Bring and Buy Sale

Clear your diaries (and attics) for the forthcoming bring and buy sale. More info here

CA Dinner

Former professional cyclist and current British Cycling national track coach Shane Sutton will be guest of honour at the forthcoming Cycling Association Dinner.

The Dinner will take place on Saturday October 30, the venue is the Claremont Hotel, Loch Prom, Douglas. Price for the sit down dinner will be £18 for adults and £12 for children. Please make every effort to attend More details soon.

Would all current trophy holders please engrave,clean and return their silverware to their respective club committee members

Guymer 10th in Ashbourne Circuit Race

Manx Road Club's Steven Guymer finished a good 10th in the Ashbourne Cup Circuit race (jun,vet,3,4) on Saturday. The race was won by Datafonic's Tom Walters with Planet X juvenile Adam Blythe second. Result here

Judo Boys win Shoprite Challenge

Road Club riders Dave Taylor, Trevor Kirkwood, Peter Gage, Allan Gage and Peter Doyle plus Ellan Vannin's Andy Bell and Denis Cormican (MVW) won Sunday's Shoprite Challenge over one lap of the TT course. Riding for the Isle of Man Judo Club the lads were 40 seconds down on Ten League sponsors, Manx Telecom at the last change over at the Bungalow, however, big Dave used his 55x11 to good effect down the Mountain to win by a couple of minutes.

Bronze For Ian Sharpe

Ian Sharpe and tandem partner Paul Hunter won bronze on day two of the Paralympics in Athens, more here

Cyclo Cross for Talent Team

British Talent Team members Elliott Moore, Jonathan Bellis and Peter Kennaugh enjoyed their first taste of cyclo cross at their recent Tallent coaching session. On Saturday they learnt the basic skills of cyclo cross then on Sunday they competed in a cross event near Wakefield. In the Thirds,Vets and Junior event Jon came home in fifth position with Elliott in the top 10. Peter Kennaugh finished sixth in the Youth race.

Talent Camp

Local Talent Team riders take part in a cyclo cross training camp this weekend, on Saturday they brush up on their off road skills then take part in a cyclo cross event on Sunday.

End to End Results

The provisional End to End Mountain Bike results can be found here

Change of venue for the End to End Sunday night social

The Queens Hotel cannot accommodate us so we are switching to the Terminus Tavern which is at the very far North end of the promenade. They are planning on doing food for those who would also like to eat there. From 8pm

Tough End to End

A tough head wind greeted the large entry for Sunday's End to End, Andrew Roche took overall honors after being pushed hard by Tristen Gell. Other notable rides came from Neil Hodgson who proved you don't need a works Ducati engine between your legs to go fast! Jonathan Bellis belied his 16 years making the top seven. Results and more news later

Spoilt for choice on the Box!

Viewers were spoilt for choice on the telly on Sunday afternoon, we had a choice of watching Cav taking victory at the warm up event to the final stage of the Tour of Britain or watching brothers Peter and Allan Gage plus Tony Varley waving their Manx flags at the mountain top finish of Sunday's Veulta stage.

GHS Schools 10

Several locals competed in the GHS 10 final, results here

Alex Forrest 2 Up

There was a large turnout or 38 teams for the Alex Forrest 2 Up, results can be found here

End to End Challenge

There is an excellent entry of 231 riders for this weekends End to End Challenge, over 50 up on 2003. Start sheet here, website here

Handicap Mountain Bike Race

Results from Monday evenings handicap event will be posted soon

Great Win for Cav

Great Britain rider Mark Cavendish had an excellent win at the supporting race for the final stage of the Tour of Britain. Pictures and results here

Bikestyle Final Positions

Bikestyle final overall positions can be found here

Rochie's Bikestyle

29 riders lined up for the final round of the 2004 Bikestyle handicap series held over four laps of the mostly flat Jurby circuit on Sunday. All eyes were on Laura Gage to see if she could snatch the series overall from under the nose of Trevor Kirkwood, who was unable to contest the final round. The race was split into four ability groups with the the handicappers aim that the whole race would come together on the final lap, however, by midway through lap three of the four lap event, the whole race had come together turning the handicap into a massed start road race. One of the first casualties was Laura Gage who was dropped as the bunch passed the start finish area. With the arrival of the scratch group the average speed of the bunch had increased from a rather sedate 25 mph upto a more frisky 30 mph causing a couple more riders to lose contact. On the final lap Andrew Roche attacked on the Jurby coast road resulting in the whole bunch being stretched out in a long line, Rochies move however eventually came to nothing enabling juvenile Peter Kennaugh, recovering from a midweek training crash, to counter the move to put some daylight between himself and the pack. Spinning his juvenile gears Kennaugh yo-yoed between 10 and 15 seconds over his pursuers. On the final climb the bunch began to split under the pressure resulting in Kennaugh's advantage being reduced to just five second with 100 metres remaining, at the line Roche overhauled Kennaugh taking the verdict from top veteran Peter Gage and a slimmed down Gary Hinds in third, Jonathan Bellis was fourth with Russell Jones in fifth, the plucky Kennaugh had the consolation from his earlier effort to finish sixth.

Results here. Photos here

Bikestyle Event

Round six of the popular Bikestyle handicap series takes place this Sunday, September 5, at Jurby. The race starts at 10am

Mountain Bike Handicap

There is a handicap mountain bike race at Archallagan plantation on Monday evening, sign on from 6.15 for an earlier start time of 6.45pm

Downhill Champs

Results from the Downhill championships can be found here

Jon on Track

Jonathan Bellis 'fresh' from the Tour of Wales spent Tuesday evening training on Manchester Velodrome, on Wednesday Jonathan is a spectator at the opening stage of the Tour of Britain

Tour of Wales

Jonathan Bellis, Elliott Moore, plus brothers Ashley and Aaron Whipp competed in the Tour of Wales over the Bank holiday weekend. The full results can be found here

Alex Forrest 2 Up

Don't forget next Wednesday (Sept 8) evenings Alex Forest / Family 2 Up time trial, the start is at the junction of the Ballavarran Road and the Sandygate Road. Marshals are required, so please turn up and help out

Bellis 22nd in Junior Tour of Wales

Manx Road Club Sport Aid recipient Jonathan Bellis produced a good performance to finish 22nd overall at the weekends Junior Tour of Wales. Young Jonny was literally thrown in at the deep end in what is the most prestigious junior event on the British calendar, it was Jonathan's first outing as a junior category rider. More later

Recently Added Results

The IOM Road Race and Three Up championship results can now be viewed on the results page

Alex Forrest 2up and the Family 2up

The sighing on and start for the Alex Forrest Charity 10 2up is at the junction of the Ballavarran Road and the Sandygate Road. The course proceeds to St Jude's X Roads, Andreas, Beehive, Old Jurby Garage, The Cronk (9.5miles) and finishes on the Ballamoar Straight. Also five marshals are required for the evening, volunteers can get in touch with Jim on 823974 or 495436.

Start sheets for the Alex Forrest Charity 2up and the Family 2up are now available in Eurocycles and Bikestyle. Alternatively ring Jim on 823974 to enter

10th in France

Manx Road Club and Sport Aid recipient Peter Kennaugh finished a good 10th in a road race near Calais on Sunday. The event distance was 87 kilometres, a big increase to the 30-40 kilometres he is accustomed to in the United Kingdom. The race was part of a French regional series attracting 90 riders. Two riders managed to escape towards the end and despite a good lead out Peter's legs tied up in the bunch sprint.

Hill Climb

There was good entry of 20 competitors for Sunday's hill climb on a 1.8 mile course up School Hill at Marown. Gianni Epifani benefiting from some hard training with Tony Varley was fastest up the tough climb in a time of 5 minutes 17 seconds. Graeme Hatcher was second seven second behind Epifani with Andrew Cook at a further four seconds. Fourth rider and first Junior was Elliott Moore in a time of 6 minutes 14 seconds followed by Dave Taylor in 6 minutes 18 seconds with Peter Kennaugh eight seconds behind Taylor in sixth and first Veteran. Leading Juvenile was Scott Flynn who recorded 6 minutes 54 seconds.

Afterwards there was a club run to Ard Jerkyl for scones and tea. Results here

Kennaugh Fourth in Points Race

Peter Kennaugh (Manx Road Club) finished a brilliant fourth in the points race at the National Track Championships at Newport Velodrome on Saturday, Jonathan Bellis (MRC) had an equally impressive ride to come home in fifth position mirroring his fifth place in the scratch race during the week, both riders had to qualify via heats to earn their place in the final. Considering there is no usable cycle track on the Island to train or race on, both riders exceeded their expectations, Peter and Jonathan only entered to the championships to gain experience on the track and were only beaten by seasoned and experienced track riders who race on velodromes twice a week! Peter is now in France for a hilly road race in the Calais region while Jonathan heads to Wales for the Junior Tour of Wales.

Manx Telecom 10 Final Positions

The final overall positions from the Manx Telecom 10 League can be found on the following links: >>Senior >>Junior

Bellis Fifth in Scratch Race

After qualifying second in heat one, Jonathan Bellis had a great ride to finish fifth in the scratch event at the National Track Championships, team mate Peter Kennaugh was fourth in heat two and finished 18th in the final. Cayley Ennett was 10th in the Junior / under 16 combined girls scratch race. Results here

Telecom 10

The 'young ones' dominated the final round of the Manx Telecom 10 League, Ashley Whipp was fastest on the night, results here

Roche Third in Surrey League Stage Race

Andrew Roche finished an excellent third overall in the Evans Cycles sponsored Surrey League stage race, Andrew also finished second in the points and third in the mountains prize. Andrew Cook finished 42nd and Christian Varley 50th Results

Track Champs

Road Club riders Jonathan Bellis and Peter Kennaugh are currently competing at theNational Youth Track Championships at Newport and Cayley Ennett (EV) competes with the juniors. Peter had the misfortune to crash in the 500 metre time trial but was able to have a re-run later in the day. Ian Sharpe is also competing in the Disability Championship at the same venue. Results from day one here

Ryan Tops Mountain Bike Handicap

An excellent turnout of 37 competitors lined up for round three of the Manx Mountain Bike Club promoted handicap series at Archallagan on Monday evening. With the ladies and eventual winner Ryan Stigant covering two laps and the more experienced competitors racing over three laps of the plantation course, it would turn out to be a tight finish with victory going to Ryan, the plucky fourteen year old just held off a fast finishing Russell Moore by a mere five seconds to take the chequered flag. Other notable rides came from scratch rider Chris Teirney showing good form for the forthcoming End to End Challenge, in third, Paul Kneen has shown great improvement over the series finishing fifth, young Scott Flynn 'fresh' from a week long stage race in Holland also had a good ride for sixth place and Luke Taylor rode well for seventh.The woman's category was well represented with Rebecca Sorbet first home in 18th. The final round of the Summer Series takes place on Monday September 6 at Archallagan at the earlier start time of 6.45pm.

