THE national cyclo-cross championships were held at Shrewsbury last weekend with Simon Wyllie and David Hird representing Halesowen.

The course at Shrewsbury is tight and varied starting on the racing track before going into fields, a wood and some muddy banks.

Conditions were tough with running needed due to the soft ground.

Simon Wyllie was holding strong bronze medal position for most of the race but suffered cramp on the final lap and was overtaken by two riders in the final five hundred metres to come 5th.

Team mate David Hird, rode strongly from a poor grid position (a good grid position is important in cyclo-cross in a similar way to formula one as it takes time to get past slower traffic) to finish well in 20th.

Elsewhere Josh Field confirmed a fine season by winning the West Midlands junior cyclo-cross league, which is a fine achievement and bodes well for next year.

Report submitted by Halesowen Cycling Club