Battling against nearing freezing conditions, Stratford CC rider Peter Ward took on the challenge of early season ‘Hardriders’ event, organised by Banbury Star Cycling Club. The race runs from Wroxton, near Banbury to Ettington and back.

The 23 mile course takes in both fearsome ascent and exciting descent of Sunrise Hill, where Peter demonstrated his awesome downhill bike skills in front of cheering onlookers. Finishing in 1:01:12 resulted in an impressive 7th place out of 51 competitors. The event was won by former SCC member and now 2nd claim rider, James Wall in a very convincing time of 52:49.

In equally freezing but sunny conditions, another race took place. Not with the same gradient as Sunrise Hill, but with enough climbs to challenge the riders, the first League of Veterans Riders (LVRC) race, the MI Racing Early Season 2 up Time Trial, was a tough one too. Stratford CC riders recently returned from a warm weather cycling camp in Lanzarote, Alison Bagnall and Robin Corder cycled in perfect harmony to finish the 19 mile race second place in the mixed pairs in 53.06.

Also benefiting from the training camp, Keith Walton worked extremely hard to encourage partner, Miranda Harris to break the hour missing out by 2 minutes with an overall time of 62.17 but nearly 13 minutes quicker than ‘standard time’ for their ages. The race was won overall by Ian Cooper and Steve Clayton in 46.46.

The next LVRC race will be organised by Stratford CC Graham and Heather Sims, as well as other club members, and takes place on March 21.

For more details about the club events, please visit the website www.stratfordcc.co.uk