Dream one-two-three for Andy Moore cycling team

The Andy Moore Autocentres/J.E.James Racing squad went into the race at Torworth on top of the series table, and came out of it in an even stronger position after Dean Watson bagged victory, ahead of Andy Bishop in second and junior Aaron Chambers-Smith in third.

“The lads hit total perfection, with a stunning display of racecraft,” said manager Andy Moore. “It was simply superb, ruthless dominance throughout, and an absolute joy to watch.”

The contest was just one of four races in five days for the Moore squad, beginning with the high-profile Sheffield city races in which Watson, Bishop and Chambers-Smith shared duties with Steve Paterson, Freddie Bingham and junior Harry Buxton.

In the main support race, Buxton sprinted home ninth, while Bingham was close behind in a creditable 11th. In the elite event, Bishop, Paterson and Watson worked hard to overcome the deficit of a gridding system that placed them near the rear of the peloton.

The day after the Tolworth race, the squad headed off to Barnsley for the second of the week’s city centre events. Manager Moore instructed the riders to exercise caution on a tricky circuit, made dodgier by pre-race rain, and they all emerged unscathed with the bikes returned in pristine condition.

The week concluded with the popular Tumby’s Road Race at Braithwell, near Doncaster. Bishop, Bingham, Paterson and Buxton tackled an undulating circuit spanning 50 miles with what can only be described as mixed results.

Paterson finished a superb fourth, with Bingham not far behind in eighth to give them excellent high-scoring points. But Bishop came to grief in a crash when a rival clipped his bars, and he had to be taken to hospital with damaged ligaments and a host of bumps and bruises. Said Moore: “To escape such a nasty spill without serious injury was a bit of a miracle.”