Shrewsbury cycling grand prix hailed as a huge success
Thousands of people thronged the roads of Shrewsbury for the town centre's first professional cycle race in 21 years, with hopes it will become an annual event.
With Olympic gold medallist Joanna Rowsell taking part, the Shrewsbury Grand Prix was no casual Sunday bike ride, with fierce competition in what is a nationally ranked race with the full backing of British Cycling.
A total of 132 riders took part in three races across the course of Sunday evening, from amateurs to pros, tackling the cobbles of Shrewsbury town centre in fast-paced timed circuits, known as "crit" races.
There was a chance for members of the public to sample the race course, but the main event was the 45-minute professional race in which 34 elite riders took part.
Joanna Rowsell MBE lived up to her reputation by heading the pack for the duration, but in a shock turnaround was pipped at the post at the last minute by three others. Brit Tate of GB Cycles, Harriet Owen of Matrix Fitness and Lydia Gurley of Merlin cycles all got the same time of 48 minutes 11 seconds, with Rowsell coming fourth at 48 minutes 15.
Tate was singled out as the photo-finish winner by judges. She said: "I never expected to win an event like this.
"It was a really good race, really good fun and quite technical, with some fast bits down hill. It was really exciting."