Result here

Roche in Yellow

Andrew Roche finished an impressive fifth on Monday's 98 mile fourth stage of the Surrey League Five Day, more importantly, Rochie has now taken over the yellow jersey. More

Telecom 10

Wednesday evenings Manx Telecom 10 mile time trial takes place at Killane

Roche wins time Trial stage, Cook sixth

Andrew Roche great form continued with victory in the time trial stage of the Surrey Five Day, rochie even took the bunch sprint in the road stage later in the day. More here

Silver for Cavendish at National Madison

Mark Cavendish, partnered with Team Persil team mate Ed Clancy, had a brilliant ride to win a silver medal at the National Madison Championship on Saturday. Mark Kelly, riding for City of Edinburgh was a good sixth with partner Bryan Taylor (VC Londres) another great result for Manx cyclists. Results, report and pictured here

Roche Second in Surrey League Stage Two

Andrew Roche finished second on the second stage of theSurrey League Evans Five Day stage on Saturday, Andrew is currently in 10th overall, more here

50 Mile Time Trial Cancelled

The 50 mile time trial championship has been cancelled due to very poor entries, only four riders had entered

Evans Five Day

Andrew Roche, Andrew Cook and recently crowned Isle of Man road race champion Christian Varley team up with Chris Spence and Sam Firby from Jersey to compete in this weekends Surrey League Evans Five Day stage race. The event has grown in popularity over recent years and now commands a quality field. Results from day one here

Mountain Bike Race on Monday

The MMBC are staging the latest round of their handicap summer series at Archallagen on Monday evening all riders over the age of 12 are most welcome
to attend. Please try and support.

Mark's Madison

Mark Kelly competes in this weekends National Madison Championship

Kerry Youth Tour

Kerry Youth Tour pictures can be found here

Mountain Bike Events

The MMBC have confirmed their final two cross country dates, ideal preparation for the forthcoming End to End (September 12). Both events will take place at Archallagan Plantation on Monday August 16 and Monday September 6, sign on at 6.30pm for a 7pm start. A downhill event is also planed for Ballaugh Plantation on Sunday August 29, the start time will be later to avoid a clash with the Two Day Trial.

Track Championships

The Manx Road Club and Ellan Vannin cycling clubs will be representing local interest's at next weeks National Track Championships held at Newport Velodrome. Sport Aid recipients Jonathan Bellis and Peter Kennaugh (both MRC) compete in the very competitive under 16 age category, this will be Jonathan's final outing as a juvenile as he rides the Junior Tour of Wales the following week while Peter has been staying with a family near the velodrome, spending up to four hours per day to gain much needed experience for racing on the boards. Ellan Vannin interest's are with Caley Ennett who will compete in the Junior women's events and Peter Williams fresh from a great ride in the Junior Tour of Ireland who will be competing in the Junior men's category. Tandem star of the Manx Telecom sponsored ten league, Ian Sharpe, will take part in the Riders with a Disibility Championship in the colours of the Yasumitsu-Schlapp team.

Mark Kelly Third in Omnium Champs

Mark Kelly took the long drive from Newport to Edinburgh to compete in the British Omnium Championship at the weekend, Mark won the derney event and took top placings in other events to finish third overall. More here

End to End

The popular End to End mountain bike challenge takes place on Sunday September 12. The End to End website has all the details. Entries can be downloaded here

Key Sport Programme

You will be pleased to hear that Cycling has been invited to join the IOM Sports Council Key Sports Programme. One of only seven sports selected. This programme is potentially very beneficial for the sport at all levels, abilities and ages. Chairman Steve Shimmin invites all... more

Bikestyle Series

The latest positions in the Bikestyle handicap series can be viewed here

Fourth for Kara at Premier Series

Kara Shepherd finished a brilliant fourth in the final round of the British Mountain Bike Premier Series at Margham Park, Wales on Saturday. In stifling temperatures Kara rode her own race holding onto eighth place at mid distance, however, as temperatures rose in the midday heat, Kara started to pick off her rivals one by one to place her into fifth on the final lap of her two hour race only to move up to fourth place when race leader and national champion Sue Thomas retired through heat exhaustion. It was a tremendous ride for the Ellan Vannin and Pembroke Cycles backed rider who now takes a well deserved holiday in the United States before tackling the End to End mountain bike classic on the Island in September.

Peter Kennaugh also managed to ride the Youth race, despite his numerous cycling events over the previous week, however, a first lap crash scupperd any chances of a high placing.

Warming up for Athens

Manx Road Club brothers Peter and Tim Kennaugh trained on Newport Velodrome during the past week with none other than the Athens bound Olympic track cycling team. The temperature was set to an oppressive 38 degrees C to enable the Great Britain team to acclimatise to the expected heat of Athens. The Manx duo were attending the track session with a dozen or so Cardiff based cyclists and were able to ride the boards during the Great Britain rest times. Peter has remained at Cardiff for the next week to prepares for the forthcoming National Track Championships where he will be joined by Kerry Youth Tour winner Jonathan Bellis.

Tour of Kerry Victory for Bellis

Manx Sport Aid recipient Jonathan Bellis took a well deserved victory at the recent Kerry Youth Tour, in what was one of his best victories to date, the Manx Road Club rider won by the slimmest of margins over arch rival and National Champion Mark McNally who was riding for the Liverpool based Corrado team.

The opening stage consisted of 32 miles with 82 riders competing on rolling and often narrow roads. Bellis along with team mates Peter Kennaugh and Steven Guymer managed to stay near the front and thankfully out of trouble. Despite a couple of crashes in the bunch the Road Club trio managed to arrive home safely with Bellis finishing an excellent fourth, Guymer 11th and Kennaugh 14th. Tim Kennaugh competed in the under 14 age category and did well to finish at the back of the bunch.

Stage two consisted of a two mile time trial on a testing course that included a tight hair pin and a leg sapping drag up to the finish, Bellis came home in fourth, Kennaugh eighth and Guymer finished mid field. Tim Kennaugh was 31st in the under 14 time trial.

Stage three was the dreaded 'Sun Hill' stage, a one mile climb that had to be tackled five times in the intense heat that blessed the event throughout it's duration, Bellis just got the verdict in a tight sprint consisting of seven riders who broke away on the final assent of Sun Hill, about a mile from the chequered flag. Guymer came home in ninth with Kennaugh 13th. Timothy Kennaugh finished 24th in his event held over two laps of the same circuit.

The final stage was held within Killorgan town centre on a very tough and bumpy circuit that included a steep climb up to the finish line, this had to be climbed 10 times. Bellis only had a slender one second lead over leading Irish rider Jerimah O'Sullivan and two seconds on Mark McNally, with time bonuss available it would be a tough order for Bellis to hold onto the leaders jersey.The Road Club team had everything under control during for the first half of the stage, alarm bells were sounded for Bellis and Kennaugh, however, when O'Sullivan and McNally broke away after the climb through the finish area, but the Manx duo chased down the danger men and reeled them in within a lap setting up a tantalising sprint. Out of the corner it was McNally and Bellis neck and neck up the hill with the Liverpool rider getting the verdict over the yellow jersey, the Belgian rider Xaviour was third and Kennaugh sixth.This also gave the Manx Road Club the team prize for the stage and a well deserved third overall in the team competition. The end result could not have been any closer with Bellis winning by just one second from his Talent Team colleague. Kennaugh was 13th overall (4th under 15 category) and Guymer 16th.

Meanwhile, in the under 14 event, Tim Kennaugh came home 24th moving him into 26 overall (10th in the under 13 category)

The following day the Manx road Club team traveled down to Carrick-on-Suir to watch the opening stage of the Junior Tour of Ireland, Recently crowned World junior track champion Geriant Thomas lined up along Ellan Vannin's Peter Williams with the cycling legend Sean Kelly looking on. Kerry Youth Tour winner Jonathan Bellis will be able to compete in this event next year

Pictures soon

Circuit Series

The next round of the circuit series takes place at Jurby Airfield on Monday August 9. The event is on an excellent circuit 50% longer per lap than the previous round

The race will be held under TLI rules with entries costing £4 for senior, junior and ladies, all youth riders £2 Entry forms can be downloaded here, If possible, please bring forms to the event filled in to save time signing on.

Kerry Youth Tour

The Manx Road Club will have a strong representation at the Kerry Youth Tour this coming weekend. Manx Sport Aid recipients and British Talent Team members Jonathan Bellis and Peter Kennaugh will team up with Hull based Road Club member Steven Guymer and top Welsh rider Rhys LLoyd. All stages will be held on closed roads in and around the hilly Killorgan area of Kerry. There will be a star studded entry including many national and international teams present.

Bellis second in National Circuit Championships

Four Manx Road Club riders plus three from Team Scottish Provident competed in the National Circuit Championships at Hillingdon, near London on Sunday. Jonathan Bellis (MRC) who has spent the past three weeks racing in Belgium, finished a brilliant second to claim a silver medial in the competitive under 16 age championship. The race went on the attack from the gun with several riders attempting to break away, such was the quality of the field all breakaways were eventually nullified resulting in virtually the whole bunch sprinting it out for the winners jersey. Sport Aid recipient, Bellis however did not quite have enough to get past Isle of Man Youth Tour winner Mark McNally (Liverpool Century) at the line. Another Sport Aid recipient, Peter Kennaugh (MRC) who has also has recently returned from a tough nine stage race in Holland made several attempts to drop the bunch, Kennaugh made one last effort to break clear in the last kilometre only to be brought back once more, his efforts would earn him a well deserved 10th at the line, Peter, however is young enough to compete in the same event in 2005. Steve Guymer (MRC) rode impressively to finish in the main pack a good workout for the forthcoming Kerry Youth Tour

Laura Gage (TSP) rode tremendously for a well deserved (provisional) 13th place in the under 16 girls event, Laura rode most of the race with the leaders only to be dropped on the final lap.

Mark Christian (TSP) recovering from a recent illness rode strongly throughout the under 14 event, Mark managed to close down several attacks to gain a creditable top 10 placing at the line. Tim Kennaugh (MRC), also recovering from illness, struggled round to finish about 20th

James Berry (TSP) rode in his usual aggressive style by riding hard on the front to finish an excellent second in the under 12 championship, James managed to breakaway only to be joined by a rider who was reluctant to share the pacemaking thus remaining fresh enough to pip James at the chequered flag.

