Velo29 Elite Team Rider Jack Rees comfortably sprinted to victory at Croft this weekend in the Velo29 Winter Series, a great start to the team’s season!

Jack sprinted home with a huge gap, arms in the air in a sweet victory for Velo29. The race went as planned for the team, Chris Mark was away briefly after 5 laps, when Chris came back Jack went immediately and established a group of 5 whom were uncatchable by the 70 plus field.

Jacked opened the Sprint with 200m to go and the outcome was never in doubt. I great win!

1 Jack Rees Velo29

2 Mike Sloanes Sunderland Clarion

3 Ryan Fenwick Gala CC
4 Sean Moon Edinburgh RC
5 Matt Rositer Durham Uni
6 Chris Mark Velo29
7 Mathew Bulmer Dirt whls cycles
8 Andy Heath Fietsen Tempo
9 Mark Johnson York Road Club
10 Tony Macullach, Phian Carbon

Youth Racing

Starting with the youths as usual, there were double the number of A and B cat riders tonight. But this made little difference to the results as Bradley Naughton, Matthew Worton and Alice Grieve all won their respective categories and consequently their overall classifications too.

The C, D & E categories were well supported throughout the whole series and tonight was no different. The youth winners tonight were:

Boys A: Bradley Naughton
Girls A: Alice Grieve

Boys B: Matthew Worton

Boys C: Toby Tanfield
Girls C: Ffion Lanigan

Boys D: Connor Eyeington
Girls D: Abi Smith

Boys E: Patrick Kilkullen
Girls E: Hannah Liddle

See below for the full youth results for the series.  Well done to the Stockton Wheelers who came away with no less than 4 winners medals this year! 

Senior Racing

Consistant points scorer Michael Dales of Velo29 came away the overal victor of the Martyn Dobson Memorial Trophy courtesy of wining the 6-up sprint finish in the final round.  Second place on the night went to Craig Anderson of Black Hawk Bikes in his first ride of the series, and third place went to Richard Meadows (Velo29) who had lead the series from the first week until the final round.  Richard was clearly disappointed to have missed out on the overall win, and having finished equal on points with Dales can consider himself very unlucky.

With a strong wind blowing, the race tonight was hard from the gun.  It wasn’t long before the race had split into 3 distinct groups.  Leading the way were Dales, Meadows, Jack Rees (Velo29), Craig Anderson (Black Hawk) and Simon Baxter (Herbalife Wheelbase). 

In the chase group was eventual 4th placed overall Kevin Byers (Fietsen Tempo), Marcus Smith (Black Hawk Bikes), series organiser Dan Smith (Velo29), Chris Mark (Velo29) and dispensated youth riders Charlie Tanfield (Velo29) and James King (Columba CC).  Doing the majority of the chasing in this group were Smith, King and Byers who had most to gain and they almost made the juncture… but not quite.  They did however provide the launch pad for Chris Mark who powered across the gap alone to join the leaders.

Back in the bunch, Giles Pidcock (Epic Cycles), Alex Bottomley (Fietsen Tempo) and Thomas Timothy (Velo29), who had all been overall contenders found themselves stalemated and out of the running for victory.

The Green Jersey Competition was sown up tonight by Martin Hopkinson of Fietsen Tempo without him having to turn a pedal, thanks to his big lead in the competition.  The winner of tonight’s sprint though was S Deeley of Southport CC, and this was enough to give him 2nd place in the competition.  3rd place overall went to Graham Topp of Stockton Wheelers.

