The past 3 weeks has seen Team FBUK – Schwinn travelling Europe to some great events. The team has had riders in races in Holland, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Norway, France and the UK.

With the major targets of the month being the UCI 1.2 ranked Italian one-day race Trofeo Riviera della Versilia, followed by the Coupe de France the following week in France. The team are building strongly for the National Championships at the end of June and these races were great ways for the team to ride together and gain experience in different racing environments.

The team travelled down to Italy a few days before the race, to allow the riders a chance to recover from the travelling and also get used to the course and the 35-degree heat. The race was in the town (Massarosa) where FBUK rider Cath Hare had lived in 2005 while riding with Italian Pro team Bianchi.

Having ridden the course the day before the race and feeling confident, the team set about the race again mainly Italian Pro Team with 6 riders including recent signing Melissa Flagothier from Belgium. FBUK stuck to its task very well in the opening 50km flat loop taking in some of the spectacular coastal town north of Massarosa. Entering the finishing loop, which included a 4.5km climb the team were positioned well and managed to place 2 riders in the front group. Yolandi du Toit was the team leader and entering the finishing circuit, Helen Wyman was there to support her to the finish and they finished 30th and 31st. The team were very pleased with the result and the whole experience was excellent for all involved.

The following week the team relaxed at its Belgian base before taking the relatively short trip across to Orleans in France for the 5th round of the French Cup. This is the French National series and is excellent, run and supported with over 130 riders racing, and with 70 riders in the junior race in the morning.

The course was quite similar in style to the course in Italy the week before with small town centre laps on the flat, followed by 6 extended laps taking in a 1.5km hill and very fast decent. With Helen Wyman as the team leader for the day, the team of 6 set about their task and performed fantastically well. Catherine Hare was one of the most active riders in the day, having been involved in a break of 3 for 20km, along with a solo effort that lasted 1 lap.

Going into the last 2 laps, the field was down to 70 riders and Helen made her move, with 4 others to finish 39 seconds up on the main group in 4th place. It was the first time these 6 riders had ridden together in a race this season and shows huge potential for the future.

Away from racing there has been some movement in the team with the UCI Trade Team transfer window opening on 1st June. Lorna Webb will be leaving the team and will riding for a Belgian team and all of those at Team FBUK wish her every success for the remainder of the season. The team have also added Melissa Flagothier to its roster from 1 June. Melissa is an excellent young Belgian rider who have proved to be very strong rider in the hills with huge potential.

For more information on the team or way to support Team FBUK please see:
www.teamfbuk.com