Champion Roe joins in the praise for event organisers

Sunday’s finale was contested in very warm conditions and on a technical course at La Pomare, but there were few surprises as many of the established division leaders went on to consolidate their title claims.

Having proven a class above in every race of the series, there was no doubt that the overall title was Roe’s for the taking but he was certainly not without pressure in the final stage.

This initially came from fellow expert rider Geoff Gibson, who did well to stick on the jersey-bearer for nearly three laps before starting to lose ground.

From there, Roe stayed well within himself as he made the most of the clear run to the finish line to complete nine laps in 50mins. 10sec. and, in doing so, take the overall victory.

‘It was good and it was tough, I probably rode a bit more sensibly than last Sunday where I went really hard, so it was a nice cruise round,’ he said.

‘I was happy to win it [overall], I have not won it for quite a while now as usually it’s around Island Games time so I don’t often have the chance to do the local stuff. This year, with the Commonwealth Games out of the way, it’s nice to do this.

‘They [the stages] have all been great – Gary Robert, who organises it, does a very good job.’

It was eventually cyclocrosser Andy Colver who took second on the day, closing off his CX title chase in dominant fashion, after overtaking early contender Gibson in the latter stages.

Riding a smart race, Colver remained strong throughout and even gained slightly on Roe during the closing laps, although this was nowhere near enough to erase the leader’s victory margin as MTB yet again trumped CX.

Adie Marsh came through strongly to take fourth place ahead of race-organiser Robert, both competing within the particularly well-contested advanced division.

However, this was not enough to stop Robert from taking the overall advanced title while club president Mark Smith, who placed fifth in the final round, took second.

Island Games rider Maddie Wilson took her fifth division win of the series, with her only defeat coming from Megan Dowinton in the Monday’s ‘duphill’, and won the overall women’s title as a result.

With rival Dowinton absent, the final race was little more than a series of victory laps for Wilson as she rode on to a convincing victory.

‘The course today was great, a few technical bits which make it interesting... it’s a good one to finish the week with,’ she said.

‘It has been a great week with a variety of courses and events making for exciting racing. I am pleased with my performances too. Thanks to the organisers.’

In the sport division, it was another race and another win for Craig Goupillot, who remained unmatched in his bid for the division title.

Setting the stage for the heated finale, however, was the Friday’s shorter and sharper action around a cyclocross-adapted course at Courtil Ronchin.

There, CX division leader Colver looked somewhat favourable as he lined up alongside MTB rider Roe, but Roe had already picked up a lead by the first lap and consistently managed to take 20 seconds out of Colver with each circuit of the hilly orchards.

Roe went on to complete seven laps in a winning 21-08, making two minutes on his main pursuer, while lapped advanced riders Smith and Robert had a good sprint for the line as the former took third and the latter fourth on the day.

It was another well-paced race for lead woman Wilson, who trailed Dowinton through the lap point before making good ground in the circuits to come, finishing a good two minutes ahead and entering the finale as undeniable favourite.