VC Venta Criterium, 28th April 2019
The Sotonia youth team came out in numbers for the last of the three VC Venta Criteriums at the Winchester Park & Ride circuit. We hope that the hosts did not mind us stealing so many podium places!
Freddie has had back luck in a number of U8 boys races but on this day it all fell into place and he slowly caught up with the leader to win by a good margin. The U8 girls podium was an all Sotonia affair with Tess taking first spot.
The U10 Boys race was a fast and hotly contested race with Stanley working very hard to finish 2nd. In the U10 Girls race Eva continued her good progress and finished 3rd.
In the U12 Boys, Samuel had one of his best races ever. He stayed near the front, followed most escapes out of the peloton and finished 5th in a very hard race. However, taking both hands off the handlebars when he came over the finish line led to disqualification and a lesson learned. In the U12 Girls race Izzy did well to finish 6th despite lots of swimming events over the Easter Break.
In the U14 Girls race Lucy finished a fine 5th in a large field.
U8 Girls
Tess Bignell 1st, Tilly Wilks 2nd, Isabelle Mar-Molinero 3rd
U8 Boys
Fred Kelsall-Joel 1st, William Dyer 5th, Harry Banks 6th
U10 Girls
Eva Mar-Molinero 3rd, Ella Ridgment 4th, Marit Davidse 6th
U10 Boys
Stanley Phillips 2nd, James Blankley 7th, Tom Wilks 8th, Finlay Banks 10th, Jo Bignell 11th, Benji Pike 12th, Lucas Mills 15th
U12 Girls
Izzy Hall 6th
U12 Boys
Charlie Shepherd 6th, George Connell 7th
U14 Girls
Lucy Phillips 5th
Southern XC MTB round 1, Matterley
A number of Sotonia Youth riders are still in denial about the off-road season having finished and they made their way to the Matterley estate near Winchester for round 1 of the Southern XC MTB series. The race had a Droxford feel - windy hilltop with views over the Hampshire countryside. The course was different though with the organisers laying out a 1 km twisty course through the forest with a long gravel straight and some grass to go back to the forest.
There were four girls in the U9 girls race and with one Solent Pirate riding U9 instead of U12 and one Cotswold Veldrijden pulling out injured after 2 laps, Marit suddenly found herself in 2nd place! She downplayed the achievement but by being on the start everyone is already a winner as many children just would not think of riding a windy, muddy race over a technical forest course.
William has recovered from his mishap on the Moors Valley family ride and he rode to a 13th place in the U9 boys.
The U12 race saw more Sotonia coaching group riders. Our riders were cheered on by Charlie Shepherd who already raced Saturday and George/Sam White who did a parkrun in the morning.
Olivia was held up by a crash at the start but she recovered well to finish 9th U12 girl. Ruby Flavell swapped timing chip with brother Monty but taking this into account and ignoring official results she finished 13th. Ella is a very young U12 and she did well to finish 16th riding nearly 26 minutes! These Mountain bikers are a tough group!
In the U12 boys race Samuel and Monty were racing each other with Monty just coming out on top finishing 17th with Samuel just behind in 19th.
Round 14 Wessex Cyclocross League, Crabwood
The last race at Southampton Sports Centre was a great end to the 2018/19 Wessex League Cyclocross season. The course was the hardest one that our youngsters faced all season. The Crabwood cycling club organisers broke with tradition and made the youngsters cross the muddy BMX track and then go back through the forest. This meant a technical, muddy, hilly, varied, long and hard loop that tested everyone. Experience paid dividends on this course and a number of our riders wisely choose to run some sections and they avoided the many falls that riders had.
In the U8 Girls Tilly used her experience to run sections and finish second. She only had to give way to the daughter of a former British CX Champion. Tess had a bad fall but recovered to finish in 3rd place. Jaya once again gained yet more experience - she is quietly getting ready to be top girl in next years U8s!
The U8 Boys category in the club is also getting more competitive with Freddie, William and Corden joining Harry as regulars. Freddie continued on from his good result at Crow to finish 6th this time. William had a very hard introduction to racing but coped well. The muddy course was hard for Corden's 20 inch wheels but he gained valuable skills for next year's season.
Skye narrowly missed the podium in the U10 Girls race finishing 4th. Ella showed that like Skye she is ready for next year's U12 category as she finished not far behind Skye. Marit will be the oldest U10 girl next year and she used her experience to walk muddy sections and avoid the many crashes. Eva, Hannah and Alisha have not done as many races as Marit but they all coped well with the conditions and showed great determination.
In the U10 Boys Stanley just missed the podium. He was followed by Jo Bignell and Tom Wilks who have been close all season. Jo had the upper hand this time finishing 6th. Tom will be the oldest U10 boy next year and he showed he is ready for this. Tom Allen, Sam White, Benji and Sam Perry showed how far the Sotonia Youth Coaching has matured as they all had their own battles with riders from other clubs to create great racing.
