Thanks to Jacke for this latest report from the Wightlink-LCM Systems Cycle Race Team. Ed
The 2014 season was varied and saw a plethora of strong results and many points gained. As part of the team’s work to bring through young Island cycling talent, as well as developing riders of all ages, Edward Sutton began racing for us before heading off to university.
Sutton quickly integrated into the team and was soon getting results in races. One of his successes was the team’s most notable result of the year: he took a hard fought second place in a hilly road race against much older and more experienced racers.
Now living away for university, Ed will be leaving the team to ride under the banner of a local bike shop near to where he’s living in South East London. We wish him all the best for the coming seasons, and he’ll still be joining the team for training rides whenever he’s on the Island.
Strong results from other riders
Other strong results came from new team members Ian Hayden and Matt Allsopp. Both riders made the switch from rowing to cycling, and brought with them fresh impetus and new approaches to training, to the benefit of the team. During their racing season, both riders moved easily from fourth category to third.
Team captain James Ebdon made up for the disappointments of his 2013 season by bouncing back in 2014 and regaining his second category licence.
New Website
Away from the racing, team rider Martin Sanders did a great job of building a website for the team. This will be regularly updated throughout the racing season to keep people abreast of what’s going on.
Looking ahead to the new season, it continues to be the case that all races are off the Island. Thanks to team sponsors Wightlink and LCM Systems, we will be able to travel to races across the south of England, and sometimes further afield.
Racers gearing up for season
The racing season is now just round the corner, with team members in discussion to get their racing calendars sorted and their first races booked up. Off the back of a strong winter of training, all racing members are motivated to get back into racing and start scoring points towards their licences.
The biggest target for the team is July’s Island Games over on Jersey. Racing under the Isle of Wight flag, the team will be providing the majority of the Island’s representatives in the road race, time trial and criterium. This will make the Wightlink-LCM Systems Cycle Race Team something of a development squad for the Island’s international ambitions.
