Spalding Cycling Club’s Tilly Gurney is a double track cycling gold medallist after success at the BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) Championships in Manchester.
The 20-year-old Nottingham University student was part of the teams that won both the women’s team pursuit, breaking the BUCS record, and team sprint titles at the world-famous Manchester Velodrome.
Nearly 200 cyclists from 35 British universities took part in the two-day event which had added status this year as it was a national qualifier for the British Track Championships next month.
Tilly, who just missed out on individual bronze in the 500m time trial, said: “The annual BUCS) Track Championships took place at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester over the final weekend of November.
“Our University of Nottingham Performance Squad is a close-knit group of ten riders who had big aspirations for the championships, having spent the first nine weeks of our academic year doing some intensive training, alongside our studies, in order to represent the university at BUCS.
“In the past, we’ve had a few stand out results but this year was by far our best showing yet.
“Most notably, our men’s and women’s team pursuit squads both set new BUCS records in winning gold, beating Loughborough University to the top spots.
“Both teams had worked so hard for the team pursuit title but right up until the final moments of the race, we didn’t think we’d win.
“The feeling when we realised that we’d done it was incredible as all the hard work had finally paid off.
“Overall, we came back with six gold medals, four silvers and top tens in every event we entered.
“None of this would have been possible without the continued support of our coach, Bryan Steel, our parents and, of course, the university.
“Going into next year, we’re proud to have established ourselves as one of the best universities for cycling and we hope to continue our success.”
There was also success at the championships for Bourne Wheelers Cycling Club member Maddie Gammons (20) who won her first-ever BUCS gold riding for Birmingham University in the women’s elimination race.
Maddie, a former National Trophy under-16 girls cyclo-cross champion, upgraded the silver she won at the same event last year.
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