Navenby ace Jon Wells quickly making a big mark in gravel track cycle racing

Wells, 50, has raced bikes since he was young in almost every discipline in the sport but decided to try the new and growing style of racing on gravel a year ago and has very quickly shone.

Racing in the Masters 50-55 years age category at the UCI World Series gravel race “The Gralloch” in Dumfries & Galaway, he booked his place in the two big competitions later this year,

A foemr Lincolnshire Road race champion, Jon explained how his love of bike racing grew and continues to do so.

“I started off mountain biking,” he said. “Then I have done road, cyclo-cross, dirt track – I did everything really.

“I have always ridden and raced my bike from a young age, though I have had different times off with kids and family and things.

“It was only this last year I started racing properly again.

“Gravel racing is a relatively new sort of thing – though quite a growing trend right now – and is safer than being on the roads.

“I have always enjoyed the off-road stuff so I just thought I would give gravel a go as the only racing I had not tried.

“In my first year I got a podium in a National Series race at Sherwood Pines.

“But I have not done that much competitive racing – just training with my main goal to go to Scotland and qualify.”

This was his second time on the Gralloch's 111km track with 1,700m of climbing across the hills of the Galloway Forest Park on some of the best gravel in the UK.

“I rode the Gralloch track a year ago, though not competitvely,” he said.

“It was a sportive and you get to ride the course with hundreds of others like a marathon mass start, not a race.

“A friend was with me who I used to race with and he said if I got myself into gear and fit he thought I could qualify - and that is what started it.

“I had no idea how I would go. My time was better than expected but my final position in the race not as good as I had hoped for.

“But it was good to do that within a year as a lot of the people I was racing against were ex-professionals who have got to this age and carried on racing. There was quite a depth of field and talent.”

He added: “Having just turned 50, I thought if I did it this year I would be one of the younger ones in the category. But my time and lap times were actually quicker than some of those in the younger age group and almost as good as some of the youngest 18-30s.”

Jon, who works in media services at RAF Cranwell as well as running his own InkyWells large format and fine art printing businss, is certainly looking forward to heading to Belgium for the Europeans at the end of August, but being able to compete in Australia in October may be a pipe dream.

“The world final moves around every year and, having qualified, it is almost the wrong year to have done so as it couldn't be further away,” he said.

“I honestly don't know if I have the time or pocket to be able to do it as it's a long way to go for one race and you'd need three weeks.

“It is far more realistic to be doing the European finals in Belgium.

“I have done other stuff over there and can drive there.”

Before that he will continue to train and race in the domestic National Gravel Trophy series, having already done a couple of the five or six races that will be staged.

But, although it is one of the biggest growing sports in cycling, there are currently not too many competitions to enter.

He added: “I have some fantastic support and coaching from a local business and friend, Jonny Noton of Peak Sport Coaching.

“He basically got me race fit in 12 months and has helped me along the way with equipment, support and nutrition.”

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is cycling’s world governing body, and their Gravel World Series is the highest level series of events in the world.

The ambition is for the Series to attract all, from professional elite riders, through older competitive riders to those who just want to finish.

Based on the UCI’s Gran Fondo series, each of the events provides a qualification pathway to the Gravel World Championships.