I was also surprised to hear that the all 3 Big Tours have pulled out of the Pro Tour calendar for next year

(25/11/07) Exclusive Chase Trails in partnership with the Forestry Commission and Swinnerton Cycles have just secured over £200,000 from Sport England and the Staffordshire Aggregates Levy Grant Scheme to develop a 25km Technical Mountain Bike Trail on Cannock Chase. The work will be completed by summer 2008 and provide you with one of the best facilities in the country. Full Story - Keep an eye on Chase Trails web site to keep up to date with developments.

(1/11/07) The 2008 Reliability Ride will take place on Sunday 24th February 2008. The event is open to all and not just SRC members and I am sure we will have an excellent turn out like last year. You can see full details of the route and past results by via the club rides and training button Link

(21/11/07) As part of his final years studying one of our members Craig is undertaking a major project which is focusing on SRC and cyclist in general. To complete this very important project he needs information from cyclist such as yourself so please find time to complete this Questionnaire and then email it to him. Alternatively copies can be picked up or dropped of at Henry Burton Cycles. Thank you

(18/11/07) Don Picken has just passed on the dates for Stafford RC TT for 2008. These dates are still provisional however and are still to be approved by the RTTC Link.

(18/11/07) Alastair Semple won the club's TT points competitions this year by a narrow margin over Andy Moore and Carlton Gower who's season came to an untimely end due a crash. Whilst Natalie Gower took a convincing win in the Handicap competition and finished her season by putting in some fantastic times and stretching out her lead over the rest of the field. Andy Moore again proved to be the clubs best TT rider and produced the fastest times for each event he competed in Results. So well done to you three and to every rider who took part in this years TT events. We had an average of 12 riders attending the 21 TT events, representing 5 local clubs which made 2007 the most competitive season for many years.

(17/11/07) Chase Race is an organisation running various Dualthlon and Sprint events on Cannock Chase. Please follow this link to find a full list of their Events or visit their Web. I will add their web address to our Web links page for future reference.

(11/11/07) Entries for next years Sportives are now becoming available and just this week we have received details of the White Horse Challenge in Wiltshire that will take place next April Link. So please take a look at our Sportives page via fro details of national and international Sportives and make sure you get your place booked before all the allocated place are filled.

(11/11/07) We have just received details of a sponsored bike ride that is taking place next June to raise money for the charity SCOPE. The 280km bike challenge starts in the majestic city of Budapest then follows the beautiful River Danube through to Bratislava in Slovakia then finishes 3 days later in the Austrian capital, Vienna. to find out more follow this Link

(8/11/07) Important Notice The Thursday night club training rides that leave from the Mill have now been changed to a 7.00pm start as of tonight. This is to allow riders more time to get there after work. The Monday night rides will however remain at a 6.45pm start time as these are longer rides.

(4/11/07) Walsall RCC have published their TT fixtures for 2008 which starts with a 10 mile TT on the K6/10 course on the 20 Feb. You can see the complete list of events via their web Link.

(4/11/07) Stafford RC managed to pull off a 1, 2, 3 in Stafford Tri 10 mile TT on Saturday with Alastair Semple, Andy Moore and Carlton Gower taking the overall and Natalie Gower producing the fastest women's time. Results Their next 10 mile TT is on Saturday 8 Dec

(4/11/07) Stafford RC has had its own water bottles produced to help promote the club and to help keep the costs of bottles down for its club members. The bottles are available now for £2.30 each Picture. So its now time to throw away those old mucky bottles and buy yourself a few of new club bottles, and at that price why not buy a couple for your friends. It does not matter if they are cyclists or not. Anyone who is involved in a sporting activity would make good use of them and its a great way for us to promote the club! The bottles will be available at the monthly club meetings so please come along and buy a few. I will also bring some along to the Christmas meal next month too but would appreciate it if you could let me know how many your require before the meeting or meal to ensure I bring enough along, thanks e-mail or 01785 253 691and be collected from

(3/11/07) I am very pleased to announce that at the recent AGM Carlton Gower was appointed as our new press officer and I would like to welcome Carlton on board as part of the SRC club committee. So please contact Carlton with any information, fixtures, results or stories you would like passing onto our local newspapers and let's make sure SRC gets some good press coverage in 2008 press@staffordrc.org

(03/11/07) The Midland RTTC will next year will be running a TT Competition Series, Midlands SPOCO with point allocated for riders who participate in a min of 5 events or 3 for juniors. There are 7 events currently signed up for the series including the SRC 48/23 course (Weston Hilly to Uttoxeter and back. Prizes will be allocated for Teams, Vets, Seniors, Juniors, Disabled and Ladies. It cost £7.50 to enter the competition. So all you SRC TT riders out there get in touch and lets see if we cannot put in some good results in this new competition LINK

(03/11/07) So the winter has finally arrived and many of you will now be thinking about getting down the gym to do some serious strength building for the new year. But a word of warning, just make sure you know what you are doing before you jump onto these machines or you may find that riding out on the road is a lot safer! Video (2MB so you will need broadband)

(31/10/07) Stafford Road Club would like to extend its sympathy to Charlie Betteley who's wife sadly passed away last week. Our thoughts are with you Charlie at this sad time.

(29/10/07) I have today updated the newsletters link to include all the back issues. Sorry for the delay in keeping these up to date but you will now find all the past issues for you to read online or print off.

(29/10/07) IMPORTANT NOTICE the monthly club meetings have been changed and will now take place on the 3rd Monday of each month. The next meeting is therefore scheduled for Monday 19th November at 7.30pm. These meetings are open to all club members.

(25/9/07) Membership is now due for the coming year. Your membership and insurance expires at the end of September so can you please complete a Membership Application Form and return this with your a nnual subscription to the club treasurer ASAP.

(29/10/07) I have today updated our Club Rides and Training page to show the complete list of club rides and events that take place each week. Please take look and hopefully we will see you on some of the many rides that take pace each week or at one of our monthly club meetings.

(25/10/07) The Tour de France route for 2008 was unveiled this week and the route looks as challenging as ever. Link. The Etape route was also unveiled and takes riders up the Tourmalet (2115m, 17km) and finishes on top of the Hautacam (1520m, 14km climb). Link

(22/10/07) Stafford Tri are holding another two 10 mile TT on the A34 Stafford to Pottal Pool course. The first event is on Saturday 3 November and the second on the 8 December. Signing on is at Mammoth Cycles, at 8.00, start time 8.30, Saturday 30 September. If you are arriving in a car could you please park to the rear of Mammoth by the ponds. If you intend to ride please log onto their forum and let them know so they have an idea of numbers Link

(17/10/07) I have added a number of photo's to our gallery page. These consist of TT events and a few Road Races. If anyone has any other pictures of events that have taken lace this year please let me know and I will get them posted on the website for you Contact

(14/10/07) 5 SRC riders took part in the Shropshire CCA last 10 mile TT of the season. In relatively good conditions on a reasonable course (Waters Upton to Hodnet and back) a field of 28 riders took part and produced some excellent times. Andy and Alastair managed top 5 places with Andy Bason (WrikenSport CC) hoping for a sub 20 time produced the fastest time on the day 21:06. Results

(14/10/07) Russell Falder (SRC) today won the Weaver Valley RR in magnificent style. 5 and a half laps into the to the 55 mile hilly course Russell attacked on the main climb of the circuit. One rider went with him but could not hold Russell's wheel and when seeing the gap he had open he pushed on. Russell then went on to ride the final lap and a half alone and finished with a 4 minute lead over the chasing group. What a fabulous end to his first season, well done Russell!

