The Glendene team consisted of David Bagdan, Dave Nichols, Tom Yeatman, Joe Perrett and a fit again Nathan Edmonson. Joel Davison was ill.

Stage 1. 6.5km Prologue.

It is because of the unstinting dedication of race organisers that we have races to look forward to competing in and this is in spite of the organisational difficulties that conspire to hinder them and make the job so difficult. Therefore it would be very churlish to bemoan the fact that the time trial stage was declared null and void due to some very bad time keeping errors that were impossible to unravel. That said an extra lap was added to the Stage 2 race to cover the disappointment of the morning’s proceedings.

Stage 2. 68km Great Whitley to Holt Heath Circuit

This consisted of 3 laps of a well known hilly time trial course. A local described it as 'undulating' but it was a challenging course that gave very little respite from having to climb or descend twisting roads. After the first circuit quite a few competitors must have wondered why they agreed to ride an extra lap of it!
Nathan Edmonson just coming back from his illness rode hard from the off and was covering the early break of 8 riders. About a minute behind them were David Nicholls, Joe Perrett, Tom Yateman and David Bagdan in a chasing bunch with further riders already off the back on this testing course.
The completion of the second lap saw a similar formation but now a puncture had thwarted Tom Yeatman’s progress which was a big frustration since he was going so well. Joe Perrett attacked the bunch in an attempt to bridge the gap across to the leading break but was left in no mans land with the bunch 100 metres behind and the break 100 metres in front so the break was caught but with the bunch severely broken up.
The final lap, as expected, was going to sap the strength of all the riders and more splits appeared at the head of the field. Four riders appeared in the finishing straight with Luke Rowe taking the win. Next to appear were David Nichols and Joe Perrett who took fifth and sixth places respectively. David Bagdan finished twelfth and Tom Yeatman despite his puncture finished well up too.

Stage 3. 100km Clows Top, Newnam Bridge, Abberley Circuit

This was a 4 lap race which our local again described as 'hilly'. However by now we were in on his knack for understatement! This was a punishing course with a couple of 1 in 10 climbs and some long power drags as well. Every one was expecting the race to split to smithereens and so it duly did.
On the first lap the majority of attacks were coming from Erick Rowsell and Andy Fenn. These were designed to make headway on the one and a half minute lead that Luke Rowe had by virtue of his Stage 2 win and a very generous time bonus of 30 seconds. Erick was away for 30 km.
In the chasing bunch all four Glendene boys were working to keep him in their sights before David Bagdan was forced to retire due to stomach cramps. When Erick was eventually reeled in there was some very bad luck for Dave Nichols and Nathan Edmonson, who with two others hit a large pothole and punctured. Although spare wheels were had they were not given assistance back to the leading bunch by the service car (many thanks to the volunteer parent who drove it - yet another pre race let down for the organiser).
Andrew Fenn then attacked and was away for 50 km. On the last lap he had a lead of 1 minute. With 10 km to go Joe Perrett attacked to chase Andrew down but quickly on his heels came Luke Rowe and Erick. Joe waited and the three of them worked together and caught Andrew with 1 k to go. With the finish at the top of a hard climb Erick attacked and only Luke had the strength to respond. Erick just got the win from Luke and Joe rode tempo to the line to claim third place with Andrew several seconds behind in fourth. With the race totally split apart Dave, Tom and Nathan finished separately at various times later. (To date the actual race positions have not been published).
Best estimate final GC positions.
3rd Joe Perrett
9th Dave Nichols
15th Tom Yeatman
17th Nathan Edmonson

Dave Nichols on National Series Race Podium
Sid Standard Memorial Road Race
20th April Nottinghamshire

This was a race characterised by attacks causing an early break that stayed away from the bunch throughout the whole race. However, the break only had a few constant riders, some fell back and others worked to bridge the gap and join them. Suffice it to say, Glendene riders were in all the moves throughout the whole race. Initially Joel Davison and David Bagdan were very active in making attacking moves and keeping the race at a high tempo. Joe Perrett after two circuits made a bid to get away and was joined by Dan Mc Lay and a few others.

After a couple more circuits Joe and Dan were away and sharing the work then in time six more riders came to join them. The most important of these was David Nichols. Meanwhile in the bunch, Joel and David were constantly positioning themselves to cover any riders liable to drive the bunch nearer to the leading break.

With six laps to go Joe had a spoke break in his front wheel. He kept going for two laps but eventually had to wait for the service car at the back of the race to change the wheel. Joe managed to get past the main bunch again (that was two minutes behind the lead riders) as well as make it back to the leading group. However, the effort cost him and he was never able to contest the lead again. Dave Nichols in the mean time was keeping his wits about him and was wise to Tim Kennaugh’s attacking move at the start of the final lap. The other riders in the lead break could not respond and so the ride to the finish for the two of them was a matter of guile and courage. Dave rode relentlessly doing most of the turns but within sight of the finish line the Manx rider made his move from behind and beat Dave to the line. However it was an excellent ride for Dave.

Team manager Bob Downs was very pleased with his team. 'Glendene riders were in all the moves and they all rode strongly. Tom Yeatman finished well in the bunch in only his second road race. David Bagdan put his previous bad luck behind him and finished well up by breaking away from the group. This time it was Joe Perrett with the bad luck. Joel Davidson also had a good ride and finished high up in the bunch sprint and for Dave Nichols it was a well deserved second place'.

To sum up, once again a very strong outing for the Glendene Junior team, with an outstanding finish for Dave Nichols.

2nd Dave Nichols
14th David Bagdan
23rd Joel Davison
27th Tom Yeatman
34th Joe Perrett