Top 12 finish for Beeston Riders - Craig Taylor and Stephen Plowright!

Another winter cyclo-cross season has just finished, much to the sadness of the Beeston two-some and their families!The final league results are just up on the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Cyclo-cross League website, we've been looking every day since the last race just 10 days ago. Will Craig and Stephen be in the top ten?

Oh, shucks (decent language for youngsters who may be reading this!), they are placed 11 and 12, with just six points between them. It was the top ten that the boys really had their sights set on and while Craig is down two places from last year's ninth at No. 11, he still has something to celebrate as he'll retain the club trophy again for another year. Stephen is up 5 places from last year's seventeenth, and has his sights firmly set on the top ten and maybe winning the trophy again, next season!

If you'd like to have a look for yourself, go to www.cyclo-cross.com for more information, results and the summer x calendar.

The friendly rivalry between Craig and Stephen has been exciting to follow. Here are some of their best results this season.

Round 15	Stephen 10th	Craig 14th
Round 14	Stephen 12th	Craig 13th
Round 13	Craig 9th	Stephen 13th
Round 10	Craig 14th	Stephen 18th
Round 8	Craig 14th	Stephen 15th

Anna Watson - Anna, a Junior rider, raced for Beeston RC at the Swanwick Hall course in November, and the Allestree Park course in September. Anna gained a vital total of 53 points for these races, resulting in Beeston RC as a team finishing overall 5th in the league.

Here are a couple of the memorable events of the season from a spectator's point of view -

14th February - Valentines Day for me and my father-in-law is not spent with our respective spouses, but in the pouring rain, running backwards and forwards with umbrella and spare bike. Ah, but where else would we really want to be when it's the last race of the season.

Child on Course - A course of adrenaline for me, as my little boy runs across the course and nearly gets mown down by riders towards the end of the race. A cautionary tale for spectators to keep children under control.

Come-on Daddy, Come-on Stan's Daddy - There's quite a lot of camaraderie amongst spectators. At the Swanwick Hall course, Callum and Stan, also three, were competing for who could shout the loudest for their daddies, who were neck and neck for most of the race.

Now we have the prize-presentation to look forward to in early March, the summer evening series, and the promise that next season I will be racing too!

Next time - So, what is Cyclo-cross? And some more action shots…