Bonser brothers chase glory

RIDERS from the Oldham area will travel to North Yorkshire in search of glory this weekend, as the National Road Race Championships are staged at Duncombe Park.

Mossley brothers Ryan and Adam Bonser will line-up in a 12-strong Rapha Condor-Recycling team for the 203-kilometre event.

But team leader Chris Newton, from Oldham, has pulled out to concentrate on his track training programme ahead of the Beijing Olympics.

Defending road race champion David Millar, the Continental-based professional rider who has won stages of the Tour de France, returns to defend his title, but another rider who will be among the pre-race favourites is Mark Cavendish from the Isle of Man, another foreign-based professional who has racked up several prestigious overseas wins already this season.

Ryan Bonser and Chris Newton were in action in the Abergavenny Grand Prix last Sunday, but neither made a big impact, with Newton’s 14th place being Rapha Condor’s best finish.

But Adam Bonser had better luck in Lancashire, where he rode the “Not So Lumpy Road Race” at Preston, an elite category 122-kilometre event where he finished seventh.

“I was in the break right from the start and was pretty active all race, and although I faded a bit at the end things are on the up,” said Bonser, who is recovering after being injured in a training incident two weeks ago.