(18/9/07) Came across this review of tyres and tubs being tested which might be of interest to you Link

(9/9/07) For Sale A Bell Cycle helmet :- (as used by Team csc) £ 10 ono, a pair of Size 9 Shimano Spd shoes with cleats attched :- £10 ono and a Demarchi thermal jersey Red and black £5 ( size medium). If you are interested please contact Mike Harris e mail

(9/10/07) Well as the Pre season draws to a close the transfer window for riders is opening. The are already rumours that Eric Zabel will be ending his contract with Milram a year early to go back to his former club Telecom and Alberto Contador will join Astana. The ruling on Landis has meant he has been officially striped of his 2006 Tour De France title and next week Oscar Pereiro will be awarded the title. On Sunday you can see one of the seasons last big show downs as the top elite battle it out for one of the seasons toughest one day classics the Paris-Tours. You can see all the action live on Eurosport at 14.30.

(7/10/07) Several SRC riders rode out to take part in the Cat and Fiddle charity ride and the strongest man on the day proved to be Karl Tyson who rode home in a time of 2.34, well done Karl!

(3/10/07) Stafford Road Club riders Natalie Gower and Alastair Semple had a perfect end to the TT season both recording PB's in Stafford Tri 10 mile TT on Saturday. They took 1st and 3rd place in the handicap whilst Scott Westwood (Walsall CC) was the fastest man 22.35, just 30 seconds off the course record followed closely by Alastair Semple in 22:59 Full Results can be seen on the Stafford Tri Forum.

Date for your diaries -The Christmas meal has now been booked at the Hand and Cleaver for Sunday 9th December for 15.00. A copy of the menu will be sent out with the next news letter and booking details (£15/head). Please let Chris Hopkins who how many places you require.

(3/10/07) Well the new Highway Code is here at last. I'm glad to see that after many hours of wrangling with the CTC etc that the rules for cyclist is full of "Use of these facilities is not compulsory and will depend on your experience and skills, but they can make your journey safer." This is much better than the proposed "You MUST use these facilities where provided." which was being touted a few months ago. Here is a link to the new version of the Highway Code

(17/10/07) SRC members, you are all invited to Stafford Road Club AGM which will take place on Thursday 25 October for 7.30 at the Rugby Club, Newport road, Stafford. All member will receive a club news letter shortly with a copy of the Agenda and minutes of last years meeting. It is important that we get a god attendance as there will be a number of important club issues that we would like you vote on, so hope to see you all there.

(9/10/07) British Cycling is currently advertising for the West Mids Regional Event Administrator who will be involved with the organisation and administration of BC racing events in the West Mids. The job pays £300 per month plus some expenses and will take approx 10 hours/week. If you are interested please select this link for further details.

(25/9/07) On the opening day of the UCI Road World Championships Emma Pool produced an excellent ride in the ladies TT event and took 8th place, inside 1 min of the winner Hanka Kupfernagel Review

(25/9/07) The UCI Road World Championships begins tomorrow (full programme below) where Britain's top male and female cyclists will compete for the most prestigious title. Full coverage is shown via Eurosport TV and web site. So log on or tune in to keep up to speed with the British riders who should score some good results.

(19/9/07) Sundays 50 mile TT took place in very windy conditions but despite this we had a good turn out with 8 riders completing the 50 and 3 riders completing the 25 mile TT. Natalie Gower produced an excellent ride recording her first 50 in a fast time 2.20.35 and Peter Escritt and Alastair Semple took 10 minutes out of last years times which were ridden under similar conditions. Alastair Carr recorded a very impressive 57.40 for his first 25 TT and did not look troubled by the windy conditions. But the real hero of the day was Andy Moore who despite an upset stomach which forced him to stop still produced the fastest SRC time on the day and won the Battle of Britain competition, well done to him. Results

(199/07) Been sent details of a 20 mile off road charity ride around Alton Towers which some of you may be interested in taking part. Sounds like it could be fun Link

(18/9/07)This Sunday (23 September) we have the last 50 mile TT of the season where the Battle of Britain trophy will be contested. There is also of a 25 mile TT for anyone who can't face the full 50 miles. So hopefully we will see plenty of you out there again for the last Stafford Road Club TT of this season.

Ever needed a good excuse to get out on your bike, or ever wondered just how great you really are? well here is a film just about YOU Link

(18/9/07) Stafford Tri Club are holding another 10 mile TT along the A34 Stafford. Signing on is at Mammoth Cycles, at 8.00, start time 8.30, Saturday 30 September. If you are arriving in a car could you please park to the rear of Mammoth by the ponds.

(9/10/07) If anyone is looking for a final TT for the season then this Saturday the Shropshire CCA are holding their last 10 mile TT between Waters Upton and Hodnet, just west of Newport. The event starts at 15.00 and I know there will be a few Stafford RC riders there so please come along Link Map

(13/9/07) Last night 5 mile TT produced some very good times despite the slight head wind. Of the 17 riders who took part Stuart Walker (Walsall CC) recorded the fastest time of 9:50 Results.

(10/9/07) SRC member Steve Greetham and Nick Tuftnell are about to undertake a charity ride in aid of research into the rare hereditary eye condition called Choroaderemia, which Nick suffers from. The aim is to climb as many vertical metres as possible between 17 & 30 Sept 07 and get sponsored for every metre. The ultimate aim is to scale 5 times the height of Mount Everest throughout the course of the trip. There is currently no cure for Choroaderemia which causes a gradual deterioration of the sufferer’s sight leading to total blindness. If you would like to sponsor Nick and Steve log onto www.justgiving.com/CyclePyrenees who’ll be grateful for your support.

(9/9/07) You Should Have Been There! yes today's Time Trail, with near perfect conditions produced some excellent times with a number of personal best's been recorded. Results

(9/9/07) The Tour of Britain got underway today with Britain's Mark Cavendish winning the prologue. To keep upto date with each days racing and results check out the official web and remember to get out to support and watch the Pro's as they ride the West Midlands Stage on Wednesday 12 Sept. You can see the schedule and route maps on the above web link, but a good place to watch will be Ironbridge at about 13.00 or the finish in Wolverhampton at 14.00.

(2/9/07) last Wednesdays 10 mile TT produced some personal best for those who took part. Obviously the combination of good weather conditions and the end of season strength provided such good times. Results

The Henry Burton Road Race took place on Sunday (26 Aug) in dry still conditions that produced some exciting racing. A full list of the winners will be posted later this week here and on the BC web site. Programme

(27/8/07) Last Wednesadys 25 mile TT was won by Peter Escritt in a time of 1.00.09 which in the strong northerly wind was an impressive performance. Results This weeks 10 mile TT starts at 18.45 from Dunston.

If you fancy popping out to watch the Tour of Britain come through our region on Wednesday the 12 September here is a the route map and time schedules. There should be some excellent vantage points to see them tackle the last steep climb of the day that leads them out of Ironbridge (Sutton Bank) which they should reach about 13.30. Map

If anyone would like to help marshal on the day please contact the Tour of Britain here. There is a nice goody bag in it for you and all you simply have to do it help control the traffic that is first stopped by the police Link

(20/07/07) Stafford Road Club took 3rd place in the Shropshire CCA 4 Up Time Trial on Sunday. Gary Morris, Carlton Gower, Alastair Semple were lead by Andy Moore. Despite this been the first time the lads had ridden a TT together the torrential rain and windy conditions they were able to produced and excellent time of 1.13.32 on the 50km course. Results

(2/9/07) Next Sundays TT is the first of 2 50 mile TT's to be run this year and should provided al those who participate with the opportunity to record some good times. If the marshals are happy to record half way times anyone who is only just wants to ride a 25 should be able ot participate and have their times recorded. I will place conformation of this later this week.

