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SAN FAIRY ANN CRITERIUMS, EASTWAY - SAT 21ST FEB

In the first event for North Road riders of the new season there were some promising results, George Olive placed 10th in the 50km race while Andy Lancaster finished. 

The race held over 32 laps of the one-mile circuit was a very fast pace from the gun with never ending attacks.  The decisive move came after a prime with 12 laps to go when James Cocker (Finsbury Park CC) managed to sneak off the front, the bunch hesitated ad he quickly opened up a considerable gap.  The next lap Carl McDonagh (Brixton Cycles) and Keith Brown (Southborough Whlrs) also broke clear of the main bunch in pursuit of Cocker but to no avail.  Two junior riders Giles Wingate (Principia RT) and Ryan Smith (Data Phonics RT) jumped across to McDonagh and Brown and the four worked well together and seemed to be closing the gap on Cocker who was looking determined and going very strong.  With two laps remaining it seemed that Cocker had done enough with still a 40+ second lead over the chasers.  At this point the bunch was going flat out and four more riders broke away, George took a gamble and didn’t chase so close to the Finish.  At the finish James Cocker went across the line first for a well-deserved victory while Wingate out sprinted Smith for 2nd place. A very fast last lap from the bunch saw them almost catch the remainder of the break. George Olive produced a powerful final burst to win the bunch sprint for 10th place, Andy Lancaster unfortunately got dropped because of the fast pace but he soldiered and still finished.  Both riders were pleased with their results.

1 James Cocker (Finsbury Park CC)
2 Giles Wingate (Principa RT)
3 Ryan Smith (DataPhonics RT)

4 Carl McDonagh (Brixton Cycles)
5 Keith Brown (Southborough Whlrs)
6 Neil Muir (Victoria CC)
7 Alex Atkins (Evans RT)

8 Vicky Pincombe (Team Milton Keynes)
9 Pat Hayes (Orbea GB)
10 George Olive (North Road CC)