East Midlands Classic
the 3rd edition gathers momentum with top Continental and Domestic teams geared up for a 200 km raid over the roads of Robin Hood.

While the battle opens on the roads of France for the 117th Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday April 26th riders will line up for the 3rd edition of a new classic in the making over 200 kilometers in the home of legend, Robin Hood in Great Britain. The simiilarites of date don't end there for the young race as it will be fought out over the slim country lanes of Midland past medieval  villages and rough roads and steep local climbs with some of tthe toughest competitors of the domestic and Europen continental pros and elite riders including the winner of Paris- Roubaix Magnus Backstedt as he returns to the saddle to lead his young group of Vikings set on one more raid on England to bring back the gold.

The best field ever will line up for this years’ East Midlands International CiCLE Classic on Sunday 26th April between Rutland and Melton. As well as the former Paris-Roubaix winner Magnus Backstedt, Peter Sagan of Slovakia, probably the most talented young rider from Eastern Europe will be part of the Dukla –Merida team that lines up for the start in Oakham’s High Street.

Last year Sagan won bronze in the Junior World Cyclo-cross Championships, before taking gold a few months later in the Junior World Mountain Bike Championships. With the recent weather having wreaked havoc upon the worse parts of the already gruelling Rutland- Melton course, Sagan’s off road skills could place him at the forefront of the field in an event that looks set to be the most challenging yet. He will face stiff competition from at least six other continental based teams as well as some home grown talent in the field of 200 registered riders.

All Britain’s top teams, including the newly formed Sabbath-Clayton are represented and list of UK riders includes the former World Points race champion Chris Newton (Rapha-Condor) and 2007 CiCLE Classic winner Malcolm Elliott (Candi TV-Pinarello). The CiCLE Classic will however be the first and only opportunity this year for British riders to test themselves on home roads against top class foreign competition, all of whom will be anxious to take home the international ranking points on offer to the top eight to finish the event.

As always within the 100 miles of racing there will be various intermediate competitions, not least the East Midlands Airport ‘High Flyer’ King of the Hills competition awarded over one ascent of Cold Overton Hill, and three ascents of Burrough on the Hill, which is approached from two different directions. There will also be several ‘Hot spot’ sprints along the way with the first on the return to Oakham town centre being sponsored by Greetham Garden Centre. The further two ‘Hot spot’ sprints take place in the middle of Owston village, sponsored by Manor Farm Feeds and Rural Energy, with the village again providing a great location for spectators to experience the race with its unique atmosphere at close quarters during the race’s six passages.

The event also features the Melton Building Society sponsored ‘Most aggressive rider’ award based on who the race commissaries consider to have contributed most to animating the event.

Top awards and overall sponsorship of the race will be provided by East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and MARS (UK), the former also sponsoring a team of up and coming riders from the area. This includes Alex Wise of Uppingham, who is taking leave from his French based team for the weekend in order to contest his ‘home’ event.

“The interest shown by continental squads in this years race demonstrates the stature and importance that the race now occupies not only in Britain, but throughout continental Europe” said Race Director Colin Clews, “ With this year some teams having to be turned away, we can rightly now boast that the race is the biggest and by far the most attractive single day race on the British road racing calendar, and that it takes place here in the East Midlands is the biggest boost that sport within the area could wish for ahead of 2012. That riders like Backstedt and Sagan are attracted to the race from the two extremes of a rider at the conclusion of his career, and another at the start of what is likely to be an equally illustrious one, speaks volumes for the philosophy both of the race and our sponsors of encouraging the widest participation in the sport of cycling in the area.

Local riders such as Alec Wise of Uppingham; James Cambridge and Ryan Henry of Oakham, and Paul Bennett of Melton who all take part in this years race show what is possible. The race merely provides the opportunity for others to aspire to do the same, and maybe in a year or two we might see our first local winner? In the meantime, we can all marvel at the achievement of merely taking part in the race now represents for these locals against such giants of the sport that the race now attracts to our roads.”

Schedule
11am – start in Oakham town centre
3pm – finish in Melton Mowbray town centre

Teams:
Midi Centree- Ruiter Weilerteam (Netherlands)
Dukla-Merida-Trenchin (Slovakia)
Irish National Team (Ireland)
World of Bike.com (Greece)
Glud & Marstrand Horsens (Denmark)
AC Sparta Praha (Czech Republic)
Magnus Maximus Coffee (Sweden)
Team Deschuytter Abutriek (Belgium)
Rapha –Condor
Candi TV-Pinarello
Lpowman Craven –Madison
Halfords Bikehut
Herbilife-Wheelbase
Cycling Bargains.com
Specialised-Sigma
Pendragon-Kals
Quoros-Novatec
Sport Beans-Willier
KUK-Kinesis
Arctic-Premier
Endura Rt
Sabbath-Clayton
Geoff Thomas Foundation
East Midlands Development Agency

Race Website

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