Riley and Romei reign in the rain

The competitors had to battle with frequent showers, cold temperatures and a troubling, gusty wind as North Shropshire Wheelers promoted their 10 mile event at Prees.

Riley and Romei, in a first ever pairing, clocked a great time of 24 minutes 37 seconds, although reigning Series champion Riley admitted that the cold and wet got the better of him.

A late substitution was called for due to Riley’s usual partner Rob McGregor falling ill, and with Romei seemingly determined to make fast progress in spite of the foul conditions Riley suffered from ‘heavy’ legs:

“My team-mate smashed me to pieces, and my wet legs could do no more than hurt. The win was all Simon Romei.”

This was Romei’s introduction to the format, and he took like it like a duck to water – which was fortunate given the appalling weather.

“We rode pretty hard in what were terrible weather conditions, we were also very cautious on the fast descents and on the roundabout as these were pretty slick. We were happy to get the win, but didn’t ride as well as we could have done due to the weather”.

Taking the runners-up spot,and the honours for the promoting club, were James Powell and James Neale, who crossed the line on their home course in 25:04, exactly two minutes ahead of George Coombes and Joe Marsh.

Speaking for the team, Neale was pleased with the effort and posting a very good time despite using road bikes

“The weather reports promised sunshine and 15 degrees... we got heavy showers and a bitterly cold wind that seemed to come from all directions. We also had a reduced field - albeit slightly better than last year’s. All riders approached the course tentatively and this reflected in the slower times. The two James’s were on road-bikes, and we did well to keep close to the Paramount riders’ time. For me it was a tough morning, I managed to put down some good power, but the conditions were not conducive to good times.”

Another first time pairing took the win in the Mixed Team Championship with Hafren CC’s Jan Davies and Mark Hill teaming up to set a solid effort of 27:35.

Speaking for the team, Davies revealed this was her first sight of the course which she looked forward to attempting again in more conducive conditions: “A morning of firsts! My first race of the season, the first time as a 2-up with Mark, and first time I’ve ridden the course. A good course, even better I’m sure when there’s no rain and wind to contend with. Thank you to all the marshals who stood out in it for us”.