Author: David Slater

The course record was smashed in Round 4 of The SB Sports Injuries Series as Dean Callister sliced 28 seconds off George Mills-Keeling’s 2021 record of 39 minutes 53 seconds to stop the watch on 39:25 in Wrekinsport CC’s Hanna Phipps-Jones 19 in his first appearance of the year. Held over two laps of the standard Shawbirch – Cotwall Bank club course, the Aerologic rider knew what the target was thanks to team mate Jonathan Mills-Keeling, George’s father – and even had the first lap split to hand. Mills-Keeling had passed the finish line at the 10 mile point in 20:46 in 2021, and with Callister on 20:43 it spurred him on to put in a giant effort over the final nine miles, lopping an incredible additional 25 seconds off in a supreme effort for another course record. Callister was elated to make full use of a near perfect evening to start his season with a bang, stating: “My first time trial of the year and a great night of weather to start the season. I wasn’t sure how the legs were going to feel, but once I had settled into the effort I knew I was feeling good. I knew I was in for a personal best after lap 1 so I continued to push on. Very happy to take the win, course personal best and the course record – a great start to the season”.

Callister’s nearest challenger was SB Series leader Tomos Hales, who despite knowing he was going to suffer due to efforts three days earlier still somehow managed to take the runner-up spot in 41:47. Hales extended his lead to 28 points, explaining why he found things hard: “A beautiful evening for the two-lapper. I knew it was going to be a struggle as I ran the London Marathon three days before. I tried to pace it, but I didn’t have much left in the tank. Well done to Dean for the course record; and thanks to the Wrekinsport team for putting on the event”.

Hales just edged things from Mills-Keeling, who took third spot Overall in 42:51 as well as victory in the SB Veterans Series with +8:35, 15 seconds ahead of Wrekinsport’s Clive Middleton. Mills-Keeling took over the lead of the SB Veterans Series as a result, now holding a 10 point advantage over Oswestry Paragon’s Clive Bourne. Mille-Keeling stated: “A lovely summer’s evening. I under paced the first lap and was held up in some traffic on the second lap. Well done to Dean for getting the course record from George”.

Hayley Wells made it another perfect 20 points in the SB Female Series as she now has the maximum possible 80 points from four rounds in a superb defence of her SB Females title. Wells stopped the watch on 44:53 for 5^th spot overall among a field of 35 riders, with nearest competition coming from Emma Horne in 51:40. Wells’ post-race comments reveal that stand-in timekeeper Bernard Hutson-Lumb had to take charge late due to illness: “I was determined to pace this one sensibly and it paid off! It was a quick night with almost perfect conditions; what evening racing is all about in the sun. An awesome effort from Dean with a new course record – many thanks to Bernard stepping in last minute so we could all race, and to all the race marshals”.

The race saw the first entry from a Junior in 2025 – in fact two, with 14 year old Newport Shropshire CC rider Ben Bramford-Hale putting in a great time of 46:52 to beat Wolverhampton Wheeler’s Tom Oxley, who finished in 49:10.

In the Road Bike section the age and gender handicapping system came into play as regular visitor to the Wrekinsport circuit Hamish Maclean of Musselburgh RCC took the overall win in an adjusted 44:42, with SCCA Private Member Dan Watts taking the maximum 20 points in 46:21. Maclean is more used to 10 mile races and felt the extra distance in his legs, commenting: “A great night for racing, and I found it really tough doing more than 10 miles! Thanks to the organisers and helpers for putting these on, it’s a really welcoming environment – as a result, I’ve joined the club as second claim”.

For Watts this was a first effort after a break, and like Maclean he keenly felt the distance, and the infamous second pull up the toughest part of the course: “My first time trial for a while, and I thought it was a bright idea to pick a road bike and a 19 mile time trial. The second lap certainly started to bite up Cotwall Bank, and I suffered all the way to the line from there. Congratulations to Dean – an absolute stellar ride, on an undulating course as well”.

Full:

Tandem:

Veterans:

Females:

Road Bike:

Juniors:

Cumulative SB Sports Injuries Series standings after four rounds

Overall

Veterans

Females

Road Bikes

Juniors