1st: Michael Dales (Velo29)
2nd: Craig Anderson (Black Hawk Bikes)
3rd: Richard Meadows (Velo29)
4th: Jack Rees (Velo29)
5th: Simon Baxter (Herbalife Wheelbase)
6th: Chris Mark (Velo29)
7th: Kevin Byers (Fietsen Tempo)
8th: Charlie Tanfield (Velo29)
9th: Dan Smith (Velo29)
10th: James King (Columba CC)

The top 10 overall in the Martyn Dobson Memorial Trophy Series:

1st: Michael Dales (Velo29) 29 pts
2nd: Richard Meadows (Velo29) 29 pts
3rd: Harry Tanfield (Wallis Cycles) 17 pts
4th: Kevin Byers (Fietsen Tempo) 16 pts
5th: Giles Pidcock (Epic Cycles) 16 pts
6th: Alex Bottomley (Fietsen Tempo) 15 pts
7th: Thomas Timothy (Velo29) 15 pts
8th: David Johnson (Adept Precision) 13 pts
9th: Simon Baxter (Herbalife Wheelbase) 12 pts
10th: Jack Rees (Velo29) 11 pts

If anyone would like to see full results for the whole series, please email us at contact@velo29.com and we will send you the Excel Spreadsheet.

And finally a big thanks to everyone who turned up and made this race series happen; the riders, the many helpers and of course Martyn’s family.  I feel sure that Martyn would have enjoyed racing on this new circuit, and would undoubtedly have been capable of winning races here himself.

We hope to see you all at the Velo29 Winter Series next year.

Youth Racing

The C, D and E categories once again completed 8 laps and the A & B categories 15 laps of the Middlesbrough Cycle Circuit. 8 out of 10 of the youth categories were represented tonight. The winners tonight were:

Boys A: Bradley Naughton

Boys B: Matthew Worton

Boys C: Nathan Smith
Girls C: Megan Hopper

Boys D: Connor Eyeington
Girls D: Abi Smith

Boys E: Zachary Johnston
Girls E: Hannah Liddel

Overall Youth Results After 3 Rounds

Senior Racing

There was some enthralling tactical racing as riders placed in the top 10 started riding for the overall.  With only 2 weeks left, tonight’s results could have a big impact on the final outcome.

The scratch group lacked its usual organisation this week, with many riders trying to bridge the gap to the front group on their own or by taking only a small group of riders with them.

This meant that the 3rd and 4th cat groups easily stayed away long enough to take the points for the green jersey.  Martin Hopkinson (Fietsen Tempo) once again won the sprint and strengthened his lead in the competition over Graham Topp (Stockton Wheelers).  Martin needs to gain only 1 point in the final round on Tuesday to guarantee victory in the green jersey competition.

Tonight there were less than 10 riders from the scratch group that caught the handicap groups, and the only riders from the top 5 overall to get across were series leader Richard Meadows (Velo29) and team mate Michael Dales.  Richard however failed to capitalise on the opportunity to distance his rivals as he steered off the track and onto the grass in the final sprint.  

Tonight’s event though was won in style by Thomas Timothy (Velo29), who soloed clear of the group with 2 laps to go to win by a straight from the rapidly closing bunch as they sprinted for the line.  Results as follows:

1st: Thomas Timothy (Velo29)
2nd: Harry Tanfield (Wallis Cycles)
3rd: Kevin Byers (Fietsen Tempo)
4th: Graham Topp (Stockton Wheelers)
5th: Simon Baxter (Herbalife Wheelbase)
6th: Taylor Cardus (Velo29)
7th: Chris Mark (Velo29)
8th: Michael Dales (Velo29)
9th: Mike Rennison (Cleveland Wheelers)
10th: Stu Morris (Fietsen Tempo)

The final round is wide open with no less than 12 riders still in with a shout for the Martyn Dobson Memorial Trophy.

1st: Richard Meadows (Velo29) 21 pts
2nd: Harry Tanfield (Wallis Cycles) 17 pts
3rd: Giles Pidcock (Epic Cycles) 16 pts
4th: Thomas Timothy (Velo29) 15 pts
5th: Alex Bottomley (Fietsen Tempo) 15 pts
6th: Michael Dales (Velo29) 14 pts
7th: David Johnson (Adept Precision) 13 pts
8th: Kevin Byers (Fietsen Tempo) 12 pts
9th: Marcus Smith (Black Hawk Bikes) 10 pts
10th: Rob Carter (Velo29) 10 pts

Youth Racing

As usual the youth racing kicked off procedings with the C, D and E categories doing 8 laps, followed by the A & B cats who raced for 15 laps.  With prizes for each category winner and a handful of primes thrown in for good measure, the racing was exciting! 

