Team CrossTrax
WHERE WE ARE RACING NEXT . . . . .Road Team - Junior Tour of Wales - 23rd-25th August
MTB Team - Grand Raid Cristalp - 23rd August and NPS XC Round 4 Eastridge - 23rd August.
TEAM RACE RESULTS . . . . .
CROSSTRAX TEAM WIN BOTH YORKSHIRE TLI RACE SERIES' - CYCLO-CROSS & ROAD RACING ! ! !
A big thankyou to all the team riders who made these victories possible for Crosstrax. Continue the good work!
Paul Milnes Cycles Yorkshire TLI Cyclo-Cross Series - Overall Winner (Mark Thwaites)
Chevin Cycles Yorkshire TLI Road Series - Overall Winner (Giles Pidcock)
Chevin Cycles Yorkshire TLI Road Series - Team Winners
Yorkshire TLI Road League # 9 (Final) - 5th August – Kirby Hill
A large number of riders assembled in Boroughbridge in rainy conditions to race the final round of the league on the Kirby Hill Circuit. The team were still in high spirits after Giles over all win and were all keen to take the team prize aswell. Team tactics were discussed before the start and a battle plan was decided. The series standings before the race were Clifton CC - 13 points, Chevin Cycles - 11 points and Crosstrax - 10 points. With 1 point for every rider in the top ten, it was important that Crosstrax packed as many riders into the top ten as possible.
The race began and the Crosstrax team hit the front and drove the scratch group to the front of the race in super fast time. The team rode well to neutralise any attacks prior to the bunch kick at the finish. Onto the final leg and Scott Thwaites hit the front and put in a huge "Thwaites" effort stringing the bunch out for the final 600metres before peeling to let Giles take the win and claim 2nd himself. Elliot and Jez had a good final gallop to get inside the top ten. At the presentation Giles claimed his well deserved series winners prizes from Chevin Cycles. There was however some confusion on the team award as apparently there were 3 teams tied on 13 points! (10 + 4 = 14...no?) Anyway fortunately for us, the tie breaker was based on number of events won which we easily had most of so we took the team prize as well as individual. A great result!
Midlands Cross-Country MTB Series - Round 3 (Sherwood) - 3rd August
Simon Maudsley travelled down to compete in the final round of the Midlands Cross Country Series at Sherwood Pines country park in Clipstone near Mansfield. The Sherwood course is very fast and provides close fought racing throughout the categories. Simon lined up in the Sport Men's category and rode a great race to finish in 10th position. Hopefully we can get a good turnout of Crosstrax riders down to the next NPS round at Eastridge in mid August.
Yorkshire Summer Cyclo-Cross Series - Round 7 (Huddersfield) - 30th July
Crosstrax sent ten riders over to the final round of the Yorkshire TLI Summer Cyclo-Cross Series at New College Huddersfield. The organisers had put on a good course again, comprising of fast field sections, technical bankings and woodland singletrack.
The main senior field was one of the strongest of the series with riders including former North of England Champion Keith "The Murrayator" Murray, Veterans Champion Roy Hunt, and current U23 Womens Champion Amy Hunt among others. Scott "Yoda" Weston opened up procedings for Crosstrax with a super fast start leading the field for the first 300metres before grabbing the ripcord and opening his parachute. Mark Thwaites took over at the end of lap one and never looked back as the expected challenge from the Murrayator failed to materialise. Mark recorded his 5th win in 5 starts to take the series overall. Neal and Simon both rode very well in a fast and tactical race, finishing 6th and 11th respectively. Jason Hudson is now converted to a Cross bike and recorded a fantastic 23rd place in only his 3rd cross event. 2008 Series newcomers Jason Hemsley and Andy Hunt both built on their steady starts to finish in 26th and 28th place with Yoda recovering from his earlier efforts to finish in 30th position. Ed Battye now onboard his new Yeti Arc-X machine had his strongest ride of the series to finish in 37th position in the strong field. Jo Johnston was riding strongly but here race was ended prematurely by a rear puncture. Joe Parker had another good ride to finish in 8th position.