Please note that this weeks 10 mile Time Trial starts on Wednesday at 18.45 prompt due to the nights drawing in. Please ensure that you arrive in plenty of time to sign on and warm up.

I have added some new shortcut buttons on the left to speed up your access to Time Trials and Road Race information. I have also edited the TT page to include a full TT Summary Sheet of all this seasons TT's results for each rider who has taken part. This will allow anyone who has ridden in one of this years TT's (not just SRC members) to look at their times in relation to those recorded on the night and other TT's throughout the years. I have also added a link to the clubs Points Competition so SRC riders can map their progress in the points and handicap competition.

Newport Nocturne is here again. On 1st September at 6.30 we can see some of the worlds finest cyclist compete on the biggest floodlight road race around the closed streets of Newport. Top international riders including Britain's Mark Cavendish of T-Mobile and Geraint Thomas of Barloworld will race around the short course in a field of top national an international riders after the past masters battle it out on the same course. So for a fabulous evening entertainment get yourself into Newport and watch as the current and past pros race over the cobbles at speeds we can only dream of Link

(13/08/07) IMPORTANT NOTICE The Henry Burton Road Race course has had to be changed due to road works. The event will still take place as scheduled but on an alternative race circuit Route Map. With over £700 in prizes this should prove to be an excellent event with a field of up to 80 riders. Currently there are approximately 12 places still left for 2, 3 and 4th cat riders.

(13/08/07) IMPORTANT NOTICE Don Picken who organises the SRC Time Trials each year has kindly amended and added to the remaining scheduled TT events. This weeks 10 mile TT has now been changed to a 25 mile event with an earlier start time of 6.45pm prompt, due to the nights drawing in. Please check the Events TT link for all the up to date times and fixtures. Link

(7/8/07) 5 Stafford RC riders took part in Walsall RCC last 10 mile TT of the season and despite some stiff competition from the field of 39 riders Russell Falder who has only ridden a handful of TT's took 10th spot in a PB time of 23.25. S Westwood (Walsall RCC) took the overall in 22.04 Results

The Tour of Britain start in a couple of weeks LINK and this years TOB Cycle Sportive follows stage 3 Worcester to Wolverhampton. Unfortunately this classes with the SRC RR which also takes place on the 26th August which I know many of us will be riding or marshalling. But if you are interested riding the event and want to know more take a look at the official web site LINK

(02/08/07) Last night TT proved to be an excellent night for most riders with the warm conditions and little wind allowing many to put in a personal best. It was great to see so many riders out representing 5 local clubs. Peter Escritt (57.41) put in the fastest time on the night Results

(30/07/07) Stafford Road Club had a productive weekend with Susan Semple winning the Stafford Tri 10 mile TT handicap competition, Natalie Gower coming 2nd in the ladies scratch and Carlton Gower and Alastair Semple taking 2nd and 3rd in the overall scratch Results. Alastair then went on to put in a time of 4.35.03 the next day in the SCCA & WCTTA 100 mile TT Results.

With excellent weather forecast for this Wednesday's 25 miles TT (1 Aug) we should expect to see some good times put in by all the riders. Link

We now have 62 riders registered for the Henry Burton Road Race and with over £700 of fabulous prizes are up for grabs. There is still time to register and you can see the a full list of riders, prizes, route map, HQ rules and regs HERE

(25/7/07) This weeks 10 mile Time Trial was a tough night for the riders with a strong wind which for all but one rider took timeout off thier average times for the summer series. Andy Moore (21.46) again produced an excellent time with Carlton Gower (24.04) putting in a formidable time, 4 seconds quicker than last week. Which for the conditions was an excellent ride. Results. I will publish the details of the overall results for the summer series next week following Wednesdays 25 mile Time Trial

(18/7/07) Stafford RC have had a good week with 3 riders picking up points in the regions road races. Gary Morris and Alastair Semple took 2nd and 3rd in the Huntington evening league and Carlton Gower took 6th place in the Darley Moor RR. This has secured SRC 9th place in the BC regions club and team rankings.

(18/07/07)The last 10 mile TT had another good turnout with 14 riders taking part in the sunny but breezy conditions. Andy Moore put in the fastest time for the men's competition and Natalie Gower produced the fastest time for the women's competition. Results

Good News, due to the first in this years series of six Summer 10 Mile Time Trials being cancelled an additional event has been planned for next week, Wednesday 25 July on the K6/10 course. So this will be your last opportunity to enter a fast time for the overall competition which will be awarded to the riders who have recorded the fastest 3 times. In addition there will be the usual prizes for the evenings event. So if you fancy your chances at the men's, women's, juniors or handicap races come and join in the fun.

(11/07/07) We had another good turn out for last nights 10 mile TT which produced some excellent times, Andy Moore setting a new course record I believe in a time of 21.34, Well done Andy! Natalie Gower and Derrick Mathews both had excellent rides improving by over 1 minute even allowing for the faster conditions so congratulations to them both. Results Due to the cancellation of the first TT in the summer series we hope to be able to put on another 10 mile TT on the 25 July to complete the series of 6 events. I will post conformation of this ASAP. Here is a run down on the latest club competition

The Tour de France has got off to an excellent start with some exciting racing and excellent results for the British riders. After stage 4 David Millar is in 4th place and Bradley Wiggins is in 6th. Mark Cavendish has taken 9th and then 10th places in the last 2 days sprint finishes which is an excellent start for the young rider.

The Masters RR championships take place this year in the West Midlands using a 17 mile circuit through Bridgenorth. On the 5th Aug the men's event takes place, 12th Aug sees the women's competing and on the 19th Aug the juniors take to the road. So we need to plan our Sunday club rides to ensure that we can get out along the route and cheer on some of Britain's fines riders.

Stafford Road Club Time Trials will return to their planned routes starting and finishing in Dunston. Full details of forthcoming events can be found via the Events link.

(4/07/07) This weeks 10 Mile TT saw a good turn out with 15 riders not being deterred by the very wet conditions. Andy Moore fresh from a couple of weeks holiday put in an excellent time of 22.31 with most of the other riders times being down on their previous couple of weeks due to the poor conditions. RESULTS Hope to see all out agian next weeks and perhaps we will have a little sunshine to speed things up a little.

Stafford Road Club is holding the Henry Burton Memorial Road Race (72 miles) on August 26th on the Swynnerton RR circuit. Stewart Felstead is organising the race but is now looking for people who are will to provide race cars, volunteer as race marshals/assistants, provide refreshments/catering. If you are able to help in any way please let Stuart know on 07734 466364 or via e mail. With your help any support Stafford Road Club will hopefully be able to run this event successfully over consecutive years and provide an exciting event for the Midlands Road racing calendar.

5 British riders have now been confirmed for the Tour de France that starts next Saturday in London. David Millar and Bradley Wiggins will be fighting it out to take the yellow jersey on the open stage in London. Then Mark Cavendish will be contesting the sprints in the first weeks flat stages against none other than Boonen, Petacchi and Mc Ewen. Charley Wegelius and Gerraint Thomas will be working hard for their team leaders and may be lucky and get into a break.

TV coverage of the Tour De France this year is live on ITV4 over the weekend then they have a weekday highlights from 7pmtil 8pm each night. Eurosport we be running a full live couvareage each day with highlight on the evening and for those of you who subscribe to Cycling TV they will be showing live coverage too.

