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

Date: Sunday, 21 December 2008

Promoter: VC Baracchi

Contact: Patrick Harbord 01502 562907 / 07717 311092 patrickharbord@yahoo.com

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.

Photos: www.mphotography.co.uk

Report: We had a great day of racing at Broome Heath in wonderful conditions. The course has been slightly extended since last year, and a brisk breeze across the heath made some of the easier looking parts of the course pretty hard work in a head wind.

In the Under 12s Archie Wishart came up trumps again, and James Jackson got a 3rd place. This puts James at the top of the league but Archie could still snatch victory in the last few races of the season. Visitors from the London League, Callum and Felix Mackie, made the journey worthwhile, though they nearly missed entering. It seems that Mum had a bit of a battle getting the bikes off the car. By the time they came in to sign on, the race registration had closed and the PDA was en route to the start line. Next time you’re in a pickle remember to sign on first, and then get the bikes sorted.

As a reminder to everyone: sign on closes at least 15 minutes before the race start. This may be extended to 20 minutes if the race start is a long walk from the HQ. We strongly urge all riders to sign on as soon as you arrive at race HQ. It makes loading the PDAs much easier when we don’t have a last minute rush. When the PDAs are loaded correctly we have a much better chance of getting the results printed quickly.

In the Youth race Hugo Robinson notched up his 7th victory of the season. Behind Hugo there was a good battle raging for 2nd place between Lewis Parker, Sam Bores, Josh Green and Alan Trolove. Sam took an early lead and Lewis appeared to have been dropped. By the end of lap 2 all four were in a tight bunch. Lewis took the lead in lap 3 and it looked like Josh was out of energy, but he rallied and overtook Alan. By the final lap Lewis had 2nd place sewn up, Sam settled for 3rd, and Alan got the 1st U14 prize. Meanwhile, at the friendly end of the race, Alwyn Newstead and Patrick Cook enjoyed cycling round together on a rather pleasant winter’s day till they suddenly had an all out sprint for the line. Alwyn won the sprint, encouraged by plenty of enthusiastic support from family and club members. For the record the judges remained impartial and quiet.

On to the old boys and all the women… The Womens race was predictably sewn up by Olympic Triathlon hopeful for 2012, Abbie Thorrington, in commanding form. Anna Buick was nearly a lap behind Abbie, and Clare Larbey was some way behind in a personal battle with dad, Simon. Actually, Clare is recovering from a knee problem and was actually obeying physio orders to take it easy… And Simon brought her along so he could beat someone. It’s great to see Simon bike racing. He looked quite happy once the race was over.

At the sharp end, Julian Parker managed to keep with visitor Phil Roach, of Rugby Velo, for the first half of the race. Then Phil stormed ahead for a convincing win. Clive Ling faded during the penultimate lap, but managed to regain some ground before the chequered flag fell, to take 3rd place. He easily kept ahead of Dave Copland, who could only chase the leaders dust for the whole race. While Gavin Rumbles just has to clear a space on the mantelpiece for the Vet league trophy, Julian and Clive are head to head in a battle for 2nd place in the league. Clive has now completed 8 races, and rocketed up to 3rd place.

Geoff Bores nipped into 5th overall to take the 50+ prize ahead of Phil Buick and Tim Butler. I guess the Buicks were in 2nd place mode. Pete Mooney, also of Ruby Velo, won the 60+ prize. He didn’t have too much competition as Chris Gooch DNF’d for the first time this century.

I hope that nobody of a nervous disposition caught sight of Rob Smith flashing his upper thighs like some young floozy after too many alcopops. Carlo Daloia (I think) had a tumble on a narrow stretch and Rob, unable to avoid Carlo, practiced his somersaults over the handlebars. The result was a ripped new set of club bib-shorts, excessive air conditioning and a shameless display of strumpetry for the rest of the race.

Now, you might be wondering what happened to Clive Harrison – normally in the top 5 at the Vets race. Well, after the first 30 metres he was left standing with a bike and broken chain. He was about to return to the HQ to drown his sorrows in tea and cake, when newcomer, Matt Ellis of TriAnglia, offered him his mountain bike. Matt didn’t need it till the Senior race. This was Matt’s first ever cyclo-cross race (the ex Cyclo Cross National Champion Matt Ellis is a different person) and this generous gesture to someone he had never met before was much appreciated. Clive was now out of the running for the podium today, but he gave a good shot at clawing back places and finished with a big smile.

In the Senior and Junior race our new friend, Matt Ellis, was enjoying his first race when… his chain snapped (obviously weakened by Clive!) And like all good karma, Rob Smith came to his aid, so Matt could complete the race on a cross bike (that was a little too low in the saddle for him).

I would like to apologise to all the Juniors for a slight mix-up in the gridding. In an un-Parliamentarian manner, there are several of us all trying to take the blame. Whatever the mix up, it certainly didn’t affect David Nichols, who won a thrilling sprint, ahead of Ben Roach, to claim the much-coveted Joe Waller Memorial Trophy. Joe, who rode Eastern cross races for many years, tragically died in December 2004. The Trophy was presented in Joe’s memory, by his parents, to the winner of the Broome Heath Scramble. Many of today’s Senior riders were good friends with Joe, so this race is always an emotional one.

By universal acclaim, this was the most exciting race of the season. Shaun Aldous and Nathan Miller stayed in contention with David and Ben for the first 6 laps. Then Ben and David got a 10 second break on Shaun. Despite his best efforts, Shaun didn’t have the legs to bridge the gap. Shaun held on to 3rd place and Nathan started to tire by lap 8. Luke Newby trailed Nathan by over a minute to be the next Junior home – but at least he beat dad, Ian, this time. Brian McGeeney might not have troubled the faster guys, but he had a smile from ear to ear at the end of the race. That’s what we like to see.

Results:

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