CYCLING: Road racing members of Great Yarmouth Cycling Club, after a busy few months of time trials, turned to mass-start road and closed-circuit track races.

Wednesday saw the return of the Lotus Cars Cycle Race League at the Hethel test track. The league hosts some of the region’s most competitive cycle racing with riders coming from all over the eastern region. GYCC riders Lewis Roberts, Ian Sandall and Chris Sharrock raced the senior E/1/2/3/4 race and got involved in setting the pace from the outset.

The recently-resurfaced testing track is a fantastic circuit to race on, which resulted in a high pace. Ian Sandall put in several strong early efforts – resulting in an average speed of just under 28mph for well over an hour.

Attacks off the front of the peloton were frequent but riders chased down the breakaway groups which resulted in a bunch sprint for the finish. With riders racing shoulder-to-shoulder towards the finish line, a touch of wheels in the pack resulted in a mass crash in the middle of the field.

GYCC riders were largely unaffected, however it did prevent Lewis and Ian from obtaining top-10 results.

Chris avoided the incident and rode home in fourth place overall, gaining enough points to progress to Category 3.

Sunday saw VC Baracchi host their annual road race around Somerleyton. GYCC riders knew the circuit well from club time trials. The 65-mile race was a tightly-contested affair, with the biggest break being only 35 seconds.

Ian Sandall again showed his strength by spending long periods setting the pace on the front. Chris Sharrock also rode well to finish 15th with Ian close behind in the pack.

The winner was Lowestoft man and VC Baracchi star rider, Liam Gentry.

Next Wednesday will see the final round of the Lotus League at Hethel, where GYCC riders will be keen to put in good performances and gain points at the end of the series.

GYCC is still hosting the club nights on Tuesday evenings from 7pm at Cliff Park Junior School, where riders can join in the social ride through the surrounding country lanes, led by experienced club members, or partake in the ‘Sufferfest’ workout in the hall.

GYCC welcomes riders of all abilities and can even provide bikes and safety equipment for those who would like to try it out.

For more information visit www.greatyarmouthcyclingclub.co.uk or call club secretary Neil Turner on 07850 999594.