The SERRL Stage Race.

The South East Road Race held their inaugural Stage race on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May at Rolvenden in Kent and James Jackson and James Whatling were there with good form hoping for a result...or two!

Stage One:

Stage one was held over 120km on a (very!) rolling course and with the weather set fair, the racing was always going to be fast and furious. The James' knew they had their work cut out with some strong teams in the race, including those from Agiskoviner, Citihub, Arctic Shorter Rochford and Norwood Paragon, and when a break went away containing Wouter Sybrandy (Agiskoviner), Tim Bayley (Arctic Shorter Rochford) and Ian O'Hara (Citihub) and others, the day was always going to be hard work.

The team worked well together to try and get across to the break with James Whatling attacking time and again to bridge the gap and, when he was brought back, the flying figure of James Jackson would speed off the front in pursuit. Whether it was the visibility of the team kit or the bunch realising its mistake in letting one break go and so not wanting to make the same mistake again, the James' were dragged back every time and so decided to wait until later in the race to make their bids for freedom. Unfortunately, that chance never came, as a nasty crash in the bunch on a 50 mph descent led to two riders being taken to hospital and the race cut short by 2 laps. As the chances of pulling the break back were now non existant, James Jackson revved himself up again and drove up the finishing drag to win the bunch sprint for 9th, with James Whatling coming in at 14th.

Stage One Results:
1.) Tim Bayley: Arctic Shorter RT
2.) Darren Barclay: Arctic Shorter RT
3.) Ian O'Hara: Citihub/Cycles Dauphin
4.) Wouter Sybrandy: Agiskoviner.Com
5.) Andrew Bye: Kingston Wheelers

Stage Two.

The Second stage of the race was a 10 mile TT held on the same rolling course as yesterday's road stage but with an added element......pouring rain!! The conditions were truly terrible and all the riders were a little wary of the fast descent in the wet conditions. James Whatling had other worries, namely controlling his new TT bike, having never ridden one before! He was off first and had to try and get used to the strange position on the road, but it didn't take him too long, as he managed to catch two minute men and finish with a time of 22.46 for third! James Jackson was away shortly afterwards and although he never felt comfortable on his TT bike and suffered a little, he still managed a time of 24.04 to finish in 13th.

Stage Two Results:
1.) Andrew Bye: Kingston Wheelers
2.) Tom Burke: Citihub/Cycles Dauphin
3.) James Whatling: PCA/Cyclos Uno
4.) Wouter Sybrandy: Agiskoviner.Com
5.) Tim Bayley: Arctic Shorter RT

Stage Three.

After just enough time to dry out.......it was time to go and get soaked again in the third and final stage! It was cold, the rain hadn't abated at all and it was a pretty subdued and reduced peloton who lined up for the 80 km finale of the race.
With James Whatling lying in 7th place and James Jackson in 13th on GC, the Ciclos Uno race team had plenty to ride for and placed themselves at the front of the bunch to protect their places. Somehow this didn't stop them missing a small break that slipped off the front of the bunch quite early in the race, and with everyone's legs a little heavy from the weekend's efforts, there wasn't much urgency for the chase. Disaster struck for James Jackson on the third lap when he punctured, but he got his head down and chased for the best part of a lap to get back on, which was no mean feat in the cold and wet. With 3 laps to go the bunch got themselves a bit more organised and with the break slowly being pulled back, it was pretty much the worst time for James Whatling to puncture. He got a wheel and chased hard, but the effort from the morning's TT and the cold had got to him by then and he never managed to regain contact.

At the bell the break had thirty seconds and, with the bunch chasing hard, they caught them with half a lap to go. Tom Burke (Citihub) made his trademark late break to solo away for the win and with a tight bunch sprint coming up the finishing hill, James Jackson fought hard for 4th place in the stage and 9th overall, a fantastic result for him and the team, and one that will only help him with the Eastern Region Champs next weekend.

Stage Three Results:
1.) Tom Burke: Citihub/Cycles Dauphin
2.) Wouter Sybrandy: Agiskoviner.Com
3.) Kevin Knox: Dulwich Paragon
4.) James Jackson: PCA/Cyclos Uno
5.) Tim Bayley: Arctic Shorter RT

Overall General Classification:
1.) Andrew Bye: Kingston Wheelers
2.) Wouter Sybrandy: Agiskoviner.Com
3.) Tim Bayley: Arctic Shorter RT
4.) Ian O'Hara: Citihub/Cycles Dauphin
5.) Darren Barclay: Arctic Shorter RT
6.) Tom Burke: Citihub/Cycles Dauphin
7.) Gary Kristensen MBE: Agiskoviner.Com
8.) Mike Hawkins: Norwood Paragon
9.) James Jackson: PCA/Ciclos Uno
10.) Steve Atkinson: G S Stella