Isle of Wight cyclists recently enjoyed a successful week of racing both on and off-road, with standout performances from Wightlink CRT riders Adam Holleyman and 7-year-old Finley Manser Grundy.
Competing in the PNECC Summer Series #3 at the Mountbatten Circuit in Portsmouth on Wednesday (20th May), Adam Holleyman delivered a dominant display in the opening race of the evening.
After a tactical opening phase, Holleyman launched a decisive solo attack just 10 minutes into the race to break clear from the 30-plus rider field. One rider managed to bridge across and the pair worked together to steadily increase their advantage.
Behind them, teammate Jack Grundy played an important tactical role in the peloton by controlling the pace and disrupting any chasing attacks.
The strategy proved successful, with Holleyman lapping the field with one lap remaining before securing victory in impressive fashion. Grundy then capped off the team performance by sprinting to 12th place in the bunch finish.
Holleyman was not finished there, immediately stepping up to compete in the E/1/2/3 race later in the evening, where he picked up additional points with a strong 10th-place finish against a high-quality field.
Meanwhile, young Wightlink CRT rider Finley Manser Grundy enjoyed an exceptional multi-discipline weekend with 3 podium finishes from 3 races.
The 7-year-old began his weekend at the Little Fodders Downhill Series in the Forest of Dean on Saturday, where he produced the fastest time of the day across all age categories in the Under-8 Intermediate race, recording a winning time of 1 minute 20 seconds.
Following that performance, organisers invited Finley to compete in the more challenging Under-10 Advanced race later in the day on a significantly more technical course.
Despite racing against older competitors, he qualified second fastest before improving again in his race run to secure second place overall, finishing just 2 seconds behind the winner.
The weekend concluded at the Southern XC Championships in Basingstoke on Sunday, where Finley competed in the Under-10 category in hot conditions.
Managing his effort well throughout the demanding cross-country course, he built a decisive lead to secure his first Under-10 XC podium finish of the season.
The performances highlighted Finley’s growing versatility across multiple cycling disciplines as he continues to develop with Wightlink CRT.
Thanks have been given to Wightlink Isle of Wight Ferries, Island Renewables Ltd, Wight Mountain, Rapanui, Adrian’s Bike Shop and KReative Studios for their continued support.
They are noisy loud arrogant idiots, the women do not realise shouting at the top of their lungs when coming to a roundabout, early in the Morning
Waking people up.