The Duncan Murray Wines Road Races – 2023 The Year of the Pirate

Thank you to Stuart Dawkins who not only organised the entire race but also wrote this report.

It is traditional for a report on a race event to major on the achievements of the racers and their results, and shortly I will do that too.  But in the annals of WVCC history, I think the Duncan Murray Wines Road Races of 2023 will go down as “the one with the pirates”.

There is a hero to the tale, too … our very own ‘Captain’ Ray Taylor.  At lunchtime, five days before race day and by complete chance, Ray had popped to Naseby to check out the HQ … to find that the whole field booked as parking for the 150+ cars which would attend the race had been double-booked.  Had he not arrived then, some 100+ tents would have covered the field on race day for a pirate-themed weekend camping event.  Thankfully, with a lot of work from Ray, some great co-operation from the Pirate King, Bob, and liaison with the Village Hall administrator, a further field was found to park our cars, and the races went ahead.  In a normal year, I would have ridden down to check the venue two days before.  I would have found the tents already filling the whole field and would have had no time to seek a contingency plan.  I would have had to cancel the race with two days’ notice.  So, Captain Ray literally saved the day.

There was strong interest in both the Women’s and Men’s races.  The Women’s race forms part of the prestigious Women’s Team Cup (https://www.britishteamcup.co.uk/events ).  This means it includes many of the best amateur riders in the country.  We had a great turnout of 66 women.  The Men’s race was a Regional A race, also attracting a strong field of 73 riders from across the Midlands and a bit afar.

The Women’s race was won by Ruth Shier of team Hutchinson-Brother UK, who broke away mid-race but never established more than a minute gap.  In the final lap, Anna Brearley of LDN-Academy chased but could not close, finishing second, and Maddie Heywood of FTP – Fulfil the Potential won the bunch ‘sprint’ up the horrible hill to the Fairfax View Monument finishing line to take third.  WVCC Second-Claim member Harriet Evans came 11^th and club member Ellie Humphries also finished in the pack, her legs having popped on the final hill.

The Men’s race set off at sprint speed from the start and a split formed fairly quickly.  The eventual winner was Matt Bailey of Ride Revolution Coaching, with Ashley Hutchison of VC St Raphael and Ryan Williams of BCC Race Team taking the other two podium places.  WVCC’s Chris Orfeur held on to the furious pace to finish in the main bunch.  Club members James Moore, Jason Carter, Richard Kendrick and Gary Roberts also took part.  It was completed at a phenomenal speed – Chris’ Strava showed an average speed of 26.5mph on what is a challenging circuit.  That was some 1.1mph faster than in 2021 when he also finished in the bunch of the race on a far less windy day.

The other heroes of the day were the various helpers who supported me, as race organiser, in making sure that a safe and enjoyable event took place.  For those of you who have never participated in, or seen, a road race, the amount of skilled and reliable support required is quite an eye-opener.  The Commissaires – who ensure the race is run legally and safely, the Accredited Marshalls who manage the traffic, the National Escort Group motorbike riders who help with traffic safety, the red-flag wielding WVCC Marshall volunteers, the setup team – as always ably led by George Barnett – who put out and take down the course signage, the people managing rider signing-on, the line judges – this year Phil Rayner and Andy Poulton, the catering team (the ever-reliable Ward family), the First Aid team, Ray’s excellent team of car park attendants.  In total, there were no fewer than 48 people involved in making the races happen!

What struck me, as it does every year, is how fortunate we are to have, in WVCC, a huge pool of people who are willing not only to give up their time to support events like this, but also how well they muck-in and adapt when things change.  As normal for a road race, there are potential safety hazards identified on the day – and I lost count of how many people I had to ask to take on different and multiple tasks on the day (that would be you Judith Rout, Loz Cox, Daryl Collis, Maciej Suchocki, Andy Poulton, Megan Murray (and apologies if I forgot someone!!)).  Without exception, people adapted and made the race happen.  As Club Secretary I am, of course, biased … but I reckon that says wonders for what a great community Welland Valley Cycling Club is.

Thank you to all our volunteers, to the riders, their teams, family and friends who turned out to support the race and to the many pirates and local residents who watched with interest.  Thank you also to race sponsor Duncan Murray, of Duncan Murray Wines (https://duncanmurraywines.co.uk/).

Will I organise the event next year?  Yes, I guess I probably will!

 

Women’s podium photo curtesy of Matt de-B photography.

Others curtesy of WVCC’s Matt and Hans