Hard Clay unbreakable in Scotland
Martin Ayres reports for Snowdon Sports Editorial. Pictures by Phil O’Connor

Jon Clay collected maximum Premier Calendar points for a second week in succession when he won the Girvan Three-Day in Ayrshire with an impressive display of aggressive riding.

FOR the second time in three years Jon Clay (SLBM) donned the yellow jersey at the end of the Girvan Three-Day race in Scotland. Starting the final stage in second place overall, 61 seconds down on yellow jersey Rod Ellingworth (McEll-Raleigh), Clay went clear on the last major climb of the day to win by a margin of 32 seconds.

Ellingworth was caught in the wrong half of the group and, despite making a determined chase, steadily lost ground on the flying breakaways.

Julian Winn (GS Strada), who was one of the driving forces of the race-winning attack, was rewarded by taking second place, 16 seconds ahead of Ellingworth. Backed by Chris Walker and Winn in a powerful composite team, Clay was the third and final leader of an excellent race in which the final outcome was in doubt right to the end.

First holder of the yellow jersey was stage one winner Mark Lovatt (Pro Vision-PowerBar). A reluctant leader, Lovatt described the jersey as a "millstone". He defended it through the criterium stage, but the millstone proved too much when he missed the break on stage three.

This was the day when Clay laid the foundations for final victory. He slipped away from the lead group with Walker and Ellingworth with just six of the 72 miles to go, Walker taking the stage and Ellingworth the jersey. His 61-second cushion looked impressive, but was not enough against the experience and strength of Clay.

"I feel sorry for Rod," Clay admitted. "He was on his own, and it was a nigh-on impossible task. He was strong enough to win the race, but was under pressure from the word go."

Clay announced he will not be among the Premier Calendar contenders at the end of the season.

"I've got a couple more events, but my main target will be the track from now on," he explained. "I'll miss a lot of races in the second half of the year - all I can do is try and win them when I can."

The 36 year old, who turned professional in 1987, is aiming for a place in the national pursuit squad at the Sydney Olympics and Manchester World's. "The Olympics is the light at the end of the tunnel this year," he said. "I've never ridden an Olympic Games, and I'd love to go. It's by no means a foregone conclusion - there's a group of eight of us, and six or seven will go. Whatever happens, this will be my last serious year. I can't see me going on after this."

The Wallacehill CC promotion was sponsored by South Ayrshire Council, and organiser David Miller, who was delighted by the quality of the racing, now has the task of persuading backers to put their hands in their pockets for next year.

Stage one: Girvan-Stranraer, 80m

MARK Lovatt took the first yellow jersey of the race on Saturday afternoon - and promptly predicted that he would lose it in the evening criterium.

"I'm knackered," he declared. won the stage, but I don't fancy getting up there overall. I've been going rubbish the last few weeks - I think it's down to trying to combine work with training."

Despite his alleged lack of form, Lovatt had featured strongly in a 10-man escape that went clear on the long run through the hills south of Girvan. Others to make the move included Steve Stoneman (Real Cost Car Imports), Phil West and his Middridge Engineering team-mate Ian Hellawell and Rod Ellingworth (Team McEll). "The bunch didn't let us get away at first, but then we all started working and it was OK," explained the Pro Vision-PowerBar rider.

At 33 miles, with the gap at 2-17, a strong chasing group came out of the bunch, led by Jon Clay (SLBM), Chris Newton (Middridge CRT), Mike Harrison (Tunstall Wheelers) and Julian Winn (GS Strada).

With 20 miles to go, the chase group was still two minutes down and pre-race favourites Clay and Newton looked set to end the day with a big deficit.

Meanwhile, Stoneman broke clear of the lead group on the final climb, Cairn Pat Hill, just 13 miles from Stranraer. Ellingworth and Lovatt joined him and the trio stayed together until a short tailwind climb, where Lovatt jumped away with a solo effort that carried him to stage victory.

Just 300 metres from the finish outside Stranraer's ferry port, the chase group caught the remnants of the break, thanks chiefly to the efforts of Clay and Newton, who had restricted Lovatt's lead to 1-22.