Mountain bike jobs !!!! The Forestry Commission is advertising for 2 x Mountain Bike Ranger at the Glentress Depot, Scottish Borders. This post will be advertised on 28th June 2007 in the Southern Reporter. Further information will also be available at www.forestry.gov.uk/vacancies Good Luck

(27/06/06)This Wednesday’s TT saw every rider producing faster times taking approx 30secs off last weeks times. Two riders Rob Leese and Sue Semple both made much bigger improvements, so congratulations to them, and to all the Prize winners. The top 3 riders were separated by just 24 seconds, so I hope this will spur them on. Kevin is obviously riding well and I will adjust his handicap to reflect this. Results and the Stafford RC Points Competitions so far this year.

Nicole Cooke has this weekend successfully defended her Grande Boucle Feminine the female Tour de France. You can find full details of the event on many of the sports web links.

For those of you how are interested in riding the Clubs Time trials you will be pleased to know that the Summer Series of 6, 10 mile TT's will now begin next week, Wednesday 20 June due to road works. Thanks to the kind generosity of Rob MiIne and Don Picken prizes will be awarded each week for both the scratch and handicap results and an overall prize will be awarded for the best combined times recorded from riders who have participated in 3 events. Hopefully the summer series will prove to be as exciting and well attended as last year being open to all.

The Thursday Evening League is an important feature in the local road race calendar and consists of 12 exciting events this year run under BC rules on the open road. Unfortunately due to unforeseen pressures some events are now in jeopardy due to a shortage of volunteers. Please read the attached Message.

This weeks Hilly 21 TT proved to be an exciting event with 8 riding a tough course from Stafford to Newport and back. Andy Moore was again in excellent form and put in the winning time of 50:30. Nice to see Stafford Tri club riding again. Results

For those of you who are participating in the club TT's here is the latest results sheet for the club competition and handicap competition. The season is only just getting under way so there is still everything to play for. Results

I have added some pictures of the SRC riders in Belgium this year preparing and celebrating after completing one of the toughest spring classics, The Tour of Flanders

Andy Moore of Stafford Road Club had a fabulous weekend coming 2nd in the VTTA 10 in a time of 21.29 on Saturday Results and taking 1st place in the VTTA 23 Hilly in 51:46 mins on Sunday Results. He seems to be in excellent form at the moment and set what we believe is a new course record winning, the Stone Wheelers 25 on the Concrete Mountains course in 53.14 a week ago. Well done Andy!

Wednesday nights 25 mile TT proved to be an exciting night with Andy Moore setting a new course record in a time of 56.05, knocking 34 seconds of Phil Brown previous best time, so Congratulations Andy!. You can see a full list of all the results on our Events Page.

The Tour of Britain has now announced this years route, and as luck would have it, Stage 3 this year will again pass through the midlands. Like last year the organisers are looking for marshals to assist each stage. So if you are able to help out please let them know LINK

I was talking to a club riders on Sunday who has an entry to the Polka Dot Challenge and the Circuit of the Costwolds which he is unable to use this year. Both events take place on the 17 June and are now full booked. So if you would like to take part and do not mind riding under someone else's name then drop my an e-mail. There is only one entry for each event so first come first served.

Stafford RC first 10 mile TT produced some good early season results for the 9 riders who took part. Results. The next event is the SRC 25 mile TT on Wednesday 16 May. But there are plenty of other local events each week which are listed on our Events page which will allow you to keep your weekly TT events programme/training going.

BC have just sent through another message saying that they are still short a few marshals for the West Mids RR Championship on the 3 June. If anyone is available please contact Pete Mooney e mail.

23 mile Hilly Time Trial took place with 14 riders taking part in perfect conditions. On the warm wind free course Scott Westwood won in an excellent time of 54.54. You can see the full results and list of forthcoming TT within the region via our Events Page Link.

Congratulations go out to Martin Cash who on Saturday rode the The Dean 307km Audex and after climbing 3900m came in to finish 4th out of the 75 riders who took part.

Nicole Cooke has won the women's Tour of Flanders proving yet again that she is the best female rider in the world!

Well its been a busy weekend both at home and abroad. On Saturday 7 SRC riders tackled the 256km Tour of Flanders Sportive along with 22,000 other riders! and congratulations go to Stuart Felstead who put in the best time of 9.00 hrs. Then on Sunday as the Pro's rode the Tour of Flanders, 200 riders tackled the Cannock Chase Cycle Sportive. Looking at the entry list there were quite a few riders from Stafford Tri and Mammoth Cycles so we hope you all had a good ride in the excellent conditions.

Notice - Saturday club runs will from next week (14 April) return to a 2pm start.

Stafford Road Club is organising the first Road Race on 3 May which is run as part of the Thursday Night League. So we are looking for volunteers to come along an help marshal. If you would like to come along and help and can be in Knighton village by 6pm on 3 May please let me e-mail or John Burton know, thanks.

Sunday's 25 mile Time Trail was ridden in tough conditions with riders having to tackle the return leg into a strong head wind which took at least 2 minutes out of most riders times set 2 weeks ago. Peter Escritt put in the fastest time of 1:00:42 if the rough conditions. You can see a full list of the results and local TT events on our Events Page Link

Cycling challenge ! Katharine House Hospice is holding there annual cycling challenge on Sunday 13th of May. There is 3 routes to choose from 10 mile £5, 20 mile £7.50 or the 55 mile £10. Contact Charlotte Kay on 01785 254645. Or email at ckay@khhospice.org.uk for more details

We would like to wish Good Luck all the SRC riders heading off to Belgium next Friday to ride the Tour of Flanders sportive on Saturday. After riding the 168 miles, 21km of cobbles and 19 climbs last year I will be thinking of you all tackling the 10 plus hour ride : ( Just remember ride like the wind over them cobbles, apparently them you will not feel them then?

I have received details of a charity ride from London to Amsterdam this September. If you are interested please select this link

I have now added a new section to the Road Race page. You can now select the Road Race Reports Link next to each race where the Stafford Road Club Racing Team have been taking part and read the race report and see some race photo's. Of the 3 races that have taken place Stuart Felstead has already finishing 9th in the Paramount CRC Circuit Races 2, picking up the clubs first point for the season and putting us on the British Cycling's Regional Rankings Link.

I have just found a local web site of a photographer who seems to attend all the local Road Races. I have added his web link to our Web Links page. When you enter his site select cycling and then chose which race you want to look at. He has hundreds of photo's for each event going back a number of years so you might find one of you somewhere Link

Paris Nice finished on Sunday after a week of excellent racing with attacks each day to put you on the edge of your seat. Good to see the Discovery Channel team riding so strongly and making everyone else's teams looking weak in comparison. Next Saturday we have the Milano-Sanremo which is the longest of the Classics and all the big names including Paolo Bettini, who has fallen off 3 times this week in the Tirreno-Adriatico will be out there looking for a big win. You can see the whole thing live on Eurosport.

Stafford Road Club pulled off a 1,2,3 in the Brereton Wheelers hilly 10 mile TT. In what can only be described as dangerous riding conditions 17 riders tackled the hilly loop from Abbots Bromley, across the reservoir and back to Abbots Bromley. Andy Moore completed the course in 23.57 to take first place, Alastair Semple took 2nd in 27.20 and Mathew Moore, despite a fall when the wind caught his back wheel and took the bike from under him came in 3rd in 28.01.

David Millar is having an excellent ride in the Paris Tour taking the opening stage and keeping the leaders jersey for the next day too. He is now 7th overall 42 seconds down on the Rebellin the race leader. Results. The have been some big crashes in the Tirreno-Adriatico but today's stage was won by Alexandr Arekeev who takes the overall Results

11 riders took part in Sundays 25 mile Time Trail. The conditions were appalling due to the strong south westerly wind, but this did not stop Mark Mullender of Wolverhampton Wheelers putting in an excellent time of 58.48 . You can see all the results via our Events Page Link

Pro Tour Season start this weekend with the Paris Nice race 11 - 18 March. Tirreno-Adriatico also starts on the 14 - 20 March and then there its the longest of all one day classics the Milano-Sanremo the 24 March. Before the Tour of Flanders on the 8 April which I know quiet a few of you will be riding the day before in the Sportive. You can watch all the action each day on Eurosport or log onto Eurosport.com for live audio feeds if you do not have access to the TV.

