Finsbury Park CC 25 (SPOCO SE)(London North Millennium 5 of 9)

Ashley Cox made it two wins from two rides so far this season, while Deborah Beare was fastest female in the Finsbury Park CC 25-mile time trial in Cambridgeshire on Saturday.

38-year-old Biggleswade-based Cox was also victorious at the Welwyn Wheelers hilly 31.1 on another London North District course a fortnight earlier, while Beare was third in her only other 2021 outing so far – her own club’s Icknield RC 18.6 back in late March.

Cox clocked 49-47 to win the Finsbury Park CC event by 2-27 from Russell Hampton (Onimpex Bioracer RT) and Jim Bradford (Richardsons-Trek) who were joint second, while Espoir Adam Robertson (Univ of Bath CC) was another nine seconds back in fourth.

It remained close through the top placings, with fifth-placed Luke Clarke (TMG Horizon CT) being just two seconds further back in fifth as well as Jacob Storey (Partenza-Nude Espresso) eight seconds further adrift in sixth.

It was also close in the women’s category, where Flitwick-based Beare took the win by just nine seconds. She clocked 1-05-16 to edge out Hayley Rigby (Giant Camden Team Liv), with Lucy Neatham (Finsbury Park CC) being third, around five minutes further back.

From a start just south of Wrestlingworth, riders head on an anti-clockwise circuit down to near Guilden Morden before heading east through Wendy and onto the Ermine Way for a short distance.

They then turn back west through Tadlow and on to Wrestlingworth for another lap before finishing north of Guilden Morden.

Cox is back in open time trial action in two weeks, having entered the Leicestershire Road Club 27.7-mile event on May 2, while the following weekend he hopes to ride twice – in the North Road CC 25 on May 8 on the same course as his Finsbury Park victory, as well as the Team Milton Keynes 20 on the Sunday.

Beare will be chasing more glory in next Saturday’s Shaftesbury CC 25, while she has also entered the Leo 30 and Lee Valley 10 in May.

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