Photos here

National Circuit Championships

Tim Kennaugh, Jon Bellis and Peter Kennaugh compete in this weekends National Championships at Hillingdon, near London. Tim competes in the under 14 event, Jonathan and Peter, who have just returned from competing on the continent, race in the under 16 event. The Road Club riders will also be joined by Steve Guymer, who lives in the Hull area

Club Clothing

The long awaited MRC clothing has at last arrived. Call 627682 to arrange collection.

MRC Circuit Series

Results from a rain swept Jurby Airfield can be found here

Bikestyle/Tour of the North

Results from Bikestyle 4 and Tour of the North here Bikestyle series so far here

Jurby Circuit Race

Monday evenings circuit race is open to senior and junior riders as well as juveniles

Tour of the North

There was a good turnout at the Tour of the North combined with a Bikestyle round at Bride on Sunday. Christian Varley (MVW) just piped team mate and mountain biker Andrew Cook in a very close sprint after the duo escaped from the main pack. It was a clean sweep for the Manx Road Club team in the Bikestyle event with Trevor Kirkwood taking the honors from Dave Taylor. Pictures here Results tomorrow

Jurby Circuit Race

Signing on takes place from 6.30 with racing at 7pm. Access the air field via the gates on the Jurby coast road. The event is to be run under TLI rules, all under 18 year olds will require a parental consent form, available at the event. All categories will be catered for.

Tough Racing in Holland

Peter Kennaugh is currently lying 25th overall in the tough Tour of Achterveld with nine stages over six days the racing has been very fast with little time to recover between stages.Peter finished 15th in the penultimate road stage on Friday evening.The final stage is on Saturday, Peter then travels back to the Island via a stop over in Wales. Link

Another Great Ride by Bellis

Road Club rider Jonathan Bellis finished fourth in a 65km race near Roubaix on Wednesday, The race was won by the Belgian nieuwelingen champion Jani Desmit, Jon managed to boost his pocket money by taking a couple of primes during the race

Closed Circuit Racing

There will be a closed circuit race on Jurby airfield, the long awaited Youth (and Junior/lady/senior) Circuit Series commences this Monday July 19. The events over various distances are aimed at improving the quality of youth racing on the Island to give riders better preparation when competing off Island. Junior and Senior cyclist can also fine tune their fitness by competing in these TLI events.The races will be based on age and ability, so for example, the under 14 age riders will compete with the under 12's, the under 10's and eights will compete together. The under 14 riders can ride up to the under 16 category if they wish. The under 16 riders will compete with Junior and Senior riders

Sign on from 6.30pm at the Karting track for a 7pm start

Mountain Bike Results

Results for the mountain bike fun day can be found here

First stage at Acterveld scrapped

Monday's first stage of the nine stage Tour of Acterveld was scrapped at mid distance when the front riders came down in damp condition when contesting the intermediate sprint, organisers had no alternative but to scrub the stage to allow emergency vehicles onto the course to transfer injured riders to hospital. Manx Road Club Sport Aid recipient rider Peter Kennaugh jnr. witnessed the incident but was fortunate to avoid the mayhem.

Tour of the North Bikestyle

The Tour of the North takes place this Sunday at Bride, signing on will be from 9.15am for a 10am start. The event will include a Bikestyle handicap, however, the 'Tour of the North' winner must come from the scratch group.The handicap groups will cover three laps with the scratch riders taking in five laps. All riders are welcome.

Fun Day an Outstanding Success

Better than forecast weather and hundreds of mountain bike enthusiasts turned up for the mountain bike fun day at South Barrule plantation on Sunday. There was a cross country event in the morning followed by trail, skill and downhill events in the afternoon. Pictures here

TT win for Gage

Peter Gage clocked an impressive 22 minute dead to finish first in a ten mile TT on the Rainford bypass on Saturday, the event was in the same area as the GHS regional heat where Ashley Whipp won from Mark McNally, sadly only 10 riders took part in the eight mile event.

Mountain Bike Fun Day

Don't forget Sunday's Royal Skandia and Eurocycles sponsored mountain bike fun day, come out bring the family and have a great day. Info here

Peter rides Dutch stage race

Manx Road Club Sport Aid recipient Peter Kennaugh competes in the tough Tour of Achterveld stage race in Holland next week, consisting of nine stages over six days, Peter joins up with the Wales Team to travel to the event, however, on arrival competitors are assigned to sponsored teams consisting of mainly Dutch and Belgian riders to encourage multi lingual communication preparing them for future continental events.
Peter will be competing in the under 17 category which includes first year juniors.The longest stage will be a grueling 68 km and with 180 riders taking part there should be some spectacular racing racing with some of Europe's top riders. Forthcoming events include the National Circuit Championships, Kerry Youth Tour, National Mountain Bike Series in Wales and the National Track Championships

Laura wins Bikestyle

Laura Gage won the latest round of the Bikestyle series. Result here

Bellis fifth in Belgium

Jon Bellis lined up with 63 riders for a rain soaked kermesse in Belgium tonight (Wednesday) after several crashes in the slippery conditions two French riders escaped causing the race to split into three groups, Jon was in the thick of the action in the chasing group to cross the line in an impressive fifth place

Manx Telecom 10 League

Latest points: seniors here youth, junior and ladies here

Jonathan Bellis Second in Belgium

Jonny Bellis has rode two 75km crits in Belgium under the watchful eye of his Uncle, former professional, Mike Doyle. On Saturday Jonathan was involved in a break but was caught in the final five kilometres to finish 15th. On Sunday Jon had a much better day when he jumped across to a break of two riders where all three worked well together to finish over one minute ahead of the bunch. Jon was delighted with his second place at the finish.

Lichfield Youth Tour

The Lichfield Youth Tour 2 day was unfortunately reduced to one day after ' problems' made the Sunday road closure impossible. However the large contingent of Manx riders taking part had a good workout on Saturday competing with the best youth riders in the country over three stages.

In the 'A' category event Peter Kennaugh jnr had a race he would rather forget, in damp conditions and several crashes including one race stoppage Peter ended up having a 'bad day' being lapped crossing the line in about 40th place. Warren Flynn (Steve Goff) rode well to finish near the front of the pack as did the ever improving Matthew Looker and Mark Redhead (both TSP) The second stage was a short time trial which saw a much improved Kennaugh charge around the tight and twisty motor racing circuit for fourth place, Flynn also rode well to finish in sixth place. Stage three Kennaugh was in a lone break for five laps after team mate Steve Guymer marshaled the main bunch from the front, however, the serious contenders reeled Peter in by mid distance. Desperate for a stage win after his poor performance in the opening stage Kennaugh tried his luck with another attack with just over one lap remaining, this too was thwarted, but he did manage to finish third in the bunch sprint only being passed in the last 20 metres. Flynn also finished in the top 10 with Mark Redhead and Matthew Looker showing gutsy determination to stay with the front bunch. Overall Flynn showed his consistency by finishing equal sixth overall with Looker 13th and Redhead 17th, Kennaugh ended up in 22nd out of the 38 finishers.

Scott Flynn (Steve Goff) was an impressive sixth overall in the 'B' category after some plucky performances throuout the day and would have probably finished higher had he won more time bonuses available during the events, Chris Whorrall (MRC) was showing continued improvement with a fine 10th overall, Chris rode an impressive time trial and finished fourth in the final stage. Mark Christian (TSP) suffering with a virus was 11th overall, Sam Looker (TSP) 13th, Tim Kennaugh (MRC) 33rd, Caroline O'Neill 34th, Calom O'Shea (TSP) 35th. Matthew Marshall, Matthew Berry, Zara Harrison and Laura Gage (all TSP) were 42nd,44th,45th and 47th respectively.

In the 'C' category for under 12 year old's, James Berry and Richard Foden (both TSP) both rode well for fifth and sixth. Josh Cowie (TSP) was the top local in 13th place in the 'D' race and the only overall local victory of the weekend went to Matthew Davies (TSP) in the 'E' event

Pictures can be viewed here Report and results here

Mountain Bike Funday

Don't forget the mountain bike fun day at South Barrule plantation on Sunday July 11. There will be a cross country race at 10am with the fun day event commencing at noon.

There will be work parties at Barrule this Saturday and Sunday, July 3 and 4, please try and attend, also, DAFF will be in attendance at the fun day, so please support this venture and prove there is a demand for mountain bike trails on the Island.

Road Race Championships Off

The IOM Road Race Championships scheduled for this Sunday (July 4) is postponed due to a lack of entries, the event will hopefully be run in the future, watch this space.

Bellis of to Belgium

Manx Road Club juvenile Jonathan Bellis travels to Belgium on Thursday for a month of racing and training. The on form Bellis will compete in various criteriums and road races in Belgium and Holland. As a bonus Jon will be a spectator at the opening stage of the Tour de France.

Jonathan will be aiming for top finishes in the forthcoming Kerry Youth Tour, National Circuit Championships at Hillingdon and National Track Championships at Newport

Youth Riders in Lichfield

Four juveniles will be competing in Road Club colours at this weekends Tour of Lichfield, Peter Kennaugh and Steven Guymer will be competing in the competitive under 16 event, Peter is fine tuning himself for the forthcoming Tour of Actaveld, nine stage, seven day stage race in Holland, Steve lives in Hull and has been competing well on the track. In the under 14 category Chris Whorrall's form has been improving recently with a impressive fourth on the recent North West Youth Tour, Tim has also shown great improvement recently after his 10th overall at the NW Youth Tour.

10 Champs

Another storming ride by Rochie and juvenile Jon Bellis results here

A Reminder

Just a reminder that the youth event planed for Jurby this evening has been cancelled.

Bobbie and Essie Collister Hill Climb

The EVCC have decided to postpone the Hill Climb scheduled for Thursday 1st July until a date later in the season TBA.

North West Youth Tour

Manx Road Club riders Peter Kennaugh jnr, Christopher Whorrall and Tim Kennaugh limbered up for next weeks Tour of Litchfield by competing in a round of the North West Youth Tour over the weekend. Day one consisted of three stages at Preston Arena with two more stages on Sunday at Salt Ayre, near Lancaster. In the under 16 event Peter was sixth in the opening stage run in a downpour, later in the day Peter finished in the bunch in the competitive race. . Chris and Tim competed in the under 14 category, Chris was very consistent with fifth in the scratch race, fifth again in the Kerien and sixth in a very wet scratch race. Tim recovered from a poor start in the first event where he finished 12th with an 11th in the second stage and an impressive eighth in the rain at Preston Arena.