The larger bikes in the U12 race coped better with the muddy banks but the greater speeds still meant there were falls for some of our riders. George narrowly missed out on the podium to finish 4th. Samuel and Monty discussed race tactics in the car on the way to the race. This must have worked as Samuel had one of his best races this season finishing 7th. Monty is a gymnast as well and he used all his acrobatics to control the bike in the mud finishing 9th as most likely the youngest person in the race. Just like in the U10 race Jonathan, Charlie, Sid and George White showed the strength of our coaching as they made other riders work hard for their positions.
The U14 team for Sotonia is still small but a number of U12 riders are moving up next year. Lucy had a great race to finish 3rd in the U14 girls and together with Max and Louis they showed that next year's U16 race will be full of talented and competitive Sotonia riders.
At the end of a great day of racing the stats read:
U8 Girls
Tilly Wilks 2nd, Tess Bignell 3rd, Jaya Martingale 4th
U8 Boys
Freddie Kelsall-Joel 6th, William Dyer 7th, Harry Banks 11th, Corden Eccleston 14th
U10 Girls
Skye Martingale 4th, Ella Ridgment 6th, Marit Davidse 8th, Eva Mar-Moliner 10th, Hannah Olney 11th, Alisha Kirk 12th
U10 Boys
Stanley Phillips 4th, Jo Bignell 6th, Tom Wilks 7th, Tom Allan 9th, Sam White 11th, Benji Pike 13th, Sam Perry 15th
U12 Girls
Olivia Allman 6th, Emma Harrison 7th
U12 Boys
George Connell 4th, Samuel Ridgment 7th, Monty Flavell 9th, Jonathan Lowe 14th, Charlie Shepherd 17th, Sid Kelsall-Joel 25th, George White 27th
U14 Girls
Lucy Philips 3rd
U14 Boys
Max Darnton 7th, Louis Kirk 12th
Round 13 Wessex Cyclocross League, Crow Hill
Round 13 of the Wessex Cyclocross league at Crow was held at an exciting and beautiful venue deep in the New Forest countryside. The course was more technical than most of the courses that our riders have raced this year. There were steep and short banks, downhill corners and many twists and turns. A total of 29 riders of our coaching group raced on the day, all excellently supported by Natalie from the events team.
A number of highlights were: Freddy making a return back to CX and finishing 6th in U8 boys, Corden putting his earlier bad experience at the Andover race behind him and racing well in the U8s, Eva getting used to racing and pushing Marit in the U10s, Charlie nearing a top 10 finish in the U12s and Samuel finding his old form to finish 6th in the U12s.
As always some of our riders managed to climb on the podium with Tilly finishing 2nd in U8 girls and Izzy 3rd in the U12 girls.
U8 girls
Tilly Wilks 2nd, Jaya Martingale 5th
U8 boys
Freddie Kelsall Joel 6th, Harry Banks 9th, Corden Eccleston 11th
U10 girls
Skye Martingale 7th, Sophie Eccleston 10th, Marit Davidse 11th, Eva Mar-Molinero 12th
U10 boys
Stanley Philips 4th, Jo Bignell 5th, Finlay Banks 10th, Tom Wilks 12th, Tom Allen 13th, Benji Pike 16th
U12 girls
Izzy Hall 3rd, Olivia Allman 4th, Emma Harrison 9th, Ruby Flavell 11th
U12 boys
George Connell 5th, Samuel Ridgment 8th, Charlie Shepherd 11th, Jonathan Lowe 14th, Monty Flavell 19th, Sid Kelsall Joel 28th, Harry Lawrence 29th
U14 girls
Lucy Philips 5th
U14 boys
Max Darnton 7th, Louis Kirk 15th
South Regional Cyclocross Championships, Keynsham
Well done everyone who made the trip to the recent Southern regional Cyclocross Championships at Keynsham near Bristol - great riding by all our team...
Stanley Phillips U10 champion!
George Connell 2nd place U12
Skye Martingale 3rd U10 girl
Jaya Martingale 2nd U8 girl
2nd place for Tom Budden in the seniors too!
Round 10 Wessex Cyclocross League, Andover
The Andover race was held at a new venue for the Wessex League - Redenham Park near Andover. It proved to be one of the longest and most challenging courses for the U10s and U12s of the season so far. The bumpy grassland meant that wheels did not roll and our riders had to keep pushing those pedals to keep the bike moving. Riders with smaller wheels were at a distinct disadvantage.
In the U8 race Tilly took advantage of Tess's absence and rode to a 1st place! Skye had a brief respite from Marit endlessly chatting and she rode to a very solid 3rd place in the U10 Girls. Our U10 Boys made up over a quarter of the field in that race and they all rode well. Tom enjoyed his first race although his smaller wheels made the going hard.
