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Frylands Wood Cyclo Cross 2001

As we all know Addiscombe is ideally situated on the edge of London and is surrounded by top mountain bike routes. Redhill CC took advantage of the local terrain and put together a fantastic cyclo cross course on the private Frylands Wood Scout Camp site in which there were 5 Agreeables riding along with their regular crew of  Addiscombe spectators.

The race started in an open field with a big bunch that had to fight for a good position as they entered the first section of single-track. Sylvain Garde came through in about 16th place past the group of noisy Agreeable spectators:

Joe Plommer was the next Agreeable rider through just a couple of places behind Sylvain:

Richard Munday was just behind Joe:

Followed by Mark Cole who after a good first season on the road is now trying cyclo cross:

Fellow novice cross rider Alex P was just behind Mark:

Redhill CC had put together a good course with some fast downhills coupled with  fiendish climbs that really sapped the riders energy over the 60 minutes they were racing:

Our riders were flying with both Sylvain and Joe moving up into the top 10 by the halfway point of the race. Junior Joe gave world class singlespeeder Sylvain a real shock when he moved in front of him in the latter stages of the race. The sharp climbs were starting to be decisive with Sylvain running up them as Joe was tiring towards the end of the event as he tried to get back on terms. With a couple of laps to go Sylvain passed Joe and was able to hold him off until the finish.

All our riders did fantastically well to finish the gruelling event but special mention must surely go to both Sylvain and Joe who both finished in the top 10 for what was their first cyclo cross race of the season. Sylvain looked remarkably fresh after he crossed the finish line while the effort Joe had put in to the race was clear for all to see:

Do you want to try cyclo cross? Its one of the easiest forms of cycle sport to get involved in and is great for beginners. You do??!? Good - take a look at www.londonxleague.co.uk who have got all the details.

Report and photos by Marco