GLOUCESTER City Cycling Club's road racing squad have taken to race circuits around the South West and Midlands.
The road squad, which is very inexperienced but highly talented and enthusiastic, have started by racing in the very popular Mamil series, which is held on a purpose built two-mile track at Stourport-on-Severn.
The squad comprises of third category riders Ali Kay and Harry Edwards and fourth category riders Iain Holmes, Matt Wellings, and Nick Maiolo.
In round two, Wellings came away with points in his first race for category upgrading when he finished very strongly in ninth place.
Iain Holmes, though finishing lower down in 22nd position, rode a very aggressive race.
Breaking away from the large peleton of over 60 riders, he maintained a lead of 20 seconds for several laps, much to the pleasure of team director Gerry McGarr.
He was swallowed up with five laps to go and the resulting mass bunch sprint resulted in a win for Birmingham University student Mark Lavender.
Nick Maiolo finished just ahead of Holmes in 21st place.
The ride of the meeting for the Gloucester squad however was Alastair Kay, a third category rider had to race in the main event for elites, first and second category riders.
He was not overshadowed by the class of field and rode extremely well to finish in 14th place –the highest placing a Gloucester rider has gained in the main event.
Round three saw Kay joined by Sir Thomas Rich's schoolboy Harry Edwards in the main event but he was unable to match the performance of the week before.
Due to a heavy week of training the legs were gone after six laps and he decided to pull out.
However, Edwards was riding well in the race and finished a very credible 19th.
In the earlier junior under-16 race James Chantler-Mayne, another Sir Thomas Rich's pupil, competed for the first time and he did well to finish in 13th place.
The final event was the fourth category with Holmes, Nick Maiolo and Matt Wellings flying the Gloucester colours.
Holmes broke away again from the main pack of 70 riders with John Hunt from the Beacon Road Club (Birmingham).
In the sprint for the line Holmes was just pipped by the Beacon rider. This result owed a lot to the unselfish riding of his teammates Maiolo and Wellings who placed themselves on the front of the main pack and attempted to keep the pace slow and chased any attacks by other riders.
In the sprint finish 20 seconds later, Wellings managed to gain eighth place for further upgrading points so he and Holmes are on their way to joining Kay and Edwards in the higher category.
Meanwhile, in his first road season Neal White travelled to Odd Down at Bath to compete in a fourth category race on the day the ex-Longlevens rugby player was celebrating his 50th birthday.
He really enjoyed the experience and was doing well until he suffered a front wheel puncture with six laps to go.
