// RACE REPORT: HERNE HILL
// Winter Series 2024/25. Herne Hill. Sunday 19th January 2025
// U6
Once again it was the youngsters who got us started and home rider Leo Tanner picked up where he left off in Round 1, romping to a very convincing win.
Jacob Dowell had made the long trip from Deal for his first ever race, and it was worth the effort as he grabbed the second step on the podium! Rounding off the boys was Alexander Gatt also LEC, for bronze position.
In the girls race it was fantastic to see six riders lined up in this race, the biggest female turnout in any of our categories.
LEC Duo Tina Cavers and Gyte Armonaite repetead their Round 1 efforts, taking 1st and 2nd respectively, It was a pretty convincing win for Tina and gives her one hand on the Winter series U6 trophy with one round remaining. Harriet Dowds took the final podium spot on the day.
“In the girls race it was fantastic to see six riders lined up in this race, the biggest female turnout in any of our categories.”
Under 6’s on the start line
// U8
Under 8 Girls was again only Eliza Gillard, as per Round 1 but she didn’t let that faze her and did what she could to keep in amongst the boys. well done Eliza! Speaking of the boys, we had a bumper field in the Under 8's cat. Eleven riders in total.
Round 1 saw Joey Wood of VC Deal take an emphatic win in the cyclocross event and he had again made the long trip up from the coast, with fellow clubmate William Dowell joining him this time.
However home favourite, Woody Shearwood of LEC put himself into series contention with a fantastic performance on the tarmac. A blistering start from Woody saw a commanding lead open up and despite fears from the LEC fans that he might have gone off too quick, he held the high pace all the way to the finish line.
Behind him, the two VC Deal riders put in a tremendous battle with William Dowell overcoming Joey Wood for second place. Arto Cavers came home in fourth to also keep his series hopes alive with only five points splitting the top three riders it's looking very tasty for our final round.
Further back in the race, the fans were treated to an almighty last lap battle between LEC rider Samuel Lake and Lee Valley's Casper Cavendish, both going toe to toe all the way before Casper finally found the afterburners on the finish straight.
Some great battles in the Under 8’s race!
“with only five points splitting the top three riders it’s looking very tasty for our final round.”
// U10
Another good turnout in the boys race, with thirteen riders taking to the start line.
After mastering the mud of Round 1, Barking & Dagenham's Ellison Green showed he was no one trick pony with a very assured win here on this criterium course.
Home rider Elias Petruskevicius was with the leading group for a large part of the race, but possibly did too much on the front as Ellison finally rode away, and Malcom Nelson of VCL nipped in to take second. Third for Elias leaves him second in the overall but with an eight point deficit to the Barking & Dagenham leader.
An honoroubale mention to Kasper Rackley of LEC. Being a first year Under 10 meant he couldn't quite match the power of the leaders, but his cornering technique kept him in contention for a large part of the race, finishing fourth overall.
In the girls cat, we had another of the battles of the day with LEC teammates Enyo Rackley and Lola Stewart going up against each other lap after lap. Ivo Ralchevski from the boys race, decided to get in on the action too. Neither girl could drop each other, despite multiple attempts, but they gapped Ivo until the final lap when he fought hard to get back on, then went over the top to lead out the final sprint. Lola came round him to take the honours on the line with Enyo in second place and Olive Connor, also LEC, completing the podium.
“Barking & Dagenham’s Ellison Green showed he was no one trick pony with a very assured win here on this criterium course.”
// U12
In the Under 12's it was a male only affair, and from early on a lead group of four took off. Series Leader Kien Chu (LEC), Jake K (Woolwich), Daniel Furlong (LEC) and Hector Lewis (HHY).
It was a cagey affair, with no-one wanting to lead the group, but as the race wore on LEC's Lucas Perilla tried to get back up to the lead group then the pace started to increase. Daniel Furlong was first to be dropped, then Kien Chu also lost the wheel leaving Jake and Hector to battle it out for the top spot, with Hector prevailing in the end.
In the overall its now very tight with a solitary point splitting the top two of Kien and Jake!
Under 12 Open is very close in the series GC
“In the overall its now very tight with a solitary point splitting the top two of Kien and Jake!”
// U14 & U16
In the Under 14's it was again Barking & Dagenham's Taylor Green who was too hot to handle for the rest of the field. He led from the start to take full points for the second round in a row. This time though, local favourite Floyd Connor (LEC) was pushed into third place by Raphael Vesey Holt of Preston Park CC, who worked well with U16 teammate Gabriel Au for the majority of the race. 4T Rider Riley Mahoney delighted his old Limited Edition fans as he turned out in Green for the day, using this race as a warm up to his upcoming MTB season, coming in fifth on the day!
Edie Wright was the only U14 girl on the day, but as this race was combined with U16 she put in a good performance to battle Megan Costello of Preston Park. Both Edie and Megan taking full points in their respective categories.
U16 boys had some series pace, and none more so than Gabriel Au, who was fairly throwing his bike around the corners here. Cracking to watch, and hopefully our younger riders were able to pick up some pointers on technique here. LEC's Alex Campbell did well to hang on to second place, after a gear malfunction left him unable to change and so grind out in a big gear for the final third of his race. The final podium spot went to Barney Howard of Herne Hill Youth, who is now tied with his twin, Elliot, in the overall, having lost out to Elliot in Round 1.
“none more so than Gabriel Au, who was fairly throwing his bike around the corners here. Cracking to watch.”
Full Results and Series Overall scores Here
Another great day of racing. 59 riders, representing ten different clubs and it was entertainment from start to finish. With several of the overall series results too close to call going into our final round, you'd be crazy to miss out.
Sunday 23rd Feb 2025
Gravesend CycloPark
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