The U12 race proved a difficult day out for Izzy and Samuel who both came up against health niggles but as they say form is temporary and class is permanent so they will come back stronger! Charlie was in a great battle and he let out the occasional roar to finish in 11th place. George White had a solid race and his position showed how high the level is of U12 racing as he was towards the back of the field but miles ahead of 2 first timers who gave racing a try. George Connell was our highest placed rider but he had to settle for 4th place this week.
Max and Louis were once again our representatives in the U16 Youth race. The long course and their position in the field meant that they were racing around 40 minutes! Both finished in the same lap as the leader which is a good achievement given they are up against 15 year olds.
U10 race - 35 in race
U8 Girls
Tilly Wilks 1st (28)
U8 Boys
Harry Banks 7th (31), Corden Eccleston 10th (35)
U10 Girls
Skye Martingale 3rd (16), Marit Davidse 7th (22)
U10 Boys
Tom Wilks 6th (7), Finlay Banks 11th (14), Samuel White 12th (18), Tom Allen 14th (23) Lucas Mills 15th (27)
U12 race - 36 in race
U12 Girls
Olivia Allman 8th (26), Emma Harrison 9th (29), Izzy Hall 11th (36)
U12 Boys
George Connell 4th (4), Samuel Ridgment 9th (11), Charlie Shepherd 11th (14), George White 21st (30)
U16 race - 27 in race
U14 Boys
Max Darnton 9th (16), Louis Kirk 11th (20)
Round 9 Wessex Cyclocross League, Droxford
A total of 22 youth riders made the trip to the remote but beautiful Droxford venue. The dry weather over the last week combined with the exposed and windy position of the course meant there was no mud insight. This might mean less excitement for the parents but it also means there is no need to spend a long time cleaning bikes afterwards!
In the U8 Girls race it took the daughter of a former British Cyclocross Champion (Eva Hammond) to stop Tess getting a gold medal and she had to settle for silver this time. Tilly missed out on the podium by a few seconds and Jaya finished a solid 5th. Dad Phil Banks started racing as well this year and his excellent results (24th in "Seniors") must be an inspiration as Harry came home in front of the son of Roger Hammond!
Skye and Ella had their usual battle for best U10 Sotonia girl. This week Ella had the upper hand coming home in 9th place with Skye just behind her. Marit choose to ride her new dropped handle bar bike but she found the brakes hard and carefully rode her way to 15th place.
Stanley had a great race to finish 3rd in the U10 boys. Jo was still suffering from the effects of a bad cold and saw Tom be faster than him this week. Both had a solid top 10 finish and together with Finlay, Sam and Lucas they pushed the non-Sotonia riders hard for their positions!
In the U12 race there were no mechanical problems for George C. this time and he finished a well deserved 2nd. Olivia, Emma, Samuel, Charlie, Jonathan and George W all had good races and in their own way contribute huge amounts to making the U12 race an exciting one to watch.
Lucy and Max were our two representatives in the U16 race which is a huge step up from the U12 race. Once again they were a great example to our younger riders finishing 4th and 7th in their categories.
U10 race - 53 in race
U8 girls
Tes Bignell 2nd (43), Tilly Wilks 4th (47), Jaya Martingale 5th (50)
U8 boys
Harry Banks 9th (49)
U10 girls
Ella Ridgment 9th (30), Skye Martingale 10th (32), Marit Davidse 15th (42)
U10 boys
Stanley Philips 3rd (3), Thomas wilks 6th (6), Joseph Bignell 7th (9), Finlay Banks 12h (18), Samuel White 17th (29), Lucas Mills 21st (44)
U12 race - 42 in race
U12 girls
Olivia Allman 6th (24), Emma Harrison 7th (34)
U12 boys
George Connell 2nd (2), Samuel Ridgment 8th (9), Charlie Shepherd 14th (17), Jonathan Lowe 17th (22), George White 33rd (40)
U16 race - 51 in race
U14 girls
Lucy Phillips 4th (34)
U14 boys
Max Darnton 7th (19)
Round 8 Wessex Cyclocross League, Abingdon
A total of 15 Sotonia Youth riders made the long trip north to Abingdon. The last time our riders raced the Abingdon course they tackled snow and below zero temperatures. The weather was kind on the youngsters but rain arrived for the dads and coaches and they had a very muddy and slippery course to deal with.
Highlight for those watching must have been Jo Bignell finishing 3rd in the U10 race and beating number 4 by a tenth of a second. Jo can finally show his sister Tes a medal when she brings out her bag of trophies. Tes added to her bag by yet another 1st in the U8 girls! The future of Sotonia youth girls looks secure with Tilly in 3rd place and a young 6 year old Jaya gaining a lot of experience before she is one of the older ones and competes for podium places. Skye narrowly missed out on the podium finishing 4th.
