Inter Area Cyclo-Cross Championships - 19th January '03

Bramcote Park Nottingham provided a good course for the team championships on Sunday. It had some technical sections, steep banks and hard muddy grassy. It even had some running!

I had been talked into riding for the North-west team by Stuart Johnson. He called me and to his surprise I agree. The season seemed to have finished quicker than previous year and I was still keen to race, so why not?  I even managed to get a lift, instead of driving for the usual 6 hours.

The teams were lined up in indian file in the muddiest bit of grass they could find. This made for a slow start. Rob Jebb lead the way, at the first steep back we were all forced to run. I made sure I moved to the front before the muddy climb in the woods and tried to stretch the group. Only Jody Crawforth managed to stay in contact. We stayed together for the next lap until we came to the steep grass climb that I was able to ride. Jody was off running, so I pushed on over the top. I opened a gap but Jody pulled me back. At the woods again my second effort broke the elastic and the rest of the race was a time trial.

North-west took the trophy by 4 points from Yorkshire. The large trophy is probably sitting on Stuart Johnson's sideboard as I write this!

Individually Elite Race

1st     Barrie Clarke         Giant Racing
2nd    Jody Crawforth     Evans             @64 sec
3rd    Chris Young           Marie Curie 
4th    Rob Jebb              Ronhill         st.

Click to read report in Daily Telegraph

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(written 20/01/03)