Why Karen Summers loves the slog of winter

The Telford rider, 45, capped her season in style in claiming her age category's overall title, just a fortnight after her first national championship medal.

In a whirlwind few weeks, the cycling-mad Summers took a moment to let the success sink in.

"I never expect to win in the slightest," she said.

"There are some different riders and you question whether you're as good as last time.

"You keep getting beaten, but you keep trying and manage to come out on top."

The league season has been a blast for Summers, who rides for Revolutions Racing, after seeing success all over the region – including events at Redditch, Leicester, Stourport and over to the more local Shrewsbury and Newport.

The winter-time sport, with a season running from September through to January, involves plenty of hard ground and its fair share of mud.

While it may not be everyone's cup of tea, Summers and boyfriend John Byatt know all about the trials and tribulations brought by the conditions.

"My mum thinks I'm mad!" she laughed.

"She's been to watch me quite a bit, but you won't ever catch her having a go.

"It's my terrain. I don't mind the mud – I get a lot of my better results in it. We get home and John spends ages in the cold cleaning the bikes so I have to clean the kit.

"It doesn't help with our colours being white but I've mastered how to get it all out now. There's no time to jump straight in the shower!"

Before claiming the league title, Summers had gone one step further than ever before with her first ever national medal. She only began racing at any level 10 years ago.

"I didn't expect a medal at all," she said after taking bronze at the Cyclo Cross National Championships.

"There were between 30 and 40 in my section – and it's all of the top riders. I would have been happy with the top 10.

"I love riding in Shrewsbury. Every lap was different because of the conditions but it was great to ride the race locally.

"Everyone within cycling who knows me and family and friends were there cheering me on.

"I daren't look up from where I was focused on the mud or my face would've ended up in it!

"It was so well organised from the Shropshire Wheelers club. Dave Mellor does a fantastic job in organising it.

"I finished about 20 seconds behind second place but I was gaining on her – I just ran out of time."

Summer has only been riding cyclo cross for three or four years – she briefly rode a mountain bike socially 10 years ago before turning her hand to road races and time trials.

But once finding the mud-fuelled sport, she is very well settled and also believes its popularity is rising.

"It's getting there. It's really really getting there," Summers said. "There's quite a bit of it on the telly now.

"It's hard to compete with the road racing, especially come the summer with the Tour de France.

"When I first did it a few years ago there were only 15 girls across all of the ages in the West Midlands and now there are about 40.

"There are youngsters that have a go too. Events for under-eights and under-12s and that's absolutely brilliant to watch."