The winners of each category were:

Boys A: Bradley Naughton
Girls A: Alice Grieve

Boys B: Matthew Worton

Boys C: Nathan Smith

Boys D: Connor Eyeington
Girls D: Abi Smith

Boys E: Patrick Kilkullen
Girls E: Hannah Liddel

Senior Racing

Tonight’s racing for the Martyn Dobson Memorial Trophy was filled with thrills and even spills in the course of the action.  The handicap groups came together fairly early again this week, but not before the intermediate sprint had taken place.  Martin Axon (Velo29) kicked off the sprint with nearly a full lap to go, but was beaten into 3rd place by Martin Hopkinson (Fietsen Tempo) and the comeback king Graham Topp (Stockton Wheelers).  Martin now holds the Green Jersey for next week’s race.

The race came back together just a lap after the sprint.  Immediately the attacks started; Marcus Smith (Black Hawk Bikes) and Michael Dales (Velo29) were in the first break, but this was shortlived.  Then it was Richard Meadows (now of Velo29) who launched a blistering solo attack.  Next it was the turn of race organiser Dan Smith (Velo29) who stayed out front on his own for several laps before being caught by brother Marcus.  This break lasted until less than 20 laps to go before eventually being reeled in.

But the main break of the day was led away by Rob Carter (Velo29), Alex Bottomley (Fietsen Tempo), Taylor Cardus (Velo29) and a bit later Michael Dales (Velo29).  Despite huge efforts by Herbalife Wheelbase rider Simon Baxter to bring the break back, the leading 4 managed to stay away until two laps to go.

Now you would think at this point that the Velo29 had it won with 3 riders in the break and a climber to dispose of in the run in… but disaster struck as Rob and Taylor both crashed out with just 2 laps to go!  Young Alex took advantage of the confusion to forge away on his own, and he took victory by about 10 bike lengths from Michael Dales.

Leading the bunch home was the consistent Giles Pidcock in 3rd place.  Full results below:

1st: Alex Bottomley (Fietsen Tempo)
2nd: Michael Dales (Velo29)
3rd: Giles Pidcock (Epic Cycles)
4th: David Johnson (Adept Precision)
5th: Richard Meadows (Velo29)
6th: Marcus Smith (BlackHawk)
7th: Kevin Byers (Fietsen Tempo)
8th: Alex Hopper (Velo29)
9th: Graham Topp (Stockton Wheelers)
10th: S Johnson

Overall
1st: Richard Meadows, 21 points

2nd: Giles Pidcock, 16 points

3rd: Alex Bottomley, 15 points

4th: David Johnson, 13 points

5th: Michael Dales, 11 points

6th Marcus Smith, 10 points

We hope to see you all back again for the penultimate round of the Martyn Dobson Memorial Series on Tuesday 9th August.

Youth Racing

The evening started with youth racing just like last year, with more than 20 kids from aged Under 8 all the way up to Under 16 taking part. With youth categories C,D & E racing for 8 laps, and A & B racing for 18 laps, there was an appropriate distance for all age groups!

The winners of each category were:

Boys A: James King
Girls A: Stephanie Hall

Boys B: Matthew Worton
Girls B: Emma Brady

Boys C: Thomas Mein
Girls C: Demi Hall

Boys D: Connor Eyeington
Girls D: Jemima Love

Boys E: Patrick Kilkullen

Senior Racing

The senior race was run as a handicap event as per last year, with the 3rd and 4th cats being give 1min and 1min20 start respectively on the scratch group. The race came back together fairly early, which led to Richard Meadows (Pendragon) taking the sprint for the green jersey from Jack Rees (Velo29) and Simon Baxter (Herbalife Wheelbase). Richard will struggle to maintain his lead in this competition as it is intended for the 3rd & 4th cat groups… the sprint will be brought forward next week so that the prize will go to the riders for whom it’s intended. (Sorry scratch group!)

