Liam Gentry won the Earsham 10 mile Time Trial in 21m 23s. He took the notable scalps of Jim Burgess (21m 28s) and Joe Skipper on a breezy night on the Earsham course.

Liam Gentry gets a season best 20m 59s in the Earsham 10 mile Time Trial. Joe Skipper gets lifetime best in 20m 40s.d

Liam Gentry and Nick Esser competed in the 25 mile time trial on the A11.
Liam posted a superb time of 52m 53s which was a PB and VC Baracchi 25 mile record. Nick also posted a PB in an impressive 56m 55s.

May 31st saw the EDCA (Eastern District Cycling Association) 10 Championship run on the A11 Wymondham course. Rock Estate were represented with 3 members Simon, Liam and Nick Esser. The morning was particularly unfavourable with a relatively strong North, North Westerly wind and drizzly/rainy conditions not ideal for very quick times. Nick Esser went first of the three rock estaters and did the 10 in 22:23 a very respectable time. Then Simon was second off and completed the the course in 20:54 and Liam completed in 21:40. This meant that Simon came in 5th overall and 3rd in the handicap and Liam came 7th overall. A good day out for the Rock Estate. The winner was Nino Piccoli with 19:54 a testament to the difficulty of the day as Nino got the course record in 2009 with an 18:46.

Lotus Cycle League Week 3- The third week of Lotus saw the first Handicap race of the season being run. And with 4 Rock Estate Members present Liam, Simon, Joe and Nick Esser it promised to be a good night. The format worked where the ladies went off first followed by the 4th cats 2 mins behind then the 3rd cats 2 mins behind the 4ths and the scratch group starting 3 mins behind the 3rd cats. Nick Esser decided to ride with the 3rd Cats with the other Rock Estate members riding in the scratch group. The 3rd/4ths and women quickly came together and then set about knocking out a decent pace of over 26 mph leaving the scratch group to chase them down. The scratch group got organised immediately after the start and rode through and off from the gun. With Joe, Simon and Liam all doing strong turns on the front. The whole group worked relatively well with only a few guys missing many turns. The scratch group took 45 mins to catch the main bunch and at the catch had ridden the first part of the race at 27.8mph average. Once it came together small groups tried to go away but it was always destined for a sprint finish. Simon and Joe attempted to set Liam up for the win but unfortunately sit in sprinter Dan Zagni who had suffered all night sprung up for the win. Joe came in 3rd and Liam 4th. An excellent evenings racing and a great training session.

Lotus Cycle League Week 2- Lotus saw the additon of a new Rock Estate member joining the road racing ranks with Mike Davies joining Simon, Liam, Nick and Mark for the main race. The weather was warm and with little breeze it looked like the strength of some people could force a split in the group but this was not meant to be and for the first 40 minutes the group mainly stayed together with a few small breaks forming but then being chased down by various teams including Mark at one point. With around 20 mins to go a group of 8 chipped off the front and gained around 10 seconds this included 3 sport therapy riders, one vcb rider, one ipswich rider, one API metro rider, one Salsa racing rider and Simon. The break worked well for around 4 laps but with riders being dropped all the time due to the high pace by 15 minutes to race Simon was left with Josh from sports therapy as the only surviving members. Simon and Josh forged on and gained 25 seconds on the chasing pack and survived to the end with Simon taking the sprint. The rest of the rock estaters made some spirited attacks during the race and all finished well in the bunch! A good days racing and all looking forward to the handicap race next week which could throw up a few surprises.

Wednesday the 12th May saw the first Lotus Cycle League which was represented by 4 Rock Estate Members and 1 supporter. The riders were Liam, Simon, Nick E and Mark with Lee supporting. The race started with an attack by Simon and an Extreme Sports Therapy rider which was quickly bought back then Simon and Liam attacked and stayed away for a few laps which served the purpose of spliting the group in two. With an 18 man front group and a 30 plus chase group. The race then continued to be very negative with only 5 or 6 riders willing to attack or try and force a break which included Simon and Liam. With it looking like a bunch sprint was inevitable three riders attacked and went off the front including one of simons teammates. This group would have been pulled back but Simon sat up to protect his teammate and they stayed away. Liam attacked with 2 laps to go but got caught towards the end and managed to finish in 9th place. Nick who was active during the race chasing down moves etc finished 10th and Mark Drake in his first ever road race managed to make the split of 18 and then roll in around 11th or 12th. With all his work done and a teammate in the break Simon dragged Mike Auger up to the front on the last lap and then sat up to watch the sprint. A good nights racing hopefully a few more Rock Estaters there next week and a good solid cross wind to split it up more.

Joe Skipper came an excellent 22nd in the Lincoln Grand Prix premier calendar event, and was the 3rd placed rider in the under 23 classification. In one of Britain's premier road races, his superb ride saw him finish ahead of Ben Swift of Team Sky, and a number of British based professionals.

Click here for race report

The Rock Estate time trialing team were out again today in the velo club baracchi mayday 10 organised and run by fellow Rock Estater Nick Esser. Liam and Simon both had to endure an arduous 5.5 miles of headwind followed by the 4.5 mile return led down wind. The day was never going to be a fast one and this was borne out in the times which were achieved. The winner was Mark Arnold of TT Weekly with a 21.43. Simon rode a 22.21 to come in third position and Liam rode a 23.04 to come in 8th.

