Newton in winning return

Olympic medallist Chris Newton

MAKING his first racing appearance in Great Britain since securing a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics, Oldham-based Chris Newton showed his class in the Hartlepool Cycling Club 10-mile time trial in North Yorkshire on Saturday.

Rapha Condor-Recycling team leader Newton, who took bronze in the points race in the Laoshan Velodrome, showed his versatility with a winning performance of 20min 4sec, enough to take victory by 38 seconds from national three-up champion Julian Ramsbottom (De Rosa RT).

Newton lifted the Arthur Metcalfe Memorial Trophy following his win, a prize in memory of the club’s former Milk Race winner and Tour de France rider.

Despite winning by such a big margin, Newton’s time was still more than a minute slower than his own course record with strong winds on the Crathorne course, where he clocked 18min 59sec in 2006.

Following his exploits in time trialling, Newton is now preparing for one of his main goals of 2008 - the Tour of Britain, which starts on Sunday.