A NORTH-East cycling team is celebrating success at a major championships.

The Stockton-based Brother NRG Driverplan pro cycling team secured three gold medals at the HSBC UK National Track Championships in Manchester last week.

Held at the National Cycling Centre, the team emerged victorious in the Individual Pursuit, Kilo TT and the Team Pursuit.

The team of Charlie Tanfield, Dan Bigham, Jacob Tipper and Jonny Wale are based at Middlesbrough Sports Village.

They targeted the championships in October, approaching the event with a marginal gains philosophy.

The team said no stone was left unturned in their preparation and attention was paid to the smallest detail.

Bigham, victorious in the Kilo, Individual Pursuit and Team Pursuit, said: “It’s been a dream from October and in the back of my mind since the 2016 Championships.

"We put a firm plan together with Jacob Tipper joining the team as the final piece of the puzzle. We trained specifically from early December and really maximised every session, with riders putting in their total effort but also extracting data from each session.

"This allowed us to optimise our equipment, clothing, position and pacing strategies all through WattShop testing."

The team only had seven training sessions together and the distance between team members required travel, early starts and commitment.

"We executed the championship rides perfectly and exceeded our expectations," said Bigham. "Going forward we intend to transition into the road season and explore potential track opportunities at World Cups and a longer term goals of Commonwealth Games selection."

Wale, fifth in the Kilo, and Team Pursuit champion, said: “It was a fantastic opportunity for me to slot into the team and I’m ecstatic to have made the Scottish Commonwealth Games qualifying standard.”

Tipper, meanwhile, ninth in the individual pursuit, and Team Pursuit champion, is competing in the Les Challenge International de la Marche Verde in Morocco.

Speaking before he set off, he said: “I’m delighted, year on year I have continued to improve and develop, but winning a National Championship jersey was beyond our expectations."

Tanfield, second in the Individual Pursuit and Team Pursuit National Champion, said: “It has always been a goal for me to win a senior National Championship, but this result has still taken me by surprise.

"Six weeks ago we were struggling to put together a 4km pursuit at 4:25 pace, but week after week we have made huge improvements and had fun in the process.

"On the day of the final we weren’t as well-drilled as we have been so I’m sure there is more to come. For now, I’m looking to get back into endurance training and transition this success into the road season.”

  • The team and riders thanked Brother and DriverPlan for their financial support, High5 for their sports nutrition, GiroSportDesign UK/ZyroFisher for helmet and shoes, Velotec for their aero suits, Rule28 for aero socks, NRG Cycles for road bikes, Wattshop for aero optimization arm rest and bar ends, Pyramid Composite Design and Fibre Lyte for chainrings and cogs.