Seventeen-year-old Zoe Roche snatched her first senior win in the women’s race with a last-bend surge past Amy Perryman, while the open event became a turquoise procession as Tekkerz CC swept the podium—Oliver Wood inadvertently overtaking breakaway teammate Oscar Amey before Alec Briggs sealed the one-two-three.
Under a late-June haze in King’s Cross, 17-year-old Zoe Roche slingshotted out of the final bend and stormed the 200-metre VIA Straight, reversing last week’s defeat to sister Phoebe and pipping Amy Perryman to a landmark win.
The open contest turned into a Tekkerz CC showcase: Ollie Wood swept past 17-year-old teammate Oscar Amey in the closing lap- apparently mistaking him for a lapped rider – while Alec Briggs tidied up third, sealing a one-two-three.
Featured image: Mark James
Report
Women’s race
King’s Cross was still shimmering in the late-June heat when the women rolled off the start ramp. Fifty-five minutes later—after a furious, corner-carving chess match in 29 °C air—it was 17-year-old Zoe Roche who burst clear of the final left-hander and arrowed down the 200-metre VIA Straight to claim the biggest win of her fledgling career. Seven days earlier, at the Ronde van Wymeswold, the junior had been rolled by elder sister Phoebe (O’Shea Development) in a sibling showdown; tonight she flipped the script, out-dragging seasoned cyclocross specialist Amy Perryman and punching the air as the London Cycle Festival crowd erupted.
Becky Gardiner leads the way. Image: Mark James
The opening laps were cagey. The 850-metre circuit – six corners, a wooden ramp dubbed Super Ramp and treacherously polished bricks – invited risk, yet nobody fancied towing the bunch into the head-wind funnel of the square. By lap three, though, Roche and Perryman were among those that began to lean on the race, slicing every apex and snapping the elastic. “We’d get a gap coming round these corners, proper sending it,” Roche laughed afterwards, still buzzing from her win. Each acceleration shed more riders until only a select front group remained. The two Roche sisters, Perryman, Charlotte Broughton-Kulset (Torelli), Becky Gardiner (Tofauti Everyone Active Majaco), Lily Brindle (Brother – On Form), Evelina Kamasheva (Private Member), Honor Elliott (Private Member) and Grace Sargeant (London Academy) were among those to make the selection.
Roche and Perryman talk tactics mid-race. Image: Mark James
Attempts to break clear foundered. “It’s so hard to split a group here because it’s so technical,” Perryman told The British Continental afterwards. “So we tried and we failed, and we tried and we failed, and then actually we realised only the front eight people were rotating … so we just kept the pace high and worked to our own corner-technique.”
Image: Mark James
With the bell clanging, Perryman hit the front down Stable Street, Roche tucked on her wheel. Through the penultimate kink the junior flicked left, unleashed every remaining watt and instantly carved a bike-length. Perryman clawed but the finish line rushed up too quickly; Roche took the win, Perryman second with Broughton-Kulset a second adrift.
“First crit of the year, and at night – this race is special,” Zoe Roche beamed, still trying to process the victory.
The points haul reshapes the Rapha Super-League table: Roche climbs to third overall, and Perryman’s second place moves her up to eighth.
As the open race got underway at 9 pm, Coal Drops Yard was alive with thumping basslines and clanging cowbells. Tekkerz CC wasted no time seizing control, their British racing green and fluorescent yellow kits massed at the front. Straight away, Alfie Amey – the elder of Tekkerz’s two Amey brothers – leapt into an early breakaway and forced the pace. With Joshua Horsfield (Reflex Nopinz) and Harry Macfarlane (Ride Revolution Coaching) for company, the trio opened a small gap. They were soon pulled back, but the move put the peloton on notice.
Image: Mark James
The aggression at the front of the race continued, soon whittling the front of the race down to a select group. Sensing a lull, 17-year-old Oscar Amey – a double national cyclo-cross champion – seized the moment to attack. The younger Amey sprang clear in Tekkerz colours and danced away through the tight corners and down the ramp of the technical King’s Cross circuit. Within minutes he had a lead hovering around 10–15 seconds, drawing roars of approval from the crowd for the fearless youngster. Behind, any counter-move was immediately covered by vigilant Tekkerz riders content to let their precocious teammate stay away.
