MOST TEAMS would be resting their competitors before a competition as big as Roses. The entire cycling team, however, joined in with the 114 mile Roses torch relay and still beat Lancaster in both the events despite being the underdogs.
The 10 mile time trial was the only cycling event with points up for grabs, and the hefty four on offer would be a juicy prize for either university. York bossed the event, Greg Melia won in an impressive 24.08 (an average speed of almost 25mph) with Jamie Raven of York coming in second with 25.42. Lancaster claimed both third and fourth place but a round up of the places meant that York won the event 9-6 and with it the Pepper Cup for cycling.
If only the mountain biking was also worth points, as York claimed victory as that as well. It was the first time this had appeared at Roses and York will certainly be hoping to claim the points value next year. Lancaster crossed the line first, but York swept places two through four, with David Crawshaw and Georgy Makin (who had to swap bikes with a team mate after snapping his chain in the first 20 metres) rounding off the podium.
Jamie Raven commented on the club’s impressive victory, and their weekend as a whole, saying; “we were happy with our performance, winning away especially as all four of us rode to Lancaster, we were much improved on last year.”