Reports

Ian Field and Nikki Brammeier win 2017 national cyclo-cross titles

Ian Field claims fifth national championships victory, while Nikki Brammeier successfully defends 2016 title

Ian Field (Hargroves-Ridley) and Nikki Brammeier (Boels–Dolmans) clinched the elite men’s and women’s titles at the National Cyclo-Cross Championships in Peel Park, Bradford, on Sunday.

Field won the men’s title for the fifth time, finishing 34 seconds ahead of defending champion Liam Killeen (Malvern Cycle Sport), while Brammeier successfully defended her title, finishing more than two minutes ahead of Hannah Payton (Team Kinesis UK).

Having won four consecutive titles from 2012 to 2015 but lost his national champion’s jersey to Killeen in Shrewsbury last season, 30-year-old Field, who lives within ten miles of the Bradford course, eased to victory this time out, quickly establishing a comfortable lead.

Ian Field eased to victory in the men’s race to claim a fifth national cyclo-cross title (Pic: Alex Whitehead/SWPix.com)

Killeen came under little pressure for second, while Paul Oldham (Hope Factory Racing) and Grant Ferguson (CST Brentjens MTB), who represented Great Britain in the cross-country mountain bike race at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, locked horns in a battle for bronze, with Oldham, the 2011 champion, coming out on top.

“It was fantastic to have a home crowd as I moved up here three years ago and it is a really tight cyclo-cross community here,” Field told British Cycling.

“There were so many supporters for me, it was brilliant. There’s no other feeling like pulling on the national championship jersey.

“I felt a lot of pressure being so close to home with friends and family here so it was nice to put in a solid performance and get the jersey.”

Meanwhile, Brammeier took a comfortable victory in the women’s race, quickly reeling in Payton and Annabel Simpson (Hope Factory Racing) after half-a-lap, before opening a gap and growing a strong lead.

Brammeier’s win completed her comeback from a head injury suffered at the European Championships, in a crash from which nine-time British champion Helen Wyman is still recovering.

With Simpson losing position after crashing later on the opening lap, Payton sat securely in second, with Bethany Crumpton (Boot Out Breast Cancer CC) completing the podium.

Nikki Brammeier successfully defended her elite women’s title (Pic: Alex Whitehead/SWPix.com)

“I’m super happy as I really needed a win today and although Helen isn’t here it was still going to be a hard day and I needed a perfect ride,” said Brammeier.

“On this course that was never guaranteed and I wasn’t quite sure how my form was beforehand. It’s always special to win a national jersey.”

Otherwise, Billy Harding (Oldfield-Phil Milnes Cycles) won the under-23 men’s race, with under-23 world champion Evie Richards (100% Me) taking victory in the women’s event.

And European champion Tom Pidcock (Oldfield-Paul Milnes) claimed the men’s junior title, while Emily Wadsworth (Beeline Gener8) won the women’s junior race.