STEPHEN LYLE MEMORIAL

Race report by Ainsley Turbitt

There will be mud.... It had to happen sooner or later - single figure temperatures, rain and mud. Sandy Wallace's Stephen Lyle Memorial CX race at Lochore Meadows in Fife had it all.

What is it with Fifers and mud? Last year there was the carnage at Inverkeithing and this year we finally, FINALLY, got some proper, cold, claggy, rear-mech-destroying, Scottish cyclocross mud care of Lochore Meadows. After a couple of weeks’ break everyone had fresh legs and the rumours of no hills and generous sections of tarmac led to expectations of record speeds. They were right about the lack of hills and there was a substantial amount of tarmac. Unfortunately there was also a substantial amount of soggy ground which only got more and more cut up as the day wore on. Hey - at least it didn’t rain...much.

Under 12/10/08
Yet another good turnout for the younger ‘crossers with 37 taking the start. Callum Fernie suffered an early crash at the first corner after tangling with a spectator but he was quickly back up and battling through the field. For the first few laps the lead was swapped between Joe Nally, Callum Grant and Sean Flynn but Jamie Willoughby was soon powering to the front. Callum Fernie recovered from his crash to give him a good run for his money but his efforts to catch up at the start robbed him of the final push and Jamie just won it. Rhona Callander was the winner yet again for the girls and was right up with the overall leaders for much of the race. It was a tough course for some - tears were witnessed on the toughest grassy sections. We’ve all been there at some point - some more than others.

Under 12 - Girls
1st Rhona Callander - SBC Wallace Warriors
2nd Katie Allen - SBC Wallace Warriors
3rd Millie Hanlon Cole - Peebles CC
Boys1st Jamie Willoughby - Drumlanrig RR
2nd Callum Fernie - ERC
3rd Callum Grant - Peebles CC
Under 10 - Girls
1st Anna Flynn - ERC
2nd Ariana Willoughby - Drumlanrig RR
3rd Abigail Brierley - Leslie Bikeshop
Boys
1st Joshua Graham - Peebles CC
2nd Stuart Haddon - Rock Gang Sports
3rd Keir Robb - Peebles CC
Under 8 - Girls
1st Audrey Doyle - Unattached
Boys
1st Callum Reid - Wallace Warriors
2nd Thomas Aggleton - Glasgow Riderz
3rd Andrew Leinster - Unattached

Youths
28 Under 16s took on the full course - cutting it up nicely for the later races. For a while it looked like it was going to be a Wilcox brothers one-two with Stuart and Ross neck and neck in the lead. Just. Iain Paton was on their heels though and made his move on lap 3. By the bell it was all over, barring disaster (which there was alot of throughout the day), with Iain having a minute gap on the others. He avoided disaster and took the well-deserved win. Ross got the better of his brother on the last lap and took second.
Lucy Grant was streets ahead of the other girls throughout the race and finished 7th overall.

Under 16:
Girls
1st Lucy Grant - Peebles CC/Alpine bikes
2nd Katherine Angus - Carnegie Cyclones
3rd Jenna Fenwick - Stewarty Wheelers

Boys
1st Ian Paton - Square Wheels
2nd Ross Wilcox - i-Cycles
3rd Stuart Wilcox - i-Cycles

Under 14:
Girls
1st Isla Short - Glentress Riders
2nd Erika Allen - Stirling Bike Club/Wallace Warriors
3rd Eve Hanlon Cole - Peebles CC

Boys
1st Calum MacGowan - Peebles CC/Alpine Bikes
2nd Edward Fletcher - Cairngorm CC
3rd Ben Forsyth - i-Cycles

Vets, Women and Juniors
The local boys were making it look like a Leslie Bike Shops day out - they were everywhere! The usual Leslie Bike shop suspects were up the front from the start though - Gary McCrae and John McCafferty. Gary seems to be a different league this year and this week was no different with a winning margin of almost two minutes. It’s just showing off really! This was the race where things really started to go wrong with the mud starting to take its toll on rider and bikes. Rear mechs and Fife mud really don’t mix. However, I’m not sure the mud had much to do with Michael Martin rolling his tub in the first 20 yards. Sorry Michael - a certain someone said I had to mention it.
With Gary disappearing off into the distance Steve Nicholson and John fought it out for the remaining podium spots, Stevie finding some extra speed in the last lap to take second.

Ross Green led the Junior race from the start, with Charles Fletcher unable to catch him. Ross chose to wear white shorts for the race - perhaps unwise as the photos will show. Is anyone else still wondering how Kenta got his head to toe white kit clean last year by the way? Another win for Alexis in the women’s race - it’s looking like a good season for her with consistent wins throughout. Anne Murray was second and Maddy finished a muddy third.

Juniors:
1st Ross Green - Stewarty Wheelers
2nd Charles Fletcher - Cairngorm CC
3rd Jack Taylor - Drumlanrig Rik’s Bike Shed
Women:
1st Alexis Barnes - Team Icarus
2nd Anne Murrah - Square Wheels
3rd Maddy Robinson - Velo Club Moulin
Vets:
1st Gary McCrae - Team Leslie Bike Shop/Right Move Windows
2nd Steve Nicholson - Dunfermline CC
3rd John McCaffery - Team Leslie Bike Shop/Right Move Windows

Seniors
With the ground nicely mashed up by the previous races forty riders started the senior race. Colin May was first round the corner the lead was soon taken by local boy Craig Hardie and not-so-local boy Dan Whitehead. They sized each other up for a couple of laps but Craig had the measure of Dan on the day, made his move and made it stick. Not enough hills for Dan on this course! Neil Walker stayed in third for the whole race. Behind them the carnage ensued - Garath Barnes had a strong start but suffered one of the multiple rear mech casualties of the day. Davie Lines had an early puncture and a long run back to pits for a bike swap but fought back to get fourth place. Colin May, on his single speed, perhaps had the right bike for the day and finished seventh. Colin Bain seemed to be running the whole race - he is a member of a triathlon club so there was some speculation that he might also go for a swim in the loch. There were sliding crashes galore - all cheered (jeered?) on at ‘cowbell corner’ which is getting louder and rowdier by the week.

1st Craig Hardie - Hardie-bikes.com
2nd Dan Whitehead - unattached
3rd Neil Walker - Walker CC

There was no getting out of washing the bikes this week but most people were bizarrely happy to see the return of the mud. Gluttons for punishment!

Next week it’s off to ‘The Splosh in the Tosh’ which will no doubt see more of the same, with a burn crossing thrown in for good measure.