On Sunday the venue switched to Salt Ayre (about a mile from Heysham) where racing was held in hot and sunny conditions. Peter was fourth in the Keiren and provisionally sixth in the points race and another bunch finish in the scratch race to give him seventh overall. Chris was a provisional fourth in his points race followed by third in the scratch event, Chris finished an impressive fourth overall and Tim held onto the bunch in the final event for 10th overall.

Emma Kennaugh (TSP) competed on day one to finish seventh overall.

Colin Nelson TT

Results for the Colin Nelson Memorial Mountain TT can be found here

Peter Gage wins off Island 25

Peter Gage clocked an impressive 56 minutes 31 seconds to win a 25 mile time trial in the Southport area on Sunday, daughter, Laura, riding her first 25 miler rode well to record 1hour 15 minutes. Unfortunately, their 10 mile event planned for the previous day was cancelled due to heavy rain.

Colin Nelson Memorial Mountain Time Trial

An excellent entry of 41 riders line up for Sunday's Colin Nelson Mountain TT. The most prestigious time trial on Manx roads commences at 7.01am with Colin's father, Brian (MRC) first man off. Last man away is favorite Andrew Cook (MVW), but he will have to watch out for the likes of Christian Varley(MVW), Graeme Hatcher (MVW) and on form juvenile Jonathan Bellis (MRC). There will be refreshments afterwards at the TT Grandstand. Start sheet here

Manx Telecom 10 Mile Champs

The Manx Telecom sponsored Isle of Man 10 mile time trial championships take place on Wednesday evening. The course will start from Ballaugh Bridge and continue towards Ramsey on the T.T. Course going through Sulby, past the Ginger Hall Hotel and on to Glenduff. Turn left onto the Andreas road and follow to junction with the Sandygate road, turn left and follow road through St Judes X roads, through Sandygate X roads and to the finish near to the Cronk. Parking will be at the Wild Life Park.
Start sheet here

10 Cancelled

Round eight of the Manx Telecom 10 League was cancelled due to strong winds and torrential rain.

Bikestyle Event Postponed

This Thursday evening's Bikestyle handicap has been postponed due to a clash with Euro 2004, organisers felt there would be a greatly reduced entry due to the footie game between Portugal and England. The event will be re run on Thursday July 8.

Youth Series also Cancelled

The opening round of the Youth Circuit Series has also been cancelled due to 'unavoidable circumstances.' To run the TLI event, organisers had to produce a copy of their insurance document to enable the event to take place, sadly, this was not made available in time thus giving the organisers no other choice but to scrub the event. It is hoped that appropiate cover will be in place for the next event.

MMBC Summer Series Round 1

Peter Kennaugh jnr (pictured left) had a good battle with Island Games mountain biker Chris Tierney to win the opening round of the Summer Series. Riders set off in one group to cover two laps of an excellent course in Archallagan plantation, times were fast with both Kennaugh and Tierney consistently lapping in 15 minutes. Allan Gage came home in third with Julian Corlett fourth, next over the line was Alistar Beattie in fifth followed by Chris Whorrall sixth. Result here
Future rounds will be handicapped. Other dates for your diary include further handicap races on July 26, August 9 and August 30. A weekend trip to one of the UK's mountain Bike centres is also planed for October 2 and 3 followed by the Manx Downhill Championships on Sunday, October 24 with an end of season bash and prize presentation on October 30.

Another Great Ride by Rochie

Andy Roches good form continues with a provisional 13th in the East Yorkshire Classic, a counting round in the Premier Calendar series. Provisional results here

Junior Triathlon

Junior Triathlon results can be found here

MANX TELECOM '10' LEAGUE

PLEASE NOTE. FROM NOW ON THE NUMBERS BOARD FOR THE ANDREAS '10' WILL BE HELD AT JURBY PARADE GROUND.
THIS IS IN HOPE THAT PEOPLE WILL LEAVE THEIR CARS AT JURBY, AS PARKING AT THE START OF THE ANDREAS COURSE IN THE INTEREST OF SAFETY, IS TO STOP.(Jim Cottier)

Colin Nelson Memorial Mountain Time Trial

The Colin Nelson Memorial Time Trial takes place on Sunday June 27, entry forms are now available in bike shops.

Problems With Server

There was a problem (outside our control) with the server recently resulting in a delay in publishing the results for round 7 of the Manx Telecom Ten League, all problems are now sorted and results, as usual, can be viewed on the 'Ten League' page or by clicking here Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Mountain Bike Results

Click for the Enduro results here

Youth (and senior) Circuit Series

The long awaited Youth Circuit Series commences on Monday June 28 at Jurby airfield. The events are aimed at improving the quality of youth racing on the Island to give riders better preparation when competing off Island. Junior and Senior cyclist can also fine tune their fitness by competing in these TLI events.The races will be based on age and ability, so for example, the under 14 age riders will compete with the under 12's, the under 10's and eights will compete together. The under 14 riders can ride up to the under 16 category if they wish. The under 16 riders will compete with Junior and Senior riders (to improve senior riders ability!!!)

Sign on from 6.30pm at near the Karting track for a 7pm start

Other rounds take place on Monday July 19 and Monday August 9, again at Jurby Airfield.

25 Mile Time Trial Championships

The 25 TT champs take place this Thursday evening, however, if there are not sufficient entries by Wednesday (16th) lunch time, the event will be scrapped

Mountain Bike Handicap

The Manx Mountain Bike Club are running round one of their popular summer handicap series this Monday evening (June 21) at Archallagan Plantation.The first event will be a massed start with subsequent events being handicapped. The event starts at 7pm with signing on from 6.30pm.

Other dates for your diary include further handicap races on July 26, August 9 and August 30. A weekend trip to one of the UK's mountain Bike centres is also planed for October 2 and 3 followed by the Manx Downhill Championships on Sunday, October 24 with an end of season bash and prize presentation on October 30.

Great Ride By Rochie

Roche finished a brilliant 11th in Pete Longbottom memorial Premier Calendar event on Sunday, Mark Cavendish and Christian Varley also took part, results here

Mountain Bike Enduro Pics

Another successful mountain bike enduro took place today, results later and pictures here

Bob Pays Visit to Island

Popular ex Manx road race champion Bob Calladine ( Bob 'snot' to his many mates ) is currently on the Island visiting family and friends. Bob emigrated to Sydney, Australia in 1988 and seems not to have lost any of his fitness over the years. On Saturday Bob enjoyed a club run with the usual cafe stop and intends to ride a couple of events during his stay.

Website Continues to Grow

The Manx Road Club.com web site continues to grow in popularity with more and more hits and emails every day!. This week for example the site received 343 individual hits on Wednesday and on Thursday received 1162 page views. To date MRC.com has had visitors from over 37 different countries. Several off Island cyclists have joined the club on line over the past year.

Cavendish lying second in Elite Series

Mark Cavendish, pictured left, despite having his house trashed by burglars, is currently lying second in the prestigious Elite Circuit Series. Current leader the multi talented Malcom Elliott. Latest positions here.

Telecom League Resumes

The popular Manx Telecom Ten League resumes on Wednesday, June 16. Start sheet here

Manchester Youth Tour Cancelled

The organiser of the Manchester Youth Tour has had to cancel the event due to personal reasons.

TT on the Box

Off Island cyclists who are still hurting at the demise of International Cycle Week may view some excellent ariel and close up footage of their beloved mountain circuit on Sky's Men & Motors who are covering the TT race.

Tandem Pilot(s) Required

Ian Sharpe has recently qualified for the Athens Paralympics and now requires some fine tuning on his tandem.

I'm a competitive blind cyclist, said Ian, and have just moved back to the Island.I've recently qualified for the Athens Paralympics and I'm looking for capable cyclists to pilot me on a tandem to help me train as much as possible. Ideally I'm looking for other competitive cyclists with good bike handling skills although tandems aren 't as scary as some might think!!

I will soon have a couple of tandems ready to go, one for shorter pilots and another for taller pilots so I would hope to be able to accomodate most potential volunteers!! Age isn't an issue either!!I'm based in Laxey and although getting around is obviously a little more complicated for me (particularly with a tandem!!)it's not impossible.

I'm looking to get out as much as possible for anything from an hour up wards any time of the day any day of the week so am hoping to get as many people as possible to share the load. The most important thing is that people are willing to help!!. I can only offer food and buckets of tea in return and so if anyone is interested it would be great to hear from you. And if you're not sure, get in touch and we can have a chat. Or if you know somebody who might be interested please pass this on to them.Just save me from the relentless miles on my turbo trainer! Tandeming is great fun for anyone who hasn't done it before and you would be doing me a great favor!!

Cross Country Racing

Following on from the success (and excellent course) of the last 3-2-1 Enduro Race, there will be a repeat performance on Sunday June 13th, again at Chibbanagh Plantation.This is to be a 3-2-1 Enduro Cross Country Race around an extended circuit utilising the whole of the plantation with plenty of singletrack and technical sections. There will be a choice of racing for 1, 2 or 3 hours with the 3-hour option being for either solo or teams of 2 riders taking it in turns to ride.3 hour riders will start at 10:00 with 2 and 1 hour riders starting at 11:00 and 12:00 respectively. All will therefore finish together at 13:00. Signing on and event HQ will be at the Braaid Hall where there will also be refreshments and toilet facilities.Entry will be on the day and you should aim to turn up to sign on between half an hour and an hour before your chosen start time. Please don't cut it too fine or you won't make it to the start line in time! Helmets mandatory - of course!

Entry fees;
Solos - £3 for 1 hour race, £5 for the 2 hour).
Teams (2 riders) - £8 per team.MMBC members - £1 discount on the above entry fees.When riding as a team, you will be issued with a token. It is entirely up to you how many laps each rider completes. Simply hand over the token to your team mate at the start area and ride as many laps as you like.

After the time limit expires, riders will not be allowed to start a new lap. Riders out on the course will be able to complete the current lap and times will be in the format of, e.g. 10 laps plus 8 minutes 15 seconds, etc.

Fourth for Cavendish (again)

Cav nothced up yet another fourth placing in the Brentwood Crits in Essex on Sunday. City of Edinburgh trackie James Taylor got the verdict over the on form Malcom Elliott. Results here

Fourth for Cavendish

GB under 23 rider Mark Cavendish finished fourth behind winner Malcom Elliott on the last stage of the FBD Milk Ras in Phoenix Park on Sunday. More details here

Latest from Steven Guymer

Last week Manx Road Club rider Steve Guymer won a round of the West Park series in Wolverhampton which also incorparated the BSCA West Midlands regional championships.
On Sunday he rode the BSCA Yorkshire/North East regional championships, steve won the U16s race after breaking away with two other riders, lapping the field with 6 laps remaining.

