Our very own Christmas Cracker Tony Read 
A hot cracker 
Simon Christie 
A Wheelers Chaingang 
Iain Milligan 
Karl Hale always time for fans 
The running really paid off 
The sand king 
Iain shoulders the bike 
Paul Watson carrying speed through the corners 
Nick Rush in Paul’s track 
Will Tate ripping it up 
Tony Whale having a ‘whale of a time’ 
Nick Gilford improving with every race 
Oh yes he did 
Powering on 
Another Wheelers chain gang 
Paul leading the 3rd placed M60 up the mound 
Megan Free showing how to ride the sand 
GG is really enjoying this Cross thing 
Sam Brook look at those relaxed fingers 
Showing us how to run the steps with the fantastic Wheelers Banner as a backdrop 
Focused 
And a podium 
Nick leading this very friendly group of Crossers
There were some outstanding results for the Wheelers Cyclocrossers at our own race on Sunday, but the real winner was the West Stow Cross event itself and the collective effort of all the Wheelers who made the event happen. Like any big event it had taken months to plan by the club’s CX sub committee, from the British Cycling application, risk assessment, event plan, financial forecast, course design, mapping, booking facilities, recruiting volunteers and promoting the event. Our core team of five was bolstered in the week leading up to the event by an ever increasing band, who helped to build the course, putting up tents, knocking in hundreds of wooden posts, fastening netting up, taping the course and putting up all of the signage and banners, all of that on top of keeping the course cut all year, strimming new sections and repairing the old. All of it came together at West Stow. Country Park for Round 9 of the Eastern Cyclocross league last weekend. The accolades we have received for the course and for our volunteers have been coming in thick and fast from far and wide. Riders young and old loved the variety of challenges that we provided to keep them on their toes and entertained, but more importantly they really enjoyed the support they all received from our volunteer marshals, you were magnificent all day, from when practise opened at 9 o’clock, until the last race finished almost 7 hours later, thank you all. It’s what makes the event that West Suffolk Wheelers organise so very special, everyone was kept safe by your vigilance and the British Cycling Commissaire team had nothing but praise for everyone involved, it was a remarkable team effort.
The competitiveness during every race was wonderful to watch and to hear our team cheering for everyone was very special. Seeing the Under 8/10 race with over 30 racers is always very exciting, even more so as the leaders tore around a 400m+ track 7 times in cheered on the whole way by enthusiastic parents and family it was a sight to behold and hear. The Under 12 race was just as thrilling to watch, their track was over 600m+ and included some very difficult turns in soft sand, hurdles and a brand new section which was designed and cut only 2 days before the event, this part of their track was very compact and included 7 very tight turns which tested their bike handling skills and they rode 6 laps in under 15 minutes of glorious racing. There after all of the races used the full course which was 2.7 kms in length, but as the start for all those races were by the prow of the Longship, there was an outlap of 1.6 kms, which gave all the fields the opportunity to spread out before they tackled the best sandpit in the Eastern and our neighbouring leagues. The racing at all levels was outstanding, made all the better by the course we provided for them, which had everything the riders could want in a cyclocross course, steps, a slalom through woods, logs which were rideable, tarmac, off-camber turns both up and down and tight turns to slow them down. If we say so ourselves, it is the best event that the Eastern league has, thank you one and all for making it happen.
Wheelers results
Senior Open Race:
Sam Brook 3rd Junior 6th overall and currently leads the Junior standings
Ladies Race:
Megan Free 14th overall and 7th Senior and also is 7th in the league
GG Yogarajah in only her 2nd race was 25th overall and 9th senior
Teresa Rush organised the finish line crew all day, so took average points and leads the M60 standings
M50 Race:
Simon Christie was 17th and sits 12th overall in the league standings
Jason Fowler was 24th
Matt Shingleton finished 32nd in the league table he is 25th
Iain Milligan was 38th and sits 30th in the current table
Karl Hale having been on his feet all week and did so much in the week before the race was 41st and in the league is 36th
Stephen Brook didn’t race as he was busy in sign on all day so took average points and is 25th in the standings
M60 Race:
Paul Watson was 2nd and is 2nd overall in the league
Martin Archer came 10th and in the league is 9th
Nick Rush crossed the line 17th but is 14th in the league
Will Tate was 21st and sits 26th in the standings
Tony Whale finished 22nd and is 25th in the table
Tony Read who was dressed as a Christmas Cracker and cheered all the way round with the usual festive banter was a remarkable 23rd, but is not a league member
And Nick Gilford in only his 3rd race was 26th, Chapeau
Paul Chapman and Peter Golding chose not to race.
Next week there is a Leicestershire League race near Loughborough, but the next Eastern League event is not until the NewYear at Milton Country Park, Cambridge on the 25th January and hot off the press, an additional race will now take place near Baldock on February the 1st giving us our 11th league event.
I’ll leave you with some words from one of our volunteers “it was a pleasure to be part of the cyclocross event, it made me very proud to be a Wheeler.”