A BUSY WEEKEND FOR SENIORS AND JUNIORS
Last weekend's action for members of the Ely & District Cycling Club - B&T Motor Repairs started on Saturday afternoon with the Cambridge CC time trial race held on the the F2/15 course running along the A428 near Cambourne. Once again Darran Bennett was the fastest Ely rider, completing the 15 mile at an average speed of just under 30mph to give him 13th place on a time of 30:34. John Manlow was the second fastest Ely rider with a time of 33:15, with Derek Ricketts and Steve Peck just behind on 33:37 and 33:54 respectively.
Racing continued on Sunday, with Martin Holmes being the club's sole representative in the VC Baracchi time trial on the B50/17 course near Harleston in Norfolk. Holmes rode the 50 miles in 2:05:05, leaving him in 11th place overall on the day.
Sunday also saw off-road racing in the form of round 7 of the Mud Sweat and Gears Eastern mountain bike race series at Radical Bikes venue near Chelmsford. Mikie Burrell was racing in the Sport race and ended up having his best result of the season so far. Taking advantage of a tyre change shortly before the race to take account of the wet and twisty course, Burrell had a good start taking 4th place off the line, only to be held up by an early crash which put him back to 12th place. Burrell fought back to 10th place, and was unlucky to miss out on 9th place, coming up just short in the final sprint for the line.
Three of the club's junior members kept themselves and their fathers busy on Sunday by taking part in the Tour de Broads ride, starting and finishing in Whitlingham Country Park in Norfolk. Tom Lewis, Kieran Vanhoutte and Isaac Barton, together with their fathers Martin Lewis, Ferenc Vanhoutte and Nick Barton, braved sun, rain and a stiff headwind on the return leg to complete the 75 mile ride, and are looking forward to testing themselves on the longest 100 mile option next year.
