PRESS RELEASE
Subject: Announcement of a
New Cycling Road Race League
Release Date: Immediate – 21 August 2009
In view of the substantial increase in UK’s cycling popularity the North Midlands Road Race League has announced a new series of 6 additional races in 2010. Each race will be held at 4 weekly intervals on Saturday afternoons from March through to August. The Saturday Road Race League will be run on a similar basis to the current Thursday evening league and is part of The League International’s calendar of events.
Last year the North Midlands Road Race League celebrated its 30th anniversary. Previous winners include numerous national champions such as Malcolm Elliott from Sheffield, who rode the Tour de France and Tour of Spain and is still the only English rider to win a jersey in any of the three major tours. Winners from Rotherham include multi national champions and brothers Dean and Russell Downing and also Ben Swift who this year rode his first Tour of Italy. Adam Blythe from Dronfield who, then aged only 15, is the youngest rider ever to win the league outright. Adam, now 20, is currently racing in Belgium for one of Lotto’s professional teams.
This year the Thursday evening league was so popular that each of its 18 weekly races held weekly between April and August listed over 130 riders coming from all over South Yorkshire, North Nottinghamshire and North Derbyshire. The 18 races were split into 3 series of 6 races run on a handicapped basis, each series being held on different courses at Torworth, Harworth, and Maltby. Riders ages ranged from 15 to 60+. Peter Ryalls from Dronfield who also rode the Tour de France in 1961 has been a regular rider and is still going strongly. Overall winner of this year’s Thursday evening league which ended this week was Ashley Proctor riding for Sheffrec Cycling Club). He is only the second rider aged under 16 ever to have won the league. See www.nmrrl.org.uk for video and results.
The first 3 races of the new Saturday afternoon league will be 45 miles run over six laps of a 7.5 mile circuit starting at Cuckney through to Budby then Carburton and finishing back at Cuckney.
Peter Dungworth, who proposed the Saturday afternoon league, said: “These additional races will not only provide extra competition for the riders but also a free and fast moving spectacle for the spectators and local residents.”
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