Preview: Wheelbase Cyclocross 6th December 2008

The third running of the Wheelbase Cyclocross takes place on 6th December at a new venue in Waterfoot, Rossendale, East Lancashire. The course in Edgeside Park is guaranteed to give nobody an easy ride, and any victory will be fully deserved on the hilly and inevitably muddy course.

The winner of last year’s event in Outwood Park, Radcliffe was Ipswich’s Nathan Millar, who will be unable to make the journey this year, but North Wests cyclocross star Rob Jebb (Team Wheelbase) will ride his first event in the North West series this year, and is likely to revel in the mud and hills. The 7 times Three Peaks cyclocross winner and international cyclocross rider is looking forward to riding his own team’s event for the first time, with fell running commitments having kept him away in the past.

The event will also provide a great warm up for the next day’s North of England championships near Sunderland, and the senior event will run for slightly shorter than the usual 60 minutes.

Prizes

Again, Wheelbase have generously supported the event and there will be a prize list to the value of approximately £500 in the event, varying from cash prizes to cycling goods from the huge Lakeland cycling store. The donated prizes have made it possible for entries to be free of charge for all under 16 riders, something important to Wheelbase in the development of the sport.

Race Details:

The course

Rossendale Borough Council are excited to have their first cyclocross race in the borough for a good few years, and the venue at Edgeside Park presents a formidable challenge to any rider, and calls upon all the stock cyclocross skills, with plank dismount, run-ups, steep climbs, fast tarmac and some inevitable December mud. Wheelbase rider and event organiser Dave Haygarth has spent several visits to the park honing the course to get a good mix. “There’s something for everyone, but it’s a tough one and there will be larger than usual gaps between riders pretty early on”

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For further event details, please contact Dave Haygarth on 01706 220042