Following Cars

Various cars have been seen in close proximity to some competitors during recent 10 mile time trials, this is not only dangerous by further congesting the roads but can lead to a riders disqualification
CTT rule 22a states:
A competitor shall not be preceded, accompanied, followed by or in anyway receive assistance from a motorised vehicle or its occupants, except in events at distances of 100km or more to assist with a competitor’s reasonable feeding and other requirements.

Fast Times in Telecom Ten

Ideal conditions and quiet (or it would have been if parents/grand parents weren't following their kids around in their cars !!) roads produced some fast times in the latest round of the Manx Telecom sponsored 10 League. Results here

Cav 7th in National Circuit Series

Mark Cavendish, who rides off Island for The Team Persil National under 23 squad, finished an impressive seventh behind winner Malcom Elliott (Pinarllo RT) in the lartest round of the National Circuit Series at Crawley town centre on Sunday. Result here

Club Clothing

Manx Road Club club clothing is expected to reach us by the end of May

Ten League Latest (updated)

Round four of the Manx Telecom Ten League was won by Andrew Roche fresh from his impresive ride at the Lincoln GP. Two juvenile riders, Jonathan Bellis and Warren Flynn, made it into the top 10, Ashley Whipp claimed the Junior victory and Peter Gage took the veteran honors. Results here

Kelly Signs For Belgian Team

Mark Kelly has recently been in contact, having signed for a Belgian team Mark is now focused on the forthcoming Criterium Championships, Mark said "Training and racing is going well. Preparation for the British Circuit Race Championships (23 May) are in the final stages. As part of the preparation for it I went to ride a criterium, Ronde van Yerseke, in Holland last Saturday. It was a 90km race around a short 2km circuit with 2 hairpin bends. With 110 starters on a short narrow course it was going to be a tough race. I had to stay near the front from the start and concentrate. After a few attacks, I went for one of the prime sprints, I got 2nd in it and 2 of us got a gap. We stayed away for about 6-7 laps before being chased down. After I settled back in, another break went away. This was eventually pulled back and going into the last 2 laps it was altogether for a sprint finish. With a lap to go, I moved to the 4 places from the front. As we rounded the last corner, I was sitting in 3rd. As the sprint opened up, I jumped but got pushed into the side of the road. I had to stop pedalling and kick again. I lost a few places but still finished in 7th place. A very positive result only two weeks before the championship. Also last Wednesday (5 May), I was 28th in a Belgian Kermesse."

In other news, after meeting Belgian Professional Nico Rusloft in Trinidad, Mark has been asked to join his Belgian Elite Team for the rest of the season. The team is called Bouwelse Wielervrienden. The team's website is http://www.bouwelsewielervrienden.be/. With the team he will be competing in some of the top Belgian Pro/Am events and stage races in Germany, .
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Bellis Takes Control in Cardiff

Manx Road Club category 'A' rider Jonathan Bellis won round three of the National Circuit series over the weekend at various venues in the Cardiff area. Saturday consisted of three stages on the Maindy track followed by a massed start hill climb on Sunday morning with a circuit race in the afternoon. It was a good weekend for the road club riders with Peter Kennaugh finishing fourth in the hill climb stage and Christopher Whorrall winning the last stage in the 'B' category event despite crashing in the early stages.

The Mountain Bike 3-2-1 Enduro

The Manx Mountain Bike Club promote an enduro type event this Sunday (May 16) at Chibbanagh plantation. There will be three different races within the event. At 9am the three hour race commences followed one hour later by the two hour event. For those who prefer a sleep-in can ride the one hour race at 11am.

Signing on takes place from 8.30am at the Braaid Hall, solo and team entries will be made most welcome

Road Club Riders in Cardiff

Manx Road Club are sending a team to round three of the National Youth Series at Cardiff over the coming weekend. After a hectic weekend over the previous week at the Isle of Man International Youth Tour, series leader Jonathan Bellis and Peter Kennaugh compete in the competitive 'A' category event for under 16 year olds, Chris Whorrall and Tim Kennaugh will ride the under 14 'B' event. The lads intend tolimber up for the two day event on the Newport Velodrome on Friday evening.

Plenty of Praise for the Youth Tour

Organisers of the Isle of Man Youth Tour have received many emails and phone calls of praise for the recent Youth Tour event. Many have said it was the best youth event they had ever attended, all loved the Island and some intend to return to the Island for a holiday

Another Great Ride by Mark Cavendish

Mark Cavendish continues to impress with another great performance at the Bungay Criteriums, Suffolk, a round of the National Circuit Race Series. Cavendish who got into cycling through mountain biking and now riding for Team Persil was beaten into second place by Dean Downing (Recycling.co.uk) in a four man break that included Kristian House (Recycling.co.uk) who came in third with Matt Bramier (Team Persil) fourth. Picture and result here

Full House For Cav

Mark Cavendish's great form continues with another emphatic win in a stage race. Not only did the Team Persil rider win the Nigel Meason 2 Day Stage Race overall, but Cav won every stage! Results here

McNally Clinches Overall Victory

Final Overall (provisional) here

Day 3

Sun tan cream was order of the day as riders lined up on closed roads for the final stage of the Youth tour. One second separated Mark McNally and local rider Jonathan Bellis for overall honors in the 'A' race with several riders capable of upsetting the apple cart, however, it was Andrew Nightingale (Eastern region Velo Bianchi) who clipped away with one lap remaining to clinch a well deserved victory, all eyes though were on the bunch sprint close behind to see who would get the time bonus and weather second place overall Jonathan Bellis could topple race leader McNally but it was not to be, McNally came home second to seal the overall win, Jonathan McAvoy gained yet another third placing to finish third overall. Southport's Tom Diggle finished fourth overall followed by green jersey winner Mark Bateman (Triangle Bianchi) and Andrew Nightingale sixth overall.

Mark Christian retained his overall lead in the 'B' category event despite Scott Flynn (Steve Goff RT) taking the last stage in a tight sprint from Christian and Luke Rowe (WCU). Second place overall was a tight affair as Flynn and Rowe were equall on time and also on stage count back, second place went in the Welshman's favor by virtue of his faster time trial time. Marie Stewart (VC Cumbria Lakeland Sprinters) mixed it well with the boys for a well deserved 10th place overall.

The 'C' race went to James Berry yet again with another strong ride, breaking away with Scottish Provident team mates Richard Foden and Ollie shimmin in the early stages, the trio finished in the same order in the overall classification. Rebecca Whipp (TSP) had a great ride to finish fifth overall

Josh Cowie gained revenge from the previous day's defeat by taking the stage from Laura Allen with Alicia Corlett third. The 'D' overall result in this category would also be a repeat of the final stage placings.

Matthew Davies continued his domination of the 'E' event with another emphatic win, Leon Mazzone came in second with Anna Christian third, again the overall was identical. Victoria Kinrade was the overall winner in the girls 'E' competition.

There was a packed house afterwards in the Chesterhouse Hotel when prizes were presented, even Mark McNally made a speech! with everyone already looking forward to the 2005 Isle of Man Youth Tour.

More soon...

 

Tom Diggle wins Youth Tour Opener

Stage 1 Result here

High temperatures and wall to wall sunshine greeted competitors and spectators for the opening stage of the Isle of Man Youth Tour on Saturday afternoon. In the highly competitive 'A' race Southport RC's Tom Diggle comfortably took the sprint from Mark McNally (Liverpool Century) and local rider Jonathan Bellis (Manx Road Club). A five man break developed at mid distance with the above riders plus Mark Bateman (Triangle Bianchi) and John McAvoy (Liverpool Century). One minute later Andrew Nightingale (Eastern Region Velo Bianchi) led home the chasers followed by Rhys Lloyd (WCU) and Peter Kennaugh (MRC)

Mark Christian (Team Scottish Provident) won the 'B' race with a well timed sprint from Scott Flynn (Steve Goff RT) and Luke Rowe (WCU) in third. The race split on the tough climb with the first three riders breaking clear only to be joined one lap later by Matt Jones (Horwich CC) who eventually finished fourth. Tom Black (TSP) took the bunch sprint for fifth just over one minute later followed by Tom Bateman (Triangle Bianchi), Chris Whorrall (Manx Road Club) and Sam Looker (TSP) who were sixth, seventh and eighth respectfully.

The 'C' category race saw a clean sweep for Scottish Provident riders with James Berry taking the honors from Richard Foden and Oliver Shimmin. Thomas Mazzone (TSP) was fourth with Oliver Webster (Triangle Bianchi) fifth. Rebecca Whipp (TSP) rode strongly for sixth.

Josh Cowie (TSP) won the ' D' category from Laura Allen (New Brighton CC) with Alicia Corlett (TSP) in third. The 'E' race went to Matthew Davies (TSP) with Leon Mazzone (TSP) and Anna Christian (TSP) second and third respectfully.

 

Isle of Man Youth Tour

A total of 63 riders from 16 different cycling teams will line up for this weekends Sleepwell Hotels sponsored Isle of Man Youth Tour cycle race.
Cyclists from England, Scotland and Wales will take on local juveniles over three days of tough competition in the Department of Tourism and Leisure backed event.
The under 16 event boasts the cream of British cycling with the current top three overall in the National Championship Series taking part. Mark McNally (Liverpool Century) Mark Bateman (Triangle Bianchi) Andrew Nightingale (Eastern Region) Tom Diggle (Southport RC) and local favourite Jonathan Bellis (Manx Road Club) should figure on the leader board. The Welsh Cycling Union have sent a strong team and should also figure well over the weekend.
There is also a strong line up for the under 14 event, local rider Mark Christian (TSP) will face tough competition from Luke Rowe (WCU) and Matt Jones (Horwich CC)
The younger categories are also catered for with racing for under 12, 10 and eights.

The Manx Cycling Promotions event commences on Saturday afternoon at Port Soderick with roads closing at 2.30pm and racing commencing at approximately 2.45pm with the younger age groups on first.
Parking at Port Soderick will be at either the southern end of Marine Drive or if preferred, at the lower Port Soderick car park, please arrive before roads close at 2.30pm. Stage 2a is a 1 kilometre time trial at the NSC on Sunday morning followed by a circuit race in the afternoon.The Tour concludes with a road stage at Ballaugh on Bank Holiday Monday starting at 10am, again on closed roads.

Not to be outdone, parents, officials and helpers will be entertained with a social evening with food and a live band laid on by Sleepwell at the Chesterhouse Hotel, Loch Prom, Douglas on Sunday evening. The prize presentation will also take place at the Chesterhouse on Monday afternoon.

