Event: Broome Heath Scramble   Add this to my calendar (Outlook etc.)

Date: Sunday, 11 December 2005

Promoter: VC Baracchi

Contact: Patrick Harbord 01502 519599 patandshaz@tesco.net

Location: Ditchingham Village Hall, Loddon Road, Ditchingham. Click here for a map. Click the grey arrows at the bottom right of the map to see a detailed version.

Notes: The senior race in this event is for the Joe Waller Memorial Trophy.

Report: Paul Harris can rejoice. In this season of goodwill I bring you another race report. Broome Heath was bracing and refreshing as the fog cleared on a bright winter’s morning. Tea was soon brewing, rolls were filled and cakes baked. Once the important logistics were sorted we got on with some cycle racing in what turned out to be an excellent day if your name is Carl.

The Youth race was an absolute scorcher. Carl Harris took the lead over Matthew Cook and Dominic Schils. Carl didn’t like the sand. Tough, mate! Matty caught Carl when he punctured and stuck with him to a thrilling final sprint. Age and strength won the day, giving Carl the victory, but that takes nothing from the excellent effort by Matty in his first year in the Youth category. It was good to see Elliot Brooker, a newcomer to Eastern League races. You’ll be even more welcome, Elliot, if next race you pin your number on lower down your back where the judges can see it! Luke Newby was not at his best today. Don’t worry Luke, we all have our off days. Next week you can show us all how it should be done. Will Meadows was neck and neck with Luke for the first few laps but then suffered from various mechanical difficulties. He then spent a fair proportion of the race with the bike on his shoulder. Will gets the Fair Play award – he was offered help to fix his bike, but declined to accept as he was not in the pits. It might not help the league points, but it certainly wins respect from the whole cyclo-cross community. Tom Castle and Will Adams battled their way round the fast and flowing course, managing to avoid all rabbits and their burrows. Vera Staines impressed us all with her style and stamina.

The Under 12’s was business as usual. Hugo Robinson took an early lead and gradually increased it over the course of the race, finishing a lap ahead of the rest of the field. Frazer Wood came in a strong second and Lewis Parker held off Jack Hardwicke for third place. Jenny Hardwicke and James Arden battled the full race duration. Jenny gave it her all to take the sprint. Calvert Churchill seemed to be enjoying himself, smiling all through the race – the judges liked that. The judges were also pleased to see that Joshua Cook has decided to give ‘cross another crack. He was starting to get the hang of it by the time he got through the finish line. Joshua, it gets better – honestly!

The Seniors gave maximum effort in the battle to be the first winner’s name on the Joe Waller Memorial Cup. The first four laps were led by a group of four: Carls Davey and Thompson, Shaun Aldous and Nick Ainsworth. In lap 5 Carl Davey started to pull away. Thommo managed to keep Carl D in his sights for the rest of the race. A bravura performance from Carl Davey who now tops the league, and a commendable second place for Thommo. Shaun and Nick were left to fight for third place – not a familiar experience for Shaun who is used to the top spot. Shaun made do with third. It’s good to see Nick back in form; fourth is his best placing this season. Steven Griffiths had a storming race. There was some talk later that his dad, Bob, who only managed 3 laps before retiring, might have just been muddying the race to thwart Steven’s rivals. The judges, of course, have no truck with such rumours, as we know that Bob wouldn’t be able to keep up with Steven’s rivals to get in their way.

The leading Vet and Junior were well up with the Seniors – Mark Farrow was flying round like a mad thing to take first Vet and sixth place overall, beating Senior rider Ian Newby. It has since been discovered that Mark has been experimenting with Dave Copland’s secret training technique – rhubarb crumble and custard the night before racing. Dave’s chef could be in serious trouble for divulging such closely guarded information. However, said chef points out that any retribution from Dave, and it’s no more crumbles. Dave held off Julian Parker to be second Vet. Shaun Hurrell was the first Junior home in ninth place overall – a whole lap ahead of Peter Hargreaves and Daniel Parker. Wow. Stephanie Wyer finished ahead of Lisa Chapman to take the women’s prize.

The big surprise of the Vet’s race was Chris Gooch. This could be the first time this season that Goochie was pleased with his racing. There was no moaning at all. Did he open a smile on his advent calendar this morning? As you know we love to see new faces at all ‘cross races. Today we welcomed Nick Gilford. Nick’s a runner, so he tried pinning his number to his chest. We also welcome back Peter Edwards in his stylish pink top to his second race. He beat Brian Foster to the coveted last place. Better luck next time, Brian.

Results:

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