Freddie returns to claim Hafren win
Former Hafren Cycling Club rider Fred Meredith returned to Shropshire to win the Hafren CC 10, which doubled up as round nine of the SB Sports Series.
Now signed for Wales Racing Academy, the youngster was the only rider to dip below the 21-minute-mark with an excellent effort of 20 minutes 55 seconds to beat SB Series leader Tomos Hales by 30 seconds.
Meredith is capable of faster times, but that hampering wind made a significant difference as he explained: “I really liked it. It was a good evening with some good competition, making me push myself. The wind wasn't favourable for a fast time but was enjoyable nonetheless. I was happy to be able to take the win after a pretty up-and-down season so far”.
Hales extended his lead at the top of the SB Series to 52 points with a solid 21.25, with the promoting club’s Conrad Taylor getting closest 1.04 behind.
This was Taylor’s first appearance in the 2023 SB Series and he is well versed in the subtleties of this fast 10-mile course to take advantage of it.
His attention was all about beating team-mate Chris Lewis, with a check across the road at how Lewis was doing spurring him on to a 49-second personal victory of 22:29 – a solitary second ahead of Paramount’s Chris Riley.
Riley won the SB Veterans event in +4:48 from Helen Tudor, who finished in +3:18 in this age-adjusted competition. This elevated the Paramount rider to the top of the Veterans standings, overtaking Jonathan Mills-Keeling by four points.
Tudor extended her lead at the top of the SB Women’s Series to 22 points thanks to her 26:30 ride, but was consigned to the runner-up spot in this competition too thanks to being beaten by 15 seconds by a strong effort from Hafren’s Jan Davies.
Taking the maximum 20 points in the SB Junior Series was 15 year-old Hafren rider Jess Bufton, choosing a tough evening for her first ever race on a time trial bike.
Bufton scored a fine personal best 28:30 in her first season and clearly enjoyed the experience: “This was my first time riding a time trial bike in a race, having only recently started racing time trials on my road bike. I was really pleased to put down a new personal best and would like to say thank you to all the volunteers for putting on a great event."
