Andy Betts Wins Bec Open RR
12th May 2013
This years road was was back on the Ladies Mile Circuit although with a twist. After 17 Laps including three primes the riders turned off to head directly up and into Ashdown Forest. Early in the race a couple of riders broke free and very soon Andy Betts (Felt Colbornes Hargroves RT) and Chris McNamara (Pedal Heaven RT) formed an alliance at the front. Throughout the early part of the race they worked well together, sharing the primes and keeping the pressure on.
A number of riders attempted to ride across to them although these breaks off the front of the bunch simply pushed up the pace and sent riders out of the back. This together with the long drag of a climb up towards the Ladies Mile was hitting hard on the bunch and a couple of riders a lap were being dropped.
Through the bell lap it was clear the Andy Betts was the stronger rider and after turning right off the course and begining the climb up towards Ashdown Forest he sprinted away from Chris McNamara to take the victory by 16 second. Richard Wood (Arbis / Colbert Cycles) came in third having jumped off the front of the bunch over the last few laps. He finished around 2mins 33 down with the main bunch coming in shortly after.
Of the 69 riders that started only 33 completed, with some of those being a lap down. Neutral service fixed 4 punctures and 1 other mechanical.
Next years race is likely to be back in the Ashdown Forest, although we're looking to do something that doesn't involve so many laps of one circuit.
Provisional Results
| 1 | 23 | Andy Betts | Felt Colbornes Hargroves RT | E | 449224 | 3hrs 05 min 26 secs | |
| 2 | 46 | Chris McNamara | Pedal Heaven RT | E | 405875 | + 16.86 secs | |
| 3 | 8 | Richard Wood | Arbis / Colbert Cycles | 1 | 418043 | + 2min 33 secs | |
| 4 | 70 | Russell Hampton | Team Raleigh GAC | E | 428044 | Main Bunch | |
| 5 | 64 | Germain Burton | Team De Ver | 1J | 466422 | ||
| 6 | 54 | Jason White | Private Member | 1 | 417198 | ||
| 7 | 40 | Robert Moore | London Phoenix CC | 1 | 714846 | ||
| 8 | 69 | Jake Hales | Team IG- Sigma sport | E | 436865 | ||
| 9 | 29 | Alexander King | GPM10 Cycling Team | 1st/u23 | 451605 | ||
| 10 | 45 | Anders Christensen | Pedal Heaven RT | E | 430345 | ||
| 11 | 25 | Alex Higham | Felt colbornes RT | E | 443267 | ||
| 12 | 65 | Ashley Dennis | Team De Ver | 2J | 707459 | ||
| 13 | 63 | Simon Henley | team corley cycles | 2 | 407112 | ||
| 14 | 13 | Lawrence Carpenter | AW Cycles | 2 | 440644 | ||
| 15 | 50 | Oliver Davies | Planet X | 1 | 708248 | ||
| 16 | 27 | Pete Wager | Felt-Colbornes-Hargroves-RT | 1 | 450603 | ||
| 17 | 66 | Harry Franklin | Team De Ver | 2J | 705119 | ||
| 18 | 67 | Richard Cartland | Team Echelon - Rotor | 1 | 407951 | ||
| 19 | 35 | Joshua Gosselin | GVC Edmond De Rothschild | 3 | 706431 | ||
| 20 | 51 | Harry Godding | PMR@Toachim House | 1 U23 | 833852 | ||
| 21 | 57 | Adam French | Rapha condor cc | 1 | 714794 | ||
| 22 | 37 | Connal Yates | InGear Quickvit Trainsharp | 1 | 829425 | ||
| 23 | 5 | Nick Wilkinson | Aprire Bicycles RT | 1 | 714900 | ||
| 24 | 68 | Andrew Griffiths | Team IG - Sigma sport | E | 420346 | ||
| 25 | 6 | Michael Barnes | Aprire Bicycles RT | 2 U23 | 721616 | ||
| 26 | 47 | Jamie Pine | Pedal Heaven RT | E | 471382 | ||
| 27 | 11 | James Wilson | AW Cycles | E | 721303 | ||
| 28 | 9 | Mike Wragg | Arbis LLP - Colbert Cycles RT | 1 | 445328 | ||
| 1 lap down ? | |||||||
| 29 | 2 | Nick Gasson | 34 Nomads | 2 | 715963 | ||
| 30 | 60 | Keith Henderson | Southborough Wheelers | 2 | 722472 | ||
| 31 | 34 | Philip Touzeau | GVC Edmond de Rothschild | 3 | 718442 |
Thanks to all those riders / helpers that turned up today to support this event.
We had 79 Riders entered in advance although started with 69 riders. 2 Race Commisaires, 2 Lead Cards, Neutral Services + First aid. 4 NEG Motorbikes, 9 Static Marshalls, and a few more Bec Members doing various roles. See you all next year.
