Maiden wins for Joey Walker and Rebecca Durrell at the HSBC UK National Circuit Championships in Rochester
12:09, 22 July 2019
updated: 12:18, 22 July 2019
Joey Walker and Rebecca Durrell were victorious as Rochester hosted the HSBC UK National Circuit Championships.
Both claimed maiden wins in the championship on Sunday as the leading British crit riders raced around the historic City sites.
Walker (Madison Genesis) clinched a thrilling win in the men’s race ahead of Isaac Mundy, who unclipped during the final sprint.
Both riders had led the field for much of the race, cheered on by several thousand spectators, who had witnessed a number of crashes early on.
It all came down to the sprint, which Walker won.
He said: “He (Mundy) had his unclip moment but I felt I was coming around (on him) anyway.
“It’s racing and it’s unfortunate for Isaac but it is what it is.
“He had a good gap but I saw it was bridgeable and I thought ‘why not, I’ll give it a go’.
“I didn’t have the best legs, which might sound stupid, I didn’t feel great, I just wanted to ride into it and get aggressive and I surprised myself.”
Prior to that Durrell had powered home ahead of her team-mate and 2018 champion Anna Henderson in the women's race. It meant a 1-2-3 finish for the Brother UK – Tifosi p/b OnForm team.
“I can’t believe it,”said the 30-year-old.
“You always dream of becoming a national champion but it’s really difficult to achieve.”
Durrell commented on the occasion, which had seen around 500 people take part in a the Medway Big Ride prior to the event.
“It’s a beautiful venue,” said the champion.
“I was impressed. It had everything you would want from a circuit race and it was really well organised.”
