The 4th round of the 2016 British Cyclocross National Trophy Series has been run and won. Held at Trinity Park in Ipswich (Suffolk) over the weekend, competitors battled it out on a fiercely fast racecourse in the penultimate round of the series.
In the women’s elite field, it was Hannah Payton (Kinesis UK) who took the glory, with a well deserved win that has seen her largely clinch the overall for the series, with just one round to go. In the men’s race, Yorben Van Tichelt (Marlux-Napoleon Games) put the hurt on to grab his second win of the Series, which sees him tied on points with rival Ian Field (Hargroves Cycles-Ridley) who placed second in Ipswich.
While the 5th and final round of the National Trophy in Shrewsbury next weekend would have been the decider, Van Tichelt won’t be on the start line, so it looks like Field is likely to retain his title from last year.
Photographer Chris Lanaway (of Chris Lanaway Photography), was on course at the Ipswich round, and caught some spectacular photos of the race unfolding. Chris has put together a rundown of both the men’s and women’s elite races, which you can read below. If you want to check out some of Chris’ other cyclocross shots from previous events, make sure you check out his website here.
Words & Photos: Chris Lanaway.
The women’s race set the president for the day, putting the race dial up to ‘Scorching Fast’ from the get-go. Not only did this make for intense racing, it was also a spectacular show for the spectators, myself included. Current series leader Hannah Payton of Team Kinesis was looking to cement the title for herself before the series moves to Shrewsbury for the final round, and so a blistering sprint straight off of the start line saw her split away from the main field with only a few riders in tow who could patch Payton’s early pace.
One of those in tow was Hope Factory rider Annie Simpson. The two competitors battled it out, whilst the main group behind them would continue to splinter and fall apart. With their pace in a league of its own, it wasn’t long before Payton and Simpson were lapping riders, thinning out the field.
Despite a valiant effort from Simpson to hold the leader’s rear wheel, Payton managed to break free mid way through the race. It would be one attack too many for Simpson, leaving her unable to respond. Payton maintained the pace all the way to the finish line, where she took the win with Simpson in second place about a minute behind.
The Ipswich National Trophy round has gained notoriety as being an exceptionally fast course whatever the conditions on the day, and more often than not, it shares a closer resemblance to a road criterium race than being part of the elite national cyclocross series. This year was no exception, with the men’s elite field rewarding those with the sprinting legs.
The 2016 cyclocross race season has seen the presence of visiting Belgian riders looking to mix it up in the UK scene. The most notable being Jorban Van Tichelt of Marlux – Napoleon Games; a strong rider from the cyclocross homeland, who has been spoiling the party for the 3x National CX Champion Iain field (Hargroves cycles RT).
Despite Roel Van der Stegen (TWC Maaslandster Zuid), Dan Booth (Hope Factory Racing) and Billy Harding (Oldfield-Paul Milnes) making their intentions clear on the first lap of the dry course of the men’s elite race, it wasn’t long before Van Tichelt put in an early effort to dial the hurt up. Field and Harding were the only ones able to respond to Van Tichelt’s pace, with the trio blowing apart the field as gaps began to open up.
Both Fieldand Van Tichelt applyied repeated attacks throughout the race, but it was a final attack from the Belgian that saw a real gap emerge. A gap that would soon become 25 seconds by the time Van Tichelt crossed the line, pipping Field to the top step and in doing so claiming the yellow series leader jersey due to a draw on points.
Round #5 of the British National Trophy Series will be held on Sunday the 11th of December at the Shrewsbury Sports Village, and you can get all the information about the upcoming race on the British Cycling website.
