Jack shares this latest news from Wightlink-Wight Mountain Cycle Race Team. Ed
Mountbatten Crits, Wednesday 3rd May
On the 3rd May six riders made their way over to the Mountbatten Centre in Portsmouth and raced in both the E12 and third category races.
Veteran racer Simon Ambrosini made his racing come back for the first time since the 2011 Island Games.
He proved that he’s still a great rider by making an early move which formed a breakaway group of six, and soon made a huge gap on the main peloton.
Thanks to contributions from teammates Ian Hayden, Russell Thomson and Kev Foster, Ambrosini was close to lapping the main field but with a couple of riders not working in the group, Ambrosini drooped them shortly before the finish with and took fourth in the sprint. The other riders finished safely in the bunch.
Matt Allsopp and Adam Holleyman went straight into their E12 race with Holleyman working hard to stay at the front of the race.
The fast pace averaged over 30mph and the pair both managed to get into breaks but nothing stuck as a result of such a strong field of riders.
No groups ever formed until the last four laps a single rider got a huge gap with no one chasing he managed to hold the field off and was so nearly caught in the final sprint.
Allsopp positioned well and finished fourth overall and Holleyman also collected some points towards his first cat licence by finishing in the top ten.
Hillingdon, Saturday 6th May – a win for Waite
On Saturday 6th May, four members of the Wightlink-Wight Mountain Cycle Race Team travelled to Hillingdon race circuit in London to take part in the Big Events race series.
First up was Adam Holleyman, Ian Hayden and Stu Waite. The three spent most of the race positioned well and worked together to control the pace.
Holleyman managed to get into a five man break away which got reeled in after three laps.
Hayden went for an early finish but got swallowed by the pack on the last corner, where Waite come through with the sprint to take the win.
Next up in the fourth category only race was Dave Cooper. After a few laps settling in the breaks started.
Cooper was careful not to commit too early and watch the moves until one break got caught and Cooper was off gaining at one stage nearly 16 seconds on the main field, when he was joined by another rider who couldn’t assist in maintaining the gap.
With five laps to go it was on for a sprint finish. Cooper kept out of danger and in a good position unfortunately missed the penultimate move which saw two riders go during the last lap with one being the eventual winner with the other being engulfed by the bunch.
Goodwood, Tuesday 9th May
On Tuesday 9th May three members of the Wightlink-Wight Mountain Cycle Race Team headed over to Goodwood race circuit to take part in the second and third category races.
First up were Ian Hayden and Stu Waite in the third cat race. Hayden went for a solo break away a couple of times but failed to stay away as the race pace ramped up.
Into the last couple of laps as the attacks started, Waite managed to find Hayden’s wheel where Hayden gave the perfect team lead out for Waite to get rolled on the line and take second place.
Hayden managed to keep his pace and finish in a solid seventh place.
Next up in the E12 race was Matthew Allsopp. The Race started at a blistering pace where Allsopp managed to do his fair share of the work on the front.
An attack went on the fourth lap and three riders got away. Allsopp put in a big effort taking third in the bunch sprint, which was sixth overall.
Mountbatten Centre, Wednesday 10th May
On Wednesday 10th May seven riders from the of the Wightlink-Wight Mountain Cycle Race Team returned to the Mountbatten Centre to take part in the circuit race.
First up in the third cat race were Stu Waite, Ian Hayden, Simon Ambrosini, Russell Thomson and Kev Foster.
From the gun Waite went in a two man breakaway with one other rider and got caught with just five minutes of the race to go, when the race was starting to ramp up towards the finish.
In amongst a frantic finish Waite managed to come over the line in third place with the others closely in tow.
Second up in the E12 race were Matthew Allsopp and James Ebdon. The race kicked off with an attack where four riders got away.
Allsopp and Ebdon both took a couple of attempts to close the gap but couldn’t manage. Both riders finished safely in the bunch.
Bournemouth Wheelers Summer Road Race, Sunday 12th May
Three members of the Wightlink-Wight Mountain Cycle Race Team travelled to Wool in Dorset on Sunday 12th May to compete in the 60 mile Bournemouth Wheelers Summer Road Race.
As Adam Holleyman, Russell Thomson and Ian Hayden lined up on this challenging undulating twisty course it was clear that the windy conditions would make for some very fast sections, with the dropping out of the flag the pace went up.
With two laps gone and all three riders placed well Thompson launched an attack over the top of the main climb which unfortunately did not stick.
Hayden and Holleyman finished well in the bunch.
Image: © Adam Holleyman by Bill Temple