1. Mark Lovatt (Pro VisionPowerBar) 80m in 2-59-02
2. R. Ellingworth (Team McEll-Raleigh) at 19sec
3. S. Stoneman (Real Cost Car Imports) st
4. J. Clay (SLBM) at 1-22
5. C. Newton (Middridge CRT)
6. J. Wright (unatt)
7. E. Hawkins (Inverclyde Velo)
8. M. Harrison (Tunstall Wh)
9. P Rennie (Team Active Office)
10. P West (Middridge CRT) all st.

Stage two: Girvan Criterium,16.5m

COMEBACK man Roddy Riddle (Deeside Thistle-Union Transport) sprinted to victory at the head of a seven-man break in Saturday evening's criterium.

Riddle, who instigated the break on lap one of the 15-lap event, also had the final word, finishing a length clear of Anthony Malarczyk (Real Cost Car Imports) and Bill Nickson (Scotland Under-23).

With a lap to go, national criterium champion Chris Walker (Extran) was hot favourite to take the stage. Walker was out to salvage something from the day after hitting a rough patch on the earlier road stage and losing 10 minutes. He was a powerful force in the break as it lapped the 1.1-mile Victory Park circuit, but at the end he could place only fifth.

Riddle, 32, who came back this season after three years out of the sport, said: "Phil West gave me a great lead-out. He didn't intend to, but he was going all out to gain time overall."

Runner-up Malarczyk and fourth-placed Phil West (Middridge CRT), who had both started the stage 1-22 down on race leader Mark Lovatt, were the main beneficiaries from the break, moving up to fourth and fifth overall respectively.

Lovatt and the other contenders for overall prizes, Newton and Clay, finished in a small group off the front of the main bunch.

1. Roddy Riddle (Deeside ThistleUnion Transport) 16.5m in 39-30
2. A. Malarczyk (Real Cost Car Imports)
3. W. Nickson (Scotland U23)
4. P. West (Middridge CRT)
5. C. Walker (Extran)
6. J. Winn (GS Strada)
7. M. Kelly (Linda McCartney UK) all st
8. J. Clay (SLBM) at 30sec
9. M. Lovatt (Pro Vision-PowerBar)
10. R. Ellingworth (McEllRaleigh) all st.

Stage three: Girvan-Girvan, 72.5m

SUNDAY'S stage, run off in intermittent rain and blustery winds, reshuffled the overall standings, with Rod Ellingworth taking the yellow jersey after overnight leader Mark Lovatt had missed the vital move.

Chris Walker was first into Girvan, erasing the memory of his defeat in the previous night's criterium. But Walker was out of the hunt for overall honours, unlike stage runner-up Jon Clay (SLBM) who moved into a threatening second place overall.

The main losers of the day were Lovatt, who slumped to seventh overall, and Phil West, who was unlucky to puncture and then crash when about to join the leaders with 20 miles covered.

Chris Newton (Middridge CRT) powered clear of the bunch in the first mile, with Roddy Riddle (Deeside Thistle), James Griffiths (Wales) and Tim Buckle (Paul Moy Associates). As the race headed north to Ayr via switchback roads, they were caught by a 10-man chase group driven by Clay and Mike Harrison (Tunstall Wheelers). Nearly all the heads were there, including Walker, Ellingworth, Julian Winn (GS Strada) and Anthony Malarczyk (Real Cost Car), plus Scotland under-23 rider Peter Murdoch.

Newton was the strongman at this stage, winning three primes in rapid succession - Dunure, Alloway and then the second climb of Dunure - to take the mountains jersey from Steve Stoneman (Real Cost Car Imports), who was back in the bunch. Lovatt's yellow jersey was prominent at the back of the peloton. The Pro Vision man, riding without team support, seemed to have lost interest.

He finally stirred himself on Dunure with 35 miles covered. He hit the front of the bunch and set about reducing its 2-10 deficit on the break. His forceful riding soon carried him clear, with Mark Kelly (Linda McCartney UK) and Paul Rennie (Team Active Office). They were content to allow Lovatt to shoulder all of the work as he closed to 1-10 at 55 miles. That was as close as he got. Slowly he drifted back, but still finished between break and bunch.

