A local cycling club celebrated a double win over the weekend at the ICC – AvantiGas 2 Day race.
Ilkley Cycling Club hosted its first ever Tour de France inspired two day race over the bank holiday and came away with an impressive two out of the four prizes.
The race, sponsored by local LPG supplier AvantiGas, welcomed 25 three man teams from Yorkshire, the Midlands, North East and North West to take part in the challenging two day stage race to win the iconic yellow, green and polka dot jerseys known from the Tour de France.
The race was aimed at 2nd, 3rd and 4th category riders who competed in a 55 mile road race around the Penny Pot Circuit on Saturday morning, the second stage 4.5 mile team time trial on Saturday afternoon and the final 45 mile road race stage around the Darley/Dacre Circuit on Sunday.
With the lowest accumulated time at the end of each of the three stages, Ilkley Cycling Club was awarded the overall team prize and as the most consistent finisher, Ben Hallworth of Ilkley Cycling Club claimed the AvantiGas green points jersey. Overall, Ben Hallworth came 4th, Robert Ormrod came 5th and Ewan Farrow came 6th in the individual rider results.
The best hill climber title and AvantiGas polka dot jersey went to Steven Guymer from Cottingham Coureurs RT and the AvantiGas yellow jersey for the lowest aggregated time overall went to Alex Jones from Audlem Cycle Club.
As well as the prestigious jerseys each winner was awarded a generous cash prize from the race’s sponsor, AvantiGas.
Tim Gill, race organiser from Ilkley Cycling Club commented: This is the first time we’ve done a road race that’s also a stage race and we thought it’d be great for cyclists to experience racing for yellow, green and polka dot jerseys just like in the Tour de France.
AvantiGas has made all the difference to this inaugral event. Their sponsorship elevated it to a race that attracted teams from across the North of England and the Midlands, with substantial prizes and a level of organisation that brought real prestige to the occasion.
We most definitely want this to become an annual event – it was one of the best racing events in the North of England this weekend – and feel it has the potential to be one of our most popular races in the racing calendar for 2nd, 3rd and 4th category riders.
Dan Eadson, Domestic Sales Representative from AvantiGas commented: It’s been a great weekend of cycling and we’re delighted with the success of the event. Ilkley Cycling Club has developed a race that brings people into the community from around the UK and we hope to continue to be part of it in the coming years.
“As a national supplier of LPG it is so important for us to engage with the community and support local initiatives. An event like this is the perfect opportunity to do this but to also help raise awareness about AvantiGas and learn more about our customers’ energy needs.
For the full race report visit www.velouk.net/2014/05/04/report-ilkley-cycling-club-2-day/
Main photograph: Winners of the ICC – AvantiGas 2 Day (from left to right) – Alex Jones from Audlem Cycle Club, Steven Guymer from Cottingham Coureurs RT and Ben Hallworth from Ilkley Cycling Club with Dan Eadson from AvantiGas
