WCRA Handicaps - 16-Mar-02 - Milton Keynes Bowl  

Saturday 16 March 2002

After the previous weeks near Artic conditions the warmer weather proved a bonus as did the near perfect handicapping when the scratch group just failed to catch the two remaining long markers, sweeping all before them, as Lynette Purkis - Coventry RC and Moira Goodway - Banbury Star stayed away to share the first two places as Isla Rowntree - Stourbridge CC of the scratch group took third place just over a minute later after 30 exciting miles of racing, full of “will they - won’t they” speculation.

 The scratch group lead by Rowntree and last weeks winner Mathilde Pauls - VC de Londres had 4 laps to make up and they set about this in determined fashion; half of the race had been covered when Clara Beard - Team Quest and Heather Williams - TRI UK Inc were dropped by the motivated scratch group although Heather chased hard and got back on.

 8 laps to go and it was Goodway and Purkis together at the front of the race in the lead but the scratch riders were gradually reeling them in, would there be enough laps left for the Rowntree group to catch them.

5 Laps to go and the Goodway-Purkis lead was down to just two minutes, into the final lap and that gap was now down to just over a minute, Marianne Harding - Team Quest crashed at this point but without serious injury; to add impetus into the chase Rowntree, Nikki Harris - Pearce Cycles and Pauls attacked but time cruelly ran out as first Purkis and then Goodway crossed the line with Rowntree the next to finish to end an exiting race in this long running handicap series.

 RESULTS 

1.   Lynette    Purkiss               Coverntry RC                    1 hour 23 mins 10 secs

2.   Moira       Goodway           Banbury Star                     same time

3.   Isla           Rowntree           Stourbridge CC                at 57 secs

4.   Nikki        Harris                 Pearce Cycles                  same time

5.   Mathilde  Pauls                  VC de Londres                 same time

6.   Jeanette  Tebbutt              Bicester Millennium          at 1 min 6 secs

7.   Lainey      Stockings         Reading RR                       same time

8.   Rachel      Perkins            Private                                same time

9.   Heather    Williams           TRI UK INC                        same time

10  Jenny        Middlehurst     Team Letchworth              same time

11. Carolyn     Jennings         Glendale C&AC                at 2 mins 16 secs

12. Anna         Widdowson    Bicester Millennium CC   same time

13. Debbie     Knott                Icknield RC                        same time