The organisers of the Tour of Flanders have announced the 5 wild card teams for this years event which includes Tyler Hamilton's new team Tinkoff Credit Systems. It will be good to see if Tyler can challenge Boonen as I am sure he wants to make a big comeback.

Nicole Cooke has claimed a dominating win in her opening race of the season at the Geelong Tour. The Briton outsprinted Oenone Wood and Nikki Egyed to become the first non-Australian to win the 120km race.

Paris Nice gets the go ahead after a dispute between the ASO and the UCI and Jan Ullrich has decided to retire. You can read al these stories in full by selecting our web links page/Eurosport

Stone Wheeler Road Race takes place this year on Sunday 22 April on the Swynnerton circuit. The under 50's start at 10am and complete a 55mile (5 laps) course and the over 50's start at 10.10 and complete a 44 mile (4 laps) course. The organisers have this year secured the use of 8 motorcycle (volunteers) to help marshal the race and they have asked that we help raise funds for Save the Children, so each rider has been asked to make a donation of £2 to help raise funds. You can see more details of the race on the Stone Wheelers web site and on this attached flier.

Brereton Wheelers have just launched their new website which if full of information and useful links. You can take a look via our Web Links Page.

I have just added the course details for the South Staffs & Shropshire Clubs RR League (Thursday Night League) onto the Road Racing link. So if you are planning on riding these events you might want to take a look.

Last Sunday we had an excellent turn out for the Stafford Road Club's Reliability Ride. Over 40 riders took part and despite poor windy and wet conditions a group of four riders lead by Gary Ford (Mammoth Cycles) and Andy Moore (Stafford Road Club) completed the 67 mile course in 3 hours Excellent ride!. I have now posted the full list of recorded times which you can access via our Events Link / Reliability Rides I have added a few photo's to the gallery of this years event. If anyone else has any please forward them onto me.

Apologies to anyone who has been trying to access the web site over the last few days. Problems occurred with the domain name company but these have now been resolved.

The Road Race Calendar for this region has now been updated and lists all the scheduled events to take place on the road and closed circuit courses this year. The first of which is the Paramount CRC Circuit Races 1 is Saturday 3rd March at Sundorne Sports Village, Shrewsbury. You can access the list via our Events Link.

Walton Chasers are running an Orienteering Mountain Bike event on Cannock Chase on the 31 March. If you fancy getting involved call Mark for further details 01785 663 888.

Here is perhaps the ultimate Sportive I have seen, the Tour de Cols. Its 1800km in length, with 33,700m of climbs, 38 alpine cols, ridden in just 12 day with 2 rest days and at just £750 for a 15 night full supported, all meals included package it is seriously tempting. It all sounds very daunting but with some of the stages only being 85km long it does not seem beyond reach. Let us know if you ride it this year as I would defiantly like to take a look in 2008.

Just received details of the first closed roads Cycle Sportive to take place in the UK. On the 24 June the Etape Caledonia will allow up to 2500 riders to tackle the 130km course which includes over 2000m of climbs. Entries are now available for this and the local Leg Breaker Challenge in Leek. So log on via our UK Cycle Sportives page and get your entries in.

Following Quicksteps victory in the opening team time trail Tom Boonen has now taken 4 wins in a row! out sprinting his main rival Petacch in the Tour of Qatar. Follow the race each day on Eurosport 2 or log on Here

4 Stafford Road Club riders competed in the Stafford Triathlon's Time Trial with Carlton Gower and Alastair Semple taking 1st and 2nd place. Results

I have added some additional links to the Mountain bike pages. So if you like off roading or entering Duathlon's take a look via the Events Page

Swiss rider Martin Elmiger (AG2R Prevoyance) has has won the 2007 Tour Down Under with the outcome of the overall classification actually being decided in the first intermediate. Jenny MacPherson won the women's event after a tough battle between Belinda Goss and the two-time champion Jenny MacPherson. You can read all the review, watch videos of each stage and look through hundreds of photo's of this years event Here.

Three top sportives have SOLD OUT already. The Fred Whitton, 800 riders,The Etape Du Dales, 500 riders and The Bealach-na-Ba Challenge all sold out in 1 day! So its time to get your entries in on any Sportives you intend to ride to guarantee a place.

Gran Fondo Cymru - Sunday 27th May 2007, Wales The event has opened up for entries. 1000 places. Please find the full event details Here –

If you take a look at the Sunday Club Runs page via the Events Page Link you will see I have listed a selection of alterative events that take place. So take a look and you may decide to ride and take a look at some new routes and lanes.

A list of Audex Events that are taking pace in the Central region on a Sunday has been posted via the Events Page. There are also links to the Audex web site where you can view route details of every event they have planned for 2007.

The Cannock Chase sportive takes place on Sunday April 8th. The shorter route (69 miles) takes you from Penkridge across the Chase and up to Alton before heading back via Burton to Penkridge. Then a second loop takes you up to Eccleshall before you return to Penkridge after 112miles. There are 3 feed stations and check points along the route. I have added this as well as several other UK Sportives to our Web links page. So why not give it a go and you should be back in time to watch the Pro's finish the Tour of Flanders that afternoon.

Most of the Sportives web sites are now activated and are now taking online entries. So if you are planning to ride some of them this year please log on and enter soon as places are limited on some of the events and I know I missed out on riding the Polka Dot Challenge by not getting my entry in soon enough.

A complete listing of all Stafford Road Club Time Trials for 2007 has now been listed on the Events Page. You will also find links to Regional Time Trials and National Time Trial Races scheduled for 2007.

The Stafford Road Club 5 mile Time Trail on New Years day was a great success with 15 riders taking part. The weather was kind to us and produce some fast times by riders in comparison to last year with Steve Wilkinson of Walsall CC taking 1st place in a time of 11.15 and Mathew Moore of SRC taking 2nd place in 12.15. A full list of all the results can be seen Here or via the Events Link.

I have just come across 16 new Cyclo-Sportives planned across the UK next year with one right on our doorstep "Cannock Chase Sportive". I am still awaiting links to may of the official websites but I have listed them all on UK Cyclo-sportives web page in the correct month.

The Tour of Britain merchandise has gone on sale at 50% off the retail price. So please take a look at take a look at www.tourofbritain.co.uk (click on shop at the home page) to find one or two bargains.

A new up to date list of club runs has been added to our events page. Plus a new update and alteration to the start times so please take a look.

Zarr Philip's AAAAARHH !!!!! need I say any more. Well I am pleased that our Nicole Cooke made the top 10 after having such a fabulous year. Its just a pity the BBC based its final results on a telephone pole which at 7pm on a Sunday evening straight after Songs of Praise obviously brought in quite a lot of "older" views who based their votes on the love for the Royals rather than personal achievement in the the sport. Well I still believe that Nicole Cooke remains the greatest rider this small island has ever produced and I hope she is still just beginning her career in cycling. If you would like to know more about Nicole's racing achievements check out her web site which can be found through our Web Links/Pro Teams and Riders page.

