Jacob Vaughan secured victory at the Jock Wadley Memorial in challenging conditions, with Ben March and Ollie Hucks claiming second and third place respectively.
Jacob Vaughan won the 40th edition of the Jock Wadley Memorial (Nat B) in a challenging race marked by relentless rain and treacherous conditions. First-year under-23 Ben Marsh (PROJECT1 Cycling Team) made an impressive season debut with second, with TAAP Kalas’ Ollie Hucks rounding out the podium.
Featured image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental
Report
The 40th edition of the Jock Wadley Memorial, hosted by the Colchester Rovers Cycling Club, offered by typical grim wintry conditions in an exhilarating race near the Abberton Reservoir in Essex.
Starting and finishing in the village of Layer-de-la-Haye, just south of Colchester, 74 starters tackled 12 laps of an 11.4-kilometre circuit around the reservoir. Persistent rain created demanding conditions for the riders, constant spray and standing water on the course adding to the challenge.
The early break Image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental
The early part of the race was fast and frenetic, the attritional conditions forcing a number of riders to make early exits. Last year’s victor Alex Richardson (Saint Piran) was one such victim, a double puncture ending his race early. A group of three riders including Robin Mould (Foran CT) and Ollie Hucks (TAAP Kalas) established a breakaway on the second lap. The trio was unable to gain a substantial lead, however, the peloton consistently kept them within sight, and it wasn’t long before they were reeled back in.
A series of attacks followed before a new break of four riders went clear. Alex Peters (Richardsons Trek DAS), Jacob Vaughan (Private Member), Thomas Springbett (Foran CC) and Isaac Wright (Project 51) were the protagonists this time around. The quartet’s lead hovered around the 15-20 seconds for the first lap or so. The breakaway’s effort was characterised by hard teamwork and constant communication, enabling the lead to grow, and a lap later their advantage had extended to over a minute.
Vaughan, Peters, Springbett and Wright. Image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental
Behind, a number of riders began making concerted efforts to bridge across. 18-year-old Ben Marsh (PROJECT1 Cycling Team) was among those to successfully break clear of the bunch in pursuit of the leaders. He was then swept by a powerful counter move of ten riders which included the likes of Damien Clayton (Le Col RT) and Portsdown Classic winner Sam Culverwell (Saint Piran). This group caught the now-suffering leaders with two laps to go, setting up an aggressive finale.
Culverwell and Clayton attacked on the final lap. Noticing the move, Vaughan surged across, continuing to press on as he reached the lead pair, creating a gap. Vaughan urged the duo to jump on his wheel, but neither did. He made the split-second decision to put his head down and push on solo, disappearing from the chase group’s sight as they hit the circuit’s tight, twisty lanes.
Vaughan goes for broke. Image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental
A long, lonely painful lap ensued for Vaughan, his legs screaming. With what was left of the chasing group bearing down on him in the final kilometre, he somehow found enough reserves to hold them off and take the win. 2023 Junior CiCLE Classic winner Marsh won the dash for second, with Hucks taking third.
“I just had had nothing in the legs,” Vaughan told The British Continental when recounting the final lap. “I was trying to get out of the saddle, but I was like, my legs were collapsing. They were like jelly.
“I could just see the bunch were like, 10 seconds behind me. And I was just trying to get like everything out and just like try and get to a k to go, like try and get to 500m to go, like just try and get to the 200 metres to go sign and then like, yeah, my legs were screaming at me and like had nothing in them.”
Vaughan wins. Image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental
Vaughan expressed a mixture of surprise, relief and gratitude about his hard-earned victory. “I’m quite surprised they didn’t catch me, to be honest. But, yeah, I’m obviously over the moon to win. Personally, I’ve had a tough couple of weeks, so to win today, it’s massive, it means so much. I’m just super grateful to my family and all the sponsors who are supporting me this year.”
