CYCLO CROSS

Wessex League Cyclocross League

TOM SEWELL, of the hosting club Cotswold Veldrijden, claimed his maiden senior win in the Wessex Cyclocross League, making the step up from junior last season look seamless.

The 18-year-old from Swindon, who had finished fourth in the opening round last week, took round two on a disused golf course at Moredon to the west of Swindon.

Tom made a good start from the front row of the grid and as the laps ticked away held the lead to the finish.

The event attracted around 360 riders of all ages for eight races throughout the day. All riders mentioned are from Cotswold Veldrijden unless otherwise stated.

Earlier in the morning, Helen Pattinson (Solent Pirates) won the women’s event. Harriet Guest was keeping pace with the leaders only for a crash to drop her back to third, with team-mates Claire Smith and Jess Conner in sixth and seventh.

The vet 50+ race was won by Steven Davies (Hargroves Cycles) but he was pushed all the way by Keith Sheridan.

Another local rider Dan Guest won the vet 40+ race after an early tussle with junior Callum Macleod (PPV).

In the Under-10s race, Dan Phillips was the first boy.

Under 12 Girls: 1, Ellen Phillips; 2, Niamh Murphy.

Many other local Cotswold Veldrijden children made their racing debut at Moredon, all encouraged by the recent Olympic games in Rio.

The youngest Cotswold rider was seven-year-old Georgia Lovett, a regular at the team's mini racers' training/coaching sessions.