Halesowen Cycling Club reopens for racing

Rutherford triumphed in the blue riband event in the Dudley Grand Prix, beating Mammoth Lifestyle's James Notley into second, with Team LFH's Zak Loney back in third.

It was the climax of a day of competitive racing to mark the re-opening of the track, which has undergone £180,000-worth of refurbishment including a new fence, writes Matthew Maher.

Organiser Carl Gregory had devised a schedule to test riders' endurance and it paid off with some thrilling finishes.

He said: "The whole day went really well. We had a bit of rain which delayed things in the morning but when we did get under way the racing was some of the best I've seen.

"We set it up to be tough and the riders really jumped at the challenge."

Rutherford and Michael Mottram, riding for Spokes of Bagshot, dominated much of the day.

The latter scored an early success by beating out Team Vertex's David Brearley to win the scratch race, with Notley back in third.

The 25-year-old then made it a double when he came out on top in the devil, a race where the last-placed competitor is ejected from the field every other lap.

Hull's David Brearly finished second, with Halesowen's own Charles Walker in third.

Mottram also led the field through two laps of the Course de Prime, an event in which Rutherford and Gloucester City's Matthew Callaghan also featured prominently.

Rutherford pipped Notley to victory in the points race, with Mottram back in third.

The day also featured the latest round of the women's omnium series, with TORQ Performance's Janet Birkmyre putting in a dominant performance across the disciplines.

Birkmyre, 39, claimed victory in all five events to take the overall win ahead of Elitevelo's Sophie Black.

Womens Omnium: 1 Janet Birkmyre; 2 Sophie Black; 3 Amy Good; 4 Emma Clarke; 5 Elanor Cadzow; 6 Isobel Whiteley.

Scratch: 1 Micheal Mottram; 2 David Brearley; 3 James Notley; 4 Charles Walker; 5 Zak Loney; 6 Alistair Rutherford; 7 Samuel Dighton; 8 James Claydon; 9 Luke Hardman; 10 Colin Parkinson; 11 Will Fotheringham; 12 Guy Cook; 13 Chris Davis; 14 Ross Miller.

Devil: 1 Micheal Mottram; 2 David Brearley, Charles Walker; 4 James Notley; 5 Zak Loney; 6 Alistair Rutherford; 7 Will Fotheringham; 8 Sam Dighton; 9 James Claydon; 10 Ross Miller; 11 Colin Parkinson; 12 Matthew Callaghan; 13 Guy Cook; 14 Luke Hardman; 15 David Rutherford; 16 Paul Jones; 17 Mike Perry; 18 Chis Davies; 19 Alex Leek; 20 Johnathan Davies.

Points:?1 Alastair Rutherford (17); 2 James Notley (16); 3 Micheal Mottram (12); 4 Colin Parkinson (10); 5 Charles Walker (10); 6th Matthew Callaghan (8); 7th Sam Dighton (5); 8th David Brearley (3); 9th Luke Hardman (2).

Billy Jones: 1st Alastair Rutherford; 2nd James Notley; 3rd Zak Loney; 4th Micheal Motram; 5th David Brearley; 6 Charles Walker; 7 Colin Patterson; 8 William Fotheringham; 9 Chris Davis; 10 James Claydon; 11 Sam Dighton; 12 Guy Cook.