Cullaigh wins again

Gabriel Cullaigh (RST Racing Team) notched up another win in the Barkstone Circuit Race League event in Lincolnshire on Saturday.  Cullaigh beat team mate Joey Walker into 2nd place in the Under 16 Boys race.

Another rider in top form is former Holme Valley Wheeler Jack Ford (Wakefield Junior Tri Club) who won the Under 12 Boys race & is looking like the rider to beat in 2012.

Amira Mellor (Holme Valley Wheelers) was an impressive 6th in the Youth race at the National Mountain Bike Series event at Dalby Forest, North Yorkshire on Sunday.  Mellor, who is on British Cycling's Talent Team, was making the technical sections of the course look easy despite the extremely slippery conditions.  The race was won by Lucy Grant (Peebles CC) who completed 2 laps in 56min 45sec.

Riding his first ever Mountain Bike event Harry Hardcastle (Kirklees Cycling Academy) showed great potential in finishing 10th in the Juvenile Boys race, won by Daniel Tulett (Hargroves Cycles).

Gareth Owen (Team Swift) made a brave breakaway attempt in the Hull Thursday Road Race at North Newbald on Sunday.  The race was extremely tough for the 66 starters with a long steep hill every lap, some sharp showers & grit strewn roads which caused many punctures.

Owen jumped clear of the bunch on the first lap with Stephen Coates (We Love Mountains RT) & stayed away till the last lap when they were caught by what what was left of the main bunch, just 9 riders.  James Allen (Sheffrec CC) took the win, Owen just missed out on a top ten finish but did claim 4 primes during the race. Ivan Boyes (Huddersfield Star Wheelers) was heading for 17th place but punctured on the last lap, only 22 riders made it to the chequered flag.

Mellor Victorious in VTTA 10

Rachael Mellor (Holme Valley Wheelers) was fastest in the VTTA 10 mile Time Trial at South Cave near Hull. Mellor clocked 23min 39sec for the event, 30 seconds faster than 2nd place Katherine Pimlott (Ilkey CC)

Alastair Wareham (Team Swift) & team mate Joel Wainman finished in 2nd place with a time of 32min 48sec in the Lincolnshire LRRA 2-up time trial in Lincolnshire on Saturday. The winning time was 32min 28sec from the Sportscover Altura Team of Adam Duggleby & Ashley Brown.

Kirklees Cycling Academy riders has some great results at the ACT Easter Monday Track meeting at Manchester Velodrome last week. Harry Hardcastle was on the winning team in the Youth B Italian Pursuit race & Henry Hollyman did the same in the Youth C & D event. Mason Hollyman’s best result was 3rd in the Youth C & D 1km Scratch race. Not to be outdone by his sons, Nigel Hollyman won the Over 40s Unknown Distance race & Huddersfield Star Wheeler Ivan Boyes was 3rd in the Under 40s event.

The 2nd event in the Yorkshire Road Race League took place on Sunday. Race organiser Marc Etches from Sheffrec CC attracted an extremely strong field of 66 Elite, 1st & 2nd Cat riders to ride 18 laps of the Braithwell course in South Yorkshire. Jamie Shirlaw (Herbalife Leisure Bikes) won the 62.5 mile race which had been split into several groups by the fast pace & strong winds, Huddersfield’s Tom Murray (IG-Sigmasport) finished in 11th place.

Busy Easter Weekend for Huddersfield Riders

Holme Valley Wheeler Amira Mellor was part of the winning team in the Youth Tour of Scotland over the Easter weekend. Over 140 riders took part in the event near Perth which included a prologue time trial, team time trial & 2 road stages. Mellor was part of a composite team which included Kim English, Beth Hayward & Melissa Lowther who won the individual overall prize.

Mark Thaxter broke the Huddersfield Star Wheelers 10 Mile Club Record on Good Friday in the Hull City Road Club event. Thaxter improved on his own record by 35 seconds to stop the clock in 19min 17sec which was enough for 9th place. The winning time went to Jeff Jones (www.drag2zero.com) with 18min 9seconds, Huddersfield rider Alistair Wareham (Team Swift) was 11th in 19min 27sec.

It was a weekend of highs & lows for Huddersfield Professional Cyclist Tom Murray (IG-Sigmasport). On Good Friday he was competing in the Herne Hill Track meeting in London, his best result was 3rd place in the prestigious Golden Wheel 20 km Scratch race which was won by Marcel Katz from Germany.

Cold wet weather, mechanical issues & questionable decisions from the race commissaires made for a less than successful Tour Doon Hame in Scotland which started on Saturday & finished on Easter Monday. Endura Racing dominated the 3 stage race, the 2nd Premier Calendar event of 2012, Jonny McEvoy taking the overall prize and his team are looking like the riders to beat this year. Murray finished in 72nd place & is hoping for some better luck in the upcoming Tour Series town centre races, one of his main goals for the season.

Kirklees Cycling Academy youth team had some great results in the Stockport Clarion youth event in Buxton on Good Friday. Henry Hollyman won the 10 lap race for Under 10 Boys & was 2nd in the 5 lap event. Mason Hollyman & Nathan Fortune were both 2nd in their 2 races in the Under 12s & Under 8s respectively.

Former Holme Valley Wheeler Richard Binks (Clay Cross RT) fine road race form continued with 3rd place in the ActiveCPCycles Easter Road Race on Sunday. First over the finish line in the 90km race for 2nd, 3rd & 4th Cat riders was Julian Gromett (Cottingham Coureurs RT) , Binks is now only 9 points from gaining his 2nd Cat racing license.

Still waiting on the results from the ACT Track event at Manchester on Easter Monday which I'll stick in next week's report.

Thaxter Gets 5th in First Event of 2012

Mark Thaxter’s 2012 time trial season is underway with a fine 5th place in the Birdwell Wheelers event on Saturday near Doncaster. Thaxter rode the 10 mile course in 21min 56sec, the winning time went to reigning National Hill Climb Champion Gunnar Gronlund (RST Racing Team-Trigon) with 20min 58sec.

Thaxter’s club mate Tom Broadbent had an equally noteworthy result in the 51 mile Circuit of the Dales Time Trial on Sunday which starts near Ingleton & has 3000ft of climbing making it a real challenge for the 100 plus competitors. Broadbent was an impressive 15th place with a time of 2hours 9mins 56sec, Richard Handley (Rapha Condor Sharp) recorded the fastest time of 1hour 55min 38sec, nearly 3 minutes ahead of 2nd place rider Andy Wilkinson (Port Sunlight Wheelers).

Holme Valley Wheeler Lee Brown picked up enough points for his 3rd Cat racing license with 6th place in the 34 mile race at Darley Moor near Ashbourne, Derbyshire on Saturday. The race was won by Joe Evans (Team Velocity). Local youngsters Jack Ford (Wakefield Junior Tri) & Mason Hollyman (Kirklees Cycling Academy) were 1st & 2nd respectively in the Under 12 Boys race.

Former Star Wheeler James Sampson (Node 4-Giordana) picked up 7th place in the Dirtwheels Spring Classic Road Race on Sunday. The 70 mile race for Elite, 1st & 2nd Cat riders was won by Sampson’s team mate Keiran Frend who won with a solo attack on the last lap of the Penny Pot Lane circuit near Harrogate. Best local finisher in the 44 mile 3rd & 4th Cat race was former Holme Valley Wheeler Richard Binks (Clay Cross RT) in 7th place.