Veterans Rix and McGrath charge to victories in Worthing Excelsior CC 25
James Rix (Team Bottrill-Vanguard) continued his emphatic form and made it six wins in a row by clinching the Worthing Excelsior CC 25 title while host club rider Karen McGrath won the women’s event.
Rix, 42, from Haywards Heath in West Sussex, was fastest in the VTTA 25 and East Sussex 10 & 25 last month.
He continued his winning form by clocking a winning time of 50 minutes and 58 seconds over the undulating in places course.
The G25/93 course sees riders head on a loop away from the coast on undulating roads for the opening six miles before heading onto a dual carriageway section down to Shoreham-by-Sea before returning North for the finish.
“I hoped to go a bit faster and hadn’t ridden that course many times before,” said Rix.
“I was surprised how slow the dual carriageway section was, so I was pleased to get under 51 minutes. I’ve had a good set of results recently but didn’t have as much left in my legs as I had hoped today.
“It was just a bit harder going than I hoped that it would be. I’m really pleased to make it six wins in a row and especially with my wins in the East Sussex 10 & 25 because of field’s strength.
“I will be trying to cut down on my racing now and not racing every week during June and July in preparation for the National 25.”
Mark Smith (Crawley Wheelers) was the closest rider to Rix in second finishing almost three minutes behind in 53.53 while Howard Bayley (Blazing Saddles) took third in 55.31.
In the women’s event McGrath who finished third in the Sussex CA 25 on the same course last week finished nine seconds faster for victory in 1:06.46.
Katerina Avramides (Brighton Mitre CC) took second in 1:09.56 ahead of team-mate Wendy Harman taking third in 1:16.09.
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