CHANDLER'S FORD school teacher Rowan Horner (VC St Raphael Waite Contracts) made a triumphant return to the Owlesbury circuit near Winchester.
Horner won British Cycling's south regional championship three years after he took the Wessex road title on the same course, and he won it in similar style too, breaking clear on the last lap of the eight-mile route to cross the line all alone.
"I didn't know how Ben (Luckwell) would react when I attacked - he still looked to be riding strongly," Horner recalled as he savoured his success, and his Maestro UK Fircroft Hotel rival was one of the first to congratulate him after beating Tim Dunford (Hargroves Cycles RT) in the sprint for second place.
Dunford, better known for his consistent performances in Wessex Cyclo-cross League races until extending his racing to the road with some success this year, was riding his first divisional championship and proved to be a revelation of the race, sharing the lead with five others in the closing stages before Horner and Luckwell raced clear on the penultimate lap. Al though he failed to hold Luckwell's finishing sprint, he was too quick for Richard Eastham (Primera Bournemouth), another former international who has spent recent years racing in France.
Unseeded veteran Terry Icke (Poole Wheelers) upset the form book in Dorset, gaining two minutes on Dave Dent (SP Systems Wightlink RT) and 2min 25sec on last year's winner, Malcolm Cox (VC St Raphael), to win the annual Wessex RC 50-mile time trial.
But a 25-mile race organised by Andover Wheelers on the previous afternoon was stopped by officials when one of the competitors was knocked down by a commercial vehicle approaching the ten-mile point near Thruxton.
The victim, David Tovey (CC Weymouth), sustained back injuries and was taken to Oddstock Hospital, Salisbury, where he is expected to remain for a few days. The incident highlighted the contrast of attitudes regarding cycling in this country and abroad, where club officials have authority to organise their own rolling road closures.
Former Southampton Wheeler, Keith Ross, was one to benefit from this practice on Saturday, helping a group of Fareham Wheelers win a trophy for completing a 120-kilometre randonnee along the banks of the Seine between Honfleur and Rouen.
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