Sport
Cycling Club Returns to Action
The team is fielding a squad of five riders
Cycling Club Isle of Man will continue its 2023 season this weekend at the BikeStow 3-Day in the UK.
The team is fielding a squad of five riders with Niall Quiggin, Mark Horsthuis, Jamie Fletcher, Michael Faid, and Corrin Leeming all ready to go.
All five have competed for Cycling Club Isle of Man this season with Jamie the team’s top performer at the Rás Tailteann in Ireland last month while Niall and Jamie both got into the top 10 at the recent Steven Jones Memorial in the UK. After some good results already this year, the team is aiming for some strong performances this weekend.
The BikeStow 3-Day features four stages with a split day on Saturday, setting off from Ellerdine, Shropshire on Friday evening. The opening stage is 30 miles long and takes the riders around a relatively flat course that should end in a sprint.
Saturday will be a busy day for the riders with a time trial in the morning and a road race in the afternoon. The 1.7km time trial, in Cookhill, Worcestershire, is very much a power course with just one major corner to negotiate and gently rolling roads.
Stage 3, on Saturday afternoon, is just down the A422 from the time trial. The 52-mile route takes place over a larger circuit than Friday’s opener with much more undulating roads. The slightly uphill run to the line makes for a difficult finale.
The final stage is the longest of the race at 64 miles long with the finish taking the riders just over the border into Wales for a tough uphill finish that could play a big factor in the overall winner. The riders will set off from the outskirts of Presteigne in Wales and head south to begin a loop across challenging rolling roads.
As the riders loop back, they will pass by the start area and then onto Presteigne, before turning toward the finish that features a climb with gradients of over eight percent.