Harry Banks was our only rider in the U8 Boys category and his older brother Finlay is clearly a good example as Harry is improving with every race and finished a solid 13th in the U8 boys.
In the U12 race, our top boy was Samuel in 6th place but there was bad luck for George Connell who had a DNF because of a puncture. His early lap times show he was competing for the podium so it must have been hard to have to retire. Luckily dad Phil had the good fortune to race in a classic muddy race so hopefully that made the trip up north worth it. Izzy was once again on the podium finishing 2nd.
Max Darnton was our only rider in the Youth race. Max finished a solid 9th in the U14 race having used Justin's spare wheel when his own wheel decided to block up.
U10 race - 55 riders
U8 Girls
Tes Bignell 1st (35), Tilly Wilks 3rd (40), Jaya Martingale 8th (50)
U8 Boys
Harry Banks 13th (44)
U10 Girls
Skye Martingale 4th (19)
U10 Boys
Jo Bignell 3rd (3), Finlay Banks 9th (12), Tom Wilks 10th (13)
U12 race - 28 riders
U12 Girls
Izzy Hall 2nd (11), Olivia Allman 5th (19), Emma Harrison 7th (25)
U12 boys
Samuel Ridgment 6th (6), Charlie Shepherd 16th (21), George Connell DNF
U14 Boys - 53 riders in U16 race
Max Darnton 9th (26)
Round 7 Wessex Cyclocross League, VC Venta
First of all well done to the set-up team as they found a great spot for the Sotonia tent that was close to the start and finish. Other clubs must either be impressed or annoyed by our ever growing presence at races.
The Sparsholt course for the youngsters was similar to last year with just one short and steep hill to provide a technical challenge.
Our podium regulars all made us proud as they once again made it on the podium with Tes 1st in the U8 girls, Izzy 3rd in U12 girls and George an amazing 2nd place in U12 boys. Other riders had a hard day, Charlie had a tangle with the tape when he was already not feeling great and Freddie found the change from warm Croatia the day before to a cold morning in a field in England hard.
The placings of our 25! riders were:
U10 race 57 in race
U8 girls
Tes Bignell 1st (32), Jaya Martingale 4th (51)
U8 boys
Harry Banks 10th (46), Freddie Kelsall-Joel 17th (57)
U10 girls
Skye Martingale 6th (21), Ella Ridgment 9th (29), Marit Davidse 11th (34), Alisha Kirk 14th (47)
U10 boys
Jo Bignell 5th (5), Finlay Banks 10th (13), Samuel White 11th (19), Lucas Mills 18th (33), Benji Pike 19th (35)
U12 race 50 in race
U12 girls
Izzy Hall 3rd (10th) , Olivia Allman 5th (14), Ruby Flavell 14th (42)
U12 boys
George Connell 2nd (2), Samuel Ridgment 8th (11), Monty Flavell 13th (20), Jonathan Lowe 19th (29), Sid Kelsall-Joel 28th (40), George White 29th (43), Charlie Shepherd DNF
U16 race
U14 boys
Louis kirk 10th (23), Max Darnton 13th (27)
Report: Round 6 Wessex Cyclocross League, Sotonia
We couldn't have asked for a better day on Sunday, wall to wall sunshine and great racing to behold. Firstly, many thanks to the guys & girls that helped in some way on the day. Without you these events don't happen, thank you very much. Secondly to those little legs that push the pedals round.
What a great day it was for the Sotonia Youth riders. A total of 30 of our riders were at the start and the sea of Orange was impressive to see.
Maybe the best thing about the day was the number of first time riders who picked up the courage to start in a race. Our regular riders have long forgotten the day they were first at the start line but our new riders made a great step in a hopefully long journey in cycling.
The placings of our riders were:
U10 race - 65 in race
U8 girls
Tes Bignell 2nd, Tilly Wilks 3rd, Jaya Martingale 6th, Eve Carline 8th
U8 boys
Harry Banks 11th, Lorenzo Scarponi 17th , Giulio Scarponi 18th
U10 Girls
Skye Martingale 5th, Ella Ridgment 8th, Marit Davidse 10th, Poppy Carline 11th, Alisha Kirk 12th, Eva Mar-Moliner 13th, Hannah Olney 14th
U10 Boys
Tom Wilks 7th, Joseph Bignell 9th, Finlay Banks 14th, Samuel White 15th, Benji Pike 18th, Lucas Mills 19th
U12 race - 46 in race
U12 Girls
Izzy Hall 5th, Olivia Allman 8th, Emma Harrison 10th
U12 Boys
George Connell 3rd, Samuel Ridgment 7th, Jonathan Lowe 16th, Charlie Shepherd 20th, George White 26th
U14/U16 Race - 56 in race
Max Darnton 9th (22), Louis Kirk 19th (40)