The Natwest Island Games race in Ventnor on Sunday was a very exciting affair.
Ventnor residents, the many from the Isle of Wight and the supporters from the other Islands taking part all turned out in what turned out to be a roasting-hot day.
The men’s race had to be restarted after a crash on the second corner ended up with a rider with a reported broken collar bone and snapped carbon-fibre forks.
Blistering pace
Once the rolling re-start passed the start/finish line, the pack took off at a blistering pace. During the race various groups split away and were drawn back, with two major groups forming.
We learnt afterwards from Chris Weston, IW cycling team manager, that laps were being done at around 30 MPH.
Some people fell off the back the trailing group, eventually finding themselves encouraged by the official to stop riding after being lapped by the leaders.
Keeping on top of who was in which position was incredibly hard as the circuit was only half a mile long, so the leaders caught up with back-markers on a regular basis.
Final five laps
The allotted hour reached, the final five laps started, with the pace picking up even further. Isle of Wight riders Nic Hutchings and Kieran Page working hard at the front.
When it came to the finish line Tobyn Horton from Guernsey (podcast to follow) led the field to take Gold; Greg Mansell (Jersey) gained the Silver after a four second gap; and Indrek Rannama (Saaremaa) claimed the Bronze. For the Isle of Wight, Kieran Page was 5th and Nic Hutchings 7th.
The main pack came in later with Simon Ambrosini (19th); Matthew Tibbutt (22th). James Ebdon got 35th.
These great photos by Ventnor Resident, Paul Knights