Yorkshire TLI Road League # 8 - 10th June – Aldborough
A good Crosstrax turnout at the event tonight. Mark Thwaites was keen to push hard from the start and along with Barrie Mordue, Jonny Farnaby, Giles Pidcock and riders from Glendene and Yorks Cycleworks the scratch group quickly made contact with the front of the race. Breaks were firing off constantly and the Crosstrax riders from the scratch group and also Jason Hemsley and Jimmy Farnaby all rode cleverley to put men in all the moves. Mark Thwaites put in a number of hard attacks on the old A1, one after another, and finally he got away with Jamie Sharp of York Cycleworks. Coming towards the finish, Thwaites attacked hard on the short climb on the circuit and time-trialled the final 2km to the finish avoiding the fast closing bunch. Giles Pidcock unleashed another super sprint to lead the group home and take 3rd on the night. The remainder of the team pushed hard into the line and recorded top 20 finishes. Giles has now won the individual series but the team will now have to ride a tactically clever final round to also steal the team prize.Yorkshire Summer Cyclo-Cross Series - Round 6 (Greetland) - 16th July
Eight of the team travelled in convoy over to Greetland for the 2nd round at this tough and technical venue. The riders were happy to be greeted this time with dry and dusty conditions for the race, in contrast to the earlier rounds rain and mud.
Joe Parker started the night off well finishing a great 9th place in a strong field of U14 riders. Onto the main race of the night, Mark Thwaites attacked straight from the start and utilised the benefits of his Yeti ASR mountain bike through the early BMX section to gain a good lead strong after lap one. He continued to push hard throught the race and developed his lead to over two minutes by the end. Neal Crampton and Simon Maudsley were both holding good positions inside the top 10 when Neal was struck with a snapped chain at mid race point which ended his campaign. Simon continued to ride strongly and finished a great 8th place.
Scott "Yoda" Weston benefited from a more controlled start tonight and finished strongly in 21st position. His racing commitment was however questioned by team manager Ed Battye, who thought Yoda did not fight hard enough for 20th place going into the final corner. Jason Hudson has now upgraded to a hardtail bike and is now sniffing at the heels of Yoda after a strong ride finishing him in 25th place. Ed was suffering a sore rib tonight from a freestyle jumping incident earlier in the week, but still posted a gutsy ride to finish 31st and Jo Johnston made her cyclo-cross debut tonight and rode well to finish in 47th overall and 2nd female.
With one round to go, Crosstrax riders will be training hard to put in a good ride to end the series.
Colne Grand Prix Crits - 16th July
Only Jez Robinson made the short trip over to Colne tonight to compete in the National Circuit Series supporting event on the tight Lancashire circuit. Jez was in the thick of the action all night making a number of strong efforts off the front. He managed a strong finish, and crossed the line in 8th position.Yorkshire Summer Cyclo-Cross Series - Round 5 (Kippax) - 2nd July
Seven of the team riders travelled across Leeds to compete at Brigshaw High School in Kippax. Phil Norfolk has set out a testing course with long hard field sections and some technical climbs and descents on the embankments. The first race of the night saw U10 Joe Parker flying around the course on his newly built Kona Cross Bike from Crosstrax. He rode strongly to finish in 6th place in the U14 event. Mark Thwaites showed strong form to beat strong opposition while riding a Yeti ASR full suspension mountain bike. Even a loose seat did not hinder his progress! Neal Crampton road another consistent event finishing in 5th position while Simon Maudsley continues to improve his results, moving upto 9th this week.Motorbike Enduro Star Jason Hudson made his cycling debut for Crosstrax tonight riding a Lapierre all mountain bike into 29th position. The youngster used all of his road cycle training to full effect, but he can now understand what a hard game this Cyclo-Cross business is. Scott "Yoda" Western had another gun-slinging start, but discovered he was firing blanks and finally finished in 21st position. Shop manager Ed Battye is continuing his adaption to this new game finishing 32nd. Ed feels that the new Yeti Arc-X cross bike he is building could possibly make him competitive with the top men.
Rochdale Grand Prix - 2nd July
Three riders made the journey to Rochdale to compete in the National Circuit Series supporting event. The racing was fast from the start with Jez Robinson getting away in an early move and stayed away for a number of laps before been pulled back by the active group. Once caught Scott Thwaites launched a stinging attack, taking a number of Sport City Velo riders away with him. Elliot Teal and Jez helped blocked the chase efforts behind and allow the Thwaites group to gain a good advantage. Coming into the finish, Scott lead from the front and the strong youngster held off the competition to take a great win for himself and the team. Jez and Elliot road strongly at the end and posted good finishes in the bunch sprint finishing 12th and 13th respectively. A good night out for the team!Yorkshire TLI Road League # 6 - 24th June – Bishopwood
Giles rode a strong race again tonight and lead the bunch home in 3rd behind the two breakaway riders.Tom Simpson Memorial - 22nd June
75 riders started this prestigious 60mile road race in fierce winds near Doncaster. With the wind being so strong the best riders kept their powder dry and stayed in the bunch for the first 20 miles. At this point a group of four escaped the bunch. Sensing the danger Giles and two others jumped across the growing gap up through the finish and into a punishing headwind. The group of now 7 riders quickly worked well together and built up a lead of over two minutes. With 20 miles to go a series of stinging attacks reduced the front group to five.
