WVCC Club 10s – Guardian Cup Round 5 – 15th June 2016

The weather has been pretty unpredictable in terms of when the rain is going to come down, so I didn’t expect a large turnout this evening. Clearly, there are many eyes on the Cup this year, as we had a total of 25 (19 club) riders turn up to take their chances.

Fortunately, as with Oulton Park the day before, we seemed to manage to get a convenient gap between the showers.

The course was amended slightly, as the continuing works on the A50 meant that the first turn wasn’t an option, so a left into New Platts Lane was required, and a cruel extension to the finish straight to end at the far end of the motorway bridge. Still 10 miles though, so it’s all good!

Also, despite possibly a very slight headwind start, there were a few that managed to knock a few seconds off their times, and those that didn’t, generally went reasonably fast anyway. All hungry for those precious seconds. In the end, Jim was fastest on the night, although nowhere near his own PB, with a fast 25, no doubt due to very sore ribs from a recent spill. The only others going under 26 for the night were Chris Gilbertson and Knutsford Tri-Club’s John Keegan.

* Non members will not gain points for Guardian Cup.

In the points though, it was all switch-around, with Patrick Lucas as the major points scorer, followed by Rich Munro, Steve Marlow and Nick Butterworth all knocking chunks off their PBs.

This has caused quite a shake-up in the overall points standings, with Dave Wilkinson rocketing to the top of the table with 88, and a bit of a gap before Emily Martin’s 80 points, and Jim William’s rock-steady 78.

We are now in the realms of those who have already got 5 counting rides, but don’t forget, it’s your best 5 counting rides from the season long competition that count, and there are only a few who have completed 5 rides so far, therefore plenty of room for improvements over the next half of this competition. At the end of the season, there is a maximum of 125 points that can be scored to allow you to lift the Guardian Cup!