on 12th December 2024
World Championship Heartbreak for Whitley
Riders from the top Midlands based cycling team Team Enable-MI Racing-Townsend Vehicle Hire recently competed in the 2024 UCI Masters Cyclocross World Championships. The event, held in Hamburg, Germany saw the world’s best age group riders competing against each other for the coveted rainbow jersey. Racing in cold but sunny conditions, Philip Roach finished in a very respectable 32nd place in the mens 60-64 age category race. In the womens 45-49 category race Lynsey Whitley was the fourth British women to cross the finish line and in 20th place overall. However, it was the hotly contested mens 55-59 category race that produced the best results for the team’s riders. Wrexham based Nick Whitley very quickly hit the front of the race on the first lap and battled hard against Germany’s Jens Schwedler to maintain the lead for the first couple of laps. Not far behind the front of the race was Coventry based rider Darren Atkins. German rider Schwedler then took control at the front of the race on the third lap and established a small gap which he managed to maintain through the finish line, winning by 12 seconds. Close behind, Whitley found himself in a tight battle with two other riders and it was a 3 man sprint to the line that would decide the world bronze and silver medals. As Whitley opened up his sprint for the line he managed to unclip a foot from a pedal, costing him valuable power and he sadly crossed the finish line in fourth place just a single second away from the bronze medal. Atkins fought hard in the later stages of the race picking off a number of riders to finish in 10th place.
Nick Whitley (photo courtesy of David Hastings -www.dhphoto.co.uk)
Nationally, as storm Darragh began to batter the UK, Nick Whitley made the long journey down to Clanfield, Hampshire to ride in round 4 of the National Cyclocross trophy series. On a really tough course that involved lots of running, Whitley managed to maintain his consistent form in the event with an excellent 3rd place finish in the mens 50-59 category race. In the mens 60+ race Philip Roach finished in 19th place. The fifth and final round of the series will take place in Tong, Bradford early in the new year. Many of the team’s riders will now be focussing their training in readiness for the national championships that will take place in Gravesend on the 11th and 12th of January 2025.
Back on the domestic racing scene, Sandwell Valley Country Park played host to the 11th and final round of the West Midlands Cyclocross league. Overnight rain led to some very sticky, slippery and muddy course conditions. Many riders and their bikes found the new course and the difficult conditions made for the toughest race of the season. In the mens 50-59 race Alan Buxcey finished in 45th place. In the mens 60+ race Pete Busby finished in an excellent 3rd place and Mark Garrett in 10th place. In the mens senior race Warwick based rider Tom Bradley produced his highest place finish of the season, crossing the line in 11th place. In the mens 40+ race Colin Miller finished in 5th place.
Pete Busby and Mark Garratt enjoying the tough conditions at Sandwell Valley Country Park (photos courtesy of Andy Jackson)