L&SE Cyclo-Cross Rd 6

Round 7 of the Challenge Tyres London & South East Cyclo Cross League took place on the opening day of November.  The event was promoted by Addiscombe CC and held in the grounds of East Bysshe equestrian cross country course, complete with the integration of one of the stepped hurdles into the course.

A trio of Lewes Wanderers lined up among 73 others on the grid for the race for men over 50 shortly before 2 o’clock with barely a ray of sunshine from above, but also barely a breath of wind and with the going good to firm.

From the second row Dan Street struggled to clip in off the start, but still lay on a strong 9th place after an opening lap of 6 minutes and 5 seconds, albeit somewhat detached from the quintet out front.  A 5:58 second lap enabled him to hold station, but he improved to 8th next time around following his fastest lap of the 7-lap contest, a 5:56.

A succession of two 6:03 circuits saw him demoted to 9th, but he finished with a couple more sub 6-minute laps to meet the chequered flag clear in 9th place.

Further back Richard Burchett narrowly avoided coming down amid a tangle of riders in front of him and posted a 7:28 opening circuit to lie 49th.  A 6:44 the next time around promoted him a place, which he consolidated the next time around with a 6:51.

He recorded his fastest lap of his 6-lap race on lap 4 with a 6:41 which elevated him to 47th position which he held to the finish thanks to strong closing circuits of 6:45 and 6:51 to conclude.

Starting at the same time, but in a separate race for men in their 60s was Paul Horta-Hopkins (Southborough & District Wheelers).  He avoided the melee of the start to record a 6:54 and lie 7th from 16.  A position he maintained the next time around as he posted his fastest lap of 6:29.

Laps of 6:38, 6:34, 6:43 and 6:46 helped him keep that 7th place to the bell, but despite recording a 6:45 the last time around he was demoted to 8th at the flag.

Glorious Gravel

The final standings for the Glorious Gravel British Gravel Race Series for 2026 were recently announced and there were podium placings for two Lewes Wanderers.  Racing for Destination Bike RT Ryan Machin and Georgina Wise travelled the length of the country to compete in this five race series against hundreds of others.

The series began in Robin Hood country with the Sherwood Pines event on 7th March.  It headed south to Thetford Forest for round 2 on 2nd May and three weeks later to the Welsh Valleys for the third round.  Round 4 saw the duo travel up the North Yorks Moors before returning to Sherwood Pines for the penultimate round.

The pair skipped the final round, but with the best four results to count, Ryan’s solid accumulation of 11th from Round 2, followed by an 8th and two 5th places rewarded him with 3rd from 131 overall in the standings for me in their forties.  Georgina also took 3rd spot amongst women in their 30s thanks to a 14th, a 16th, a 10th and 4th places.