Talented cycling duo compete nationwide
Gaywood and Higgins fly the Team Corley flag
Covering even more miles on the road than they have actually been racing, the familiar black, red and white colours of Team Corley Cycles – Alpha RC have been in racing action from Woking up to North Yorkshire.
Rounds three and four of the Tour Series took place in Woking and Peterborough, with each race lasting just over an hour of fast, high tempo excitement.
During the first ten minutes in the Woking outing, Corley's Matt Higgins was taken out in another rider's accident.
But despite breaking his saddle, the loan of a replacement bike from the Madison team – they both ride the same Cervelo frames – soon saw him back in the midst of the action.
And just five minutes later, Karl Freeman was innocently involved in another crash. But like Higgins, was able to continue after a brief check-over in the pits.
With the whole field affected by the number of crashes and spills, small groups of riders kept pulling away from the rest of the field only to be drawn back into the chasing bunch.
This yo-yoing continued until the last five laps of the race as a group including Simon Gaywood finally broke away at speeds well in excess of 30mph – some going in the heat and twisty nature of the circuit.
Initially towards the back of this group, Gaywood kept plugging away, slipping past rider after rider when the opportunity arose so that in the final sprint for the line he was able to dive into ninth place overall.
The points won by that placing added to the team's overall total in the main competition, bringing a big smile to the rider's face, also equally to the grin he was wearing having won the 85 prize in a mid race sprint.
A trip to Peterborough followed on an almost triangular shaped circuit just over 1km long.
The big boys of the Tour Series really flexed their muscles on this occasion dominating proceedings throughout, but that didn't stop Gaywood and Higgins showing their faces in the mid-race action.
But as the laps counted down it was the teams of Team Halfords and Candi TV who took control leaving the Team Corley boys to finish just inside the points, Simon Gaywood in 16th place with Matt Higgins following home in 19th.
Young Nick Jones, in his come back season after a vicious ankle break kept him off his bike for most of 2008, finished both the Woking and Peterborough races thereby helping the Team Corley Cycles – Alpha RC score in the overall team points competition in the process.
Another city centre 'crit' race was then on the menu, this time at Smithfield Market in the middle of London, with the entries including European pro Ben Swift.
And a record crowd watched the race, enjoying a warm summer evening's entertainment in the middle of the capital.
With the race again following the format of the Tour Series – the riders hitting incredibly high speeds, sprinting out of the tight city centre corners – it was hardly surprising to see some riders being lapped, with others not finishing the high-paced spectacle.
As darkness fell and the final laps started, it was again Gaywood and Higgins who fought out the top places for the Team Corley side, this time the talented double ace finishing in 8th and 20th places overall.
But that wasn't the end of the racing week for the Team Corley riders as a full squad of seven were in action in British Cycling's top calendar event, the Ryedale GP.
Not surprisingly, following their efforts the night before and then a three hour drive to just north of York for the morning start, both Higgins and Gaywood couldn't feature in the main results.
The 130km event saw a full field of some 120 riders and this time it was the turn of Richard Cartland to give the team someone to cheer.
After Newport Pagnell's Roy Chamberlain had been involved in the early break, Rich, who finished in fourth place in the recent West Midland Regional Road Race championships, pulled away as part of one of the main breaks of the day.
But the efforts of that group were reeled in before the last 30km of the race, the high winds and rolling nature of the course taking its toll with the field splitting into smaller groups before the finish, Rich finally being the 20th rider over the finishing line.
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Weather for Milton Keynes
Saturday 11 February 2012
Today
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Temperature: -6 C to 0 C
Wind Speed: 6 mph
Wind direction: South east
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