These five stayed together until the end of the race and looked like they would contest the finish on their own. However by now a chasing group of 10 had formed and with nothing to lose were working well and storming up to the leaders. They could Giles’s group with 800m to go. None of this bothered Giles who beat them all to the line in the sprint to take the victory.
Yorkshire TLI Road League # 5 - 10th June – Kirby Hill Circuit
Giles got second winning the bunch sprint after Jamie Sharp has clipped of with 3m to go. Giles extended his lead in the series overall. Crosstrax also lead the team competition.
Castle Combe - Thursday 12th June
In the E12 race Giles got third place outsprinting what was left of the break but behind two riders who has successfully attacked off the front with one lap to go.
Hull City RR Sunday - 15th June
A 57 mile 23 RR. A strange race. Giles and the other Crosstrax riders (Paul and Elliot) all missed the main break of the day. This break never got more than 30 secs lead on a very active bunch and it was caught on the last lap with 6 miles to go. It all looked like a bunch gallop was going to decide things which would have been ideal for Paul and Giles, both handy sprinters. The last 3 km were up hill into a headwind and no one in the bunch as keen to press on. this made it easy for three non sprinters to nip off the front while all the gallopers just looked at each other dumbly. These three held off a rapidly advancing bunch which screamed over the last 200 yards in a frantic, 50 man surge for the line. Giles won this to take 4th with Elliot taking 6th and Paul getting 9th No win for Crosstrax but not a bad day with three in the top 10.
British Bike Trials - Fort William 8th June
Chris Rider won the Fort William round in great style.
Bristol Bike Fest Enduro - 7th-8th June
Neal Crampton's report...... Four members team Crosstrax had headed down to a hot and dry Bristol Bikefest 6 hr enduro. The course continued to live upto its reputation as being technical but very bumpy and routey, leaving us all somehwat battered by the end. Rich Finader and Jimmy Farnaby rode pairs and finished 4th, narrowly missing the podium by two minutes. If they'd foresaken the comfort of a B&B, and camped like the real men the night before they would've been on that podium! Stef Macina and Neal Crampton rode in the solos. Neal rode a good race, although suffered from the heat, especially since he kept losing bottles every other lap on the bumpy course! All done he managed to squeeze into third place on the twelth and final lap. Stef also rode well, just missing the cut off to get onto the 12 lap in the alloted 6 hours and came in eight overall- good preparation for 24 hours solo at Mountain Mayhem in a fortnight. All in all a cracking weekend of sunshine, dust, and just a little of sweat- roll on next year!
Yorkshire Road Race Championships - MastersBarry and Giles made the long jouney over to York to tackle the Masters event in atrocious weather conditions. Giles lasted all over 3miles before puncturing (altough he did look frisky in the first 2miles) while Barry lasted another 10miles before he was befell by the same fate. Thanks must go to Paul who came to offer his support for what it was worth. The next race is the 'Sportscover PlanetX RR on Wednesday 4th June at Wakefield. Crosstrax are fielding a strong 7-man team for the event; good luck to all involved
Yorkshire Summer Cyclo-Cross Series - Round TwoSimon Maudsley and Joe Parker made the trip to Sheffield to compete in the second round of the series. Simon recorded a great ride and finished 7th in the main race with Joe riding consistent in the u14's to also finish 7th.
Yorkshire TLI Road Race Series - Race ThreeGiles finished 8th in round three of the Chevin Cycles series. He held onto his lead in the series despite being generally worked over by all the other contenders for overall honours. Unable to respond to the umpteenth attack and without any Crosstrax team mates to help out, Giles failed to even win the bunch sprint and went home a dispirited boy. He’s looking forward to round four.
Castle Combe Circuit Races – 15th MayGiles finished 6th. Surprisingly beaten in a sprint for 5th place in the E1234 evening handicap race after four riders clipped on with less than one lap to race. Sports Beans elite Mark Perry won.
Ron O’Brien Memorial Road Race- 18th MayGiles finished 5th. In this 52 mile road race in Skelmersdale there were many attacks all of which were neutralised by the enthusiastic 80 man field. In the end four riders escaped and did a fantastic ride to stay away from a fast moving bunch. Giles, salvaging some pride at being beaten in a gallop on Thursday beat the rest of the bunch to the line for 5th place.
Yorkshire TLI Road Race Series - Race TwoGiles finished 3rd in the second race of the Chevin Cycles series. This performance consolidates and extends his position as leader of the series. As usual the race was run as a handicap most of the Crosstrax team starting from the scratch group.
