Cuppers 2023 Race Report
By Matt Davison
Saturday (04/03) saw one of the first major races of the season. With a harsh, technical course, favouring a solo effort, some of cycling’s biggest names lined up to test themselves for the coming season. The race was, of course, the cuppers 10 mile TT.
The conditions were, as usual, miserable. Despite the cold (both inside and outside the race HQ), 25 budding time trialists lined up to compete. Some 24 of these riders would go on to finish the race—a testament to the complexity of an out and back course. Continuing the tradition of a ‘Sam’ getting lost on the course, Sam Fitzgerald followed in the footsteps of Sam Lewin and went on a magical mystery tour towards Six Mile Bottom, setting a 10 mile TT record of 14 miles. Thankfully the mysterious Craig Rogers appeared to show the way back to the HQ.
The overall event was won by Emmanuel College, reflecting the talent (and sheer number) of their cyclists. With a special mention to Tim Bodey for being the highest ranking Emma member with a time of 24:34, and of course to Alban Wales for his 840 watts per kilo*.
The race also saw some seriously impressive individual times. The men’s race was won with a solid 22:58 from our very own boy wonder Harry Weedon, representing Peterhouse. The women’s race was won for the second year in a row by Zoe Burrel (Murray Edwards) with an equally impressive 25:37.
Abi Cox, from Emmanuel, and Renzo Casale, racing for ‘Bath University College Cambridge’, took the road bike competition in times of 23:47 and 31:19 respectively, proving that you don’t need a TT bike to be rapid.
The town/mountain bike competition was once again won by Ilya Kaysin (Sidney Sussex), in a time of 28:35.
The event concluded with food, the prize giving, and a frankly alarming number of people using gloves on their feet to keep warm.
Many thanks should be given to Ben Proctor, for organising and running the event (and taking it upon himself to kick off the event two days early with his own, untimed, effort on the course—what a way to spend a Thursday afternoon). The full results can be found here.
*Research pending on how he managed to achieve this rare phenomenon
MTB Varsity Race Report 2023
By MTB Captain Sam Fitzgerald
On Sunday the 19th of February, 10 of Cambridgeshire’s finest MTBers (Not an Oxymoron) made the trek down to darkest Surrey to take on Oxford in MTB Varsity 2023, CUCCs biggest, and possibly only, mountain bike race of the year. Oxford put up some stiff competition, but ultimately it was Cambridge who overcame every obstacle, jump, berm, and not least our very own Matt Bryan getting locked in the back of a transit van, to take home their sixth consecutive men’s and 5th consecutive women’s titles.
As the 10 CUCC riders (8 Men, 2 Women) and the 15 OUCC riders (12 Men, 3 Women) arrived at the course they were greeted with warming sunshine and a gentle breeze, perfect for racing. Spirits of both camps were high and the excitement was palpable.
To let off some steam and hone their trail skills the riders scouted the course, whilst also looking for potential threats and opportunities on the track. The course overall consisted of a narrow twisty trail that seemed to tempt riders into becoming a little too intimate with the surrounding trees. Some technical features, a fresh jump and a gnarly bombhole, also provided the resident photographers with some prime material.
As the riders finished their practice lap, tension began to build at the start line. The Oxford and Cambridge riders now stood face to face, or at least bike to bike, as the racers shot off. The start proved to be an all-out sprint as the riders jostled for position going into the first single track section, With Matt Bryan of Cambridge and Max Bolton of Oxford leading the pack. The initial peloton fractured with each feature and the whirr of cassettes was quickly replaced with the sound of panting breaths as the riders settled down to business.
By the end of the first lap, in the Men’s, Max Bolton and Matt Bryan remained neck and neck at the front as they flew past the finish line; whilst light blue Ilya Kaysin and dark blue Thomas Long battled it out just behind. Reigning champion Tom Wade and Cambridge captain Sam Fitzgerald powered round soon after holding off Oxford’s third placed rider Luke Tamblin.
In the women’s Cambridge’s infamous Maddie Angwin established an early lead of almost two minutes. Oxford’s Elizabeth Hayman and Freya Butler along with Cambridge’s Lucy Coleman remained within arm’s reach behind leaving all to play for.
Things looked like they were slowly unwinding for Cambridge as Wade suffered a severed break cable, limiting him to just 3 gears and forcing him to so much as run up the steeper sections of the course. The winding undulating course also began to take its toll on some of the Cambridge riders as Bryan and Kaysin began to slowly lose touch with their Oxford counterparts. However not all was lost as Angwin powered on in the women’s holding her lead strong. Fitzgerald too, used his position in no man’s land to carve every corner and gain Cambridge precious seconds in the men’s.
The first rider triumphant over the line was Maddie Angwin, who managed to hold off a late surge from Elizabeth Hayman to win her second consecutive Varsity title. With Lucy Colman succeeding in her first ever race and ‘the hardest thing she’s ever done’ to podium and nab Cambridge the women’s team trophy. Coleman also won the, unofficial, award of being the only CUCC rider not to stack it!
In the Men’s, it was an unstoppable performance from Max Bolton who stormed to victory in the individual classification. A mechanical for Matt Bryan in the last lap put second placed Thomas Long just out of reach but even so, a very impressive performance from Matt placed him third and Cambridge’s best placed rider. However it was Cambridge’s quality in depth that really propelled them to victory with Sam Fitzgerald and Ilya Kaysin also boasting rapid times, rounding out the top five and sending Cambridge to a close fought victory. Light Blues Tom Wade (6th) and Jacob Lewis (8th) also performed impressively to break into the top ten. It was a great race for all involved. The full results can be see here.
The day ended with all sides left with something to celebrate and some great fun to be had in the process, and it was with, a celebration in true MTB style, down the pub.
Ely Hardriders Race Report 2023
Race report by Maddie Angwin
Defying all odds, thirteen CUCC riders made it to the Ely Hardrider’s course on Sunday without any crashes. A remarkable feat in the club’s history. Despite promises of snow in the two-week forecast, the weather turned out to be surprisingly pleasant by Hardriders standards. Very little wind and no rain – it looked set to be fairly perfect conditions for the course. However, it would not be in the nature of Hardriders to be easy, and it was the roads rather than the weather which proved a challenge for our riders this year. Extremely greasy corners would see four of our riders ‘take a little mid race nap’, with a further five non-CUCC riders inspired by this trailblazing recovery practice. However, the awful road conditions and associated CUCCup’s didn’t get in the way of our riders with Joe Adlam-Cook taking home second with a time of 57 minutes 46 seconds despite his mid race power nap. A strong performance from Tom Wade (1 hour 19 seconds) and Matt Rizzo-Naudi (1 hour 55 seconds) won the men’s TT bike category with two of the three riders staying rubber side down – a doubly impressive achievement.
The men’s road bike category saw equal success (and fewer stacks) with Quadzilla (Tim Welsh) winning the course with a time of 1 hour 1 minute 24 seconds. Colin Krawchuk (1 hour 2 minutes and 23 seconds) and Matt Davison (1 hour 4 minutes 35 seconds) both whipped round the course to win the team road bike victory as well.
On the women’s side Miranda Clements smashed her first 25-mile TT putting in a time of 1 hour 8 minutes and 20 seconds and winning the women’s road bike category. Nadja Nolte came second with a time of 1 hour 9 minutes and 36 seconds, whilst Maddie Angwin came second in the TT category with a time of 1 hour 9 minutes 56 seconds. Great results all round for the team and equally impressive cake consumption afterwards. The full results can be found here.