EXCLUSIVE an inside source at Giodana clothing in Milan has revealed to me today the full range of SRC Racing Kit for 2007. The range of clothing will be launched in the New Year along with other top Pro Teams. But I can bring to you today the exclusive design that will be available in 2007 on the Bib shorts, Long-sleeved jerseys, Short sleeved jerseys, Gillets and Wind-stopper jackets. The full range of clothing will be available early in the new year and through the sponsorship deals that have been sealed with top international companies La Boulangerie and Henry Burton Cycles the full range of clothing will be made available at heavily discounted prices. I will bring you further details of availability and price range in the next few weeks. So if you are looking for new kit in the new year watch this space!

Just received the most amazing link to some mountain bike stunts that redefines what you ca do on a bike. I especially likes the bit where the rider makes a vertical jump onto a wooden fence and then rides along its top rail hopping over the upright posts. Quiet incredible. I have added the link to to our mountain bike section which you can find by selecting the Events Link of via this Short Cut

I have made further updates to the next years Cylo-Sportives and can now provide a list of both the UK and many of the international spotives. Most of these web links have not been updated yet but the dates on this LINK have been confirmed. The attached UK List include events which will take riders through the UK's most picturesque landscapes and over some of Britain's toughest climbs. You can access over 50cyclo-spotive events websites for more details through our web links page. Unfortunately not all of their web site have been updated to include the 2007 events details yet but they should be updated shortly

Stafford Road Club Reliability Ride has been set for Sunday 25th February 2007. You can find full details of the event and routes by following the Events Link. Frank Townend has now put together the list of club rides and destinations for the next year and once these are confirmed I will post them on this site in the week

Please remember your club memberships is now way overdue!. So if you have not already please complete the membership renewal forms that were sent out with the newsletter or print one off the website. Then return this along with payment to our Treasurer Graham Kelly, thank you

Just received a letter from our friend down under John Woodruff giving us an update on cycling in Aus and wishing us all a Merry Christmas. Letter

The SRC AGM took place last week and was well attended. I have listed the new Elected Officials for this coming year on our Contacts Page. A number of matters were discussed at the AGM that will effect all club rides. 1st was that it was decided that on club runs Tri-bars are now banned on safety grounds. Also the issue of non club members riding on the club runs was discussed. A formal decision on this issue will be confirmed after the next committee meeting. But to ensure that non club members do not invalidate the CTC regulations the SRC is affiliated to, it has been suggested that riders will be expected to join the SRC or if riding for another club become an associate member

The 2007 Tour de France route was announced last Thursday showing the full details of each stage which starts in London on the 7th July The Etape stage will take place in the French Pyrenees and looks to be an epic stage. You can look at the full details of both events on this Link or through our Web Links page

Swinnertons Cycles are holding a Demo Day on Cannock Chase where you can tryout the latest range of Giant and Trek off road machines (no road bikes I am afraid) and put them to the test on the Chase. Link

This Sunday 15 October 2006 there is a Hill Climb TT on the Stile Cope course (Rugeley) run by Walsall CC were points will be awarded to SRC members. This will be the last TT event this year so please come along and have a go. There is still only 2 point dividing the 1st and 2nd place riders this year in the SRC Club Championship so there will be some big efforts being put in.

Sunday 29Oct 2006 - Trail Blazers Cycle event on Cannock Chase. Orienteering on a bike, against the clock. Its a great event enjoyed by hundreds of people who compete as individuals or in teams, mountain bikes are a must! More details

Well Pro Season is drawing to a close and after an exciting race last Sunday in the Tour of Zurich which was won by the Spanish rider Samuel Sanchez in terrible conditions we have just two more races to watch. On Sunday 8th October you can see the Paris-Tours RR where Erik Zabel will be defending his title and trying to become the first ever rider to win the title four times. Then the folwing Saturday is the last Pro Tour race the Giro di Lombardia all of which are shown on Eurosport.

Stafford Triathlon 10 mile TT was won on Saturday by Andy Moore who set a new course record putting in a time of 22.05. Full Results

The World Championships finished on Sunday with the most spectacular finish for the men's elite road race. Paolo Bettini edged out Erik Zarbel to take the gold medal. It was excellent to see 2 of the oldest pro's show that they are still the best after a long season. David Millar also showed himself to be in good form playing an active role in the lead group. Nicole Cooke got the bronze in the women's road race and dipped out taking fourth in the TT. For full details follow this LINK

I have added some photos that were taken of the Tour of Britain on Cannock Chase. Please take a look and if you have nay more photos you would like posting please let me know

The last 25 mile Time Trail took place last Sunday and I have now posted the results on the Events link. There is one more event this year where SRC riders can acquire points for the club championship.

The Christmas meal has been confirmed for the 3rd December at the Hand and Cleaver. The prices I believe have been retained at last years price and I will post out details of the menu with the next news letter. So please make a date and come along to the meal and club prize giving ceremony.

Do not forget its the Cat and Fiddle charity ride on the 1st October. Its an excellent day events on a 55 mile course which attracts a large field which included Sean Kelly last year. You can see more details and down load an entry form of our Weblinks/UK cyclespotive page.

Alexandre Vinokourov won the The Tour of Spain on Sunday with a convincing win. He managed to clock up 3 stage wins along the way and arrive in Madrid with a 1.12min lead over his nearest rival Alejandro Valeverde. All in all the Astana team clocked up 5 stage wins, took 1st and 3rd place overall and Vinokourov won the best all rounder competition. Not bad for a 'new team'.

Last nights 5 mile TT saw some excellent times being put in by a field of 7 riders with Andy Moore setting what I believe is a new course record in a time of 9mins 35. I have now posted the full list of results which you can access via the Events button.

Nicole Cooke is the World Cup Champion for the second time. She finished fourth in the Lowland Rotterdam Tour, enough to ensure she can't be overtaken in the final round in Germany next weekend. To catch up with her full agenda take a look at her web site here or through our weblinks page.

The National Bike show will take place in London on the 5-8 October this year so if you fancy taking a look at the latest models and bike components you can see more details here

Well the Tour of Britain reached a fantastic climax on Sunday when Tom Boonen used his Quick Step lead out train to secure the sprint finish on the Mall in London. Mark Cavendish however made a magnificent sprint and jumped several places to take 3rd place and secure the points jersey in the overall. T Mobile also announced this week the Cavendish will be given a full pro contract after this years performance for the team which should secure the 21 year old future in pro cycling. Here is the LINKto the official site and overall standings

Vinokourov took a spectacular victory yesterday coming ahead of Valverde after an aggressive day in the big mountains which say attack after attack by all the main contenders. Its a rest day today (Monday) in the Tour of Spain before the racing kicks off again on Tuesday. But the riders do not hit the big mountains again until a week on Tuesday so any major shack up in the overall standing before then is likely to be on Saturdays 33k Time Trail. Use our web links page to keep up with the latest race news from Eurosport and the official Vueltra web site.

So tune in to see if What a dramatic end to the Eneco Tour! I thought they UCI had brought rules in about leaving your line in the final sprint but no one but Big George seems to have thought that anything was wrong as Stefan Schumacher swerved out from the barriers, moving off his line by at least 2m across the front of George. Then with a touch of wheels down he he went and Stefan Schumacher then rode in to take the overall victory on this the final day. Rough justice if you ask me

Well Wednesday's 10 mile TT was ridden by 5 riders in monsoon conditions but despite this Andy Moore put in his fastest time of the season recording a 21.57. Very impressive!. The full list of results will be posted in the next couple of days, but well done Andy you are obviously going to finish the season in top form. Do not forget its the 50 mile TT a week on Sunday 3rd September. Full details can be found on the event page.

The SRC Time Trail season will soon be drawing to a close and with only 4 events remaining the race is on for this years scratch and handicap competition. Select the following LINK to see the current results sheet. Check out the details of the remaining events starting with tomorrow nights 10 and results on the Events Link.

