James Shaw – Lotto Soudal
Simon’s sent a link here to one of James’ most recent events over in Diegem. A six day stage race, the Olypmia 3M Tour in Belgium, incorporates individual and team time trials as well as regular stages … finishing 38th in the general classification.
No doubt James will be happy to translate next time he’s over …
See the full website here including many more videos and full results.
James riding cyclo-cross in 2010
Could we be any more proud?! Young James Shaw has been selected for Team GB’s junior squad to ride in the UCI Junior World Championships – Ponferrada, Spain on the morning of Saturday 27th September 2014.
I’m sure you’ll all join me in wishing him and his team mates every success!
Lotto Belisol
For those of you who haven’t already heard … our very own James Shaw has been signed by the Lotto Belisol U23 squad for the 2015 season.
The news broke on Belgian website DirectVelo.com earlier this month.
James riding cyclo-cross in 2010
James winning the 2014 Junior Cycle Classic – picture courtesy of VELOUK
James, who’s been riding with Heanor Clarion since it’s very early Go-ride days, has progressed through various UK youth development squads. He credited cycling stalwarts Don Flint and John Barclay for their part in his success!
You can follow James on Twitter.
You can follow Lotto Belisol on Facebook and Twitter, or by their website.
Junior Madison podium
Silver seems to be the colour of the moment! James Shaw and his Madison partner Tristan Robbins took the silver medal in last Sunday’s British Cycling National Junior Madison Championships.
Simon Shaw writes “It was a thrilling race that had the crowd on the edge of their seats, probably the most entertaining race of the day. [Heanor’s] Will Perrett with Ollie Maxwell came in 8th both wearing Heanor kit.”
Gold: Jacob Ragan (Wheelbase Altura MGD) and Oliver Wood (Team Sportscover)
Silver: James Shaw (Forme Bikes UK) and Tristan Robbins (Cardiff JIF)
Bronze: Tom Arnstein and Mark Stewart (Team ASL 360)
James’ TT result
Riding out of his usual team colours for the evening 10 mile Mapperley CC time trial, seventeen year old Heanor based Shaw puts in a good time to claim first place. By the flag he had taken 13 seconds out of second place rider Dave Ellis who posted 20 minutes and 55 seconds to claim a new club record.
Shaw said, “Time trialling is great training and will hopefully be useful come the national track pursuit championships, it’s very different to road racing as tactics aren’t key it is just a matter of seeing how deep you can go. I used to run the 1500 and 3000 metres for the county so going through the pain barrier is something you learn.”
Forme’s Junior RT rider obtains Cat.1 racing licence just 12 weeks into the season
Eleven days before his 17th birthday, Heanor Clarion and Forme’s first year junior James Shaw obtains his senior Category 1 racing licence. Having started the season as a Cat. 2, based on his performance as a Youth A rider, it took just 12 weeks to obtain the 200 ranking points necessary to move up to the highest category a junior can achieve and will put him amongst just a very small handful of juniors who will start next season in this bracket.
James said, “I gained some good points early in the season at the Tour of the Mendips and then had a big win and a second in Belgium, this added a lot to my total. It is nice to think I will race the rest of this season and start next season as a Cat.1 but it does create a few problems in that I will no longer be eligible to enter mid-week style Cat 2/3 races which have been part of my training schedule”.
He has certainly progressed a long way since first starting out as a seven year old riding Cyclo-Cross with Heanor Clarion.
James warming up for the Milk Race
James added, “I started riding on Shipley Park with Don Flint who was the club coach at Heanor, I then started racing in the Notts and Derby Cyclo Cross League. During the school holiday’s I used to go on the Go-Ride coaching sessions with Rob Sharman and Dean Hughes, when I got a bit older I then went on British Cycling’s Schools of Racing. Once you become a junior though everything changes rapidly, last weekend I was racing against Ed Clancy, a few weeks ago I was racing against Dean Downing. When I won in Belgium people who I had never met wanted their picture taking with me and others were asking if they could have my drinks bottle. The jump from Youth to Junior racing is massive, you sit on the start line and look around and think what am I doing here but once you start racing the nerves soon disappear as there is just too much to think about. I’m looking forward to the next couple of years as I can see where guys who are just a bit older than me are today, riders like Sam Lowe who is on BC Academy or Will Stephenson at Rapha Condor.”
As seen in the Derby Evening Telegraph, but referring to club junior James Shaw’s race back in August in his Forme RT colours:
James winning in Belgium
“RISING star James Shaw has enjoyed a successful stint racing on the road in Belgium.
The 16-year-old from Heanor, who rides for the Derby-based Forme Bikes outfit, went straight from school at Ashfield Academy to West Flanders for a 63km race in Desselgem – and destroyed a 70-strong field of mainly Belgian riders.
The race came down to a sprint finish after an hour and 39 minutes of racing and Shaw won it.
James on the podium
That was on the Saturday morning and he was back in action the next day with another race of the same distance at Gits on the Belgium-France border.
This time, he and fellow British Cycling Olympic Talent Team racer Ben Chapman, from Milton Keynes, broke at an average speed close to 40kph and finished three minutes ahead of the rest of the field.
Chapman took the win, with Shaw second.
“No race in Belgium is ever easy, as they have such strength in depth, so two podium finishes in one weekend feels pretty good,” said Shaw, who was back in his sixth form class at Ashfield Academy on the Monday morning.”
Heanor based James Shaw riding for Forme Bikes UK took an impressive victory in the latest round of the National Circuit Race Championship. Ex Heanor Clarion rider Shaw powered away to take a solo victory in the U16 race at the Scarborough Festival of Cycling. The first truly hilly race in this year’s series gave the advantage back to the climbers. Shaw attacked as soon as the race hit the hills and soon established a lead over the chasing peloton. As the pressure was piled on the peloton began to splinter the pack and Shaw finally came home nearly half a minute ahead of the chasing group.
James Shaw Winning in Scarborough
From BC website (full article):
The 2.4 mile motor racing circuit with a series of hilly hair-pins at Oliver’s Mount promised to give the young hill climbers a chance to break free from the sprinters who dominated the Blackpool round. The Youth Circuit races were part of the Scarborough Festival of Cycling which had enjoyed pleasant summer weather and big crowds over the weekend.
James Shaw (Forme Bikes) was the solo winner of the under 16 boys race. The 16 year old student from Heanor, Derbyshire rode clear of the bunch with two laps to go and kept his cool to claim a fine win.
The race had started with Harrison Fielding (Poole Wheelers) riding off the front of the bunch for four laps before being joined by Jacob Kelly (Lichfield), Louis Modell (East London Velo), Levi Moody (Pedalsport) and Leon Gledhill (Planet X). This small group extended the gap to 30 seconds before the climb began to take it’s toll on the riders and they were reeled back in.
Velocity rider Fabio Close was the next rider to chance his luck and moved clear through the wooded section and climb up to the finish. Close was brought back by the bunch and immediately James Shaw launched his race winning move. Speaking after the race the Ashfield Academy student told British Cycling, “Circuit racing is a fine art, but this was more like a road race, this circuit gave me something to get my teeth into. That hill was just perfect for me, it gave me the chance to get away and I worked hard to keep that gap.”
National Champion Gabriel Cullaigh (RST Racing) brought home the rest of the field to win the bunch sprint from Ben Chapman.