The PCA-Ciclos Uno-Isaac Racing Team is born.

2008 see's the dawn of a new era for the Ciclos Uno Racing Team. 

The Ciclos Uno Racing Team have joined forces with Isaac Bicycles for the 2008 season, with the team to ride Isaac's outstanding and beautiful Impulse bikes. Designed for low weight and high strength, the Isaac Impulse is a pure, potent racing machine and combines criterium stiffness with all day comfort, making it the perfect weapon for the range of races the team will be riding in the 2008 season.

Plowman Craven remain a loyal sponsor to the team, having sponsored Ciclos Uno since it's conception. A strong supporter of cycling, from the the grass roots of the sport to their very own successful Professional Racing Team, Plowman Craven is recognised as one of the world's leading and most innovative geomatics companies.

The team will be fed and hydrated by Squeezy Sports Nutrition and their fantastic range of products. After having already tested their first batch of Squeezy Energy Bars, Gels and Drinks, the team expressed their complete satisfaction with the products and can't wait to use them to fuel their performances across the 2008 season.

The team has grown, and has secured the services of two very talented and promising under 23 riders from Essex, in Ian Franklin and Daniel Kogan. They will join James Jackson and James Whatling to form a team that can compete at any race in the UK, from the Eastern Road Race League to the Premier Calendar.

Ian Franklin has joined the team from the Crest CC after a very promising season in which he won the Essex Roads Road Race and enjoyed numerous placings, including a top ten in the Nocturne D'Antibes in the South of France. A strong, attacking rider with bags of potential in both road and circuit races, Ian will be looking to gain more experience in the higher level races in 2008, whilst he continues getting the results he needs to earn his 1st Category licence.

Daniel Kogan is no stranger to Ciclos Uno, having begun his cycling career with the club as a junior. After a season with the Glendene/Bike Trax CC in which he won the King of the Mountains classification in the Martin Ashfield Classic, took 7th in the Junior Tour of Sussex and 9th in the Tour of the Dengie Marshes, we are pleased to welcome back this hard working rider with a talent for climbing. Dan will be getting his first taste of Premier Calendar action in 2008 and will be sure to shine as soon as the road rears skywards.

James Jackson is the longest serving member of the Ciclos Uno Racing Team, after having changed disciplines from Triathlon to Cycling in 2005. An instant success, James has already secured more wins in a two season racing career than most riders do in a lifetime of competition. Blessed with a fearsome sprint, James has a huge amount of potential in circuit races, and after eight wins in 2008 and a notable 5th place in the 2007 Bob Chicken Grand Prix, James will be aiming to be the best Under 23 in the 2008 National Circuit Series.

James Whatling joined the Ciclos Uno Racing Team midway through the 2007 season after a brief stint with Team Synergy, and secured 5th place in the ECCA Senior Championships in his very first day with the team. A powerful team rider with a liking for breakaways and tough conditions, James will be aiming to ride strongly in races like the Lincoln Grand Prix and the Rutland-Melton Classic.

One windy weekend in Belgium.

On the first weekend in December, James Jackson and James Whatling spent a couple of days training in Belgium. Nothing too hard they thought, just an easy day or two, steadily getting the miles in and enjoying the countryside. Alas, this was not the weekend for steady miles, no such luck! The wind blew hard, as only it can in Belgium, and an easy couple of days turned out to be a hardcore training weekend!

Saturday was not such a bad day weather wise, and despite setting out from Essex at silly o'clock, the James' were in good spirits for the riding to come. A good hearty breakfast on the ferry to keep them going and they were off on the short drive across Northern France into Belgium. James Jackson was quiet on the way, maybe he was a bit nervous or excited to be riding on the cobbles for the first time.....or maybe he was asleep! Just as well James Whatling knew the way as the map reader only knew the way to the land of nod....although he did manage to wake up about 20 km into Belgium.

Saturday's ride was planned to be the longer of the two, as the forecast was pretty bad for Sunday, and so the James' made the most of the dry but breezy weather, driving hard up the famed cobbled climbs of the Flemish Ardennes that make up the Tour of Flanders. Four and half hours of strong riding, and more than a few wrong turns later and the James' got back to the car, ready for Belgian recovery food.....Chips and Mayonnaise!

After a quiet night in Ghent recovering and trying a couple of Belgian beers (NB: We did only have a couple, but beware of the 11% beer...it tastes great but it's lethal!) Sunday dawned grey, wet and windy. The wind had increased in strength considerably and it took a lot of strength to keep going, but the James' were the measure of it, pushing hard and even managing to laugh at the severity of the conditions. At one point James Whatling was at the front, riding into a block headwind, pushing 400 Watts and only managing 9 mph.....it was that hard! 

2 and half hours of punishment later, the James' decided to call it a day and headed off to the Tour of Flanders museum in Oudenaarde for a look around before heading for home. It might not have been the steady miles they had planned for, but they rose to the challenge, got the miles in and can be safe in the knowledge they won't ride in many more tough, windy conditions than that this coming season!