With 20 miles to go the race had come together and looked set for a bunch gallop. With 2 km to go a couple of riders clipped off the front, Barry went in pursuit but was caught in sight of the finishing line. This left Giles and Paul sprinting it out for third which Giles took while Paul finished 4th. A good solid performance by the team and by Paul in particular in this his first race of the year.
Yorkshire Summer Cyclo-Cross Series - Round OneThe first round of the series was held in damp conditions at Oakbank School, Keighley. Mark Thwaites led from the gun riding his mountain bike and held a comfortable lead throughout the race. Neal Crampton had a great ride to come in 2nd for a Crosstrax 1-2 with Fell Runner Colin Moses finishing 25th
In the U14 race, Nine year old Joe Parker competed well against some much older riders and finished a creditable 10th place.
Percy Stallard LVRC SeriesGiles won his second race in succession on Sunday in third round of the National Percy Stallard Series for masters riders. A break of three riders formed with around 45 miles to go. Sensing the danger Giles bridged the gap on his own following which the four man group worked well together taking lots of time out of the bunch. After a cagey last couple of miles Giles outsprinted the break to take a well judged and well deserved victory. He now leads the series going into round 4 at Tysoe in the Midlands.
Yorkshire TLI Road Race Series - Race OneA 30 mile road race run off as a handicap. The Crosstrax team of Giles, Barry and Johnny started off in the scratch group. This group ate up the ground working well and catching all the groups in front by half distance. The second half of the race saw the strongest riders involved in many attacks to try and force a split. Particularly active were Johnny and Giles.
In the end a group of three riders managed to establish a credible gap. This break included none of the Crosstrax boys. The bunch was still frisky and this activity prevented the escapees building a big lead. Then Barry got on the front and pulled the 50 man bunch along at close on 30 mph for 5 miles. This monster effort got the bunch within striking distance of the break, a brilliant effort. With 400 metres to go the break is only 100 yards away and everyone is jostling for position. With 300 metres to go Giles makes his move.
Accelerating up the finishing hill he overhauled the break and with 50 yards to go had the victory sown up. Second place went to Russell Hepton who had been in the break with the rest of the bunch trailing in a few seconds behind.
The Dick Hudsons Race (Mountain Bikes, Road Bikes, By Horse, By foot.....) 23rd April 2008Not strictly a bike event, but the race allows bikes and runners to compete over a course from White Wells, Ilkley, to Dick Hudsons pub, and back. Most choose the direct paths over the moor, but Graham Pearce opted to ride around the roads, past the Cow and Calf etc, and won easily in 42mins, a new record. Fellow Crosstraxer, Jason Hemsley ran it instead, coming in 8th place out of 63 starters. 2 more bikers took part, going cross country, but the road is obviously faster. Full results can be seen at the Wharfedale Harriers website.
Pete Gannon Memorial Road Race- Ledston Circuit, KippaxLeeds St Christopher’s CC laid on a tough event at Kippax for 2/3/4 cats over an undulating 50 miles. It was a challenging event and half the field dropped out as conditions were very tough with crosswinds, drizzly rain and poor road surfaces.
A break of six went from the gun with Mark Thwaites leading the charge. After two laps they had a one-minute lead on the chasing pack, which included all six Crosstrax riders. Sensing the danger new Crosstrax boy Elliot Teal was first to try to bridge the gap, being pulled back after a valiant half-lap effort. Next to have a go was Barry Mordue, whose attack instigated a small group of four going clear and opening up a good gap on the remainder of the field. The group stayed away for nearly 2 laps but was eventually caught, with the Thwaites group still charging away up the road.
Ben Shelton of Crosstrax was in the thick of it over the next two laps but like the other efforts failed to get on terms. The remainder of the bunch (now down to half) eventually split in two on the penultimate lap with Elliot and Ben going clear.
Thwaites took an excellent 2nd place in a tight uphill rainy sprint with Ben and Elliot finishing just outside the top ten. Mordue, Johnny Farnaby and new kid Jez came in just behind. Newest rider "Terry" Eccles was next in after in his first ever road race, beating half of the field.
Team PhotoJohnny has organised the photographer for the 5th April at the Cavendish at 2:30. You need to be there early, with a clean kit, clean shaven, and white teeth. Please show up as this is for the magazines and the BC web site.
2008 Team Bikes
Here is the first of the new Road bikes that are coming off the Production line. This one is for Jez, but Paul and Johnny are next and its all happening at the moment.
The Bikes are based around the Flanders Pro-Team Frameset equiped with the riders own choice of finishing kit, groupset and wheels. The Flanders frames are imported by Onimpex Ltd and can be purchased through Crosstrax, as the local dealer.
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On this page we'll keep you up to date on what's happening with the CrossTrax racing teams
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