on 12th March 2012
2011 was a fantastic season for Coventry based Team Jewson M.I.Racing Thule, with over 150 victories inc 21 British Ind. Championships, 2 Team Championships plus 4 podium places at World Championships. Can it get better? Well if the start of the 2012 Road season is anything to go by, it certainly can!
Star rider of the weekend , was Les Liddiard, Les finished last season early with a broken arm, but some excellent training over the winter months, has put him back to top form.
On Sunday he attacked within a few miles of the start of the 36 mile Towcester Road Race, joined very soon after by another rider, and they were never seen again by the rest of the field, finishing over 3 minutes ahead.
In the sprint to the line, Liddiard proved to be too fast and strong for his race long companion, to get Team Jewson of to a cracking start for 2012. Liddiard also won the race for riders 55 yrs and over.
Dunchurch’s Martin Hackley, kept the Team to the front, by finishing 2nd in the race for 60 +, and multi British Champion Derrick Woodings won the 70+ race
In the longer 42 mile race, National series champion for past 3 seasons, John Stevenson (Warwick) showed he too has done his homework over the winter with a fine 3rd place in the 45+ race
British Junior Time Trial Champion for 2011 and National Junior Hill Climb Champion–Josh Teasdale, riding his first event of the season , finished a brilliant 2nd in the Cleeveland Hilly 21 ml Time Trial just 41 secs behind the winner.
Mark James made it 4 wins for the Team , when he won the Veterans section of a Mountain Bike race in Wales, held in wet and very muddy conditions.
The Lady members of the Team were not to be out done.
Top Triathlete, and Time Trialist Stacey Penn (Coventry), swopped Bike for Running shoes, and finished an amazing 5th Lady in the Silverstone ½ Marathon, which attracted 10.000 runners, with a time of 1hr 29 mins , finishing just 3 mins behind the winner.
In the British Durathlon Championships held at Rutland Water Coventry’s Samantha Anderson finished 5th, the first 4 were automatically selected o represent Gt. Britain at the forth coming World Championships, but Samantha will get another chance to make that British Team , when she competes in another qualifying event at the end of the month at Oulton Park.
4 Firsts, 2 Seconds 1 Third and 2 brilliant 5th places in 1 weekends racing. Fantastic performances.