Marshals are still required, especially at Port Soderick, please turn up by 2pm and 'earn' your free ticket to the social evening on Sunday.

Manx Telecom 10 League

Results from round one of the Manx Telecom sponsored 10 league can be found here

Tough Weekend at East Riding

Six Manx Road Club riders and four from Team Scottish Provident competed in wet and windy conditions at the East Riding Youth Tour over the weekend. The event consisted of a one mile 'prologue' hill climb, a split stage consisting of a 13 mile time trial followed by circuit race on a windswept Brough airfield, the final stage saw another circuit race at Brough, however weather conditions on Sunday deteriorated considerably consisting of strong side winds and heavy rain.

Peter Gage (MRC) won a stage on his way to a well deserved fifth overall in the senior event. The on-form Jonathan Bellis finished third behind winner Mark Bateman in the competitive under 16 event, Steve Guymer (MRC) was 13th and Peter Kennaugh (MRC) 15th out of 39 starters

The under 14 event saw Mark Christian (TSP) finish an impressive third overall out of the 28 starters with the ever improving Tom Black fifth, Christopher Whorrall (MRC) was tenth overall and Tim Kennaugh (MRC) had to retire on the last day having been up the previous night with a stomach bug.

Laura Gage (TSP) rode well in her first off Island event this year to finish 23rd overall

Thirteen riders lined up for the under 12 age group James Berry (TSP) had a good innings finishing third

Manx Telecom 10 League Opener

The popular Manx Telecom sponsored 10 mile time trial league gets undaway on Wednesday, April 21. Start sheet can be found on the 10 League page here

Jonathan Bellis Wins Opening Round of Juvenile Series

Manx Road Club rider Jonathan Bellis won a well timed sprint to take the opening round of the season long British National Youth Series on Sunday. In what was a brilliant display of team work by Road Club team mates Peter Kennaugh jnr and Steven Guymer, who kept the group together by neutralising all breakaways and attacks throughout the race thus setting the on form Bellis up for a well deserved victory at the line. The Road Club trio's next event is the Tour of East Riding next weekend.

In the under 14 event Mark Christian (TSP) had a great ride to claim third spot with Christopher Whorrall (MRC) in eighth suffering from his efforts in the previous days three stage event which he won comfortably, Tim Kennaugh (MRC) and Caroline O'Neill (TSP) also competed. James Berry (TSP) was second in the poorly supported under 12 event and Jonathan Cregeen (TSP) was seventh. Local rider Warren Flynn (Steve Goff Frames) finished in the bunch in the U16 event and brother Scott was fourth in the U14 race Pictures here

Cav in Brilliant Form at Girvan

Mark Cavendish, riding for the Great Britain under 23 team won the first stage of the prestigious Girvan Three Day, Cavendish got into the leading break to take the 20 rider sprint beating the who's who of British cycling in the process. On stage two Cavendish came home a brilliant 11th moving down to second overall behind Matt Bottrill. As expected Cavendish finished further down on the hilly third stage losing two minutes 34 seconds to stage winner Malcom Elliott of the strong Pinnerello Team thus dropping the Manx rider to13th overall. Christian Varley is competing in the senior GB team and after some impressive riding is currently lying in 69th position overall in what is probably one of the toughest races on British soil. The Girvan finishes on Easter Monday. It has been a brilliant ride so far this season for Cavendish, who only two weeks ago raised everyone's eye brows with a brilliant ride at the recent Revolution track series. Girvan site here

Youth Tour Closing Date Extended

The forthcoming Isle of Man Youth Tour (May 1-3) boasts a quality field, particularly the 'A' category race with many top juveniles already entered. Several teams have contacted the organisers asking for the closing date for entries to be extended enabling more time to organise club and regional teams etc, therefore, the Youth Tour organising team have extended the entry closing date by one week to Saturday, April 17.
The event which boasts a £2000 prize fund commences on Saturday afternoon (May 1) with a testing road race on a closed 4.5 km circuit, incorporating a 1 km climb, the course is based at Port Soderick, just south of Douglas on the east coast, the finish area has stunning views along the Manx coastline. On Sunday there will be a time trial in the morning at the National Sports Centre followed by circuit races in the afternoon at the same venue. The final stage on Bank holiday Monday consists of another road stage again on closed roads at Ballaugh, starting at 10am enableing competitors to catch afternoon and evening ferries home.
There will be plenty happening socially also with a 'Parents & Officials' evening at the Rutland Hotel kindly laid on by event sponsors Sleepwell Hotels & Leisure who also provide greatly discounted accommodation at their hotel which also doubles up as race headquarters.

Marshalls will be required over the three days, please put your name down on the list by clicking here

Manx Viking Whs Site

The Manx Viking Whs have launched their impressive web site, view it here

Kelly in Trinidad

The West Indies v's The World Series moved East of the Savannah to the Arima Velodrome on Friday Night. Cleaned and resurfaced the Arima Drome sits in the shadow of Trinidad's northern range of mountains, a perfect setting for some fantastic track racing.

The West Indies team are not having it all their own way, although Yoel Marinio took two wins on the night, Britain's Jon Norfolk is turning himself into something of a celebrity coming away with two wins from perfectly timed team riding. The British team of Jacques, McCallum, Haynes, Shepperd, Mark Kelly and Thomson used their strength to manoeuvre Norfolk into the right position for the sprint.

The Venezuelan's and Cubans quickly realized the Brit's tactics and played them perfectly as West Indies Team rider Yoel Marinio catapulted himself off their leadout to take his two wins. With their cricket team getting their butt's well and truly kicked in the test matches, it's up to Elisha Green and his West Indies team mates to lift the nation's spirits. The Venezuelan team of Ochoa, Gil and Hernandez are also really impressing me with their superbly smooth riding style. With temperatures still in the 30's at night with very little air, the fast racing left you gasping, spectator or competitor.

Photo of Mark Kelly here

Youth Tour Entries

Youth tour entries are now coming in, the under 16 event promises to be hotly contested with most of 'Britains best' entering. Riders wishing to compete who do not have a race licence may buy a day licence when they sign on, all you require is £1.50 / day and a signed parental consent form. More details soon

Youth Riders in Durham

Several Manx youth riders will be competing in the first round of the British National Circuit Series on Sunday at the Hetton Lyons Country Park near Durham. On Saturday the riders compete in a two stage event also at Hetton. All eyes will be on the inform Manx Road Club rider Jonathan Bellis after his great ride in Sunday's Fletcher Trophy Time Trial.

Team IOM in Ireland

Team Isle of Man Riders Andy Cook, Andy Roche and Graeme Hatcher compete in the Ras Mumhan four day five stage event over Easter supported Martin Ford from the UK who will guest for the Island team. The riders will then team up again for the Shay Elliott Memorial on Apri 25l.

No Chain Gang on Thursday

There will be no chain gang this week due to riders being away for Easter, as the nights are drawing out the ride will leave NSC gates at 6.15pm for a 6.30pm start at the Braaid Hall. Given mixed abilities on the night the group may split into two or even three and for safety riders aged 14 years and older only please and helmets must be worn.

Ashley 17th in Junior Opener

First year junior Ashley Whipp had an encouraging start to the Reynolds / Lemond national Junior Series at a wind and rain swept Mid Wales on Sunday, The Martyn Ashfield Classic Junior Road Race was won by Welsh wizard Geriant Thomas, Peter Williams, riding for the Ellan Vannin was ninth. Full report here

Cookie Pots the Fletcher Trophy

Andrew Cook (MVW) continued his dominance of the local cycling season with yet another victory in Sunday's Fletcher Trophy time trial over two laps of the testing Bride circuit. Tristan Gell (MVW) produced another solid ride with second place and 'super vet' Peter Gage (MRC) was third. Ride of the day however, belonged to juvenile rider Jonathan Bellis (MRC) who produced a superb ride for fourth place overall. Peter Kennaugh (MRC) led the one lappers home just ahead of Scott Flynn (MRC) with Matthew Looker (TSP) in third. Ayre United football Club was the venue for a cuppa and cakes afterwards and it was good to see a large crowd there afterwards for the presentation.

Full results here

Fletcher Trophy Start Sheet

The Fletcher Trophy start sheet can be found here

Kelly in the Windies

Mark Kelly is currently competing in the Beacon Insurance West Indies v The World cycling series. The event takes place from March 30 to April 11 with a mixture of criteriums and track racing. Mark is competing in Isle of Man colours

Cav and Christian in Belguim

GB under 23 riders Mark Cavendish and Christian Varley travel to Belgium this weekend, they will be joined by Matthew Brammeier, Bruce Edgar, Edward Clancy, Graham Briggs and Adam Illingworth with Rod Ellingworth in charge

Time Trial on Sunday

The Fletcher Trophy takes place this Sunday instead of the Melrose 25 (now postponed until May 9) over two laps of the Tour of the North course. The start is at the layby situated approximately half a mile from Andreas village on the Andreas to Ramsey road with the event HQ at Ayre United Football Club. Sign on at 8.30am for a 9am start

Guymer Gets in Shape for Youth Tour

Manx Road Club exile Steve Guymer finished fifth overall in an event at Middlesborough Police HQ on Sunday, Steve was fourth in the scratch event, ninth in the time trial and fifth in the devil. Yesterday, Steve's good form continued with a win in the 64 lap points race in the ACT track league. Steve will be taking part in the forthcoming Isle of Man Youth Tour on May 1 - 3

Youth Tour

The forthcoming Youth Tour (www.youthtour.co.uk) entries close on Saturday April 10, BC entry forms can be down loaded from the Youth Tour website or by clicking here

Pot Holes

Due to the worsening condition of our roads and the spate of accidents over the past several months a productive meeting has taken place with D.O.T and the Minister of Transport to try and address the ongoing problems. Graeme Hatcher would like to receive reports of pot holes or other dangerous road conditions so they can be relayed to the Department of Transport. Click on the 'Pot Hole Watch' logo above where Graeme Hatchers email will appear, then send in your details.

Manx Mountain Bike Club AGM

The rescheduled MMBC AGM takes place tonight (Wednesday, March 24) at the Manx Harriers clubhouse on the NSC perimeter track at 8pm. Please make every effort to attend

Chain Gangs Return

There will be a chain gang session every Thursday evening starting at 6.15pm from the Braaid hall. Douglas Riders can meet at NSC gates at 6pm to ride up to Braaid. The chain gang session will be held on the stugadhoo course and will give an opportunity to sharpen the legs as well as learn the technical skills of racing. Open to riders 12 years and over the first few sessions may require lights and don't forget your helmets.

