Serafin wins but Bowditch stars

THE Guernsey Velo Club once again kicked off local sporting events marking Liberation Day with a 46.5-mile Road Race around the L'Eree Circuit.

The route would see riders tackle the challenging ascent of Pleinmont hill six times with the finish on the flat by the old Pleinmont turning point.

The club broke from its normal divisional formal of racing and set riders off in a mass-start scratch race, which would provide the opportunity for riders in lower divisions to test themselves against the club's best – an opportunity Ann Bowditch would grasp with relish and in doing so would break one of the club's longest standing records.

Although no big attacks were made the first two times up Pleinmont hill, the pace was still high enough to make the major selection of riders, the front group consisted of all the Division One riders with the addition of Bowditch and Oliver Tracey from Division Two.