After a three year hiatus, the Warwick Town Races returned with a bang. It was clear that the
Lantern Rouge Cycling Club had put a lot of effort into the day and were blessed with perfect spring weather, big crowds and the resulting great atmosphere in the town square.
The order of the day was a mixture of family rides, kids racing, adults categories and the much
coveted team fun race. It was great to see RLSCC represented by 6 riders in the adults racing, a further team of 4 in the fun race and an assortment of riders’ kids in the various family and junior events.
First up was Paul Daniels in the Cat 4 race. With his usual race bike out of action, Paul bravely took to the line on his CX steed, although shod with skinny tyres, was always going to hard work.
However, Paul put in a determined ride and was credited with a superb 12th .
The 3/4 race were next to the line with 36 riders including Ravinder Chaggar, Alex Craig, Ben Dodd, Gerry Scott and Tom Smith taking part. For some unknown reason, they all manged to find grid positions on the back row, which although made for a good photo opportunity, did nothing for their race positions.
Being such a narrow, technical course, this was a major disadvantage because the race strung out within a few laps. Gerry was doing well, mixing it up in the front half of the field, eventually finishing 16th with Rav just behind in 20th. Alex, Ben and Tom formed a group with a few others, working together to keep the gap to the top 20 honest. Alex was caught out when a rider crashed and the pace jolted, leaving him a few bike lengths off the group. Ben and Tom swapped positions a couple of times on the final lap, with Ben taking 23rd , Tom 25th and Alex 27th.
Following some junior races, the big ticket race was upon us. The Team Fun Relay didn’t disappoint as the crowds lined the course for a 4 lap dash. Bromptons versus a Fatbike was worthy contest but it was the RLSCC team of Richard Ashfield, Pete Davies, Andy Robson and Andy Wearing taking top honours on the bike with the biggest tyres.
The final event of the day was the E123 race, bringing some big hitters out for the contest. RLSCC rider Emile Glorieux had been showing good form in recent weeks but after running well, fell in one of the tricky corners. It seems no lasting damage was done but the road rash and lost time was enough to halt his efforts. We wish him a speedy recovery and he’ll no doubt be racing again very soon.
For those thinking of signing up next year, this race is one of a kind locally and gives riders the
chance to race in front of friends and family. Just remember to work on your sprinting and corner speed!
Photos kindly provided by Michael Jenkins, Matt Dowler and Chloe Rees.
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