Hopefully these sessions will improve technique and bike skills in time for the forthcoming Bikestyle handicap events especially to riders new to the sport. Contact Graeme Hatcher for more info

Cav on a Stormer at Velodrome

It took two world champions in Brad Wiggins and Franco Marvulli to beat an incredibly quick opening ride (58.316) from Ed Clancy and Mark Cavendish in the Madison kilo, writes British Cycling's website, Clancy and Cavendish stunned the crowd with the fastest ride of the Revolution series to date and the two members of the GB Under 23 Endurance Academy were looking better with every team which failed to get close to them, with some very experienced riders struggling to match the youngsters’ combination of speed and skill. Inevitably Marvulli and Wiggins were on the pace from the start, but they still had to work hard to get inside their young rivals’ time.

Brief results from Revolution 4 here

Roy Killey Road Race

Very windy, very cold conditions meant a shortened race by one lap to five and a half circuits of the Jurby, Cronk, Summerhill eight mile course. 26 riders started in the 2004 curtain raiser road race promoted by the Ellan Vannin club.

Peter Gage (MRC) attacked from the gun, chased by Andrew Cooke (MVW) and after two laps held a comfortable 1min 50s gap over the peleton. Only Andrew Roche (EVCC) stalked by Graeme Hatcher (MVW) breached the gap in winds gusting to 50mph and the four together held off the main bunch until the last lap when Roche made a bid for victory only to be thwarted in the sprint by Cooke who is showing fine early season form, with Hatcher in 3rd a further 25 seconds down.

Gage was re-caught by the main pack in the final stages and in the gallop for the line new talents to the Manx road racing scene, twins Ashley and Aaron Whipp (both MVW) who are only 16, were separated by veteran Richard Fletcher (EVCC) for 4th and 6th respectively which is a fine result for them. Result here

Plenty of Manx Interest in Revolution 4

Manx Road Club exile Steven Guymer has featured well recently in the ACT track league with several top three placings in the series. Steven competes in Revolution 4 this evening and will be racing along side Ellan Vannins' Pete Williams in the 'Men's Stars of the Future' event. Cayley Ennett competes in the ladies 'Stars of the Future' race. Mark Kelly is entered in the International event and Mark Cavendish and Christian Varley in the Elite event.

Manx Telecom Ten League

The Manx Telecom sponsored Ten Mile Time Trial League kicks off on Wednesday April 21 on the Jurby course. Entries are in the bike shops and should be returned to Jim Cottier (494369) no later than Sunday March 28. Results and start sheets can be viewed by clicking on the Manx Telecom logo on the Manx road club results page. here

Manx Mountain Bike Club AGM

The rescheduled MMBC AGM takes place next Wednesday, March 24, at the Manx Harriers clubhouse on the NSC perimeter track at 8pm. Please make every effort to attend

Dress Code for Roy Killey Road Race

Would riders competing in Sunday's Roy Killey RR who have not yet received club jerseys for their respective clubs please wear plain jerseys or training tops. Please also note that club or plain shorts, not 'trade team' shorts, must be worn in road events. Entries are now being taken in Bikestyle and Eurocycles

Mersey Roads 2 Day

Locals Andrew Roche, Mark Cavendish and Christian Varley competed in last weekends Mersey Roads 2 Day, British Cycling have the results here

Chris Lee Scores a winner in Mountain Bike Event

Chris Lee romped home winner at Chibbanagh Plantation on Sunday morning in wet and stormy conditions. Only 15 riders braved the elements over a reduced three laps of the windswept course. 'Handicapper' Tony Varley led through after lap one closely followed by Lee and Mark Kneen, however by mid distance Lee moved ahead of Varley to cross the line some 11 seconds ahead of Varley at the finish with fastest man on actual time Julian Corlett third another 44 seconds later. Fastest and only lady in the grim conditions was Kara Sheppard. Thanks to the course markers and Tina Kelly for the Tea and cakes afterwards at Braaid Hall in time to see City thrash United 4:1 on the Telly later in the day!

Results here

Mountain Bike Event

The Manx Mountain Bike Club have stepped in to promote Sunday's off road event at Chibbanagh Plantation. The event was due to be run by Snaefell MBC. Signing on takes place at the Braaid Hall from 9.30am with racing at 10.30 prompt. Refreshments will be available afterwards in the hall. There will be a choice of either three or five laps of the popular course used recently in the well supported winter series. The course is suitable for first timers and experienced riders alike.

Talented Riders Go Skating

Manx Road Club riders Scott Flynn, Peter Kennaugh, Jon Bellis and Warren Flynn plus Elliott Moore (MVW) travel to Manchester for a multi discipline off-road training camp this weekend. The camp will involve mountain biking in the Otley area plus BMX skills sessions. There will also be an outdoor rock climbing session plus an evening trip to Bradford Ice Arena.

Manx International 1985!

I received an interesting web site from Graeme Hatcher today about Paul Curran, one of the top British Riders in the 1980's who in his time won just about everything. The 1985 Manx International is significant because the then19 year old Steve Porter (the fat fella who comes out on the Saturday morning cafe runs and can't climb!) tore the field apart over three laps of the TT course only to be piped within 10 metres of the finish by Curran. Steve rode for the Manx Road Club on that day and looking down the results, mixed with and beat all (bar one) of the top British and continental riders on that wet and misty day. Sadly the 'Manx' is no longer with us, but thanks to Paul Curran's site the memories flood back!

Web site of the '85 International here

Paul Curran Site here

Manx Viking Wheelers 2 Up

Wheelers duo Tristen Gell and Andrew Cook were the winners of the opening road event of the new season, results here

Eddie Soens Result

Tony Gibb was winner of the 43rd Eddie Soens handicap at Aintree today, Julian Winn came second with cycle week regular and junior rider Andrew Hill third. Other notable rides came from 14 year old Adam Blythe in sixth and Junior Pete Williams in seventh. Results here

Change of Course for Season Opener

The first event on the 2004 domestic cycling calendar is a 18 mile two-up event over two laps of the Bride circuit. (Map of start area here)The start is next to Andreas airfield on the Bride to Andreas road, with the first duo away at 9.01am. The course has changed due to the now outlawed CCT rules regarding dead turns in time trials, new rules also state 'road style' helmets must be worn. Refreshments will be available at the Sulby Hotel afterward

The overall winners will receive the Stuart Slack Memorial Trophy. A start sheet will be posted if I receive one.

Revolution

Local riders Mark Kelly and Mark Cavendish had a busy night on Manchester Velodrome competing in Revolution 3. Their photo can be viewed on the BC / Revolution website plus Pete Williams who rode in the 'up and coming stars' event at the same Revolution meeting. Pete went on to win the North West Wymott Road Race (result) the following day.

Cav's picture here Mark Kelly here and Pete Williams here

Youth Tour

The Isle of Man International Youth Tour has had another feature on the BC site, Cycling Weekly are also sending a 'high profile' reporter to the Island to do a pre race article on the event. Story here

Extra Dosh for BC?

Wednesday morning’s edition of The Guardian reported that British Cycling is about to get a significant sponsorship boost in the run-up to the Athens Olympics. Washing powder manufacturers Persil are reportedly set to announce a £300,000 deal.

Manx Revolution

Several Manxies travel to Manchester Velodrome this weekend to see Mark Kelly and Mark Cavendish compete in Revolution #3 Cav who now lives in Manchester as part of the under 23 Great Britain squad will be competing in the Revolution endurance events, Mark Kelly who has recently had a 'stop over' on Manx soil after a winter training and racing in Australia also competes in the endurance events before spending the coming season in Belgium...good luck to them all.

Coed - y- Brenin Trip

The newly formed Mountain Bike Trails group are planning a trip to the popular Coed-y-Brenin trail on a fact finding come 'good day out' mission. on Saturday March 6. Surprisingly it's quite cheap to get there, there is more info on the Forum or email Mountain Bike Trails for more info.

Skid Lids!

Following on from CTT's recent ruling that riders under the age of 18 must wear 'proper' helmets, the IOMCA has gone one step further and made the compulsory wearing of helmets by all competitors in time trials. All helmets must be of a hard/soft shell construction and should conform to the recognised standards ie. SNELL B95, ANSI Z90.4, AUS/NZS2063:96, DIN 33-954, CPSC or EN 1078i

In the interest of safety it is also advisable to wear helmets when training and on club runs.

Marco Pantani Found Dead

Marco Pantani, the former Tour de France and Giro d'Italia champion, was found dead on Saturday in an apartment block in Rimini, the resort town on the Italian Adriatic coast. He was 34. His body was discovered by police, called to the scene by the manager of the apartments. Pro Cycling News has more

Mountain Bike Trails

The newly set up mountain bike trail group are running a fun ride to look at trails around the South Barrule area on Sunday, February 15 at 11am. Please wear a helmet (clothes and a bike). It is a fun ride only, try and bring someone along so they can discover the joys of mountain biking. Let Gavin know if you are coming.

Club Clothing

Would members requiring club (MRC) clothing please contact Peter on 627682 or email

MMBC Winter Series Round 4

The popular MMBC winter series concluded on Saturday with Julian Corlett taking the honours on a testing course that met with everyone's approval, Results here

Thanks for the photos here

MMBC AGM

Don't forget the annual general meeting of the Manx Mountain Bike Club this coming Monday, February 9, at the Welbeck Hotel, Mona Drive, Central Promenade, Douglas starting at 8pm. All members old and new welcome.

Mountain Bike Handicap

The final round of the Manx Mountain Bike Club promoted handicap series takes place on Saturday at Chibannagh Plantation. The course will be on the main fire roads so should make bike cleaning a bit easier. Signing on takes place at the Braaid Hall from 1pm for a 2pm start.

Mountain Bike Trail Meeting

There was an excellent turnout for the first ever Manx Trails meeting at St Johns on Thursday evening. Approximately 70 enthusiastic souls crammed into the side room of the Tynwald Inn to listen to the views of youngsters through to the elder gentry about the possibility of setting up mountain bike trails on the Island similar to those found in the UK. DAFF representative were on hand to provide very supportive feedback to the questions put to the panel. Unfortunately we all ran out of time, but all were keen to attend further meetings in the near future. Gavin Callow can contacted for more details.

Mark Kelly's Good Form Continues

Mark Kelly continued to impress 'down under' in the Ron Bates Memorial two hour Madison at Hurstville Oval, Sunday last, riding with Gavin Bates , the duo picked up enough points to finish seventh overall, a good ride considering all those in front had all ridden previously for Australia. The following Friday Mark competed in the Sutherland criterium where Mark and another rider managed to jump away in an unsuccessful attempt to bridge the gap to the two leaders, their attempt was not in vain however as they stayed away with Mark finishing a creditable fourth.