The gap yo-yoed between ten and sixteen seconds while Alec Briggs – TEKKERZ founder, last year’s winner and self-styled road-captain – patrolled the front of the bunch, discouraging any organised chase. “Oscar did an amazing ride – he’s only seventeen, double national CX champion – and he showed his class today,” Briggs would say afterwards, pride and protective instinct mingling in his voice.
Oscar Amey. Image: Mark James
For a long while, it looked as if Amey might carry his solo break all the way. Charles Page (Foran CT) and Frank Longstaff (DAS–Richardsons) were among those who made spirited attempts to chase, but their attempts looked in vein.
With five laps remaining Amey was still alone. But Amey’s teammate, Ollie Wood, a former national circuit race champion, sensed the elastic starting to fray. One brutal acceleration carried away from the chasing group. As the laps ticked rapidly down, the distance between Wood and Amey disappeared just as quickly. Amey still held a slim advantage of Wood as they bell rang out, but on the final lap, Wood overhauled his teammate.
Wood crossed the line alone, Amey three seconds adrift. Briggs won the dash for third, edging DAS Richardsons’ Frank Longstaff and a fast-finishing Kishan Bakrania to complete a remarkable Tekkerz one-two-three. It was a criterium masterclass of attack, control and conquest that left the King’s Cross crowd in raptures.
Ollie Wood wins. Image: Mark James
Speaking to The British Continental afterwards, Briggs could only grin at Tekkerz’ dominance. “Oscar did an amazing ride… he’s only 17… he’s double national champion… and he showed his class today,” the team’s founder-captain said admiringly.
“I think Oscar, after a day in the break, might have got rolled by Ollie,” Briggs laughed. “I’m not sure how that one will go down.
“There were so many lapped riders, I think Ollie got confused with who was where. You know, if you’re not sure, you gotta whack it,” was Briggs’s explanation of Wood’s apparent theft of his young team-mate’s victory.
“Everybody’s looking really good… we’ve gelled together… I’m quite excited for this summer,” Briggs added, with the National Circuit Championships just a week away. On this evidence, Tekkerz CC will roll into Nationals as the team to beat.
Under a late-June haze in King’s Cross, 17-year-old Zoe Roche slingshotted out of the final bend and stormed the 200-metre VIA Straight, reversing last week’s defeat to sister Phoebe and pipping Amy Perryman to a landmark win.
The open contest turned into a Tekkerz CC showcase: Ollie Wood swept past 17-year-old teammate Oscar Amey in the closing lap- apparently mistaking him for a lapped rider – while Alec Briggs tidied up third, sealing a one-two-three.
Featured image: Mark James
Report
Women’s race
King’s Cross was still shimmering in the late-June heat when the women rolled off the start ramp. Fifty-five minutes later—after a furious, corner-carving chess match in 29 °C air—it was 17-year-old Zoe Roche who burst clear of the final left-hander and arrowed down the 200-metre VIA Straight to claim the biggest win of her fledgling career. Seven days earlier, at the Ronde van Wymeswold, the junior had been rolled by elder sister Phoebe (O’Shea Development) in a sibling showdown; tonight she flipped the script, out-dragging seasoned cyclocross specialist Amy Perryman and punching the air as the London Cycle Festival crowd erupted.
The opening laps were cagey. The 850-metre circuit – six corners, a wooden ramp dubbed Super Ramp and treacherously polished bricks – invited risk, yet nobody fancied towing the bunch into the head-wind funnel of the square. By lap three, though, Roche and Perryman were among those that began to lean on the race, slicing every apex and snapping the elastic. “We’d get a gap coming round these corners, proper sending it,” Roche laughed afterwards, still buzzing from her win. Each acceleration shed more riders until only a select front group remained. The two Roche sisters, Perryman, Charlotte Broughton-Kulset (Torelli), Becky Gardiner (Tofauti Everyone Active Majaco), Lily Brindle (Brother – On Form), Evelina Kamasheva (Private Member), Honor Elliott (Private Member) and Grace Sargeant (London Academy) were among those to make the selection.
