Team CTC's Oliver and Payton pushed to the limit on tough Redditch course

Many riders struggled to keep up with the pace on the 1.4km circuit in Worcestershire. 

At the start of  the day, Team CTC had planned to field three riders, however Tracey Fletcher had to pull out suffering from a head cold, leaving just Oliver and Payton to compete.The pair faced a gruelling task, but they fought tooth and nail to keep up with the leaders on a day where many riders were caught out early on.

The steep hill section of the course saw the pack break up during the first few laps, with Oliver and Payton competing in the lead peloton of the field.

The challenge presented by the course meant many riders found themselves lapped by the leaders with around three laps to go, with Hannah Barnes of MG Maxifuel taking the individual win, and MG also picking up Team victory; Adela Carter of Hope Factory Racing won in both the Combativity and Sprint categories.

After what was a tough challenge faced by his two riders, Team CTC’s Manager Steve Bailey was pleased with the ladies' performance.

It was a technical and competitive ride for them both what with the nasty hill climb, however they both did extremely well considering the challenges the circuit produced and their performance was fantastic."

Steve Bailey, Team CTC Manager

The next event in the calendar will see the ladies’ stamina put to the test with six races in eight days, starting with the London Nocturne and Hillingdon Grand Prix back-to-back on the 8 and 9 June respectively. 

It’s hoped Nicola Juniper will have recovered from an illness in time to compete alongside Lydia Boylan in the Nocturne, with the pair joined either by Oliver or Payton for Hillingdon. 

And Bailey believes the team can come away from the upcoming weekend schedule with some good results.

“Nicola and Lydia are very good circuit racers," Steve says, "and I’m looking for at least one of them to place in the top ten, if not more.

"Hillingdon is another closed circuit, so it should be a good showing for CTC and as long as they place well and come back safe, I’ll be happy because the following week is going to be very tough.”