Team News – New Sponsor for Catford CC

Household high street brand Specsavers joins Jeff Banks as sponsors of one of the oldest cycling clubs in the world, Catford CCÂ

Team News – New SponsorÂ for Catford CC

Catford CC Equipe/Banks will be back in the peloton again for 2016. Clothes and design supremo Jeff Banks will once again be the headline sponsor of the racing offshoot of the world famous Catford Cycling Club – one of the very oldest cycling clubs in the world.

The team will also be bringing a new name to the race scene in 2016 – Specsavers, who are featuring a brand new range of BANKSport race eyewear which will accommodate custom prescription lenses and be available at over 750 practices nationwide.

All of the riders will be showcasing these during the coming season and are excited to give this new innovation in cycling glasses full exposure, London based Condor Cycles will supply their leading ‘Leggero’ frame which all members of the team, Junior and under 23s will ride. Scott will be supplying their Arx Plus helmets and finally OTE nutrition will be once again providing their excellent gels and nutritional range of products.

The team model is to allow aspiring under 23 riders and juniors to experience and pit themselves again the best in the land (with some excursions into France and Belgium). During 2015 the Elite team rode all of the Premier Calendar races ranging from the horrendous ‘Tour of the Reservoir’ to the Pearl Izumi town centre criterium, The London Nocturne and the PrestigiousÂ UCI Duo Normandie in France.

With the emphasis on providing this springboard, most riders have reached 23 and have gone on to ride for other teams in 2016, Ashley Dennis who was always present in Premier Calendar races has been signed up by the eponymous named Team Wiggins, Sam Henning who won both National 10 mile TT’s has joined HMT Condor, while Tom Neale who won one of the seasons big opening races and was fighting out in the UCI Beaumont Trophy has signed for the Achieve Pro Team, with Lawrence Carpenter joining up with Nunn-Sigma, while Louis Modell will be racing in France and Italy in 2016.

THE 2016 TEAM
Matt Clements (under 23) rode for the team as a junior in 2015 and after some good rides in the National Junior series in 2015 hit the heights with a great win in Belgium which was long overdue, Matt has moved to the under 23 team this season with an aim in getting a win in a National B race.

Laurence Kirby (under 23) rode for the CatfordCC during 2015 with the aim of moving up to the Catford/Banks team during 2015, Laurence has come on in leaps and bounds and after winning back to back E/1/2 races towards the end of the season his confidence to produce good rides in National B races in 2016 is high.

Josh Green (under 23) is retained from the 2015 squad, Josh rode many of the Premier Calendar events in 2015 and by the time of the Stockton race he had finally found his feet and was in the Elite race right until the end, again we have high hopes that josh can fulfil his potential in 2016.

Owen James (under 23) has returned to the UK after spending the 2015 season racing in Spain and Italy, Owen has many places in UCI races with a KoM jersey in the Giro Ciclistico Pesca e Nettarina di Romagna IGP, Owen will target National A and B races during 2016.

James Jobber (Under 23), In 2014 James competed in the Rutland-Melton Classic, Lincoln GP and Ipswich Coastal. Unfortunately a series of crashes hampered Jamesâ€™ season and left him struggling for form throughout 2104. However James came back stronger in 2015 and (whilst completing his degree) James was able to achieve several top 10 results throughout the year.Â James is now spending to winter of 2015/16 training full time in Girona and is hungrier than ever to achieve the results he knows he is capable of.

Joe Higginson (Under 23), the older brother of James (see below) and also from Australia with a background of fast crits, Joe was 6th in the Australian U23 National Road Race Championship.

Sean McGovern (Under 23), Sean was selected for the Olympic Talent Team Programme and finished high up in the Lincoln GP in the National Junior Series in 2014, Sean struggled as a first year junior, but in his 2nd year he had many top ten results in the National Junior series, a great 2nd in the E/1/2 Redhill Road Race and many other top senior road race events, Sean isÂ looking forward to tackling this years road races as part of the CatfordCC Equipe/Banks team.

Alex Touche (Under 23), Alex is the current Welsh National Road Race Champion, winning the event in 2015, he finished 2nd in the Bath Road National Series Road Race, he also finished high up in the Tour of Ireland gaining a 4th and a 9th place stage finishes along the way! Alex’s ambition is to ride for a Pro-Tour Team.

George Clark (Under 23), George comes from a background of producing some very fast TT times, he has a 48:14 for a 25 and a 19:19 for a ten, add this to winning the National TT Closed Circuit Championship and George has some great credentials for road racing.

Buauna Ball ( Junior), Buauna joined the Catford team towards the end of the season and made an immediate impact, joining Sam Henning he rode the prestigious Duo Normandie and finished in a 2nd place, that, without the aid of an unhelpful Gendarme he would have won the event with ease. At the end of the season Buauna rode Cyclo Cross and finished an impressive 1st in no less that 5 consecutive weekends. With the added background of racing in Belgium, Holland and Belgium Buauna is looking to make a big impact on the Junior National Series in 2016.

James Higginson ( Junior), James hails all the way from Australia and will be riding for the CatfordCC Equipe/Banks team along with his older brother Joe, his proudest achievement is that he was a member of the Australian National Team Pursuit winning team and is looking forward to the road scene and riding the National Series in the UK in 2016!

Kieran Hotson ( Junior), Kieran joins us after a good year of progress in 2015, his highlight of 2105 was winning the BSCA National TT Championship by just under a minute – Kieran is looking forward to showing the progress he can make in the Junior ranks in 2016.

Tim James ( Junior), Tim achieved a number of top place finishes in the National Junior Series in 2015 and is hoping to continue his development with the Catford Banks team in 2016.

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