Tim Shoreman out-sprinted the competition to take his first National Circuit Series victory of the season for Wheelbase CabTech Castelli at the Fort Vale Colne Grand Prix.

Report

The fast and sweeping course at Colne always provides fast & action-packed racing and the penultimate round of the 2023 National Circuit Series proved no different as the crowds in Lancashire were treated to a thrilling edition of the race.

With the circuit not being the most technical on the calendar, the riders who would bring the action to them were the ones who had the most power in the legs, and teams who were best able to manage the race in their favour.

Geared up for just such a fight was Wheelbase CabTech Castelli. Matt Fox was an early attacker, and luminous yellow jerseys massed at the front of the pack behind as they looked to slow down any attempts to close down Fox’s early break.

But being so early in the race, there was no chance that even such an organised move was going to go the distance and with teams including ROKiT-SRCT making their numbers known at the front, Fox was reeled back into the bunch.

No moves sticking, the pace remained high but relatively neutralised at the halfway mark as riders spied the best opportunities to counter-punch and burst off the front.

That’s exactly what Dan Barnes (Team Spectra Cannondale) did. Powering clear off the front, he was alone for a few laps but then a five-strong chase group bridged across and formed a well-oiled machine of six at the front.

Featuring Wheelbase CabTech Castelli pair Tim Shoreman and Tom Armstrong, Leon Mazzone (Saint Piran), David Hird (ROKiT-SRCT), and Will Harding (Wales Racing Academy), the group worked seamlessly together to shut out the groups behind and confirm that the winner would come from one of these half-dozen.

On the final sprint to the line, Shoreman had the power in the legs to leave his rivals squabbling for the final spots in the podium – taking the chequered flag with a bike length on his rivals.

Mazzone carried on Saint Piran’s strong form with second, as he edged out early breakaway rider Barnes on the line. Hird took fourth, with Armstrong fifth and Harding rounding out the leading sextet.

In the Series standings, Ben Chilton (Ribble Collective) retains the leaders jersey heading into Friday’s final round in Newark with his eighth place finish in Colne but he has just nine points in hand over Fox, who was seventh. Victory keeps Wheelbase CabTech Castelli at the top of the team standings.

Results

Pos	Name	Team	Time
1	Tim Shoreman	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	1:00:40
2	Leon Mazzone	Saint Piran	st
3	Daniel Barnes	Team Spectra Cannondale	st
4	David Hird	ROKiT – SRCT	st
5	Thomas Armstrong	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	st
6	William Harding	Wales Racing Academy	st
7	Matthew Fox	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	+18
8	Ben Chilton	Ribble Collective	st
9	Kieran Riley	Team PB Performance	st
10	Dexter Leeming-Sykes	Wold Top The Edge Pactimo	st
11	Olivier Mangham	TEKKERZ CC	st
12	Callum Laborde	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	st
13	Scott Redding	ROKiT – SRCT	st
14	Cameron McLaren	Kalas Motip Race Team	st
15	Tom Mazzone	Saint Piran	st
16	Chris Sherriffs	Shibden Cycling Club	st
17	Jack Lucas	A.Fawcett Racing	st
18	Euan Cameron	A.Fawcett Racing	st
19	Cai Davies	Kalas Motip Race Team	st
20	Josh Price	ROKiT – SRCT	st
21	Harry Green	Kalas Motip Race Team	st
22	Joseph Beckinsale	ROKiT – SRCT	st
23	Hugo Lutz Atkinson	Ribble rechrg Race Team	st
24	James Wordsworth	Cycling Sheffield	st
25	Jack Jee	LVC Racing	st
26	Alexander Foster	Innovation Racing	st
27	David Lines	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	st
28	Ben Bright	Wales Racing Academy	st
29	Rhys Hidrio	Caesarean CC Jersey	st
30	Matthew Warhurst	ROKiT – SRCT	st
31	Joshua Jones	ALL IN Racing	st
32	Tom Cullen	Otley CC	st
33	Sam Kettlewell	Embark Spirit BSS	st
34	Harvey Stroh	TAAP Endura	st
35	Jonny Britton	Prologue Racing Team	st
36	Ben Pease	Moonglu Race Team	st
37	Matthew Ellis	ROKiT – SRCT	st
38	Nicholas Cooper	Nordic Sports Academy S. C.	st
39	Aaron King	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	+42
40	David Roper	Kalas Motip Race Team	+4 Laps
41	Joshua Horsfield	Ribble rechrg Race Team	+6 Laps
	Nathan Hardy	Team PB Performance	DNF
	Max Sillifant	Team PB Performance	DNF
	George Fox	A.Fawcett Racing	DNF
	Matt Webster	trainSharp Elite	DNF
	Isaac Lawrence	0503	DNF
	Vaughn Pretorius	Kalas Motip Race Team	DNS
	Tom Williams	ROKiT – SRCT	DNS
	Jenson Young	ROKiT – SRCT	DNS
	Rhys Britton	Saint Piran	DNS
	William Roberts	Saint Piran	DNS
	Liam Flannery	Team PB Performance	DNS
	Huw Buck Jones	Wales Racing Academy	DNS
	Spencer Davies	Wales Racing Academy	DNS
	Griff Lewis	Wales Racing Academy	DNS
	Fred Meredith	Wales Racing Academy	DNS
	Ed Morgan	Wales Racing Academy	DNS
	Rory Webster	dooleys cycles	DNS
	John Bardsley	Innovation Racing	DNS
	Oliver Dawson	MAS Design – Fensham Howes	DNS
	Daniel McDermott	Moonglu Race Team	DNS
	Travis Bramley	Team Spectra Cannondale	DNS
	Ollie Peckover	trainSharp Elite	DNS
	Harrison Hunter	0503	DNS
	Joseph Smith		DNS

National Circuit Series standings

Men’s Individual

Pos	Name	Team	Points
1	Ben Chilton	Ribble Collective	231
2	Matthew Fox	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	222
3	David Hird	ROKiT – SRCT	177
4	Callum Laborde	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	170
5	Tim Shoreman	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	158
6	Leon Mazzone	Saint Piran	156
7	Cai Davies	Kalas Motip Race Team	150
8	Alec Briggs	TEKKERZ CC	143
9	Daniel Barnes	Team Spectra Cannondale	140
10	Jim Brown	Cross Team Legendre	132
11	George Kimber	Embark Spirit BSS	115
12	Josh Price	ROKiT – SRCT	107
13	Kieran Riley	Team PB Performance	103
14	William Harding	Wales Racing Academy	97
15	Cameron McLaren	Kalas Motip Race Team	94
16	Thomas Armstrong	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	93
17	Tom Couzens	Ribble Collective	89
18	Harry Birchill	Saint Piran	88
19	William Truelove	ROKiT – SRCT	74
20	Ed Morgan	Wales Racing Academy	73

Men’s Teams

Pos	Team Name	Points
1	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	577
2	ROKiT – SRCT	446
3	Saint Piran	397
4	Kalas Motip Race Team	290
5	Wales Racing Academy	261
6	Team PB Performance	194
7	TEKKERZ CC	168
8	Cycling Sheffield	127
9	trainSharp Elite	113
10	Trinity Racing	78
11	Richardsons Trek DAS	64
12	Embark Spirit BSS	57
13	A.Fawcett Racing	47
14	Team Spectra Cannondale	34
15	Moonglu Race Team	18
16	Ribble rechrg Race Team	5