The Lincoln GP is one of the toughest races on the premier calendar here in the UK and it attracts some of the best riders from the UK and the continent who all want to bag the win. Team Probikekit.com had 5 riders in their team this year, James Smith, Chris Lobb, Richard Wilkinson, Jamie Howard and Nick Boost.

There was a strong turnout from Rapha Condor, Pendragon Kalas, Motorpoint, Sky, Endura, Sigma Sport, Raleigh and the Irish National team.

The Lincoln GP is 11 laps around Lincoln with a cobbled climb up through the town centre – the climb about 500 yards of bumpy hell with the best chance for survival being the gutter at the edges of the road. Riding this climb is tough because it’s such a bone shaker, you need to ride the gutter if possible and with such tiny gutter space, you need to be out front to get a chance – otherwise it’s just a massive cycle-jam. After the climb the course flattens out and winds around through the top of town, the pace picking up instantly as the riders hit the big ring the second their off the cobbles and hurtling on to the flat sections and decent out of Lincoln.

This race is not for the faint hearted either, blink and your out the back, the only chance to stay on is to ride hard and stay as far up to the front as you can. Getting stuck too far back means getting binned on the climb as there’s only a few places on the course to make up places as the pace picks up rapidly after the climb.

The atmosphere with the cheering crowds around the course is amazing, along with the closed roads it gives this race a real continental flavour.

For most of the Probikekit riders, this was the first Premier Calendar so it was a trial by fire. Richard had ridden it before and rode as the team captain, Chris Lobb rolled his tub on the 2^nd lap and came off – no serious injury, then James and Jamie missed the big moves after getting caught up in the mayhem and got black flagged on the 8^th climb. Wilkinson finished in the 4^th bunch on the road – a hard, hard race with a fantastic atmosphere. Better luck next year

Results:

1^st Chris Newton (Rapha Condor)

2^nd Phil Lavery (Ireland)

3^rd Simon Richardson (Sigma Sport Specialised)

Unfortunately our 4th cat trooper Chris was not in the race this year and nor will he ever be. His claim that he should be allowed on the grounds of his being born in the county of Lincolnshire have luckily for him fallen on deaf ears. He would most certainly have suffered miserably and it could have put him off cycling for life. More from our weekend warrior soon.

PBK rider Tom Collier took first place in a tough crit at Synergy Park, hosted by the Ipswich Cycling club. He tells his story of the race and for us Brits, a look into a humid world that we can only dream of!

Riding the 30k’s out to the crit on Sunday it was humid as hell, Queensland does humidity well! So much so that in the dawn gloom the water beaded on my lenses and helmet and soaked through me. The short days here and silly temperatures mean races start early, this one was 7am. Seriously stops you going out for beers racing and riding out here! Training at 5am most days and bed around 9pm.The Synergy Park crit has yielded me a couple of top tens before in 2009 so I was feeling confident today. I have been getting in a lot of miles recently, really trying to focus on strength work which is one of my weaknesses, so I was keen to test myself.  A relatively small field greeted me at sign on, I stuck in my 10 bucks pinned my number on and got ready. A grade and B grade were being run together, equivalent to an E123 in the UK, with A grade being E1.

The course takes about 3 minutes a lap, roughly rectangular with a fast finish straight and a hill/drag over the back. Riding on my own, I just watched the moves for the first 15mins staying in the top ten, I made one break but no one was interested so I went back to the bunch. The whistle went indicating the half distance prime, I was well placed in 4th wheel and decided to go for the cash. Jumping from 3rd wheel hard and hitting the 53×11 I surprised myself overtaking a lone break on the line to take the prize.  Keeping the pressure on two other A grade riders came across and we soon worked well to create a solid race winning break.

We had a great gap and with 2 to go the banter started. The bell came and we watched each other, or rather the Aussies watched and sledged me! I sprinted harder than I can remember to overhaul both my Aussie adversaries and take my first win of the year by a wheel. Well pleased I collected the envelopes and rode back to Brisbane with some other lads for a coffee. The stats read an average speed of 42kph for the hour and a max of 63kph! So my sprinting has really come on and confidence grown. The next race is the Tour de Tweed, a 3 dayer at the end of the month that will be a tough one.

We’ll keep you posted on all Probikekit Team action and don’t forget to let us have your race reports and photo’s so we can let everyone share in the effort!

Team ProBikeKit Nevis & St.Kitts

Somewhere in the carribean, quite close to the Virgin Islands, the idyllic tropical islands of Nevis and St.Kitts are located. And what better place to have a cycling club!.

 In March 2008 & 2009 the MD of ProBikeKit took part in the Nevis Triathlon. The Nevis Triathlon is an International Triathlon and athletes from all over the world go to Nevis to participate in the Olympic Distance or Sprint Triathlon. In 2006, 2007 and 2008 it hosted the OECS Triathlon Championship.

Unfortunately the MD’s 2009 race was completely scuppered due to a puncture mid-race, and having already given away his spare inner tube to a local rider he sat and watched the rest of the race from the roadside. Maybe next year…..

PBK have reached out into the cycle mad community of Nevis and donated some kids PBK kit to help them attain that sought after professional look.

Anxious moments at the front of the start of the Big Race!