The hard work, dedication and team spirit finally paid off for the number one ranked Plowman Craven Racing Team with their first national championship victory on Sunday.

The PCA 'blue train' has been to the fore since the teams first race of the season and James Taylor and Tony Gibb pulled off a fantastic one, two in the 'British Elite Criterium Championships' in Horwich on Sunday.

A triangular one mile circuit saw action from the gun with a quality field of 53 riders taking to the line. One of the first breakaways that looked strong came from Gibby, but when assistance in the form of breakaway companions failed to materialise and faced with 30 laps on his own the team leader decided that the best option was back in the main pack.

Behind the scenes it was another story for the team as broken handlebars took out Tom Smith, but with the wealth of experience within the team there were still plenty of options.

In the closing laps the race was difficult to control and Rob Hayles who spoiled the party at the Elite Series in Crawlley looked strong again. On the last lap as the sprint unfolded it was Taylor and Gibb that crossed the line first and second with their arms held aloft in victory!

After narrowly missing out in the previous two rounds of the elite circuit series the boys were not going to let this one get away. After many

British titles on the track James Taylor was ecstatic about his win:

"My job in the race was to lead out Tony so that didn't quite got to plan. As I lead out the sprint I felt Adam Blythe (Pinarello RT) start to come up the inside of me, so I kicked really hard for the line and just rode away. For the two of us to cross the line with our arms up shows the cameraderie that we have in the team.

I would like to thanks Simon Barnes everyone at Plowman Craven and all our sponsors for their support, to bring home the first national title for the team goes some way to pay them back for their help".

Result (Provisional Only) Men's Championship 1. James Taylor, Plowman Craven RT 1.28.51 2. Tony Gibb, Plowman Craven RT 3. Adam Blythe, Pinarello RT 4. Karl Freeman, Team Milton Keynes 5. Peter Kennaugh, Glendene CC 6. Ben Hallam, Glendene CC 7. Ross Muir, Evans Cycles 8. Ian Wilkinson,Science in Sport 9. Paul Oldham, Hope Factory Racing 10. Matthew Stephens, Sigma Sport

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British Cycling