News - September 2008


Monday 1st September - Olly Pritchard tackles the Junior Tour of Wales

Local rider, Olly Pritchard - who normally rides for Andover Wheelers – recently took part in the Junior Tour of Wales – a 3 day event held over the August bank holiday weekend. The race travels through the Welsh counties of Gwent, Dyfed and Powys, as well as the harsh climbs in the Brecon Beacons. There were teams from all over Britain , and also teams from Denmark and Belgium , Olly was selected to ride in the British Cycling Central Division team.  

79 riders started on the first stage, a short 7.2km individual time trial. The winner of this stage was Erick Rowsell who went on to win the race overall 3 days later. Olly completed the stage in 14 minutes 31 seconds giving him 64th place. The second stage was a 72.4 km road stage, finishing at the top of the grueling climb of Llangynidr Mountain . This was Olly’s best stage, finishing in 39th position, he was at the back of the bunch at the star of the climb, but worked his way up during the climb.

The beginning of the second day was a 1-hour criterium around the Bryn Bach park circuit. Conditions were awful, with the tarmac track little more than a stream of muddy water. The race was fast and hard from the gun, and many riders including Olly were rapidly shelled out. The race split into smaller groups, which finished at their own pace. By the end of the stage all riders were coated in a thick layer of mud. After a quick shower and change of clothes was Stage 4 a 75.6km road stage, where Olly finished a steady 42nd place. 

The final stage was the hardest of the lot, a 100km road stage taking in many hills of the Brecon Beacons. The peloton soon split, and Pritchard found himself in a group of 20 riders off the back of the leaders, who were happy just to roll along and finish the stage. By the end of the final stage Olly was in 55th overall out of the 72 finishers. Fashion designer Jeff Banks presented the prizes at the presentations, and Tour De France rider Magnus Backstedt was spotted in the audience.

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Monday 15th September - Andover Advertiser article

Andover Wheelers youngsters are hitting form just at the right time as they prepare for the up and coming National Schools 10 mile time trial championship. 16 year olds Max Webber and Robert Ward had an early Sunday morning start when they took part in the Reading CC 10 mile time trial on the A4 just north of Aldermaston on a course that can be quick if the conditions are right but a nagging southerly wind made life difficult on the outward leg. Both Wheelers youngsters rode time trial machines with disc wheels and both finished in personal best times. Rob sliced well over a minute off of his PB time by recording 25mins 16secs to finish in 18th place and 2nd Junior rider overall. Max took 11 seconds off of his PB and rode his first 25mph time trial in recording 23mins 50secs which left him in 5th place overall and earned him 1st place in the Junior competition. The overall event was won by another local rider Jake Prior, who rides for Portsmouth based club VC St. Raphael, in a time of 22mins 28secs.

 

The two youngsters then headed off to take part in the Andover Wheelers Hill Climb Championship. The shortest Championship event but quite possibly the hardest of all the events is held on Ham Hill near Hungerford and is a flat out effort to the top to determine the winner. Conditions were damp which caused some traction problems but it was the youngsters who came out on top. 15 year old Tom Bolton, another rider preparing for the Schools Championship, pedalled smoothly in a low gear to finish in a time of 1min 45secs for 3rd place. Simon Healey has been dominating the Championship events all season but had to make do with 2nd place in a time of 1min 43secs but it was Rob Ward, fresh from his efforts in the earlier 10 mile time trial, who stormed up the hill in a time of 1min 37secs to win his first ever club championship. Max Webber paid for his earlier efforts finishing in 5th place in a time of 1min 47secs but, worst of all, finishing 1 second behind his Dad Mike! Other times were Daniel Hobson 1min 55secs, Stuart Thompson 2mins 05secs, Mark Skeates 2mins 20secs, Gregg James 2mins 26secs and 13 year old Mitchell Webber 2mins 46secs.

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Saturday 20th September - GHS Championship

Andover Wheelers youngsters Tom Bolton, Rob Ward and Max Webber put in some great personal best performances when they recently took part in the National Schools 10 mile Time Trial Championships in Hertfordshire. After qualifying locally earlier in the season, they were now up against some of the best young riders in the country. The young Wheelers had prepared well in the build up to the final and they were all riding specific time trial bikes with deep section front wheels, solid carbon rear disc wheels and tri-bars. The event was a straight forward out and back course based on the A10 near Hertford and the conditions were good but with a slight headwind on the outward leg. Rob was the first Wheeler away followed 2 minutes later by Tom. Both riders gave it everything and were rewarded with PB times of 24mins 49secs and 25mins 05secs respectfully. Max had to wait another hour before his start time but had the advantage of having experienced the event last year and knowing what to expect. He also didn't disappoint and produced another PB of 23mins 44secs, beating last years time by 29secs. Overall Tom finished in 50th place, Rob in 44th place and Max in 27th place out of the 105 finishers but their combined times were good enough for a fantastic 3rd place overall in the Team event! Tom, Rob and Max would like to thank everyone that helped them with equipment, travelling and coaching to produce such a great result for the club.

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