2024 Jock Wadley Memorial: report and results

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.

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

Pos	No.	First Name	Last Name	Club
1	75	Jacob	Vaughan	Private Member
2	71	Ben	Marsh	Project1 Cycling Team
3	56	Oliver	Hucks	TAAP Kalas
4	11	Damien	Clayton	Le Col Race Team
5	51	Finn	Dunton	Spirit TBW Stuart Hall Cycling
6	39	Sam	Culverwell	Saint Piran
7	86	Charlie	Abraham	Lee Valley Youth Cycling Club
8	73	Isaac	Wright	Project 51
9	55	James	Ambrose-Parish	TAAP Kalas
10	34	Alex	Peters	Richardsons Trek DAS
11	80	Michael	Weavers	Private Member
12	3	Dom	Jackson	Foran CT
13	6	Thomas	Springbett	Foran CT
14	33	Conor	McGoldrick	Richardsons Trek DAS
15	30	Jordan	Giles	Richardsons Trek DAS
16	15	Oliver	Richardson	Le Col Race Team
17	29	Cai	Davies	Richardsons Trek DAS
18	61	Harry	Paveley	Team PB Performance
19	37	Gabriel	Taylor	Ride Revolution Coaching
20	60	Jacques	Coates	Team PB Performance
21	62	Danylo	Riwnyj	trainSharp Orro Elite
22	49	Chris	McNamara	Sigma Sports Race Team
23	79	Sean	Dawson	Private Member
24	1	Morris	Bacon	DAP Cycling Club
25	4	George	Mitchell	Foran CT
26	22	Nicholas	Tyrie	Primera-TeamJobs
27	50	Simon	McNamara	Sigma Sports Race Team
28	18	Benjie	Haston	London Dynamo
29	5	Robin	Mould	Foran CT
30	70	Jack	Jee	05/03
31	19	Benjamin	Hellebo	London Dynamo
32	21	Vaughn	Pretorius	Primera-TeamJobs
33	7	Matthew	Brown	HUUB BCC Race Team
34	31	Matthew	Lord	Richardsons Trek DAS
35	66	Max	Avery	Colchester Rovers CC
36	20	Thomas	Doig	Primera-TeamJobs
37	54	Oliver	Hurdle	Stolen Goat Race Club
38	88	Edward	Charles	Lee Valley Youth Cycling Club
39	8	Benjamin	Flatau	HUUB BCC Race Team
40	59	Adam	Charleston	Team PB Performance
41	65	Kieran	Jarvis	Brother UK – On Form
42	46	Charlie	Lacaille	Schils –  Doltcini Racing Team
43	52	Matthew	Houlberg	Spirit TBW Stuart Hall Cycling
44	23	Will	Barham	Primo RT
45	57	Alexander	Speirs	TAAP Kalas
46	78	Joseph	Smith	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli
47	36	Adam	Robertson	Ride Revolution Coaching
48	27	Colin	Ward	Primo RT
49	26	Benedict	Thompson	Primo RT
DNF	9	Zak	Machin	HUUB BCC Race Team
DNF	24	Louis	Digance	Primo RT
DNF	25	Robert	Staines	Primo RT
DNF	53	Thomas	Heal	Stolen Goat Race Club
DNF	87	Lyle	Simpson	Private Member
DNF	2	Harley	Matthews	DAP Cycling Club
DNF	68	Edmund	Slater	GFTL
DNF	45	Cameron	Hurst	Schils –  Doltcini Racing Team
DNF	12	Henry	Foster	Le Col Race Team
DNF	64	Joseph	Purbrook	Army Cycling Union
DNF	63	Timothy	Torrie	trainSharp Orro Elite
DNF	47	Frank	Longstaff	Schils –  Doltcini Racing Team
DNF	16	Ben	Chapman	London Dynamo
DNF	69	Alfie	Salmon	Hart Performance Coaching
DNF	42	Alexandar	Richardson	Saint Piran
DNF	41	Dylan	Hicks	Saint Piran
DNF	76	Daniel	Lloyd	trainSharp Development Team
DNF	90	Oliver	Curd	Primo RT
DNF	74	Freddie	Grover	SN Vitae Huub p/b BimBam Coaching
DNF	17	Aaron	Freeman	London Dynamo
DNF	43	Patrick	Biel	Schils –  Doltcini Racing Team
DNF	48	Dominic	Schils	Schils –  Doltcini Racing Team
DNF	44	Fabian	Horrocks	Schils –  Doltcini Racing Team
DNF	81	William	Gilbank	Lee Valley Youth Cycling Club
DNF	14	Steven	Mayers	Le Col Race Team
DNS	3	Dom	Jackson	Foran CT
DNS	10	Matthew	Clayton	Le Col Race Team
DNS	13	Monte	Guerrini	Le Col Race Team
DNS	28	Thomas	Womack	Primo RT
DNS	32	Olivier	Mangham	Richardsons Trek DAS
DNS	35	Blake	Roberts	Ride Revolution Coaching
DNS	38	Rowan	Baker	Saint Piran
DNS	40	Tyler	Hannay	Saint Piran
DNS	58	Thomas	Charles	Team PB Performance
DNS	67	David	Hird	Cycling Sheffield
DNS	72	Alex	Dowsett	Nopinz Race Team
DNS	77	Robyn	Llewellyn	TRASH MILE
DNS	82	Cai	Curtis-Roberts	360cycling
DNS	83	Paul	Opie	Lee Valley Youth Cycling Club
DNS	84	Thomas	Mead	Lee Valley Youth Cycling Club
DNS	85	Daniel	Piercy	Private Member
DNS	89	Stanley	Cooke	Lee Valley Youth Cycling Club
DNS	91	Reece	Pittman	Lee Valley Youth Cycling Club