Culverwell sets road race pace as TT record-breakers top overall Easter standings

However, testifying to the close competition on show, neither managed to sign off with victory at the Frie Baton road race that concluded three days of hard competition.

Trinity Racing professional Sam Culverwell guested to win the men’s race honours, while Jade Packham sprinted to women’s victory.

The key to the general classification winners’ successes came in the previous day’s time-trial.

Both had ridden new course records for the Reservoir Circuit, with reigning champion Cox covering the six hilly miles in 14min. 42.2sec. to beat GC rival James Roe by 36sec.

Given that both the opening criterium and Sunday’s road race came down to sprints, that proved decisive.

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In the Easter Sunday finale, Division One riders tackled 47 miles or five laps of a tough circuit where each lap featured a descent of Talbot Valley and culminated in a long climb of Frie Baton.

Mike Serafin attacked early on before ultimately retiring, but Culverwell largely dictated the race and after three laps, only he, Roe and Cox remained.

Culverwell made a small breakaway on the fourth but ended up being reeled in, winning by just 1.2sec. from Roe on the sprint.

Cox, who followed another 12.5sec. later, had nevertheless finished the job.

‘It’s an excellent weekend and it is an absolute honour to get that title again,’ he said.

‘Paul [Van Katwyk, who died in 2019] was a family friend of ours, which makes it even more special.

‘If there was a mountain bike race, the tables would have been turned in Romes’ [Roe’s] favour, that’s for sure. I’m lucky that it’s a time-trial.’

Culverwell added of a rare domestic race outing: ‘I love being back racing in Guernsey and these races are just so tough – it’s such a good training session.

‘It’s also great fun racing with the guys that I’ve been racing with for years over here. Great fun but so tough as they’re all so strong.’

Roe sealed runner-up in the GC as Paul’s son, Alex Van Katwyk, took a great third.

Andy Colver topped Division Two on the day but the GC honours went to Phil Touzeau, just 1sec. ahead of veteran-50 Paul Brehaut.

Brehaut’s daughter Hannah, fresh from a cycling holiday in Mallorca, had won both Friday’s criterium and Saturday’s time-trial.

Her TT record – 17-40.9 – gave her a handy 31sec. buffer on Packham after a sprint finish the day before.

Racing within a tight Division Three bunch, neither made any lasting distance on the other.

But the divisional field split on the third and final lap, with Packham finishing 1.4sec. clear of Brehaut in a later bunch sprint.

Jamy Petit-Fulgoni came in 13sec. adrift to seal third woman behind those two in the GC.

Although veteran star Karina Jackson (Bowie) did not contest the full series, Brehaut praised the challenges of Packham and Petit-Fulgoni.

‘I’ve really enjoyed it and it was nice to get racing again and to have more girls too, rather than just racing against the boys,’ she said.

‘I wasn’t really sure how it was going to go, especially coming off of a big block of training in Mallorca.’

She was ‘really happy’ with the previous day’s record-setting TT, which had set her up for victory.

‘I didn’t quite expect to do that, but I felt quite good on the day so I just tried to get as much as an advantage as possible.

‘Normally the road races between the girls are pretty equal on time, so it was good to get a decent gap from the TT.

‘The legs were a bit tired today and that climb after all that racing was a little bit tough. Jade just got me on the sprint, but it was close.’

Division Four rider Mike De Robillard earned the Paul Van Katwyk Trophy, awarded for embodying the spirit of competitiveness, sportsmanship and good humour over the weekend.