Ilkley Cycling Club's Ben Hallworth has been promoted to first category status in the British Cycling Category System.

Following a very successful first half of the season Hallworth is the first Yorkshire rider to move from second to first category this year.

Since March he has achieved eight podium places from the twenty three races he competed in and also won the AvantiGas Green Points Jersey in the recent stage race the club promoted.

Hallworth’s team mates have also had some significant success in recent weeks. Tom Andrews took a fine second place in last week’s PH-MAS Evening Road Race on the Bishopwood circuit near Selby.

A fast race ended up in a big bunch sprint where Andrews was narrowly beaten in the dash to the line. Earlier last week Rob Ormrod finished third and Arthur Wilson ninth in the fifth round of the Chevin Evening Road Race Series near Boroughbridge.

In the previous week’s Chevin race a large bunch of around 60 riders contested the finish, with Ilkley’s Richard Kelt storming in to take third place in only his second ever road race while Hallworth finished a couple of places behind in fifth place.

On the time trial side the club promoted the second evening 10 mile event of the year last week on the Addingham/Bolton Abbey course.

Conditions were not ideal but three records were still broken. The course record was reduced to 24:09 by new Ilkley CC member Henry King.

This was a fantastic ride in the conditions on the hilly course. In the standard ‘non aero’ bike records Ewan Farrow clocked a 26:17 and Nina Benson a 29:40 to reduce both the men’s and women’s ‘non aero’ course records.

Full Ilkley CC results from the club 10 mile time trial :1 Henry King 24:09, 2 Ewan Farrow 26:17, 3 John Garnett 28:39, 4 Nina Benson 29:40, 5 Leanne Farrow 29:51, 6 Tim Dryden 31:49, 7 Camilla Boynton 32:50, 8 Simon Facer 33:57, 9 David Taylor 34:04, 10 Alison Gate 34:19, 11 Alain Haigh 35:20, 12 Paul Thomas 36:19,

Last Saturday Doug Hart set a personal best for 10 miles in the Yorkshire Cycling Federation 10 mile event near Hull. Hart’s 19:45 is the fastest time by an Ilkley rider this year and averages 30.4 mph for the event.