Inter Regional Track Champs 2010 Day 1 Afternoon

As predicted, the North West took both Sprint finals in the afternoon session at the Inter Regional Track Championships, but it was Wales that topped the leader board after the first full day of competition thanks to their consitency across all the events – with this morning’s leaders East Midlands down in 3rd. Only four points separate the top three teams, with an 18 point gap to Eastern, South East, West Midlands and Central – with only five points between them.

Full Results Picture Gallery

Ride of the day was undoubtedly Amy Jacobs of South East who took a lap at the midway point in the Points race – along with Beth Hayward of Eastern Region – and then immediately attacked to take maximum points in the next sprint and again with 10 laps to go.

A dominant display saw her take the win with 33 points to Hayward’s 23 with Amy Roberts of Wales taking 3rd – a lap and 12 points behind.

The Boys Points race, too, saw a pair of riders – Matt Cross of Wales and Jon Dibben of South – riding in his Under 16 Points Race National Champion’s jersey. It was Dibben – by virtue of scoring in every sprint bar the first one – that took the win with 32 points, 7 ahead of Cross. Sam Lowe of East Midlands was best of the rest with 12 points.

The Girls Sprint Semi-Finals continued to go largely to form with fifth fastest qualifier Paige Millward of West Midlands beating eighth fastest Ellie Gilham of South to book a place in the 5^th-6^th Final, where she was joined by Natalie Hill of Central (sixth in qualifying) who relegated Laura Clode of South West (tenth fastest) to the 7^th-8^th Final with Gilham.

In the ‘major’ finals, top qualifier Jessica Crampton of North West saw off Scot Kate McCullough-Young (fourth fastest) while Wales’ Sarah Crowley lived up to her second fastest qualifying time, despatching third fastest Imogen Farlie of South East to the 3^rd-4^th Final.

The Finals, too, went to form with Crampton winning the A Final and Farlie the B – although the latter only after McCullough-Young had been relegated.

Although Crampton’s North West team mate Matt Rotherham was looking strong throughout qualifying and the rounds, Sassan Emadi of the West Midlands was looking strong and confident. Perhaps Rotherham wouldn’t have it all his own way after all.

As with the Girls’ competition, the 200m qualifying times were proving a good indicator of form, with top four qualifiers Rotherham, Emadi and Dan Maslin of Central contesting the A and B Finals – along with Ben Green of the East Midlands.

Emadi took advantage of a mistake by Green to dominate his Semi Final and book a place in the A Final alongside Rotherham, who held of Maslin. The Final, though, was a one-sided affair with Rotherham powering away to win by the length of the home straight.