JACK Stanton-Warren and Matt Clarke gave Halesowen Academy-Wenlock Spring two riders in the first 10 in the West Midlands Regional Championship at Bishops Castle last Sunday.
Stanton-Warren continued his run of stellar placings with third just behind professional duo Liam Holohan and Dan Fleeman of Metaltek-Kuota, while Clarke figured strongly in the chasing group for 10th on the day.
The 90-mile race over a tough course in the Shropshire Hills included five climbs of a 3.2 mile ascent to the Stiperstones Area of Natural Beauty.
The climb began with a one in five incline and ended on open moorland. The race split apart from the first time up the hill, with Stanton-Warren, Clarke and Nick Clayton all featuring in the early selection for Halesowen.
On the third of five laps of the 18-mile circuit, Stanton-Warren joined forces with Holohan to bridge across to a dangerous four-man escape that included Fleeman, winner earlier this season of the super-tough Cicle Classic in Rutland.
The pair joined the move shortly before the fourth time up the climb, where Holohan, Stanton-Warren and Fleeman immediately left the other three behind.
On the descent to Bishops Castle, the Metaltek pair took it in turns to attack the Halesowen rider, eventually wearing him out and escaping together to take first and second, with Stanton-Warren hanging on for third ahead of a chasing group that included Clarke and former Halesowen rider Callum Ferguson.
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