The race was truly exciting to watch from beginning to end, with strong attacks coming from Matt Kipling of Raleigh (last year’s series winner), Richard Meadows, Simon Baxter, Rob Carter (Velo29) and many others too numerous to mention.

In the end, a group of 9 riders escaped the field with less than 10 laps to go, consisting of Meadows, Carter, Rees, Kipling, Harry Tanfield (Wallis Cycles), David Johnson (Adept Prescision), James Alder (BlackHawkBikes), and Giles Pidcock (Epic Cycles). Just as it looked like the group might be caught, Richard Meadows launched a powerful attack which converted into an impressive solo victory. Just behind was the only rider to react instantly, Velo29′s Rob Carter, and taking the sprint for 3rd was Giles Pidcock who had already won a prime earlier in the race.

Richard winning at Velo29's Stockton Cycling Festival earlier this year

Full Results:
1st: Richard Meadows (Pendragon)
2nd: Rob Carter (Velo29)
3rd: Giles Pidcock (Epic Cycles)
4th: Harry Tanfield (Wallis Cycles)
5th: David Johnson (Adept)
6th: Marcus Smith (BlackHawk)
7th: Jack Rees (Velo29)
8th: James Alder (BlackHawk)
9th: Matt Kipling (Raleigh)
10th: Michael Dales (Velo29)

Well done to all who took part; please encourage your teammates to come ride next week, and your friends and family to come and watch. The racing was exciting, and with the excellent cakes and drinks on offer at the club house it would be a shame to miss out!

See you all next week; Tuesday 2nd August at Prissick (the Middlesbrough Cycle Circuit).

After 15 miles the riders reached the first climb of the day, the steep 25% climb to Gribdale. With a hair-pin bend and Paris-Roubaix style road surface this was a real test of all the riders’ ability! Many took to walking on the second part of the climb, which is nothing to be ashamed of on such a hard hill!  The first feed was now not far away though, and after a short, fast descent on the now soaked roads, the village hall of Kildale was a very welcome shelter for food and water for all of the 300 plus riders.

Back at HQ, the professional’s were just departing. Riders from Raleigh, Endura, Sigma Sport and our own Velo29 set out at what looked to be a cracking pace. Hopefully, all of you enjoyed the opportunity to ride with some of the country’s best young riders, maybe even have a go at holding their wheel as they blasted past!

At just before 10:15, our first rider returned to HQ, well done Samuel Elliot on completing the 35mile route in only 1:59:14:35, you now hold the 35mile record!

By this time, Skinnergate Cycles  had departed on the “Service Par Course”, picking up any mechanical issues out on the 3 routes. On such a wet day, punctures were a plenty and the Skinnergate lads were kept very busy!

Riders were now flooding “pardon the pun” back to HQ, all tired, wet and cold but still smiling! When handing back the timing chips they all had a tale to tell, we’d love to hear any of your stories from the weekend so please do send them to contact@velo29.com; we’ll publish these over the next few weeks, with riders permission.

Out on the course, long route riders were starting to reach the 2nd feed at Cropton, which was a last chance to grab a rest before the hardest climb of the day; the 33% Rosedale Chimney! How many of you managed to ride this killer climb without dismounting? The Pros claim to have made it but we’ve not yet checked all the photos!!

By 5pm all but 3 riders were home, changed and dry. As we packed up the event kit into the vans, we reflected on what had been a brilliant first Endeavour Sportive. 6 months of hard work had gone into the preparation for the weekend and despite the weather, the day had been everything we hoped it would be.

There has been loads of positive feedback already, and this means a great deal to Velo29. We are cyclists just like you and love riding bikes. Many of the entrants in the Endeavour Sportive were first timers and new comers to the sport. We are delighted to have brought so many cyclists together on a wet weekend in July!

