Lichfield rider Toby Barnes has won the Shimano Lazer West Midlands Cyclo-Cross Championship.
The RST/Cycle Division Racing man stormed away to a clear victory around a new-look course at Top Barn, near Worcester.
Barnes rode away from his rivals to pull out a lead of 50 seconds on the first lap alone.
By the finish, the winning margin had stretched out to three minutes and 26 seconds.
Barnes said the new layout had posed challenges:
“It was a different course than it has been before and it was quite good with a lot of different features.
“They had a few steeper banks to run up and there was a bit of a running section not long after the start.
“I went hard from the off and on the first running section got a gap so pressed on from there and kept on the pressure.
“I have been trying to do more running as the National Trophy rounds can have quite a bit of this.”
Toby Barnes
Barnes will be back in National Trophy action next weekend when he hopes to sign of a successful campaign at the final round in York.
He said:
“I’m hoping to have a good ride there and then I’m off to Belgium.
“I’m hoping to keep my overall under-23 leader’s jersey and hopefully third overall in the senior men’s category.
“To start off the aim was just to get as good results as I could in the National Trophy and a few under-23 podiums.
“So I have done better than I thought.”
Toby Barnes
There was more success for Lichfield riders at the meeting as Ryan Greaves took third in the junior category.