The Rock Estate Road Race Team were out today. Liam taking part in the Ed Taylor 2/3/4 and Simon taking part in the Welwyn Wheelers 3/4. Liam's race on a hilly course near Haverhill started with the usual attacks which were quickly brought back. Liam bidded his time and on the 3rd lap went on a solo escape which resulted in him taing th 3rd prime of the day! Following this the bunch bought him back and a few attacks tried to go away then coming into the final stages and withthe win seemingly out of reach Liam teamed up with VC Norwichs Mike Auger and lead him out to the hillwhere Mike proceeded to take the victory and Liam having expended a vast amount of energy rolled over in 10th position. An excellent days riding. Simon's race started relatively fast with Simon drilling it for the first 3 miles to work the legs of the bunch. What followed was 3.5 laps of constant attacking from Simon and a few other riders however it didn't seem that anything would get away. Then on the penultimate time up the hill with one lap remaining 4 riders chipped off the front and gained around 15 seconds on the bunch. Simon seeing that this move may be dangerous bridged solo to it then the 5 worked together on the final lap gaining an advantage of 1 minute 20 seconds. Coming into the final ascent of the hill to the finish the 5 riders were neck and neck with a hill sprint looming. 2 riders went up the hill fast and then with 200 yards to the finish Simon had about 15 meters to make up ending up rolling over the line in second place 1/4 wheel down on first! With 2nd cat licence secured Simon was obviously elated!

Another outing for the Rock Estate Time Trialing Team saw Liam and Simon ride out to do the Norwich ABC Kettringham 10. With 35 miles already in the legs both Simon and Liam put in impressive times considering the course and conditions with Simon completing in 25:04 and Liam in 25:32. Although looking at it not fantastic times these were 4th and 6th places respectively out of the 40 rider field and 1st and 2nd standard road bikes to cross the line. Quicker times will be the order for next time now the tricky course is known! A good 80 mile training night complete.

A relatively sparse turn out for the Rock Estate at the Godric 10 saw only Simon, Joe and Nick Esser attend. The weather was tail wind out and then a head/cross wind back. A seemingly good night but the times didn't reflect this fully. Joe lead the night with a 21:59 closely followed by Simon with a 22:02 (pb by 22 seconds) and then Nick in third place with a 23:38 a good ride considering his recent injuries and inability to sprint out of the saddle. The most impressive nights ride came from young Great Yarmouth Cycling Club rider Dominic Lee who smashed his previous pb by nearly 3 minutes to record a 25:55!

A busy weekend for the Rock Estate Cyclists. Saturday the 17th Simon and Liam went over to the Great Yarmouth Dog Track to the Great Yarmouth CC track session. This is basically a gathering for some cycling on a closed circuit with some races thrown in. We would highly recommend this and hope to see some more of the Rock Estate guys over there an excellent mornings activities. Sunday saw the race day with Rock Estate represented in a number of events. Liam, Joe and Nick Esser travelled to the ECCA 25 at Morley on the A11. Fast times were predicted but this wasn't meant ot be for the Rock Estate with Liam taking a wrong turn and doing a 26 mile TT in 57:50 and Joe having a flat tyre before the start then having to swap wheels and ending up riding most of the course on a flat front tyre ended up with a 57:28 and Nick on his first ride after coming out of plaster posted a 59:32. Also on Sunday was the Ken Wright Memorial Road Race Regional A for 2/3/4 cat riders where Simon competed.

Also on Sunday was the Ken Wright Memorial Road Race Regional A for 2/3/4 cat riders where Simon competed. The race started in brilliant sunshine and Simon attacked from the gun trying to cause a split in the field and get a break away. After 5 miles the attacks were still coming and Simon was trying to get away in many of them when after one such attack the lone figure of Basil Moss attacked and the only person to hook on his wheel was Simon. The two worked hard for a few minutes and looked back realising there was a split decided to forge on. What followed was a 58 mile 2 man breakaway which would see Basil and Simon finish in first and second respectively holding off the bunch by 10 seconds in the end. Although with the race wrapped up they easied on the final run in! An excellent result which saw Simon collect £60 cash and prizes worth over £100. A good haul.

Another excellent rockestate turnout for the Godric Club 10 Time trial with Skipper, Gentry, Asher, Drake and Smith representing the club with Davies, Bircham and Drake senior there to support. A tough nights racing with a big headwind section on the way back saw all but one persons times increase with Skipper posting a 21:53 in first place, Gentry a 22:37, Asher a 22:43, Drake a 25:10 (a new pb) and Smith a 27:16. The customary debrief took place in the Three Horseshoes afterwards. Hope to see more rock estate out riding these in the future. If anyone requires a road bike to ride for the night let Simon or Liam know and we can organise it!

Having been 12th reserve for the Glade Road Race and seeing the field Simon decided to up sticks and go to Hogg Hill for the East London Velo Spring Rumble. Optin to race in the 3/4 the race started fairly fast with Simon attacking from the gun and riding the first 2.5 laps solo. This attack decimated the group and the 60 rider field splintered into three group of around 20. Once the group caught Simon it turned a bit cat and mouse with attacks going off the front but no one fully commiting. With 2 laps to go Simon assessed the situation had a look to see how the others looked then launched an attack with approx 1.75 laps to go gaining a small advantage by the headwind section where it was then extended further and blasting over the hill to around a 15 second lead. All that was needed was a massive effort to stay away for the last lap and this was duly done and Simon crossed the line with a large advantage over the galloping pack. A good win and £40 better off.

The first official Godric Club 10 took place tonight. Rockestate was represented with 4 competitors and it was Joe Skipper taking the honours with an impressive ride of 21:44 closely followed by Liam Gentry (22:01), Simon Asher (22:24) and Mark Drake (25:11). An impressive start to the years 10 riding and an encouraging start in Marks fledgling TT career!

Paul Simon Homes Road Race in Hertfordshire. Simon Asher was in the break of the day for 4 laps. However, the group didn't stay away and was caught with a lap to go. Liam gentry rolled in 18th in the bunch sprint.

Great Yarmouth 10 mile time trial at Bungay. Liam Gentry came fifth in 22m 14s. Simon Asher was around 20th.