Manx Mountain Bike Trails

Would you be interested in riding waymarked mountain bike trails in local Manx plantations?

These trails would have challenging technical manmade and natural sections as well as easy routes around them for inexperienced riders.These trails would be similar to those in forests all over England, Wales and Scotland.

There is to be a meeting held at the Tynwald Inn, StJohns, on Wednesday 4th February at 6pm to gauge interest in the project. Staff from the Forestry's division will be attending, they are interested in such a project. Anyone with in an interest in riding or helping build such trails is asked to please attend to show support.

Examples of similar trails can be seen on the internet site www.mtbwales.com If you require any further information contact Gavin Callow or look at the forum pages on www.manxmtb.org

Top 10 in Comic

Cycling Weekly featured the top Manx cyclists as part of their 'Top 10' series. It made interesting reading, the omissions from the list were Stuart Slack who won a bronze medal at the Empire Games at Cardiff in 1958, Millie Robinson who had a distinguished career winning many championships. Steve Porter also had a great innings, winning a stage in the Health Race in GB colours and just getting pipped in a tight sprint with the then GB number one, Paul Curran in the Manx International. Mark Gage also made a name for himself in Holland during the eighties. Josh Cowie also got a good mention in the British Schools Series report.

Kelly Hits Form in Aus.

Mark Kelly has recently hit good form with some impressive results Down Under Mark said '2004 is under way and I'm already racing in January!! As part of my training in Australia I am mixing in some racing with the top Sydney riders, (currently in peak Summer form). On Tuesday I rode a criterium at Hefron Park. First race of the year is always hard and with high winds I found it was a baptism of fire. Although I suffered a little with the up and down pace I still finished about 10th in the Grade A race.

The following evening (Wed 21st) I rode a track meeting at Hurstville Oval. A number of the top Sydney track riders were there and it took me the first few races to find my track legs, especially riding someone else's bike that was not my size. By the end of the meeting I was feeling a lot stronger and in the longer events I was going well. In the Elimination race I finished 4th, which I then followed with a 2nd place in the final race of the night, the Hurstville Oval 30 lap Scratch Race. The winner was Former Junior World Champion Steve Fitzpatrick, nicknamed the "Hurstville King" as he is very rarely beaten at Hurstville!

So I was pleasantly surprised to find my legs so quick, with a result so early in the year. Next event is the Bates Memorial 2hr Madison on Sunday 25th Jan, again at Hurstville Oval. I am riding with Gavin Bates, a good sprinter and friend, the event is his grandfather's memorial. So I'll let you know how is goes. It will be tough', Mark intends to ride the February Revolution on Manchester Velodrome.

Manx Talent ride with Jamie Staff

New recruits to the Great Britain Talent Team, Peter Kennaugh jnr., Scott Flynn, Jon Bellis and Elliott Moore had an action packed weekend at their induction camp. On Friday evening they rode an advanced taster session on Manchester Velodrome, see picture, Saturday saw the lads meet up with the rest of the team to pick up their team kit and to be measured up for bikes. After lunch they had a three hour session on the boards with none other than the current fastest cyclist in the world Jamie Staff. Afterwards they went through some team building exercises then set off to a nearby restaurant for a meal to get to know their new team mates and coaching staff. On Sunday they traveled back to the Velodrome with more training with Jamie Staff followed by a BMX session at Chorly. British Cycling will be back on the Island next week to set up the training diaries for the cyclists concerned and weather permitting pay a visit to the Tuesday evening training sessions.

Find out what Cav and Christian are up to

Great Britain Under 23 Squad members Mark Cavendish and Christian Varley have settled into their new homes near to BC headquarters in Manchester. Details of what they will be up to can be found here

Talent in Manchester

The Manx Road Club trio Scott Flynn, Peter Kennaugh jnr, and Jon Bellis plus Elliot Moore (TSP) head to Manchester this Saturday for their two day induction to British Cyclings World Class Talent Team. The riders will pick up their new team kit and bikes followed by a three hour track session on the velodrome. The following day they will take part in team building exercises including a BMX skills session with another three hour session on the velodrome to finish off.

Friday evening sees the quartet training on Manchester Velodrome gaining more valuable experience on the boards. This is the first of many trips the talented cyclists will be making to British Cycling's Headquaters over the coming months.

Mountain Bike Event

There was another good turnout for round three of the Manx Mountain Bike Club's Winter Series on Saturday at Chibannagh Plantation, Heavy rain during the week made for extremely soft ground conditions. Believe it or not, we tried to aim for a course predominantly on firm ground but the limitations of the plantation layout meant that, to do this would have resulted in an very boring course. Also, we did not want to be climbing on soft ground so the design of the course meant that the muddy bits had to be on level or downhill sections. It is a difficult compromise and, judging by the comments after the race, those who enjoy a challenge actually rather enjoyed the difficulties whereas those looking for a straightforward blast did not! Certainly, by the fifth lap, the central traverse section along the firebreak was getting very soft and difficult. But winter racing is all about taking the rough with the smooth - and otherwise we would have been faced with a rather dull circuit.

We will be considering options for the next round. The proximity of the Braaid Hall makes Chibbanagh a good choice but the availability of hard pack fire roads is very limited. Alternatives could be South Barrule or Archallagan. If you have a view or suggestions, offers of help etc, the best place to exchange ideas is on the forum. Results here

Helmets in Time Trials

Cycling Time Trial, the governing body for time trials on British roads, ruling on helmet use states the following:

All competitors under the age of 18 years and/or Juniors must wear a properly affixed helmet which must be of hard/soft shell construction. Helmets should conform to a recognised Standard such as SNELL B95, ANSI Z90.4, AUS/NZS 2063:96, DIN 33-954, CPSC or EN 1078. It is the responsibility of the rider (or parent or guardian if the rider is under 18 years of age) to:
a Select a Helmet that offers protection against head injury and does not restrict the rider’s vision or hearing.

b Ensure that the helmet is properly fitted, is undamaged and in good condition.


Footnotes:
a Any helmet which suffers damage (e.g. in the case of an accident or through mishandling) may no longer afford the same level of protection.

b Cycling Time Trials makes no warranties or representations regarding the adequacy of any standard or the fitness for the purpose of any brand of helmet and will not accept any claims arising from the use of any particular helmet.

c The current British Standard BS 6863 is primarily intended for use by young riders and is not intended to provide a complete specification for helmets for high speed or long distance riding.

British Cycling have made a positional statement on helmet use:

With the subject of making helmets compulsory for cyclists now being discussed in the corridors of Westminster, British cycling has issued the following positional statement regarding its position on the wearing of helmets.

“British Cycling considers that hard shell helmets are a necessity in all events run under our technical regulations. British Cycling recommends the use of these helmets for leisure riding but recognises the right of each individual to chose whether or not to accept this recommendation.”

 

Championship Events

British Cycling have produced a listing of all the 2004 British Championship road events and the National Series Championships for all categories, check them out here.

The Track Championships can be found here.

Calendar

I was asked recently why there were no pictures of ladies on the 2004 cycling calendar, unfortunatly the photo I intended to use was rejected at the eleventh hour due to the wide size (the photo not the girls!!) To see the photo I was going to use click here

Calendars 2

Don't forget to pop into Bikestyle or Eurocycles bike shops with £3 to purchase your racing calendar.

MMBC Winter Series Rnd 3

The penultimate round of the Winter Mountain Bike Series takes place this Saturday January 10 at Chibannagh Plantation. Meet at the Braaid Hall from 1.30pm for a 2pm start

Sport Aid Grants

Isle of Man Sport Aid Foundation forms can be obtained from Cycling Association Chairman, Steve Shimmin tel 621430. Cyclists wishing to be considered for Sport Aid assistance please note that forms must be submitted directly to the Cycling Association, not to the Sports Council, no later than Friday January 16.

Two Up Trophies...Where are They ??

Manx cycling trophy co-ordinator Tony Varley is searching for mislaid cycling trophies, in particular the two up time trial silverware, if anyone knows the whereabouts of any of these awards please contact Tony on 472757 so they can be returned and engraved up to date.

Great News For Road Club Trio

Manx Road Club riders Peter Kennaugh jnr, Scott Flynn and Jonathan Bellis plus Elliot Moore (TSP) received an extra Christmas present with fantastic news of their selection for the British Cycling Talent Team. The aim of the Talent Team is 'to build cyclists to an Internationally competitive standard in an Olympic cycling discipline' proving that Manx cyclists are up there with the best in Britain

Warren Flynn (MRC) and Cayley Ennett (TSP) are typical success stories from the Talent Team having joined one year ago. This is great news for Manx Cycling with the recent selection of Mark Cavendish (MRC) and Christian Varley (MVW) for the British Under 23 Olympic Squad.

The small but talented Manx Road Club squad now have six riders on British Cycling's books (Mark Kelly, Mark Cavendish, Warren Flynn, Peter Kennaugh, Scott Flynn and Jonathan Bellis) well done to them all.

Hitting The Boards

The buzz word these days seems to be track racing, so I thought I would try it out and see what all the fuss was about, I had a few days off over the Christmas period and after an invitation to spend New Year in Cardiff decided to try a spot of track riding. First stop was Manchester Velodrome where I sampled the 'boards' before watching Manchester City v Liverpool battle out a 2-2 draw across the road at the former Commonwealth Games stadium. Peter Kennaugh jnr tried out his new talent team track bike ( see photo) and found it to his liking. I, however, soon discovered how unfit I was having not raced on a track for 28 years!

The next day we went on a mountain bike ride near Cardiff spending over three hours riding some excellent trails, it was great to see so many girl cyclists out enjoying themselves, infact they out numbered the lads. After another late night it was due east to Newport Track, so new it was still smelling of pine and the paint on the Pinnerello bikes was just dry. After 20 or so riders on the Manchester track, I was now in the deep end with 60 plus riders circling the track in various groups, we had Olympic sprints, sprint sessions and various group rides, The following day we sampled a 40 mile road ride through the lanes in the Cardiff area (see photo) followed by a fry up in the local cycling cafe

It was a great 'training camp' I even did a bit of speed skating (like the Continental Pro's do) So which track did I prefer?, well Newport appeared easier, but that may be down to the fact that I was actually getting fitter, the Pinnerello bikes on hire at Newport track would probably just get the nod, but having said that Manchester Velodrome is right next to Manchester City's football stadium, spoilt for choice really. To conclude, don't be put off by track cycling, it's great fun and with ever increasing traffic volumes may in the future be the safe option, my 12 year old sonTim took to it really well and even my seven year old daughter managed to ride the 'blue line' at Newport, give it a go....

News 2003

 

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