Results and Reports for December 7Hillingdon winter series, round 3 London, England, December 4, 1999 Courtesy of David Cowie/David Hughes The warning signs were there the Sunday before last when Doug Crow (Twickenham CC) couldn't help but continually ride away from a small group of us on a particularly grippy training ride in the Chilterns. These are a range of hills in the South East of England where the climbs are not the length of those such as my old favourite Cambewarra outside Nowra, but they can still rip your legs apart in the wrong conditions (and company). Doug was in sensational form and in race 3 of the Hillingdon Winter Series, that form was on show for all to see in conditions ideal for a rider with his power. The weather was okay in that it was dry but the wind blew like nobody's business and it was cold. This helped reduce the number of starters but most of the normal favourites were all there as was noted Elite woman rider, Susan Carter. With the wind blowing so strong, it didn't take long for the action to start and Doug Crow was in all the moves. In the winning move a long way out from the finish, he was joined by another rider who likes to ride from the front, Peter Noble (Team Sport and Publicity) but after only 5kms, Peter had the same problems holding Doug's wheel as we did two weeks ago out training and soon dropped back to a strong chasing group. The most interesting thing for those wind blown and frozen spectators looking on from the side of the circuit was how the groups were forming. The race was literally being blown apart. Behind Doug Crow was a small group that included strong men Bill Butterworth (Twickenham CC) and noted Elite rider, Peter Sweetenham (Twickenham CC). With such power in the group, they had the combined leg power to bring Crow back but teamwork by the Twickenham riders was making sure that Crow kept his lead. Another group which should have also threatened Crow's lead was one made up by the in-form Jamie Streather (CC Cardiff) and his Amore-e-Vita pro brother, Jason, last weeks winner Stuart Jackson (Heffs Cycles) and the ever present Mick Hill (Viking Wheelers). But they too were soon lapped by Crow who was in unstoppable form, showing that the intense efforts he puts in while training on the roads and on the turbo has brought him the form that will no doubt bring him more wins over the coming months. By the end, Crow had lapped the entire field and then to ensure a good day for the Twickenham riders, Peter Swettenham beat his teammate Bill Butterworth for 2nd with Peter Noble coming in 4th. Not far behind was the group containing the fastest sprinters in the race and with a headwind finish, Jamie Streather managed to cross the line ahead of Stuart Jackson, Dave Griffiths (Twickenham CC) and Mick Hill. Twickenham CC rider, Mick McManus, another who is not afraid to ride off the front of a group, did just that in the closing stages to escape the clutches of the main group and clinch 9th place, while Jason Streather won the sprint for 10th place and Susan Carter a few places behind in 16th position.
Results: Men, 52 km 1. Doug Crow (Twickenham CC) 1.13.00 2. Pete Swettenham (TCC) 2.50 3. Bill Butterworth (TCC) 4. Peter Noble (Sport & Publicity) 2.53 5. Jamie Streather (CC Cardiff) 3.11 6. Stuart Jackson (Heffs) 7. Dave Griffiths (TCC) 8. Mick Hill (Viking) 9. Mick McManus (TCC) 3.45 10. Jason Streather (Amore e Vita) 3.58 11. Paul Doherty (Heffs) 12. Tony Ball (Team Cherwell) 13. Mario Manelfi (Old Ports) 14. Harry Webb (TCC) 15. Russell Scott (VC Meudon) 16. Susan Carter (Letchworth Schics) 17. Richard Barrowclough (Sport Publicity) 18. John Letch (Redhill CC) 19. Calvin Hooday (Team Cherwell) 20. Steve Wharton (Team Sport Publicity) 21. Les Hook (Bath Road Club) 22. Steve Coles (Private) Overall after 3 Races 1. Bill Butterworth 89 pts 2. Stuart Jackson 85 3. Paul Doherty 77 4. Doug Crow 76 5. Peter Swettenham 73 6. Dave Griffiths 64 7. Russell Scott 63 8. Peter Noble 62 9. Vince Halpern 61 10. Mario Manelfi 58 |