Two new riders complete the team roster.

The PCA-Ciclos Uno-Isaac Racing Team is pleased to have signed two fantastic riders to complete their roster for the 2008 season.

Daniel Patten has moved to the team from Pacific-Flanders where he had a very successful 2007 season. In only his second season of racing, after injury forced him to stop competitive running, Daniel won 3 races, was 1st Under 23 in the Sigma Sport South East Series and 2nd in the British University Sports Association Road Race Championships. A strong climber with a liking for breakaways, Dan is capable of results wherever he races and will be looking for high placings in races like the Archer Grand Prix and the National Under 23 Championships.

Martin Bryant joins the team from Team Economic Energy and, after a 2007 season cut short fighting illness and then injury, Martin is looking forward to 2008 with a new team and a fresh start. A strong, versatile rider who is as at home in the hills as he is in the middle of a bunch sprint, Martin is a true team player and will be invaluable to the team as they face the challenges of the season ahead.

The team is now complete, with five riders capable of results wherever the team might be competing. The 2008 season is nearly upon us and it's starting to get exciting!

Our first success of the season.

The PCA-Ciclos Uno-Isaac Racing Team experienced their first success of the season on Friday 15th January.  A success tinged with sadness, for all of us within the team, as James Jackson continued his steep learning curve and signed for the Plowman Craven/Evans Cycles Racing Team.

James was the longest serving member of the team and has developed into something of a circuit race specialist, with his fine bike handling skills and lightning fast finish. Eight wins in 2007 and a very notable 5th place in the London Grand Prix brought him to the attention of the Plowman Craven Team who signed him up to be their sole under 23 rider for the 2008 season.

We will miss having James in the team but we wish him all the best for this season and beyond, and look forward to seeing him take his considerable talent to the next level.

Planning the season ahead.

On Friday 11th January, the PCA-Ciclos Uno-Isaac Race Team got together for their first team meeting of the season. Held at the team owner Trevor Maddern's house in Hainault, Essex, the meeting was relaxed and informal, perfect for both light hearted chat and the serious business of planning the 2008 season. The whole team were present, along with Trevor and Ewan Hendon: the Ciclos Uno shop manager, team mechanic and style advisor.

On their arrival, the team were excited to find that one of their Isaac Impulse team bikes had been delivered and built for them to cast their eyes over. The Isaac Impulse, ridden by the team in white, is a triumph of design and takes Isaac's natural forms ethos to another level. Quite possibly the best all round road racing frameset available today, this is one truly eye catching bike and the team noted that their results had better be good this season, if they are to be noticed for more than having the best looking machines in the peloton....yet another incentive to race hard, as if any were needed!

Once the team had given their unanimous approval to their team bikes and the first consignment of Squeezy Sports Nutrition products had been distributed, it was down to the serious business of planning race programmes for the season ahead. As this was the first meeting of the season, the team concentrated on the early season races and devised a calendar that was agreed by all, allowing the riders to pursue their personal goals whilst achieving those of the team and the sponsors.

The first meeting of the PCA-Ciclos Uno-Isaac Race Team was a complete success. The relaxed setting enabled the riders and management to get together informally, have a good look at the fantastic Isaac Impulse team bikes, to have a few laughs and to plan what we expect to be a victorious season in 2008.

Jackson's New Year revolutions.

Not happy with his performance in the Winter Series on Saturday 29th December, James Jackson proved how professional he plans to be in 2008 by foregoing the New Year celebrations and racing in the New Year's Day Winter series race at Hillingdon.

An understandably smaller field gathered for the race but, with all the main contenders for the series there, the high standard of racing that the series has experienced was set to continue. The strong men of the race attacked from the start, but the lack of wind, coupled with some co-operation in the bunch, meant that the breakaways never quite succeeded. James Jackson, conscious of the fact that a bunch sprint would suit his stellar sprint, worked hard at the front of the front of the bunch, pulling the field and covering moves to try and keep it all together.

Unfortunately, as the team weren't racing today, James had a lot to do on his own and, with 12km to go, another break went and James had no answer to it. Once again the main contenders for the series were in the four man move and, with them all working together, they were never going to be caught. Colin Parry's (VC St Raphael) sprint was too much for Paul Pickup and he took the win, with Steve Golla (Sigma Sport) and Mick Hill (Team Quest) following them in.

Now well known in the peloton for his sprint, James was heavily marked in the finale but once he lit the afterburners, no one had an answer to his speed and he took the bunch kick with ease. Returning to the Winter Series to improve on his performance of three days earlier and to prove a point to himself, James showed his pride, his growing maturity and his competitive spirit, qualities that will serve him well as he grows as a rider in 2008.

Results:
1.) Colin Parry: VC St Raphael
2.) Paul Pickup
3.) Steve Golla: Sigma Sport
4.) Michael Hill: Team Quest
5.) James Jackson: PCA-Ciclos Uno-Isaac

Pictures by Dennis Sackett: www.dgs-photography.co.uk

A Christmas run out at Hillingdon.

Three quarters of the new PCA-Ciclos Uno-Isaac Race Team (Ian was having fun skiing!) decided to blow the Christmas' cobwebs away by racing in the Hillingdon Winter Series on Saturday 29th December. Without anything other than steady miles in their legs and on their winter bikes, the team weren't quite sure how the race would go but knew it would be tough, with 5 events in the series already contested and a very high standard of racing going on every week.

From the gun, the pace was high and Dan Kogan was instantly in the action at the head of the race, making moves and covering any others. James Whatling found his racing legs after a few laps and moved up to help him and hopefully make an early break while James Jackson hid in the pack, ready to take the sprint if it all stayed together. Moves and breaks came and went in the early stages of the race including one with both Dan and James Whatling in it, but without any of the series contenders in it, it was soon hauled back, and the counter attack which followed decided the race.

All of the riders vying for the Winter Series went away together and soon pulled out a 30 second lead. Knowing that if they could pull it back together, James Jackson would be the favourite in the sprint, James Whatling and Dan Kogan took to the front of the bunch and pulled hard, managing to close the gap to 10 seconds. Unfortunately for them though, the breakaway continued to work well together and without much help from the rest of the bunch, Dan and James had their work cut out pulling them back. The break did manage to stay away to contest the finish with Paul Pickup taking the win from Steve Golla (Sigma Sport). As predicted, James Jackson won the bunch kick but it was scant consolation for the team who had hoped for better.

For the first outing of the team there were plenty of positives, from Dan's eagerness to breakaway from the pack, to James Whatling's strength in pulling the bunch along and James Jackson's flying sprint. It never quite came together today but the signs are encouraging and when the races really kick off, the team will be ready.

Results:
1.) Paul Pickup
2.) Steve Golla; Sigma Sport
3.) Chris Moores: Norwood Paragon
4.) Andrew Bye: Sigma Sport
5.) Colin Parry: VC St Raphael

Pictures by Dennis Sackett: www.dgs-photography.co.uk