Olympics beckon for local riders

CHRIS NEWTON is one of three riders with local connections named in the Great Britain cycling squad for the Beijing Olympics.

The 34-year-old Newton, who is based in Oldham, will be competing in his fourth Olympics.

Newton will ride alone in the Points Race, a 40-kilometre race run over 160 laps of the track.

He is also a member of the team pursuit squad and will take a wealth of experience into that event having won bronze in Sydney and silver in Athens.

Newton will be joined in the team pursuit by Paul Manning, a cyclist who used to be based in Mossley.

Manning, like Newton, won bronze and silvers in the last Olympics, and he was recently a gold medalist in the team pursuit at the world championships in Manchester.

Completing the trio is 20-year-old Ben Swift, who is president of Mossley Cycling Racing Team (MCRT) having started cycling there at the age of 11.