We’d like to say a massive thank you to all the riders who turned up and had a great time on the day; Velo29 really do appreciate the efforts you all made despite the horrendous weather. Stockton Borough Council played a big part in the weekend and their support was tremendous, as was the support of all our helpers who turn up at all the Velo29 Events. We could not do what we do without them and they make a huge contribution to Cycling in the North East.

The Endeavour Sportive will be back in 2012 and we hope to be bigger and better than this year, and of course have a ray of sunshine to replace the rain!

Keep an eye on www.velo29events.com for more news on the Stockton Cycling Festival, our other events and everything else Velo29.

Click here to see the full results.

Thanks to our partners who turned up on the day and got pretty much washed out… The Guide Dog Association, Polaris Apparel, Breeze Blockers, Sustrans, Cleveland Wheelers and Stockton Wheelers.

Go Race / 4th Cat Event

Comeback man Graham Topp won the sprint in this event from a field of about 20 riders. A Cleveland Wheeler in his youth, Graham has now resumed racing and joined his local club the Stockton Wheelers. Richie Burnicle (BlackHawkBikes) deserves a special mention for his attacking throughout the race; he was pulled back everytime but still managed to get 4th in the sprint. The best Go Race riders in the clasification were Ian Cowen, Alec Ledner and Greg Fletcher (8th, 9th and 10th) all of whom have recently started training with the Velo29 Cycling Team. Classification as follows:

1st: Graham Topp (Stockton Wheelers)
2nd: Stuart Grey (Sunderland Clarion)
3rd: Simon Donoghue (Team CF)
4th: Richie Burnicle (BlackHawkBikes)
5th: Chris Barnard (Sunderland Clarion)
6th: Chris Ranson (Infinity Cycles)
7th: Dave Ranson (Infiniity Cycles)
8th: Ian Cowen
9th: ALec Ledner
10th: Greg Fletcher

Youth Racing

In what was undoubtedly the worst weather of the day, there were 2 races for the courageous youth riders. The C, D & E cat event lasted for about 20 mins and the A & B lasted for about 40mins. Hats off to competitors in both events for starting and finishing their races. You can be sure that a lot of people were put off by the weather from all age groups, but these hardy souls put their hearts into their events. Classifications as follows:

Cat A Boys:
1st: Jack Sadler (Herbalife Wheelbase)
2nd: Alex Hopper (Velo29)
3rd: Levi Moody (PedalSport CC)

Cat A Girls:
1st: Laura Kotch (Cleveland Wheelers)

Cat B Boys:
1st: Scott Auld
2nd: Joe Howard (Cleveland Wheelers)

Cat C Boys:
1st: Angus Brown (Infinity Cycles)
2nd: Tom Piddock (Aire Valley RT)
3rd: Aaron Preston

Cat C Girls:
1st: Helen Kotch (Cleveland Wheelers)

Cat D Boys:
1st: Connor Eyeington
2nd: Joe Piddock (Aire Valley RT)
3rd: Lawrence Squire

Cat E Boys:
1st: Patrick Kilkullen
2nd: Arram Brown

The House Designer Wear 1 Lap TT

The House of Yarm sponsored this event, with the winner being Tom Barras of Cycle Premier -Metaltek taking the spoils. He was closely followed by Chris Smart of the might Glasgow Coureurs and Chris Mark of the Velo29 Cycling Team. Given the weather, you can be pretty sure that the most technically gifted rider took the spoils today.

