Congratulations to Rob Kennison who proudly repped the red, white and green at the World Masters Cyclocross Championships held in Ipswich on Saturday, 3 December.

Riding in the 55 to 59-years age category he lined up with some 90 riders to take a punt at winning some world bands.

Needless to say, competition was fierce, and Rob didn’t get off to the best start, admitting later he made a few silly mistakes. Despite this his class shone through and he held off the pack to take a very respectable 40th place – four places up from the previous year.

After the event he said: “It was a fast and technical course and I am kicking myself at losing a few places with some silly errors but I really enjoyed myself and I look forward to representing the club next year.”

Velo’s Rob Kennison travelled to Dover once again to race in the latest round of the East Kent Cyclo-Cross League, the GP Alex Paton held at Astor Secondary School.

Although the V50 race had to be restarted following a crash after 100 metres of the initial start, Rob was able to cope well with the super technical course with lots of off camber cornering.

Rob did crash once during the race, however overall he was satisfied with his performance, and finished in the top 15.

Well done Rob, and many thanks to EKCX team and volunteers for putting the race on.

The steady November rain didn’t put off Velo’s Rob Kennison who raced two cross races over the weekend.

First off was the Muddy Hell event at Herne Hill Velodrome. Raced under the floodlights riders were encouraged to dress for the occasion, although the persistent steady rain through the day meant the course was slippery and muddy, leading to a number of falls by riders at the key corners.

Rob started well, and soon found himself in a race with a rider dressed as evil Knievel, however a puncture on the fifth lap saw Rob drop out of the race.

Undeterred, Rob ventured to East Brighton on Sunday morning to race in the London Cross league event. Facing conditions probably muddier and more slippery than on Saturday evening, Rob stayed upright throughout the race and got round the course without crashing, finishing in approximately 30th place.

Velo’s Rob Kennison took off to Gatwick Airport to race in the latest round of the London Cross League. Rob is very much in it for the long haul as he missed the first rounds due to work commitments, with the terminal destination being a check in at the Worlds Masters Championships in December.

On a flat course Rob propelled himself around the course, which had few challenging courses, however maintaining good economy was vital and although almost all the competitors were flying, Rob was able to finish in around 30th place, matching his take off slot in the initial grid.

Rob moves onto the Muddy Hell event at Herne Hill on Saturday before the next cross league race in East Brighton on Sunday.

Well done Rob!

Seven velos took part in the Kent Cycling Associations annual reliability trial, held in the lanes on and around the Weald of Kent.

Opting for the 100km route, including a couple of challenging climbs of the High Weald Ridge, the velos split into two groups, Matt Nunn, Rachel Hartridge, and Martin Smith set the early pace and completed their ride in just under 4 hours, whilst the second group of Sally Smith, Mike Stanley, Cassie McGoldrick, and Phil Booth covered the 100km in just over the 4 hour mark. Cassie, gaining extra kudos for riding out and and back to her house as well.

Whilst the weather was inclement, with steady rain falling for almost all of the time that they were on the road, all remarked afterwards that it had been a good test of fitness and an excellent route.

Thank you to the KCA for organising the event, and raising funds for the local air ambulance in the process.

Velo’s Rob Kennison travelled to Dover’s Duke of York Military School to race in round 2 of the East Kent Cyclo Cross League.

In contrast to his recent holiday in Majorca, Rob was facing with torrential rain and slippery conditions, however his sunshine miles demonstrated the benefit of training and he finished inside the top 20 of the V50 race.

After the race Rob remarked that he went a lot better than his previous couple of cross races, as he builds towards the UCI Masters Worlds in December.

Thank you to VC Deal, and EKCX and their volunteers for putting the race on in such challenging conditions.

The KCA reliability ride is on Sunday 30th October, some velo members are intending riding the 100km route starting at Potters Corner, on the A20 near Hothfield at 08:00 ish. There are other distances at 50km and 100 miles, and links to the routes are below.

Anyone intending riding needs to enter themselves by 28th October, using this google form (we can sort out payments once we know who from velo is riding ) https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSeWSZj5kw…/viewform

Full details are here https://kentcyclingassociation.org/kca-reliability-ride/

and links to all three distances are here https://ridewithgps.com/…/193536-kca-reliability-trial…

Hopefully we can see a few velos riding!

Velo’s David Mackey took part in the London Revolution sportive, billed as one of the toughest one day cycle events in the UK.

Including over 2,000 metres of climbing the sportive challenges riders to conquer an entire loop around London in one day.

Setting off early Saturday morning from Lee Valley Showground, David took in the famous London landmarks before leaving the urban cityscape behind, and venturing into the green fields and testing climbs of the North Wessex Downs. Once through Windsor, it was onto the Chilterns to conquer more incredible countryside before heading back through Epping forest.

David completed the tough day out 157 miles in 10 hours 48 minutes.

Elsewhere, Keith Johnson left his bike at home and went for a run around London, completing the London Marathon in a sub 4 hour time.

Well done both!

A strong showing from a number of velo riders saw them claim the overall team prize at the Wigmore CC Hill Climb event, held on Hollingbourne Hill.

Fastest Velo rider was experienced hill climber Mike Stanley who came home in 4 minutes 14 seconds. Not far behind were Matt Nunn and Jon Graciano who both covered in the course in less than 4 minutes 30.

Riding the event for the first time were Fraser Blandford (4:53) and Rachel Hartridge (5:36) who was fourth placed woman in the overall standings.

Thank you to the Wigmore CC and the volunteers for their organisation.

Elsewhere, Rob Kennison took part in the London Cross League event held at Crystal Palace park. Despite having had a long period off the bike due to work and holiday commitments, Rob was able to complete the event as he starts his work towards the World Masters Cross Championships in December.

Well done to all those repping the velo colours.

Velo’s Jon Graciano took on the UCI Grand Fondo World Championships held in Trento in Northern Italy.

Over a distance of 90 miles Jon faced 4,000 metres of climbing including climbs of 20km, 18km and 4km. There were also a number of lumpy undulations between the climbs.

Jon described the ride as the toughest ride he had ever done, and remarked that whilst the climbing was tough the descents were awesome. Competing in the 50 – 54 mens age group Jon completed the distance in just under six hours, claiming 129th place in the event in which many failed to finish.

Well done Jon!