Silver Spoon 2-Day (Premier Calendar)
17-May-1998
| Brite star Team Brite were on rampant form in their final event before the Prutour. Matt Illingworth emerged overall winner in the Silver Spoon two-day race, with runnerup Chris Newton tightening his grip on the Premier Calendar leadership NORMAL service was resumed as Matt Illingworth led Team Brite to a clean sweep of the first five places overall in the Silver Spoon Cycle Chase, contested over three stages and two days in Nottinghamshire at the weekend. Brite's defeat in the previous weekend's Lincoln Grand Prix was forgotten as Illingworth scored his fifth win of the season, taking the £225 first prize by a margin of 22 seconds from Chris Newton, with Jon Clay, Rob Hayles and John Tanner filling the next three places. Ian Gilkes (Team Ambrosia), who managed to force his way into the winning moves on stages two and three, was the top non-Brite rider in sixth spot, while a new name, Rob Lyne (Team Bristol), beat a host of better known riders to finish ninth. But this was Illingworth's event, from the moment he won the initial time trial. The season has seen the 29-year-old transformed from being one of the "nearly men" of the sport to being a consistent winner. "Matt's the backbone of the team," enthused Brite manager Keith Lambert. "He seems to have been involved in everything this year, working hard for his team-mates and also scoring quite a few wins. I'm delighted for him." Illingworth, whose lowest stage-placing was sixth, said: "I wanted this one. I've worked hard and feel this is a just reward. We had a heavy week in Snowdonia training for the Prutour before this event. I thought I'd be tired, but I felt strong and tried to dictate the race as much as possible." Chris Newton, runner-up in the Girvan stage race, the Tour of Lancashire and the Lincoln Grand Prix, had to settle for second place again. "The lads are starting to call me Poulidor - the eternal second," he said. However, Newton had the consolation of winning the final stage. "I'm coming back to form after a touch of illness, so it was nice to get one in the bag before the Prutour," he added. The Brite squad covered 500 miles in training and racing last week. "They're in good form and good spirits for the Prutour," said Lambert. "We haven't got our heads in the clouds, we know it's going to be difficult. I've seen a start list for the Tour and it seems to be a very mixed field - some good teams in there, and some not so good. I see us being somewhere in the middle. Our riders have got the talent but not the background [of miles and competition]." Well organised by Newark Castle CC and supported by Newark and Sherwood Councils, the Silver Spoon event more than justified its new Premier Calendar status, and main sponsor British Sugar has already dropped a broad hint that it is likely to continue its sponsorship role with another Silver Spoon next year. Stage 1, Wellow time-trial, 1.5m Racing to a course record, Matt Illingworth (Team Brite) finished just 1.5 seconds clear of team-mate Chris Newton in Saturday morning's short, sharp test against the watch. Jonny Clay deftly completed a one-two-three for Brite at 2.4 seconds. Despite the high speeds, all the top contenders confessed they had struggled. "I never felt right and couldn't get going," said Illingworth, despite knocking four seconds off the previous record. "Just awful," was fifth-placed Rob Hayles's verdict. An uphill start, and a descent that made riders work hard into a headwind, combined to make life difficult for 82 starters on an otherwise perfect morning. The sole challenger to Brite's domination was Kevin Dawson (Ambrosia), a fighting fourth at 5.1 seconds, while the fast-improving Matt Beckett (Northern Foils) was the next non-Brite man down in seventh place. At least two big hitters were left with major arrears to make up after the short but significant test - Brian Smith (Clarke Contracts), who was 17 seconds adrift, and Lincoln GP winner Chris Lillywhite (Linda McCartney), who finished at 26 seconds. 1. Matt Illingworth (Team Brite) ........ 2 47.7 Stage 2, Laxton circuit, 65m Stage 2 victory went to Chris Walker, but it was his Brite team-mate Matt Illingworth who stamped his authority on the race. He finished second in the same time as Walker, and thus tightened his grip on the yellow jersey. Illingworth spearheaded the decisive 11-man attack after 32 miles. Twenty-three miles later, he stamped his way up the prime hill to force a new split in the lead group. Only Walker, Neil Hoban and Ian Gilkes (Ambrosia) could go with the move, which held a tenuous lead as the bell signalled one eight-mile lap to go. Gilkes's presence at the front came as a surprise, since he had been suffering a bad patch. He was dropped shortly before Illingworth's attack, but made a last-ditch effort to join the leaders. Behind the leading quartet, the field was regrouping as riders splintered off the front of a hungry bunch. Aware that the chasers were closing in, Walker and Illingworth went on the offensive. Illingworth was first to attack, and again he used the prime hill as his launch pad to go clear. Hoban plodded along in his wake some 200 metres down, while further back Walker sat on Gilkes's wheel. Illingworth looked to be heading for his second-stage win of the day, but Walker had other ideas. Dropping Gilkes, he moved forward to Hoban, took a breather on Hoban's wheel, and then jumped forward again. Racing relentlessly into a headwind, he caught lone leader Illingworth on the exposed finishing stretch across a former airfield. The two finished almost side by side, with Hoban coming in alone for third place and Gilkes successfully holding off the bunch for a hard-earned fourth. With Jon Clay staging a very lively early attack, and Illingworth seizing the initiative later on, Brite now filled the top four places overall, with Ambrosia's Kevin Dawson slipping to fifth. 1. Chris Walker (Team Brite) 65m in 2-15-44 Stage 3, Newark-Wellow circuit, 105m Brite's Chris Newton benefited from a high-class lead-out courtesy of John Tanner, Rob Hayles and Jonny Clay, to take the stage. More importantly, Matt Illingworth placed sixth in the same time as Newton to clinch overall victory by 22 seconds. The longest stage, contested under a broiling sun, claimed its share of victims, including Chris Walker, who started the day in second place overall, and Kevin Dawson, who had been fifth. They were both in the wrong half of the bunch when the big moves went, and saw their positions slump to 17th and 18th, respectively. A lively start saw Julian Ramsbottom (Harrods-Giant) take the prime outside British Sugar's plant in Newark. But the real action did not get underway until the seven-mile circuit - which was lapped nine times. Illingworth and Newton were both in a seven-man move that escaped third time through the uphill finish area. Also in the selection were Matt Stephens (HarrodsGiant), Lee Davis (Terry Wright Cycles) and Scott Gamble (Linda McCartney), plus Matt Beckett (Northern Foils) and Fraser Wilson (Team Travelwise), who were eventually dropped in the closing stages. With 72 miles covered, 10 chasers - including Clay, Tanner, Ian Gilkes (Ambrosia ), Rob Lyne (Team Bristol) and Brian Smith (Clarke Contracts) - caught the breakaways. The enlarged lead group rapidly proceeded to gain two minutes on the bunch. Then the attacks started. After several abortive attempts, an eight-man group splintered off the front. With five Brites in the advance, the final outcome was a foregone conclusion, only fifthplaced Brian Smith accelerating to spoil Brite's party. 1. Chris Newton (Team Brite) 105m in 3-53-42 FINAL OVERALL 1. Matt Illingworth (Team Brite) 6-12-11 |