The OTR (Handbuilt Carbon Wheels) 2,3,4 Cat Race

This exciting race was won by Pendragon Colnago rider Richard Meadows in emphatic style. Ridding himself of his breakaway companions Michael Dales (Velo29) and Liam Armstrong (VC Briganti), Richard powered to a solo vicorty with a gap of about a minute. The bunch sprint was won by Velo29′s own Taylor Cardus, who also won the first junior prize, showing his potential to be a top class sprinter in years to come. The first lady whose performance was outstanding was Brit Tate of the Dirtwheels Cycles Team, who distanced her rivals (Rachael Bamford and Karen Poole early on in the race). Classification as follows:

1st: Richard Meadows (Pendragon)
2nd: Taylor Cardus (Velo29)
3rd: Will Brown (Fietsen Tempo)
4th: David Johnson (Adept)
5th: Jack Rees (Velo29)
6th: Nick Amitstead (Dirtwheels Cycles)
7th: Mike Bell (Fietsen Tempo)
8th: Liam Armstrong (VC Briganti)
9th: Simon Davison (Blackhawkbikes)
10th: Jack Sadler (Herbalife Wheelbase)

The Velo29 Elite Riverside Race

Some of the best riders in the country from some of the best teams in the country turned up in Stockton on Sunday to fight for the spoils at the Velo29 Elite Riverside Race. Riders from Endura, Raleigh, Velo29, Cycle Premier Metaltek, Sigma Sport Specialized, Pendragon and a full sqaud from Herbalife Wheelbase ensured this race was worth staying out in the rain for.

Attacking riding from the off saw an early break of 5 that was to last the full length of the race. The strong man in the break appeared to be Endura rider James Moss who took the Velo29 Online Bike Shop Prime early in the race and also the Vankru Performance Bikes prime at 3 laps to go. Also in the break were Rob Partridge (Endura), Kit Gilham (Sigma Sport), Andrew Hawdon (Herbalife) and Andrew Coupe (also Herbalife).

Back in the bunch the action was hot, with Tom Barras (Cycle Premier) taking the bunch ‘Skinnergate Cycles of Stockton’ prime and constant attacking from Chris Mark (Velo29) and Richard Meadows (Pendragon) keeping the time gap low to start off with. Their attacking was however effectively neutralised by Herbalife and Endura.

The final few laps in the break saw an non stop attacking, with James Moss looking like the most likely winner. Unfortunately, James raised his arms a lap early (it’s easier done than you might imagine), and the sprint was taken a lap later by Andrew Hawdon from Endura riders Moss and Partridge.

Classification as follows:

1st: Andrew Hawdon (Herbalife Wheelbase)
2nd: James Moss (Endura)
3rd: Rob Partridge (Endura)
4th: Kit Gilham (Sigma Sport Specialized)
5th: Andrew Coupe (Herbalife Wheelbase)

More Images will be added to the Velo29 Facebook page shortly.

At 12:00 noon, Croft Motor Racing Circuit, Darlington, a full field of 100 riders kicked off this years major event Calendar.

Early rain soon stopped and by 12:00 the circuit was dry though there was a raising breeze.

Our Field of 100 riders were split accorss 4 groups 4th Cats, 3rd Cats, 2nd Cats and 1st/ Elites. Croft is a 2 mile circuit and with a brisk pace, handicaps were not more than 90 seconds between each group.

The Elite/ 1st Cat group was an impressive list of riders with most the top UK teams being represented. We were delighted so see stars such as Dave Clarke, Tom Barras, David Lines and Gary Hand making the trip to the North East as well as local Pro’s including Matt Kipling representing his new Team Raleigh.

Racing set off to a very rapid pace and all the groups were lapping rapidly, we saw some sub 4 minute laps today which given the conditions is extremely quick! With a “Cash Prime” on offer after 6 laps, riders were no doubt motivated by the potential reward!

On the 23rd Lap the Elites/ 1st Cat group caught the 2nd Cats and the pace quicken’d with the noow bigger group. However, little time was gained on the other groups racing hard to stay away until the prime. With 4 laps covered the 3rd and 4th Cat groups came together and on the 5th lap some small breaks were going clear but only gaining a small advantage from the speeding Peleton.

On Lap 20 there was a 4 man crash on the finishing straight resulting in Jamie Davidson being taken to hospital. Jamie has a leg injury though it is believed though painful, no long term injuries were incurred and we wish Jamie a speedy recovery.

