Take4 days ago
Bateman rides fastest time; Laverack takes the Open title
Ezra Bateman, 16, set the fastest time of the day at the national hill climb on the 6.6km Porlock Toll Road: 14:31.9. Ed Laverack won the Open title 0.2 seconds behind him, because Bateman was entered in the junior category and the senior and junior races are separate events ridden concurrently. Bateman himself says the two categories are different.
What this means
The CTT Chair has confirmed that Bateman was placed in the junior category by age, so the Open title went to Laverack.
Laverack's 14:32.1 made him Open champion for the second time, seven years after his first title. Bateman was placed in the junior category because the system allocates riders by gender and age, and the titles awarded are junior, open, women's and junior women's. Asked whether he should have been given the Open title, Bateman answered: «To be honest, no, because it's a different category. Even if I set the fastest time, the two categories are different.» Tim Smith, the new CTT Chair, put it this way: «These things will happen, when you have someone who is clearly as extremely talented as he [Bateman] is.» Oliver Swinburn was second junior in 14:58, fourth fastest overall. The gap between the two leaders is 0.2 seconds in the BikeRadar report, while The British Continental has 0.3.
Sources
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