marshals, time keepers and helpers for another fine event.
Result
1. Red Walters - Sotonia
2. James Peckham - Sotonia
3. Tom Temple - Primera-Teamjobs
4. Matthew Downie - Taap Cervelo
5. Ian Taylor - Leicester Forest CC
6. Lee Rutland - Bike Jockey CC
7. Oscar Hutchings - VC Equipe-Flix
8. Matthew Norris - Mud Sweat n Gears CC
9. George Smith - Tri-UK
10. Max Moyles - Primera Teamjobs
11 Phil Godfrey - Sotonia CC
12 Tom Budden - Sotonia CC
13 Brook Elgie - Sotonia CC
14 James Horton - VC St Raphael
15 Rowan Horner - VC St Raphael
16 Zak Snell - UK-Biking/Bournemouth Cycleworks
17 Steve Dring - Team Echelon
18 Roland Tilley - Weber Creative Interiors / Bournemouth Cycleworks
19 Grzegorz Gacek - Nowotarski Klub Kolarski
20 Jason Gault Primera-TeamJobs Race Team
Race photos courtesy of Jez Hart: https://photos.app.goo.gl/YKxRxl1KupiRrkH93