The Prime was a bunch sprint taken by Daniel Warwick of Active Cycles ahead of Liam Cowie and in 3rd Nathan Edwards.

With 18 Laps to go, a break of 4 riders moved clear and gained a gap of around 5 seconds. This was short lived and Josh Teessdale of Jewson took advantage with a bold counter move. Josh is a emerging local rider and showing some real promise. This move was to last an extremely impressive 5 laps with Josh time-trailing a solo effort. Hat off to a brave effort and some impressive riding from the young rider.

As we crossed the line with 16 laps remaining, the Elite/ 1st/ 2nd cat groups caught the 3rd/ 4th group and now the field was almost 100 riders! This was a spectacel to behold as the line snaked around the Motor Racing Circuit. However, this was short lived and immediately attacks came. The field was strung out as the Elite riders sped through the group, looking to sneak away. A few select groups gained advantages but the field, keen to keep things together at this stage always brought them back.

However on the 10th Lap what was to be the winning move broke clear, a group of 11 including most of the race favourites quickly gained a gap of 100 metres. This group was to become 12 on the 12th lap when Josh Teessdale was finally caught, credit to Josh though, he found the legs to go with the break and contribute further to what was turning out to be an excellent race.

The Peleton cashed but could not hold the gap and the leaders, working excellently together continued to move away. Smaller groups started to jump from the main field and a with 10 laps to go, Michael Dales of Velo29 along with Dougie Young of Pedal Power. Michael was later to drop Dougie and spent the rest of the race alone. Another impressive Solo attempt and worthy of note.

The pace remained high and with 6 laps remaining, the break of 12 started to attack each other. With several powerful attacks, the 12 were split and soon became 9 with Phil Mark (Velo29), Liam Armstrong and Josh Teessdale missing out.

This was to be the final split and despite various attacks in the Peleton, no gap was made on the lead group, the 3 cashers or an Michael Dales pursuing alone.

After 25 laps the lead group of 8 came thundering over the finish line. The sprint was wound up 200 metres to go and local star Matthew Kipling timed his run perfectly to cross the line a bike length ahead of Tom Barras and in 3rd place David Lines. Local knowledge and excellent form held Matt in good steed and as he cross the line, arms held high it was obvious this victory was a sweet start to his season.

Adam Robertson brought the Peleton in 3 mins and 22 seconds down on the race winner.

We could not have asked for a better start to the 2011 season and the first ever Velo29 North East Trophy. A huge field of quality riders, good weather, and a worthy winner in Matt.

I would like to individually thank every rider, spectator and helper for turning up today and making this event such as success for Velo29. Your support means a huge amount to us.

We are back next week for the last round of the Velo29 Winter Series, 11:30 at Croft again, look forward to seeing you there!

Numbers were up on round 1 which is great news and encourages us the formula is working.

The 4th/ Go-Race set off to a brisk pace, much faster than last week, the first 4 laps being covered in under 20 minutes, not far off the pace of the scratch riders!

Attacks went from the gun but with a Prime on offer after 4 laps, the groups were kept together by riders chasing the cash prize. Jon Hopkinson took the prime, the first of 3 prizes for Jon today!

The pace remained high and the riders crossed the line in 10 minutes less than round one, impressive stuff!

Jon Hopkinson (Aire Valley Wheelers) brought the field home ahead of Dan Warwick (Active Cycles) and in 3rd place Mike Smart of Velo29. This was Mike’s 2nd ever event and he’s showing much promise for the future.

The E/1/2/3/4 race was shortly underway, with a rising wind the stronger Scratch riders quickly gained pace on the handicap groups.

The groups came together after 7 laps, quite a contrast to round 1 where the Elite riders never saw the front of the race.

Immediately the attacks started. A group of 11 select riders gained an advantage which quickly grew to over 30 seconds. The race was over for the chasing pack.