I have just received the full schedule fro this years Tour of Britain. If you would like to take a look at the exact route and times select this LINK.

The Eneco Tour began today in Holland and you can watch and listen to the race each day live on Eurosport. If you would like to see the race route details here is the link to the official web site LINK. But be warned its in Dutch or French. But if you select the Dutch and chose PARCOURS from the menu you can see the stage route details.

The Tour of Britain has now named the teams for this years event. Log on here to take a look LINK. But as you will see all the big names are there.

This Saturday the next Mammoth 10 mile TT take place on the A34 Stafford. Signing on is for 9.00am 19 August at Mammoth Cycles, Milford.

Michael Harris of the SRC is entering the Cat & Fiddle ride this year (1st October) to raise money for a Cystic Fibrosis charity. He is trying to beat last years time of 2hrs 30mins for the route. So if you would like to support him and help raise money to help fight Cystic Fibrosis select this LINK

The winners of this summers series of 10 mile TT's were announced last week with Andy Moore recording the best average of 3 rides, 2nd Alastair Semple & 3rd Dave Drayton-Green. The winner of the handicap competition was Stephen Moss, 2nd Michael Harris, 3rd Mathew Moore. Our thanks go out once again to Rob Milne for sponsoring the event and to all the riders who came along and made it so competitive.

Well Floyd Ladis results are now public knowledge but the arguments rage on with Floyd giving 4 negative samples before and 3 negative after the alleged positive sample. Allegations are now been made towards the UCI for breaking the rules with regards to releasing news about samples and the indemnity of athletes form those analysis the samples. Read all the latest Here

Room to Rent - local cyclist is looking for a like minded person to share his house with if you are any of your firends or family are interested here are the details LINK

For Sale 2 Selle Italia SLR saddles, 1 is a Gel flow Cut-away the other a SLR Genuine Gel approx 150g each. I have only used them for a few month each and am not happy with them, hence the sale. They retail at approx £70 each and I will except £15 each. If you are interested drop me an e-mail.

Floyd Landis B test results will be made public this Saturday. So log onto to Eurosport to keep up with the news and lets just hope for its negative for cycling's reputation to the rest of the world.

There are only 2 more Time Trails to be run from Dunston on a Wednesday evening. The 25TT on the 9th Aug and a 10TT on the 23rd August. Both events will now start at 7.00pm. Please take a look at the Events/Time Trails link for full details of both events as well as a number of other TT scheduled to be run by SRC and of course a full list of TT's in the area.

This Thursday (3rd August) the SRC committee meeting will be held at 7.30 followed by the SRC racing team meeting at approximately 8.30. Everyone is welcome.

Entry forms are now available for this years Cat and Fiddle ride which I know many of us rode last year. This years event takes place on the 1 October and details are available on the Web links/UK Cycle-Sportif. You can also take part in the Leg Breaker at Leek next weekend and the Spud Riley Challenge in September all taking you over some of our most spectacular hills in the south of the Peak District.

The Tour of Britain has now published its route which will take the race from Wolverhampton (13.00am) to Shifnal (10.55), Gnosall (11.25), Stafford (11.35), Milford 11.50, Cannock Chase (12.05), Lichfield (12.35) and finish in Birmingham at 1.25pm. So I hope you can all find time on the 1st September to get to see some of the days racing.

I have just heard on the news that Floyd Landis has been found guilty of taking the drug testosterone on stage 17 when he took back 5 minutes on his main rivals. No wonder they could not catch him!. But it does not do cycling any good in the eye of the media. Read all about it here LINK

If you are into Mountain biking here is one for you LINK. A whole weekend of events in some of Britain's best countryside, ENJOY

Its official! the Tour of Britain will pass through Stafford on Friday 1st September. Road closures between Gnossal, Stafford and Milford were posted this week in the local newspapers and the TOB web site is now asking for volunteers to help marshal this as well as the other 4 stages. So if you fancy getting involved please select this LINK. The route map is not yet posted but keep an eye on the TOB website via our Weblinks page and I am sure that it will be posted soon.

You may have seen some of the 4 short films that are being shown on Channel 4 this week at 7.55pm all about bicycles. But if not or you would like to see them again and vote on your favourite select this LINK. They are all excellent with my favourite being "Stop Nicking my Bike"

Just received details of the Highclere Castle Cyclosportive and FSNBF Charity Ride, on Sunday 20th August 2006. This event is sanctioned by British Cycling and is directly supporting Fire Services National Benevolent Fund Charity. Highclere castle is a superb traffic-free location in 2000acres of Parklands located Nr Newbury, Berkshire. Full details are on our web links page UK Cyclo Spotives

Important Notice - The next 2 SRC TT to take place are 25 mile events and they will now begin at 19.00 from Dunston. These events will follow the new 25 mile course introduced this year so please familiarise yourself with the route LINK.

Stafford Road Club Summer Time Trail Competition was a great success with prizes been awarded each week for the first 3 in the scratch and handicap competition and one team event. Full details of the over all competition winners who have recorded the fastest 3 times will be published soon here on the web site. In the mean time you can see a full list of the weekly results on the Event/TT LINK.

The SRC new team kit has arrived and there are Short sleeved shirts available sizes medium x2, Large x 4, Large x 1 full zip, Extra Large x 1 and Shorts size medium (32). Please contact Alastair to place you order for some more summer kit LINK

Stafford Road Club Racing Team are running training sessions on a Thursday evening at 6.45pm. The group will meet up at the windmill Nr Sainsbury's supermarket and then head out of Stafford to complete short circuits at a high intensity getting back into Stafford for 9.00pm. If you fancy getting involved in some speed work please come along. But do not worry about getting dropped as the training session is ridden on a short circuit to ensure that anyone who ends up out the back can jump back onto the group on the next lap.

British Cycling has launched a new web site called Everyday Cycling aimed at getting more people out on their bikes. This site is aimed at making cycling fun and tempting people who might otherwise chose to not to go out on their bikes. Bt take a look as their is a vast amount of information and links to events run locally and around the country. LINK

Just received some great new web links for Mountain Bike events that are taking place in the Midlands and surrounding areas. So take a look there is loads of interesting stuff on events, equipment and links. You can access the site there the Web Links button or there the Event and Results page/Mountain bikes.

SportsAid are running an annual bike ride which begins this September to raise money for the 2012 Olympics. The Paris to London ride begins on 28 September with the Eurostar to Paris then on the 29th September you cover the 370km route in 3 days back to London. Here are more details for anyone interested or who would like to know a little more LINK.

A new web site has been set up called Sports Mates Reunited. I am sure you have all heard of Friends Reunited well this is the same principle but for sports men and women. It has over 30,000 clubs listed and could prove to be a great way to catch up with friends you might have lost touch with from your old clubs. I will add this LINK to out Web Links page for future reference.

The first rest day today in the Tour but Wednesday will see the riders enter the big mountains for the first time so tune in as there is bound to be some exciting racing and a definite change in the overall classification. With only 5 mountain stages this year the big favourites need to make sure that they maximise their advantage.

Thor Hushovd took the open prologue stage of this years Tour de France followed by Big George of the discovery team. But Britain's Bradley Wiggins and David Millar did not show. See the results here

Bumped into Woody last night who informed me that his Aussie friend who intended t ride in the Vets competition this September is off the bike due to injuries so no longer need accommodation. But Woody asked me to extend the offer to anyone travelling down under to meet up with him and their club and use their facilities (veledrome, road race course).

The next 10 mile TT will take place at 7.30 from Dunston on Wednesday 12 July. A Team Competition will be run with riders entering in groups of 3. The will be some big cash prizes to be won for this weeks event and the overall prizes for the Series of 5 TT's will be awarded to the riders who have recorded the 3 fastest times. So please come along in a team or to enter as an individual.

