Seventeen Rovers Riders made the journey to Basildon this week to take on the course at Northlands Park. Pre-race talk of last year’s mud-fest came to nothing as the promised downpours didn’t materialise, however, we did experience the first rain of the season – though almost certainly not the last!
In the Under 8s and 10s we saw strong performances from Jacob Wilson and Reuben Peacock, with Elizabeth Whall again picking up the prize for first U8 girl. Further up the field, Zachary Peacock continues to go from strength to strength with a great tenth place, while James Clarke had a fantastic ride to finish in third! Meanwhile, Alex Derrick had the crash of the season so far, but, despite being very shaken, walked away from it and lives to fight another day.
In the U12s, Matilda Challinor again battled hard and showed great determination to finish in a fine fourth place in the girls’ classification, while Isaac Starmer also overcame a mid-race low to fight back to ninth. Further ahead, George Collins and William Smith ground out a hard fought fifth and sixth place respectively.
In the Youth race, Max Avery again showed his class to take another eleventh place, while Jack Letch finished in twenty-seventh and Jamie Derrick showed great tenacity to complete the strength-sapping course in forty-fourth.
Amongst the adults, John Letch finished in thirty-fourth in the 50+ Vets, with Jonathan Whall, Simon Wilson and Mike Pears all riding well in the 40+ Vets race.
Well done to all involved and see as many of you as possible at the next race in Stevenage!