Not content with the size of the group, attacks were frequent and the 11 were soon reduced to 6. Dan Smith of Velo29 made valiant efforts but was unable to open a clear advantage.

Finally, a group of six thundered over the line. Giles Harrison of active cycles just pipped last weeks winner Harry Tanfield followed closely by Jon Hopkinson completing his impressive hattrick of prizes!

A big thanks for everyone who turned up, we really appreciate your participation.

Don’t forget next week is cancelled due to local restrictions but we’ll be back on the 19th for the final round.

The 26th of February is the North East Trophy, with a £500 prize list it’s filling up fast so please call/ email/ post an entry to be sure of a place!

More pictures available on the Velo29 Facebook Page.

Results

Go-Race/ 3rd Cats

1st Jon Hopkinson Aire Valley Cycles
2nd Dan Warwick Active Cycles
3rd Mike Smart Velo29
4th Peter Hudson Durham University
5th Ben Oakes VC Briganti
6th Ian Davidson Tyneside Vagabonds
7th Seb Horner Moonglu RT
8th Craig Harding Border City Wheelers
9th Dave Ranson Infinity
10th M. Street Dirt Wheels

E/1/2/3/4

1st Giles Harrison Active Cycles
2nd Harry Tanfield Team Wallace
3rd Jon Hopkinson Aire Valley Cycles
4th Dan Smith Velo29
5th Richard Meadows Pentragon
6th Ben Oakes VC Briganti
7th Jon Sturman Active Cycles
8th Ryan Fenwick Stewerty Wheelers
9th Ash Marshall VC Cycles
10th Martin Hopkinson Fietsen Tempo

Over 70 riders took to the circuit, the weather, though cold was as good as we could have hoped.
Bright sunshine, little wind and dry tarmac. Great conditions to open the road season!

Racing got underway at 11:30 for the 4th/ Go-Race categories. With breaks going on the first lap
the tempo was high. A lot of the field had never raced before but they all soon grouped together.
The racing was safe and fun.

Ed Garrett eventually brought the field home to receive flowers on the podium along with Jon Stokes in 2nd
and Mark Hancock in 3rd place.

The handicapped E/1/2/3/4 race got underway shortly after. Many of the 4th Cat’s had taken advantage
of the offer of entering a 2nd race for only £7. With 2 minute gaps between each of the 3 groups and
some very hard work by some strong 3rd Cats, the Elite/1/2 riders didn’t quite catch the handicapped
group. Despite big efforts from the group and a strong solo effort by ex Velo29 rider Richard Meadows,
the E/1/2 rides were left to pick up the “also-ran” places.

Harry Tanfield (ex Velo29) brought the sprint home ahead of Tom Timothy (Velo29) and riding his first road race,
tri-athlete Tom Bustard came in an impressive 3rd, despite spending the majority of the last 3 laps sat on the front
holding off the chasing scratch riders!

Well done to everyone who took part, we hope to see you all there again next week for some more great early
season racing.

Don’t forget, the 12th Feb has been cancelled due to local noise restrictions.

Full results below.

Go-Race/ 3rd Cats                                                        E/1/2/3/4

1st Ed Garrett Durham University                        1st Harry Tanfield Wallis Cycles
2nd Jon Stokes Private Member                            2nd Tom Timothy Velo29.com
3rd Mark Hancock Malton Wheelers                   3rd Tom Bustard LBT
4th Seb Horner Moonglu RT                                   4th Shawn Nicholson Columba CC
5th Zack White Head Dirt Wheels Cycles           5th Martin Hopkinson Fietsen Tempo
6th Joey Halloran Cambridge                                6th Richie Ranson Infinity
7th Levi Lawrence Velo29.com                           7th Rob Wheeler Velo29.com
8th Mike Smart Velo29.com                                  8th Ronnie Coleman Lindsey Roads CC
9th Samuel Hatfield Durham University          9th James Farley Fietsen Tempo
10th Ian Davidson Tyneside Vagabonds         10th Andy Heath Fietsen Tempo