Archive - Friday, 18 July 2003


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Bayton wins Cotswold League cycle race at Liddington

LOCAL rider Grant Bayton, of Angliasport team, won the latest round of the Cotswold League road race series on Newbury RC's Liddington circuit.

While many riders suffered in the heat, Swindon Road Club's Bayton and the rest of the Scratch group set out in pursuit and soon ate into the six-minute advantage the two earlier groups had been allowed.

On the last of three laps, the chase was over and Bayton soloed to victory just ahead of a two-man sprint for second and third.

A bunch sprint to contest the minor places soon followed with Swindon RC's Rob Merrison in fifth and Jimmy Jones in sixth.

Both picked up valuable points which could see either one them contesting the series overall.

Swindon RC's Jimmy Jones won the 80 kilometre Westbury Wheelers road race due to some fine work from team mate Rob Merrison.

With four laps of a hilly circuit on the Salisbury plain, near Chitterne, it was never going to be any easy race.

Merrison, still feeling fatigued from racing midweek, decided to sacrifice his race to help get Jones clear from the main bunch.

At the end of the second lap, Merrison attacked the peleton through the village of Tilshead ahead of the main climb with Jones glued to his back wheel.

With riders strung out on the climb, Jones attacked hard with only three others were able to follow.

After a blistering descent, the four-man group soon had a 20- second lead. With Merrison neutralising any chases, the breakaway grew momentum during the last two laps with a lead of over two minutes.

With two kilometres to the line, one final attack saw off the rest of the breakaway group and Jones soloed uphill to the finish for a hard-earned win ahead of Chippenham Wheelers rider Mark Wareham in second.

Swindon RC's top junior rider Adam Thomson was 16th just ahead of club coach Andy Smith in 17th.

For further information about Swindon Road Club, please contact Bryan Telford on 01793 726020 or visit www.swindon-rc.co.uk