Roberts closes the gap at the top Wrekinsport Decathlon Evening 10 Series
With Tomos Hales absent, other riders took the opportunity to make up some lost ground in round eight of the Decathlon Evening 10 Series by Wrekinsport.
With other events on, it was a modest entry of 11 solo riders and a tandem for the best conditions in several weeks.
Stourbridge Velo's Darren Shaw took the overall win in a solid 23 minutes 13 seconds, pushing Phil Roberts into runner-up spot by 18 seconds.
Roberts was happy to take the maximum six points on offer to make up some ground on Hales, slicing his lead to five points in a fine 23.31 to see off Adam Mumford, who took third place in 24.02, 14 seconds ahead of Rich Smith.
Attention was on the head-to-head battle in the Road Bike Series between Dave Moore and Ben Wood, with Moore stretching his series lead thanks to a six-second difference after posting a fine 26:10.
n Hales had continued his relentless charge in defence of the series with another maximum six points in round seven.
Two visiting riders took the remaining podium spots – Chris Riley of Paramount CRT and Stourbridge Velo’s Shaw.
In the women's series, Deb Hutson-Lumb won with an impressive 24.26, while Moore took over the lead of the Road Bike Series thanks to an event-winning 26.12.
Junior Ben Southgate put in a good ride after battling it out with Roberts in the final 100 yards to the finish line, stopping the watch on 24.14.
