Dead heat!
By Martin Ayres for Snowdon Ports Editorial. Pictures by Rob Lampard

AN incident-packed Leicestershire RC Spring Classic ended in a rare dead heat when the judges failed to separate Barrie Clarke (Team Raleigh) and Chris Newton (North Wirral Velo-Kodak) after 84 miles of aggressive racing at Packington, near Ashby de la Zouch.

Clarke was confident that his wheel was first across the line, which would have given him his first road race victory since 1989. Newton wouldn't commit himself. `It was so close - a tyre's width,' he said. It was a hard one to call because Clarke had finished the faster of the two and was definitely in front only inches after the line.

The judges, who didn't have a photo finish facility, were divided. `We could always toss for it,' suggested Clarke while they waited for the verdict. After about 15 minutes, the judges decided to award the race jointly to Clarke and Newton, who accepted the decision with good sportsmanship and shared £135 in prize money.

There was no argument about third place, which went to last year's winner Kevin Dawson (Optimum Performance RT), from Dave Williams (Team Ambrosia) and Harry Lodge (Salisbury RC). For Ambrosia, it was a day to forget due to a combination of tactical errors and mechanical misfortune.

The race had started brightly enough for the Ambrosia team, as they placed two men in the decisive break of the race. It went on a stretch of private road which ran through a farm. The combination of a sharp right-hand bend past the farmhouse, followed by a couple of cattle grids, was enough to split the 66-man peloton after 20 miles.

Harry Lodge led the breakaway. With him were Williams and Mark McKay (Ambrosia), Newton and Matt Stephens (North Wirral Velo), Clarke (Raleigh), Dawson (Optimum Performance), Andy Collis (CC Giro), Brett Harwood (Leo RC) and former winner Mike Milen (Northern Velo).

All the strong teams were in the move and it looked set to stay clear. But there was still plenty of fight left in the bunch. The 7.6mile circuit over rolling Leicestershire roads encouraged riders to race hard, and every now and then the terrain allowed the chasers in the bunch to catch a glimpse of the 10 breakaways just over a minute ahead.

Despite the best marking efforts of Ambrosia and North Wirral, the bunch finally blew apart, with riders spread across half a mile of road in a furious spell that culminated in a 17-man group closing rapidly on the break.

As the leaders hit the farm road for the seventh time, a regrouping looked inevitable. But Lodge wasn't going to relinquish the break's hard-earned advantage without a fight. He put in some hard turns on the front of the break and opened a gap on Williams, Collis and Stephens. The trio hesitated and then, with 17 chasers breathing down their necks, opted to abandon the break and drift back to the group.

It was a fatal error, for against all expectations their former companions - Lodge, Clarke, Newton, Milen, Harwood, McKay and Dawson - stayed clear. By the end of lap seven (53 miles) they had rebuilt a 25-second lead, which soon grew to over a minute.

Still the bunch refused to lie down. After a few skirmishes, another big chase group split off the front. Meanwhile, McKay had stopped working in the break, in anticipation of the finish that was now only two laps away.

Climbing through Swepstone village for the penultimate time Harwood fought to stay with the break. He was finally dropped, leaving six at the head of affairs.

The bell signalled a lap to go; it also signalled the end of McKay's challenge. His seatpin, that had carried him for over 70 miles, suddenly slipped down the seat tube. An Allen key from the Kodak service car quickly put things right but, by the time McKay got under way, he was swallowed by the chase group and the break was down to five.

Now the chasers started to fragment. Williams, anxious to salvage something by rejoining his former breakaway partners, joined forces with Wayne Randle (Optimum Performance) in pursuit of the leaders.

The miles and speed finally caught up with Milen who was the last man to be dropped by the break, leaving Newton, Dawson, Clarke and Lodge to contest the finish.

Non-sprinter Lodge made a few token efforts on the run-in to the finish, but he was marked closely by Newton and the quartet was still together as the finessing started in the final half-mile.

While the four leaders spread across the road, waiting for someone to make a move, Williams and Randle were hurtling down the final hill and homing in on the break.

Lodge finally broke the deadlock by leading out the sprint. Into the last 200 metres Newton made his move. Clarke went with him and came through with a late challenge that appeared have secured victory. It was a case of so near and yet so far for Williams, who overhauled Lodge but failed to get into the top three.

The Leicestershire RC event provided good racing on an otherwise quiet weekend. The circuit is excellent, and there was a reasonable prize list. All that's needed now to Justify its `Classic' tag is some additional protection from traffic... and a photo finish.

1. Chris Newton (North Wirral Velo-Kodak) & Barrie Clarke (Team Raleigh) 84.3m in 3-19-17
3. K. Dawson (Optimum Performance RT)
4. D. Williams (Ambrosia) both st
5. H. Lodge (Salisbury RC) at 3sec
6. W. Randle (Optimum Performance RT) at 8sec
7. M. Milen (Northern Velo) st
8. J. Ramsbottom (North Wirral Velo) at 46sec
9. P. Wilkes (Bradgate RC)
10. S. Farrell (Tunstall Wheelers)
11. M. Pitchford (Brough Wheelers)
12. M. Bell (Team Castelli)
13. S. Gamble (Ashfield RC)
14. M. McKay (Ambrosia)
15. P. Longbottom (North Wirral Velo)
16. K. Reynolds (CC Giro)
17. P. Collins (Irish Heritage CC)
18. B. Harwood (Leo RC)
19. A. Collis (CC Giro)
20. J.Clay (Orange-Pertex) all st.

What they said

Barrie Clarke's hard-driving performance proved he is in great shape for the mountain bike campaign. His preparation since the end of the cyclo-cross season has consisted of `a week in Tenerife, working hard for Martin Earley in the Europa two-day and walking round the Bike '96 show yesterday.'

Clarke added; `With a headwind into the finish today I knew it would end in a sprint. I don't usually risk contesting sprints in road races, because my priorities are elsewhere, but today I was feeling good. I start the national mountain bike series in South Wales next weekend, then it's a busy month of Grundig World Cup events.'

Chris Newton, in contrast, already has the 800-mile Tour de Langkawi plus two Premier Calendar events in his legs. `I was tired after the Tour - it takes a couple of weeks off to recover from a stage race.

`At present I'm just trying to keep a lid on things until later in the season, because there's a long way to go. I found it strange that Mark McKay sat in today, but then his saddle went so you could say justice prevailed.'

After six years abroad with continental pro teams, Harry Lodge is back in the sedate blue and yellow of Salisbury Road Club. `A sponsorship deal fell through,' he said. `I'm working on a couple of things, but I can't say anything yet - just ask me again in June.

'it might turn out to be a good thing to have a year of recuperation after six hard seasons abroad. I find it very different racing in Britain. I'm not used to having traffic coming towards me - I find that very worrying.'