Team News — Graham Weigh Racing Team

The Graham Weigh Racing Team announced changes to its title sponsor at the team launch for 2024 which took place on Tuesday 5th December at the teams’ HQ : Graham Weigh Cycles in Shotton.

Team News — Graham Weigh Racing Team
by Michael Bell

It was well attended by many of the GWRT membership, perhaps lured there by the promise of sausage baps (aka barms, batches etc, depending on your geographical location), chip butties and deals on bikes, wheels and tyres. Sadly, one team member was not there: Paul Cookson who recently passed away was, I’m sure, present in the thoughts of all there who remember the popular rider. Plans are in place to hold a memorial race next season.

The big news at the launch was the unveiling of that new main sponsor: Dolan Bikes, and the man himself, Terry Dolan was there to demonstrate the range of bikes: from the top of the range Ares road bike to TT, cyclo-cross and gravel options also on display. In addition there was an e-bike with a small, integrated top tube settings menu that beeped and bleeped through most of the evening as people scrolled through the various options.

There’s no doubting that the Dolan name is synonymous with success in UK cycling. He had himself competed, riding for the formidable Liverpool Mercury team in the 1970’s and is a previous winner of the prestigious Eddie Soens race, winning a mass bunch sprint at the Aintree circuit in 1978.

During and after his racing days he’d worked at legendary Liverpool frame builder Harry Quinn before supporting riders such as Phil Thomas, Joey McLoughlin and Chris Boardman when he set up Cougar Cycles, all of whom rode the steel framed Dolan built frames. Later, now trading as Dolan Bikes, two names that transcend the world of cycling and into the mainstream populations consciousness: Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish, spent some of their formative racing years astride his products.

Returning to provide sponsorship to the team for another season are CMA Car Specialists of Chester; Simian, who provide skilled contruction training and consultancy and Empeiria Training from the health and social care sector. An eclectic mix of sponsors as is often the case but perhaps uniquely, the owners of these businesses are active members of the GWRT and all were present at the team launch.

Team kit is again provided by Barcelona based InVerse including TLI national champion versions for Angelo Derosa, Mark Hammersley and Paul Thursfield, the team’s 3 reigning champions in their respective age groups. Graham Weigh introduced the line-up of sponsors and went on to recall how he’d known Terry Dolan for 50 years and pondered on why it had taken such a long time to finally link up in team sponsorship and that now, it seemed such an obvious thing to do.

There followed awards of a number of ‘special’ prizes including a large sack for Barry Murphy to allow him to carry the TT trophies won by his team mate Alan Broadbent after he’d finished behind him a number of times. Malcolm Ridgeway, aka Uncle Mal, who was actually introduced using a less flattering nickname won the club half-wheeling trophy: every club has a HW champ! Chris Lawson was given a miniature ‘No U-turns’ road sign due to his habit of turning around early on the club rides.

It was an entertaining couple of hours, Graham Weigh has been a long time supporter of cycling, from the early days of the Deeside Olympic via a number of sponsorship arrangements to the current iteration. Special mention should be given to Kath Weigh who was an excellent air-fryer jockey for the evening, somehow managing to conjure up a constant supply of the aforementioned sausage baps/barms/batches and chip butties.

The next season is approaching and I think it would be a safe bet to say the GWRT jersey will be ominously present in many races and that a significant number of races will be promoted too.