WITH some of the country‘stop riders in the district, it was Great Britain National Team member Christopher Latham who powered his way to glory at the weekend.

As the UCI-accredited Beaumont Trophy and the women’s Curlew Cup returned to Stamfordham, competition was as tight as ever as they tackled Tynedale’s roads including the daunting climb at Ryal.

Latham claimed the success with an excellent ride which left his competitors trailing in his wake, Tom Stewart, of Madison Genesis,was second and Yanto Barker, from ex- England test cricketer Matt Prior’s One Pro Cycling, third.

It was a star studded field with one of the strongest fields of riders to date, including Olympic gold medallist Andy Tennant from Sir Bradley Wiggins‘ newly formed team and British Road Race, and defending Beaumont Trophy, champion Kristian House.

The standard in the Curlew Cup was equally as high with IKON-Mazda cyclist Laura Massey bringing home the gold.

Elizabeth Holden of team Giordana-Triton took second position with teammate Eleanor Dickinson joining them on the podium.

Massey said: “It’s a good challenging course, a challenging race and today, challenging environments; I wish we had more road races with similar conditions.”

The elite races rounded up three days of action packed cycling in what is the ninth year of the Virgin Money Cyclone Festival of Cycling.

More than 2,300 cycling enthusiasts got into the saddle testing their stamina in the Virgin Money Cyclone Challenge rides.

Weather conditions were variable but nothing could dampen the spirits of riders as they embraced the 34, 64 and 106 mile routes, mainly around Stamfordham and Matfen, again including the infamous Ryal hills.

Earlier in the weekend, families, friends and solo riders gathered to mark the official launch of the Virgin Money Cyclone and participate in the festival’s opening event, the Tyne Six Bridges.