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Cyclo-Cross
North of England Championships 03

North of England Championships - 6th December '03

Northallerton was the venue for this years north of England Champs. I have raced there before but it was a long time ago when the National Trophy used to visit. The weather had been cold so the ground was quite firm but a little slippery on top. The circuit was flat with only a flight of stairs and two hurdles to make us dismount.

The race started and soon a group formed at the front. This contained Dave Collins, Keith Murray, Noel Clough, Shaun Snoddon and I. The Science in Sport guys took it in turns to attack, these come to nothing. It was Noel Clough that made the first decisive attack. He opened a good gap. I chased hard but just failed to close it but Shaun Snoddon took off and bridged the gap. These two were out in front, only by 10-15 seconds but a gap. Shaun then punctured and it all came back together. It was anyone's race again.

The final lap Keith Murray took the lead. He somehow managed to open a gap. I'm not sure how this happened but I decided to chase hard. I caught him back just after the hurdles with 500m to go. The last back was my best bet to get to the front. The way the light was you could not see the back clearly and I went into the bush. This left Keith in front for the run in to the line. He beat me by half a bike. So second in the North of England. Better than the other week!

Senior Results

 1. Keith Murray       Science in Sport.com         57.22
 2. Barrie Clarke      Giant Racing
 3. Shaun Snodden      JE James RT
 4. Noel Clough        Caygill Frames RT
 5. David Collins      Science in Sport.com          8
 6. Rob Jebb           Wheelbase/Ron Hill            28
 7. Paul Oldham        Giant Racing                  45
 8. Gary Wearmouth     Individual  Member            2.17
 9. Simon Richardson   Trek UK                       2.38
10. Chris Young        Team Marie Curie/JD Cycles    2.55
 

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(written 09/12/03)