Cyclo Cross

The ninth and final round of the Challenge Tyres London and South East Cyclo Cross League was held on a cold grey day in the grounds of Herne Hill Velodrome on a twisty course devised by the promoting club Dulwich Paragon on Sunday 23rd January.

In the race for men in their fifties Darren Haynes made one of his now customary lightning starts and had risen from 42nd on the grid to as high as 29th by the time the field crossed the finish line at the end of the first of half-a-dozen laps.  At the conclusion of the next circuit Darren had gained a further seven places, but from then on making further ground became somewhat harder.

Most riders had opted for higher tyre pressures to better cope with the tarmac banking and the stony sections outside of the man-made facility, but that made the twisty grass infield all the more slippery.  Indeed on the penultimate tour Darren dived down the inside of another rider going into a hairpin and made use of the post on the apex to perfectly “slingshot” his way round.  Sadly on the last lap he missed the ideal hand-hold and found himself heading for the barrier instead.

Patrick Hough courtesy of G Munday

That mishap cost him a place, but he got one back when another competitor who had overtaken on the greasy section due to the benefit of running low tyre pressures fell foul of a puncture on the gravel and was forced to retire.  After tussling for several laps with a rider from the host club Darren was the 22nd of 48 racers to be greeted by the chequered flag with a trio of non-finishers.

Patrick Hough was 13th on a packed grid of 87 riders in the race for men under 40.  He too had a great opening lap and was up to 4th place by the end of it, a position he maintained after the second of nine circuits in the hour-long race.

Despite his lap times getting progressively slower he rose to third place on lap 3 then second on lap 5.  He was demoted a place on lap 6, but won it back the next time around and survived a last lap flat tyre to secure a prized third step on the podium at the conclusion.