A cycling team based in Shropshire is number one in the UK after an “extraordinarily strong” performance in one of Europe’s toughest endurance races.
Nine members of the Paramount Cycle Race Team entered the Haute Route Pyrenees 2015 event and achieved fantastic results.
They were the top UK team, with Matt Davies finishing 12th overall from a field of 400, and Victoria Grimmer finishing as the number one UK female.
The team, which finished sixth overall, is backed by Shrewsbury-based businesses, Cooper Green Pooks and Stan’s Cycles, and team member Chris Pook said everyone was delighted with the performance.
“It was extraordinarily strong,” he said. “We were hoping for some good performances and everyone did tremendously well.
“It’s a very tough ride in arduous conditions and people rode in a very sensible way so by the finish they had a smile on their faces and finished strongly.
“Everyone rode fantastically well, but special mention must go to Matt Davies and Victoria Grimmer who were exceptional.”
The race was not without incident however, with Mr Pook’s brother, Tom, damaging his bike in a fall on the final day.
Mr Pook added: “Tom got knocked off at the start of the final stage and damaged his gears which meant he had to ride the whole day with only a couple of gears working.
“The final stage was a major climb and it ended up being his strongest part of the race because he rode on pure adrenalin.”
All nine members of the team work full time and had been fitting in 10 to 15 hours of training every week in between their day jobs to get ready for the race.
The Haute Route Pyrenees involves seven stages over seven days and covers 802km of riding over some of the most iconic mountain passes in the Pyrenees.
Six of the team – Chris and Tom Pook, Matt Davies, Mike Jones, Graham South and Victoria Grimmer – are now preparing for another challenge: the UCI Amateur World Championships in Denmark on 6 September.
Ben Lawrence, Paramount Cycle Racing Team manager, said: “It’s tough to even get into the world championships, so the guys did really well to win qualification in a race earlier this year.
“We are sure they will represent Paramount and Shropshire exceptionally well, just as the whole team did in the Pyrenees.
“They did us proud, and to retain our title of top British team is an amazing achievement.”