Shropshire gear up to host cycle stars

Local club Mid Shropshire Wheelers has the honour of staging the most prestigious event in the sport's calendar at the Shrewsbury Sports Village.

The competition has pulled in a record entry of more than 600 competitors with the biggest names in cyclo-cross heading to the Sundorne venue.

The action takes place on both Saturday and Sunday, with free admission to watch a star-studded cast.

Dave Mellor, event organiser for Mid Shropshire Wheelers, said: "It's been a couple of years in the planning.

"A national championship has to go onto the international calendar and we were approached well over two years ago. The Sports Village have had it on their books for that long.

"We've been looking at and slowly developing the course with Shrewsbury Town Council's Countryside Unit to make it a really good challenge for the riders, as befits a national championship.

"Hosting this is the pinnacle of anything we can do as a club in organisational terms.

"It's the highest you can go and for a small, provincial club like ours with 300 members and a really good kids section, it's just fantastic."

Practice on the challenging 3km course takes place on Friday afternoon before the competitive action gets under way at 9.30am on Saturday with the veteran women's race.

A number of veteran races together with under-14 and under-16 boys and girls races will take place on Saturday, before the categories that go forward to the World Championships on Sunday.

That day's action starts with the under-23 men's race at 9.30am followed by a combined race for under-23 and junior women.

Then there is a junior men's under-18s race featuring Shrewsbury prospect Ewan Grivell-Mellor.

The event will conclude with the elite women's race at 1.15pm and finally the elite men's race – held annually since 1955 – at 2.30pm.

Mellor added: "There's a lot of talk on social media about both the men's and women's elite races.

"Nikki Harris from Derby, who won a World Cup last month and has now put herself as one of the favourites for the World Championships, will be competing.

"Such is the interest in her we've got reporters and photographers coming over from Belgium. It will be a two-horse race between Nikki and Helen Wyman, the national champion for the last few years.

"Both girls live in Belgium now and they're arriving in town on Thursday ready to have a look at the course on Friday.

"They are world class and it's an amazing chance for local people to see them go head to head.

"The elite men's race has a very strong field too. Liam Killeen, the Commonwealth Games mountain bike champion and Olympic athlete, is an old favourite at the Sports Village.

"He has recently started to race again and has always liked taking part in our events.

"Ian Field, who's been British champion for the last four years, is an ex-Great Britain mountain bike rider and he's world class.

"He spends most of his time in Belgium and breaks into the top 20 in World Cup races.

"We've also got Ian Bibby, a man people will have seen on the Tour of Britain as King of the Mountains so he's another class rider.

"He's got an off-road background but he won the big warm-up race for the National Championships at Macclesfield convincingly over Christmas, so it's just going to be very special race."

Mellor is delighted by the record number of entries, up on previous years when the National Championships have been held in Abergavenny, Bradford, Birmingham's Sutton Park, Southampton and Ipswich.

He said: "It's the biggest entry we've ever had. Including reserves, we're up to about 640.

"We've been asked how many people are going to be at the Sports Village and you're up to 2,000, just with competitors and their helpers.

"We've also got a vast army of just under 100 volunteers from the club together with other friends of the club who will be marshalling – and I'm really encouraged by the co-operation we've received.

"It's a massive event and it will be a great spectacle. Riders will be changing bikes pretty much every half-lap. We have a pit area and a jet wash area and that is a hive of activity.

"It's good for spectators to go and watch down there, as well as enjoying all of the action around the course."

He added: "We've got around 500 parking spaces at the Sports Village and also the medical centre next door.

"We've kindly been offered extra parking at the Shrewsbury Club and Sundorne School, but if you are local, get on your bike and ride to the venue or just park out a little bit and walk in.

"There are a lot of people travelling a long way to come and watch and they won't know where to park. Come along, watch and cheer. I'm sure everyone will have a great time."