Now 10 men were left in contention. With Girvan only six miles away Clay suddenly shot across the road in an all-out attack. Ellingworth got on to his wheel, and then Walker bridged the gap. Their seven former companions were too weary to chase, and the trio entered the finishing circuit with an unbeatable lead. While Walker took the sprint from Clay, Ellingworth lost seven seconds in the last 200 metres. Nevertheless, he still took the jersey with 61 seconds' advantage over Clay. Monday's final stage would show whether it was enough.

1. Chris Walker (Extran) 72.5m in 2-49-03
2. J. Clay (SLBM) st
3. R. Ellingworth (McEll-Raleigh) at 7sec
4. P Murdoch (Scotland U23) at 39sec
5. R. Riddle (Deeside Thistle)
6. C. Newton (Middridge CRT)
7. H. Pritchard (Wales) all st
8. M. Harrison (Tunstall Wh) at 44sec
9. J. Winn (GS Strada) st
10. A. Malarczyk (Real Cost Car) at 2-32.

Stage four: Girvan-Girvan, 7l.2m

THE 66 surviving riders - 74 had started the race - faced three classified climbs in the first 30 miles of Monday's final stage.

All eyes were on the yellow jersey of Rod Ellingworth and second placed Jon Clay, who trailed him by 61 seconds. They stuck together over Penkill (four miles) and the biggest climb of the race, Nick O'Balloch (15 miles), where a 23-man group went clear of the rest.

The crunch came on the long, straight climb of Largs. With Mark Lovatt (Pro Vision-PowerBar) and Julian Winn (GS Strada) whipping up the pace, the group split. Eight men went clear - Clay, Lovatt, Chris Walker (Extran), Roddy Riddle (Deeside Thistle), Anthony Malarczyk and Steve Stoneman of Real Cost Car Imports and Phil West (Middridge CRT).

Ellingworth was in the 15-man second half of the split with fellow victim Chris Newton (Middridge CRT), who was leading the mountains contest.

The yellow jersey was not giving in without a fight, and for the next 20 miles Ellingworth led a spectacular chase, with little assistance. At first he held the gap to 12 seconds, then it slipped to 37 seconds as the two groups hurtled along at over 35mph.

There were some harsh words in the lead group as Winn, Lovatt and Walker tried to get their companions to share the work. Meanwhile, Ellingworth's group was losing ground. With 15 miles to go, a timecheck signalled the gap had grown to more than a minute, and Clay was race leader on the road.

Taking nothing for granted, Clay drove the group for the last three miles, and still managed to sprint to third on the stage behind Walker and Stoneman.

1. Chris Walker (Extran) 71.2m in 248-44
2. S. Stoneman (Real Cost Car Imports)
3. J. Clay (SLBM)
4. R. Riddle (Deeside Thistle)
5. P West (Middridge CRT)
6. M. Lovatt (Pro Vision-Power Bar)
7. A. Malarczyk (Real Cost Car Imports) all st
8. J. Winn (GS Strada) at 3sec
9. W. Nickson (Scotland U23) at 1-44
10. H. Pritchard (Wales) st.

FINAL OVERALL

1. Jon Clay (SLBM) 9-18-02
2. J. Winn (GS Strada) at 32sec
3. R. Ellingworth (McEll-Raleigh) at 48sec
4. M. Lovatt (Pro Vision- PowerBar) at 1-19
5. A. Malarczyk (Real Cost Car Imports) at 2-11
6. R. Riddle (Deeside Thistle) at 2-33
7. C. Newton (Middridge CRT) at 2-38
8. H. Pritchard (Wales) st
9. M. Harrison (Tunstall Wh) at 2-48
10. S. Stoneman (Real Cost Car Imports) at 4-49
11. P Murdoch (Scotland U23) at 5-02
12. P West (Middridge CRT) at 5-32
13. D. Urquart (Scotland) at 7-56
14. N. Brown (Deeside Thistle) at 8-03
15. D. Axford (Real Cost Car Imports)
16. J. Wright (unatt) at 8-05
17. C. Walker (Extran) at 8-52
18. W. Nickson (Scotland U23) at 10-04
19. A. Ross (Scotland U23) at 10-22
20. J. Ibbotson (Gore Bike Wear) at 13-46

Mountains
1. Chris Newton.

BCF Premier Calendar overall
1. Jon Clay 130 pts
2. C. Newton 124
3. H. Pritchard 102
4. J. Winn 89
5. A. Lyons (unatt) 85.