Alex Welburn, who was only discovered at the end of last year, demonstrated his ability and future potential by dominating the first round of the Midlands Cross Country Mountain Bike Championships on Sunday. Amazingly in only his first year of racing Alex was electrifying from the start staying with the leading pack as they sprinted up the fire road. When they turned into the first climb he took the lead and it was the last they were to see of him over the next hour as they covered 3 laps of the demanding circuit. He strung the field out up the climb and then went even further ahead through the technical single track. By the end of the first lap he had built such a lead the race was all but over. Such was the maturity of his ride that he is quickly drawing the attention of British Cycling's coaching staff. With each victory his confidence is growing and he can almost hardly wait for the next round of the British Championships in 3 weeks time where he is looking to build on the 5th place he got in the first round.

Both Alex and Jacob Kelly have been identified by British Cycling as talented riders and invited along to their regional schools of racing. Jacob, who rides in the younger under 14 category, was competing in the shorter event and was also contesting the lead in the early stages. However, his lack of experience saw several riders pass him through the technical section but he still put in a very creditable performance to finish 6th.