Field wins British national Cyclo-cross title

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Ian Field (Hargroves Cycles) stormed to his fourth British national cyclo-cross title in Abergavenny, Wales on Sunday, beating rival Liam Killeen (Specialized UK) into second, with Lewis Craven (Wheelbase Altura MGD) third.

“The race went to plan, I think it was text book actually. I bided my time and let other riders get the freshness and the excitement out of their legs,” Field told British Cycling at the finish.

“I put 100 percent effort in when I attacked and the gap to the others grew and grew as the race went on, which allowed me to ride my own race towards the end.”

Field watched on as several of his rivals dictated the pace in the opening minutes of the action. Steven James (Hargroves Cycles) and Alex Paton (Pedal Heaven Colbornes RT) were among the early leading contenders but when the Hargroves rider began to drop back it was Steven Roach who hit the front, with Jody Crawforth and Alex Paton (Pedal Heaven Colbornes RT), Lewis Craven, Field and Killeen also in contention.

Killeen was one of the first to push on from the leading group, leading the elite group as they began to climb, but it was Field whose acceleration made the biggest difference. The three-time champion was simply too strong for the rest of the competition and even Killeen was unable to match the Hargroves rider as he tore away from the field.

With four laps to go, Field had 38 seconds over Killeen and Craven, and despite a late surge from Crawforth, Craven held on to take bronze.

“Steve James went early, he was super fresh today, he was ill last week. I think he did a good job for the team getting some publicity early on. I sat on the wheels in the opening few laps, just to see what others were going to do then got going when I thought the time was right,” Field added.

“The pressure on me to win the Nationals gets a bit less each year. I've won it four times now, as well as the National series and had a 12th at Milton Keynes so it’s been a good season for me.”

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