Report by Paul Beattie
Only two Rocko were able to race the first 2/3/4 NCRA 68mile Scratch Road Race of the season at Southwick, due to the injuries to other team members. Daniel Leverton and Paul Beattie flying the colours. After a neutralised start up the 1st of 11 climbs up Southwick Hill to the water tower the race started to take shape with an early break. Paul and Daniel deciding to ride sensibly and stay with the main bunch. After a tough first 7 laps, with a couple of pacy ascents to Water Tower thrown in, the main bunch was working well to close in on the breakaway. Unfortunately for the bunch, we encountered a jittery horse coming the opposite way after the junction to head back towards Southwick, where a few riders took advantage of the hold up to launch an attack taking with them the first half of the bunch. With us now split in half and time lost, the remainder of the bunch worked in vain to close the gap but never got it back. A frustrating race, though at least we got to race in the sun instead of hail and snow.