Attempts to break clear foundered. “It’s so hard to split a group here because it’s so technical,” Perryman told The British Continental afterwards. “So we tried and we failed, and we tried and we failed, and then actually we realised only the front eight people were rotating … so we just kept the pace high and worked to our own corner-technique.”
With the bell clanging, Perryman hit the front down Stable Street, Roche tucked on her wheel. Through the penultimate kink the junior flicked left, unleashed every remaining watt and instantly carved a bike-length. Perryman clawed but the finish line rushed up too quickly; Roche took the win, Perryman second with Broughton-Kulset a second adrift.
“First crit of the year, and at night – this race is special,” Zoe Roche beamed, still trying to process the victory.
The points haul reshapes the Rapha Super-League table: Roche climbs to third overall, and Perryman’s second place moves her up to eighth.
Open race
As the open race got underway at 9 pm, Coal Drops Yard was alive with thumping basslines and clanging cowbells. Tekkerz CC wasted no time seizing control, their British racing green and fluorescent yellow kits massed at the front. Straight away, Alfie Amey – the elder of Tekkerz’s two Amey brothers – leapt into an early breakaway and forced the pace. With Joshua Horsfield (Reflex Nopinz) and Harry Macfarlane (Ride Revolution Coaching) for company, the trio opened a small gap. They were soon pulled back, but the move put the peloton on notice.
The aggression at the front of the race continued, soon whittling the front of the race down to a select group. Sensing a lull, 17-year-old Oscar Amey – a double national cyclo-cross champion – seized the moment to attack. The younger Amey sprang clear in Tekkerz colours and danced away through the tight corners and down the ramp of the technical King’s Cross circuit. Within minutes he had a lead hovering around 10–15 seconds, drawing roars of approval from the crowd for the fearless youngster. Behind, any counter-move was immediately covered by vigilant Tekkerz riders content to let their precocious teammate stay away.
The gap yo-yoed between ten and sixteen seconds while Alec Briggs – TEKKERZ founder, last year’s winner and self-styled road-captain – patrolled the front of the bunch, discouraging any organised chase. “Oscar did an amazing ride – he’s only seventeen, double national CX champion – and he showed his class today,” Briggs would say afterwards, pride and protective instinct mingling in his voice.
For a long while, it looked as if Amey might carry his solo break all the way. Charles Page (Foran CT) and Frank Longstaff (DAS–Richardsons) were among those who made spirited attempts to chase, but their attempts looked in vein.
With five laps remaining Amey was still alone. But Amey’s teammate, Ollie Wood, a former national circuit race champion, sensed the elastic starting to fray. One brutal acceleration carried away from the chasing group. As the laps ticked rapidly down, the distance between Wood and Amey disappeared just as quickly. Amey still held a slim advantage of Wood as they bell rang out, but on the final lap, Wood overhauled his teammate.
Wood crossed the line alone, Amey three seconds adrift. Briggs won the dash for third, edging DAS Richardsons’ Frank Longstaff and a fast-finishing Kishan Bakrania to complete a remarkable Tekkerz one-two-three. It was a criterium masterclass of attack, control and conquest that left the King’s Cross crowd in raptures.
Speaking to The British Continental afterwards, Briggs could only grin at Tekkerz’ dominance. “Oscar did an amazing ride… he’s only 17… he’s double national champion… and he showed his class today,” the team’s founder-captain said admiringly.
“I think Oscar, after a day in the break, might have got rolled by Ollie,” Briggs laughed. “I’m not sure how that one will go down.
“There were so many lapped riders, I think Ollie got confused with who was where. You know, if you’re not sure, you gotta whack it,” was Briggs’s explanation of Wood’s apparent theft of his young team-mate’s victory.
“Everybody’s looking really good… we’ve gelled together… I’m quite excited for this summer,” Briggs added, with the National Circuit Championships just a week away. On this evidence, Tekkerz CC will roll into Nationals as the team to beat.
The result propels Wood into 4th place in the Rapha Super-League.
Results
Women’s race
Open race
Share this:
Discover more from The British Continental
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.