Mammoths TT on Saturday saw SRC's Andy Moore recording the fastest time at 22.29 (new course record!) out of a field of 22 riders. Check out a full list of Result on the Stafford Triathlon Club web site. Their next 10 mile TT will take place on Saturday 19 August, 9.00am sign on at Mammoth, Milford. They will be running a team competition so again please try to organise yourself to meet up with other SRC riders to give them a run for their money!

Last nights 10 mile TT produced some seasonal best for few of the riders in the ideal warm still conditions. I have now posted the results. If you are interested Saturday morning 8 July at 9.00am Mammoth 10 mile TT is been run on the A34 route. Signing on is for 9 at Mammoth, Millford.

The TDF has been an exciting race so far this year with Robbie McEwen looking stronger than ever in the sprint and currently holding the green jersey. Although the race has been plagued with crashes and we have lost one of the favourites Alejandro Valverde as well as a few more well known names. You can hear live coverage on your PC each day on Eurosport or watch it on ITV4 each evening at 7 or live each day on Eurosport TV. Today's stage went to Oscar Freire of Spain as he powered past the big boys to claim Rabobank's first win of the 2006 Tour. Tom Boonen is currently wearing the Yellow jersey and I see David Miller is in 14th position just 33 seconds behind Boonen

Alan Wardle Sports Tours have sent use details of some sporting tours that they are running this September so if you fancy a few days organised cycling in the Alpes take a look at their LINK. I will add this to the web links page for future use.

Breaking news – Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso and Francisco Mancebo have been suspended by their teams 24 hours before the start of the Tour de France. They along with 37 other Pro riders have been list in the Spanish press as been named in the doping report after a gagging order was list on Thursday this week. This will have a mayor effect on the those fancied as lifting the Yellow jersey in Paris in 3 weeks time. Log onto Eurosport to catch up with the full list of events that are changing by hour.

Well Wednesday night TT produce some excellent times with a good field of 22 riders competing in both the individual and the team competition. The fastest rider on the day was Gary Ford in 22.23, 2^nd Andy Moore in 22.42 and 3^rd Simon Harvey 23.44. Mammoth riders Gary Ford, Dave Drayton-Green and Granville Dolan won the Team prize. By selecting the Event Races and Results/Time Trails Link you can see the full list of results. Hope to see you all there again next week and do not forget the Mammoth TT on Saturday the 8 July signing on at Mammoth Cycles, Milford for 9.00am.

Get ready to set your videos for a 'daily play' as the Tour de France begins this Saturday 1st July. This should provide us all with 3 weeks of top class racing which this year could prove to be "any mans race". You can watch the daily coverage on Eurosport each afternoon with highlights in the evening or on ITV3 and ITV4. There is lots of gossip on the Eurosport home page regarding the teams, riders and the uncertainty that surrounds Alexandre Vinokourov and his Astana-Würth team.

Stafford Road Club Summer Time Trail Competition event on the 28th June will have team prizes for the fastest team of 3 riders. With over £300 prize money up for grabs for the series of 5 TT's plus the overall competition winners there should be a prize out there within your reach. The competition is being run on the SRC10 Mile Time Trail course and begins at 7.30pm. Full details of the course, start times and the Results of the first 2 events log onto the Events web link on the Time Trails page.

The next Stafford Triathlon/Mammoth Time Trial is scheduled for Saturday 8 July. Signing on is for 9.00am at Mammoth and the event will be run over a 10 mile course that runs from Police HQ, Wildwood down the A34 to Pottle Pool roundabout then back up to the Police HQ. The events attract a large and very competitive field but with some excellent prizes up for grabs. Past results

Jan Ullrich won the ninth and final stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Sunday to snatch victory in the overall classification. LINK All eyes will be on him to see if he can produce the goods when the Tour de France kicks off in less than 2 weeks.

SRC Club Kit has finally arrived. If you would like to give me a ring 01785 253691 we can make arrangements to collect your kit. Alternatively I will take along orders to the Wednesday Time Trails and the next SRC club meeting on the 6 July where they can be collected

Last nights Hilly TT was only attended by 3 riders, where where YOU! it was an excellent evening on an exciting course. Here are the Results

SRC Riders has a successful weekend racing in the VTTC time trails which took place on the 10 mile and 23 mile Hilly TT courses from Weston. Andy Moore took 2nd place on the 10 miles course and Alastair Semple took 2nd place in the handicap. Then on Sundays Hilly 23TT Andy Moore took first place. Well done to both riders and I will post a full list of riders and times once I have received them from the organisers.

There are a couple of new Cyclo Sportive links added to the UK list. One in the Scottish lowlands and the other in northwest Scotland. The latter boasts the highest climb in the UK, just over 2000ftin 6 miles. So if you are planning a holiday take a look on our Web Links page.

IMPORTANT NOTICE As a result of the road works on the M6 the traffic on the A449 has increased significantly. Therefore The CTT has decided that while the road works are south of Dunston No event should start before 19:30. Stafford RC TT events on the K7/10 will now start at 19:30 hrs until further notice, but probably for the rest of the season. The evening K7/25 events may have to be changed to 10s if the road work continue for a long period. Please check the web site again for a update on the 25TT.

TLI have organised 3 evenings of track racing on the 13th, 27th June and the 4 July at Oulton Park motor racing circuit. If you fancy getting involved here is the LINK

SRC committee meeting takes place next Thursday 1 June at 7.30. Following this meeting the SRC/Powerbar Racing Team will hold a meeting (8.30pm) to look at the new team kit for 2007 season and for SRC riders to get measured up for the new kit. Please feel free to come along to both meeting.

Well Basso finished the Giro with a 9 minute lead over his nearest rival LINK. So I can not wait now until July and the Tour de France starts to see if he can maintain this form, and if so I will down William Hill as he looks invisible. So it looks like we are going to see a real battle in the alps this year.

Wyre Forest CRC Open 10 has announced a change of course and date. The event was due to be held on Saturday 1 July, course K8 but will now be held on the 6th July, starting at 7pm, course K33/10R. The organisers have also included a Tandem 10, call Mike Nicol for more details 01299 824694

Breaking News - Liberty Seguros has withdrawn its sponsorship of the Manolo Saiz managed team with immediate effect after his arrest in a doping investigation - Link

The next Mammoth TT is on Bank Holiday Monday at 9.am. Signing on at Mammoth Cycles. See the results HERE

Woody has sent me a message from down under regarding one of his cycling friends who is travelling over to the UK to take part in the World Vets World Championships which is being held at Manchester's velodrome this September. Woody was wondering if any of the SRC club members would be happy to put up his Aussie friend rather than him have to stay by himself in a hotel for the few days he will be here for the competition. If you would like to help or know more details please get in touch, thanks Alastair

This Thursday (4 May) the SRC committee meeting will be held at the rugby club at 7.30 and at 8.30 the Stafford RC/Powerbar team meeting will be held. All SRC members are welcome to attend.

24 riders took part in the Stafford Triathlon/Mammoth 10 TT this Bank Holiday Monday. 6 SRC riders took part and put in some good times despite the windy conditions. Full results can be seen here on the Stafford Triathlon web site

Sunday TLI road race saw 5 SRC Powerbar team riders take part in a field of 75. Damien Lee took seventh overall and Andy Moore tenth place. It was a fast race with attaches from the first lap. Would can see a full race review on the Stone Wheelers website.

SRC is proud to announce that this week it has registered the Stafford Road Club - Powerbar Racing Team with the BC. After recent discussions, the Powerbar team has joined forces with the SRC and will now ride for SRC with Powe