The 24-year-old Londoner will be riding independently this year after a season with TEKKERZ CC but, with a number of different brands backing his solo adventure, he is not daunted at the prospect of riding without a team in 2024, telling us that he has “never been more excited for a season.”
Vaughan and Hucks post-race. Image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental
Jacob Vaughan won the 40th edition of the Jock Wadley Memorial (Nat B) in a challenging race marked by relentless rain and treacherous conditions. First-year under-23 Ben Marsh (PROJECT1 Cycling Team) made an impressive season debut with second, with TAAP Kalas’ Ollie Hucks rounding out the podium.
Featured image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental
Report
The 40th edition of the Jock Wadley Memorial, hosted by the Colchester Rovers Cycling Club, offered by typical grim wintry conditions in an exhilarating race near the Abberton Reservoir in Essex.
Starting and finishing in the village of Layer-de-la-Haye, just south of Colchester, 74 starters tackled 12 laps of an 11.4-kilometre circuit around the reservoir. Persistent rain created demanding conditions for the riders, constant spray and standing water on the course adding to the challenge.
The early part of the race was fast and frenetic, the attritional conditions forcing a number of riders to make early exits. Last year’s victor Alex Richardson (Saint Piran) was one such victim, a double puncture ending his race early. A group of three riders including Robin Mould (Foran CT) and Ollie Hucks (TAAP Kalas) established a breakaway on the second lap. The trio was unable to gain a substantial lead, however, the peloton consistently kept them within sight, and it wasn’t long before they were reeled back in.
A series of attacks followed before a new break of four riders went clear. Alex Peters (Richardsons Trek DAS), Jacob Vaughan (Private Member), Thomas Springbett (Foran CC) and Isaac Wright (Project 51) were the protagonists this time around. The quartet’s lead hovered around the 15-20 seconds for the first lap or so. The breakaway’s effort was characterised by hard teamwork and constant communication, enabling the lead to grow, and a lap later their advantage had extended to over a minute.
Behind, a number of riders began making concerted efforts to bridge across. 18-year-old Ben Marsh (PROJECT1 Cycling Team) was among those to successfully break clear of the bunch in pursuit of the leaders. He was then swept by a powerful counter move of ten riders which included the likes of Damien Clayton (Le Col RT) and Portsdown Classic winner Sam Culverwell (Saint Piran). This group caught the now-suffering leaders with two laps to go, setting up an aggressive finale.
Culverwell and Clayton attacked on the final lap. Noticing the move, Vaughan surged across, continuing to press on as he reached the lead pair, creating a gap. Vaughan urged the duo to jump on his wheel, but neither did. He made the split-second decision to put his head down and push on solo, disappearing from the chase group’s sight as they hit the circuit’s tight, twisty lanes.
A long, lonely painful lap ensued for Vaughan, his legs screaming. With what was left of the chasing group bearing down on him in the final kilometre, he somehow found enough reserves to hold them off and take the win. 2023 Junior CiCLE Classic winner Marsh won the dash for second, with Hucks taking third.
“I just had had nothing in the legs,” Vaughan told The British Continental when recounting the final lap. “I was trying to get out of the saddle, but I was like, my legs were collapsing. They were like jelly.
“I could just see the bunch were like, 10 seconds behind me. And I was just trying to get like everything out and just like try and get to a k to go, like try and get to 500m to go, like just try and get to the 200 metres to go sign and then like, yeah, my legs were screaming at me and like had nothing in them.”
Vaughan expressed a mixture of surprise, relief and gratitude about his hard-earned victory. “I’m quite surprised they didn’t catch me, to be honest. But, yeah, I’m obviously over the moon to win. Personally, I’ve had a tough couple of weeks, so to win today, it’s massive, it means so much. I’m just super grateful to my family and all the sponsors who are supporting me this year.”
The 24-year-old Londoner will be riding independently this year after a season with TEKKERZ CC but, with a number of different brands backing his solo adventure, he is not daunted at the prospect of riding without a team in 2024, telling us that he has “never been more excited for a season.”
Results
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