TEAM MI Racing’s cyclo-cross riders are hitting top form in their early season races up and down the country at regional level.
Riding for Coventry-based Team MI Racing Townsend Vehicle Hire, sisters Layla and Holly Bradbrook made a flying start in the North West Cyclo-Cross League.
Layla took the overall win in round one in the women’s race while her older sister Holly finished fourth overall to claim victory in the senior category.
And Layla then finished second overall in the women’s race and under-23 category in round two with Holly sixth overall which proved enough to win the senior category once again.
MI Racing riders also took part in round two and round three of the West Midlands Cyclo-Cross League.
Team rider Nick Whitley won his first league race of the season and also claimed victory in the veteran 50-plus race by three seconds from Kenilworth-based teammate Darren Atkins.
In the same race, MI Racing’s Nick Popham finished fifth with Christian Morgan 11th, Andy Jackson 29th and Alan Buxcey 44th after the latter suffered an early crash.
And in the men’s 60-plus category race, Ian Wright placed fifth with David Garrett sixth, Pete Busby eighth and Mark Garrett 26th.
In the women’s 40 to 49-year-old race, Lynsey Whitley finished in sixth place.
And in the junior men’s race, Jefferson Tear-Verweij rode to a second-place finish.
In the men’s senior race, recent signing James Garrett finished in third place on his league debut for the team with teammate Jack O’Neill in 11th.
And in the men’s veteran 40-plus race, teammates Colin Miller and Thomas Bradley finished 11th and 12th respectively.
The next round of the competition saw N Whitley and Atkins finish first and second in the men’s veteran 50-plus race.
Further back, Popham finished fifth with recent signing Andrew Owen sixth, Jackson 35th and Buxcey 45th.
In the veteran 60-plus race, Pete Busby placed seventh with D Garrett in 10th while L Whitley finished fourth in the women’s 40 to 49-year-old race.
And in the men’s junior race, Tear-Verweij finished in third place with J Garrett third and O’Neill 11th in the men’s senior race.
In the men’s veteran 40-plus race, Bradley finished 11th while teammate Miller had to retire from the race after suffering a mechanical issue.
Elsewhere, the team’s time trial riders continued their fine form as the season draws to a conclusion.
Nuneaton-based Joe Murray produced his fastest time of the year at Icknield Road Club’s 10-mile event.
Murray finished 39th overall in a time of 20 minutes 52 seconds with teammate Mick Wills 72nd overall in 21 mins 57 secs.
Closer to home, Greg Ashley and Zoe Shepherd rode in Rugby Racing Cycling Club’s 25-mile ‘Rugby Flyer’ event held in memory of former club member Ralph Dougherty.
Dougherty became the first British rider to ride 25 miles in under an hour back in 1939.
Ashley finished fourth in a time of one hour, four mins and 39 secs with Shepherd ninth overall and the fastest woman rider in one hr, nine mins and 40 seconds.
