WEAVER Valley Cycling Club racers have been making their presence felt in road races across the north west this summer, with several notable top 10 results.

Jeff Wood came sixth and Lloyd Smith 10th in the first of the TLI Super 4 Series races in Bickerstaffe, racing in heavy rain.

The two riders worked together but failed to catch the leading break, with Tony Greenhalgh from Tactic RT taking the win.

In the same week, Wood came third in the British Cycling Over 40s Masters, organised by Barrow Central Wheelers and staged on the Salt Ayre racing circuit.

He joined the winning break halfway through the race, but lost out in the final sprint to race winner Steve Abbott from Hoppers Rollers, and Gareth Kerr from Lakes RC, who came second.

In the meantime, John Keen gained a creditable second place in the Ras Ffordd Llandyrnog, organised by Ruthin CC, on a rolling circuit near Ruthin.

Keen made it into the critical break with one other rider, Mark Hammersley from Graham Weigh Racing Team, who sat on Keen’s wheel for long periods only to pass him in the finishing straight.

Keen came in second and first in his age group.

Another strong result was produced by Sam Taylor in the Stone Wheelers Swynnerton Road Race, contested over 47 miles.

Taylor fought his way into the leading break, coming third in the final sprint, with Ray Bell from Liverpool Braveheart taking the win, while Keen came seventh overall and first in his age category.

Club riders have also been active in time trialling.

Smith won the club 25-mile championship with a time of 58mins 08secs at Salford CC’s 25 mile event staged on a course around Chelford and Jodrell Bank.

In the same race, the club’s Stu Ward finished in 1hr 02mins 07secs and Craig Lee in 1.04.57 with Tim Caldwell (joined by Ben Elliot from VC St Raphael) competing in the tandem category in 1.04.30.

The race overall was won by Alex Royle, of Manchester Bicycle Club, in 52.50.

Weaver Valley’s 10-mile time trial series continues on a Wednesday night, with both members and non-members welcome – see the club website for details.

In the latest round, the fastest times from club members were set by Taylor in 22.00 and in the female competition by Deborah Morgan in 27.49.

In mountain biking, Jack Fearon competed in round four of the Welsh Enduro Series at Llandegla Forest.

The race included four stages, all using the main trail loop, presenting a combination of technical challenges.

Fearon completed the stages in 9.03.74, coming in 12th in the masters category, which was won by Steven Baldock in 7.39.33.

The club were also well represented in the Borderlands Rotary MTB Challenge, with seven riders completing a challenging 22-mile course covering rough and steep terrain around Rhywlas, near Oswestry.

The club are also active in audax riding, with Louise Mainwaring completing the All Points North 2023 Audax 1000km event.

This is a self supported event and riders plot their own route to cover 1000km, taking in 10 checkpoints spread over the hills of northern England, starting and finishing in Sheffield.

Mainwaring rode in the “rookie” category and faced many challenges, including ascending the legendary Hardknott climb in the Lake District at 11pm, in the dark; and a mechanical problem encountered with only 50 miles left to go, which led to her finishing her ride with severely limited gearing.

She came second in the female “rookie rider” category, taking 81hrs 23mins to cover the distance, which included 11,544m of elevation.

The fastest female rider home was Philippa Battye in 56hrs 52mins, and fastest female “rookie rider” was Caroline Reuter, in 67hrs 23mins.