12 members of the Hafren Cycling Club headed over to the Welsh Cyclo-cross championships being held at the Royal Welsh Showground in Llanelwedd last weekend and found the going difficult on a tough and technical course. Many of the members have only got into the sport fairly recently and for many this was their first race. With this being the Welsh championships, the standard of rider competing was quite simply the best of the best, and with that in mind it was credit to the club that so many members competed in the event, enjoying the thrills and often spills which this sport throws up. That’s not to say the club did not have success. Max Bufton continues to improve with every race and with a top 10 place in his sights in the overall general classification, he achieved a fantastic top ten position in his under 8’s race and will certainly be one to watch in the future.
Next up was the veterans race and the Hafren tops were everywhere. Ian Coe was the first Hafren rider to cross the line in 41st position and he was closely followed by Tony Brooks (46th), David Higgins (49th), Des Pugh (53rd), Mark Riden (57th), Rob Fisher (59th) and Glyn Jones (60th). Despite being the last Hafren member to cross the line, Glyn’s enthusiasm typifies what the Hafren Club has achieved in such a short space of time. No matter at what level you are competing at, racing is racing and it really gets the adrenalin going. Glyn crashed out on the first lap which resulted in him taking some time out to catch his breath. His chain then broke which saw him racing off to the pits to collect a spare bike determined to finish the race.
In the final race of the day, Chris Roberts, Darren Jarman and Paul Bufton competed in the 1 hour senior race on a course which had become extremely rutted and slippy. Chris has continued to get stronger and stronger as the season has gone on and just missed out on a top 20 position, crossing the line in 21st position. He was followed by Darren and Paul in 24th and 27th respectively.
Other local riders to mention were Jamie Cruise and Nick Huband from the Hafren club as well as Kamil Studzinski riding for Brooks Cycles who withdrew from racing due to technical issues. Ystwyth Cycles rider Sean Grosvenor, from Llanidloes, put in another strong performance finishing 6th in his category.
With the season almost over, The Hafren Club would also like to pass on massive congratulations to Liz Slater from Newbridge-on-Wye who has recently picked up the Volunteer of the year at The Wales Sport Awards. Described by Welsh Cycling as ‘the unpaid extra member of staff’, the Hafren club has had firsthand experience of her involvement as she was instrumental in helping to organize the recent event held on the Trehafren Fields in Newtown. She has coordinated the Cyclo-cross league for the last nine years and, in that time, entries have trebled. This year alone she has she commissaired more than 25 races across three cycling disciplines, including GB National races. Congratulations once again.