MORE than 6,000 people are expected to head to Beverley this weekend for a two-day festival of cycling thanks to the efforts of Hull Thursday Road Club members who have worked tirelessly.

 

Sixty of the country’s top cyclists will battle it out for £4,000 in prize money as part of the national Elite race series on the 1.2km criterium circuit around Beverley town centre.

 

The event brings the market town to a standstill from 5pm on Friday (July 18) as 800 barriers go up. Pubs and cafes throw open their doors to a mix of cyclists, clubbers and townsfolk with the backdrop of two-wheel entertainment. Help with the barriers is still needed along with marshalling.

 

The 60-minute race, plus five laps, around the closed circuit is normally televised and starts at 7.45pm. It will see riders hitting speeds of more than 35mph in the sprint on to the cobbles from the sandstone blocks down Toll Gavel.

 

First prize of £800 is contested by the pros who travel from as far as Cornwall and Scotland. Riders assembling from 7.45pm will be started by Cllr Pat O’Neil the chairman of East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

 

The elite race hopefuls for the podium this year include Rapha Condor JLT’s Felix English, who finished third in Beverley last year. He will be riding with teammate Texan-born Kristian House who was on form in the National Championship Circuit Race in Hull last Wednesday.

 

Vets legend Graham Briggs is also riding. Briggs won in Beverley in 2012. Also one to watch is team mate Chris Opie of JLT who was 1st in Canary Wharf in the Tour series last year.

 

Arch rivals Madison Genesis, who ride steel bikes, have a strong team with former national cyclo-cross champion Ian Bibby who finished first in the London Nocturne in 2013.

 

Team Raleigh’s will be in the mix with Evan Oliphant who was 1st in Overall in the Premier Calendar in 2013.Team Raleigh’s Yanto Barker is on form having finished first in the Lincoln Grand Prix this year – at the ripe age of 34.

 

Beverley racers to watch for are the Wilson Wheels Team: David Shackleton, Peter Fielding-Smith and Nathan Wilson. Dave Shackelton and Nathan Wilson (former HTRC junior champion) take it in turns to man their local bike shop in Beverley while the other goes out training. They are aiming to provide an upset and have local advantage.

 

The riders will warm up on rollers in the Saturday Market pit area. The first support race in memory of cyclist Keith Jordan is for 3rd and 4th Cat riders with 50 riders – the maximum allowed.

 

The race starts at 6.18pm with teams from Sheffield, Norwich, York and Leeds taking part. Not for professionals, these weekend warriors invariably train all year round and look forward to their local criterium for a chance to see family and friends in the crowd.

 

Among the teams are Velo Club Beverley, Wilson Wheels of Beverley, Hull City Road Club, Cottingham Coureurs and Hull Thursday Road Club. Ones to watch out for are Velo Club Beverley’s Paul Shepherd and Hull Thursday Road Club’s Will Thomas and Daniel Posnett. Beverley sixth-former Matthew Johnson (17) is making his first appearance in the race under Hull Thursday Road Club colours.

 

The inaugural women’s race, sponsored by Jadan Press, so far has nine entries including East Yorkshire’s Nicola Moore of Squadra RT and 1st cat rider Iona Sewell of GB Cycles. Women’s racing is the toughest in the country as relative novices are thrown in at the deep end with Olympic hopefuls.

 

Hull Thursday Road Club president Paul Kilvington said: “Yorkshire people have supported the best grand-depart the Tour of France has ever seen, so it will be interesting to gauge the cycling temperature in Beverley. It is a fast and technical course. We always get a good reception from the spectators and are hoping for a dry night.

 

“Racing on wet cobbles is not for the faint-hearted. Events like this are not easy to put on, so we are grateful to all our sponsors. At the end of the day it is a great event for Beverley and cyclists. Cycling is riding a wave of popularity. We don’t have to boast about our success because the Big G, which takes place on Saturday, is one of the most popular cyclosportives in the country. We normally start in Beverley’s Longcroft School, but this year it has grown and the start is at Bishop Burton with 900 riders heading out into the Wolds which has some beautiful, testing climbs.”

 

As a measure of its popularity the first 400 entries were received within five days of the entry going live on the website. The sportive is for riders from novice to pros and is not a race. Riders set off in groups of up to 12 choosing rides from 17 miles to 100 miles with feed stations on the way.