Cycling: Hectic time for Thomas

CAPITAL cyclist Claire Thomas kicked off a busy two weeks of racing with an outstanding performance at the British Circuit Race Championships in Horwich, Lancashire.

Lining up alongside a field containing several full-timers, the Edinburgh RC rider acquitted herself well, forming part of a 13-strong break-away group on the final lap.

And, although she lost out in the closing sprint to Dani King (Vision 1 Racing), Thomas battled to seventh spot, missing out on a podium finish by less than three bike lengths. She faces another trip south this weekend when she and her clubmate, Anne Ewing, will compete at the British Road Race Championships in Wales.

The duo will clash with World and Olympic champion Nicole Cooke, a teammate of King, as well as another Olympic medallist, Emma Pooley, who has just won the Grande Boucle Feminine – the women's Tour de France.

Next up after the Welsh event will be a further visit to Lancashire on July 3 for the Blackpool Criterium, the latest round of the British Road Race Series which she currently leads, before heading for the Scottish Power Renewables Super Six Series in Aberdeen the next morning.