FORMER National WRCA Time Trial Champion, Emilie Wix from Rendlesham has become the National Masters 2k Pursuit Champion.

She was persuaded to dust off her cycling shoes and return to the saddle to take part in last weekend’s National Masters Track Championships, raced on the steeply banked boards of Newport’s velodrome in South Wales.

Riding for Steve Grimwood’s Elmy Cycles Team from Ipswich, and Team Orbea, Emilie is a team mate of current Olympic Champion, Rebecca Romero, so is no stranger to big time racing.

Riding in her favourite event, the super-tough 2000 metre Individual Pursuit, where two competitors start on opposite sides of the track and try to chase each other down, Wix utilised her newly-gained power endurance to ride down each of her opponents with ease in the opening rounds.

Fired up for her first major final at this level, Wix faced a tough rider from Cambridge Cycle Club, but a blistering opening lap put her ahead and, with her ever – improving endurance, held her advantage for the final sprint where she wound up the pace superbly to finish an impressive twelve seconds ahead.

Just to show that she has talent in-depth, Wix rode in the Points Race later that afternoon and came away with the Bronze medal after a hard fought contest between a leading bunch of six elite athletes that ripped through the main group no less than twice during the race, racking up high points scores with the two–lap advantage.

In a strange twist of fate Wix has recently been trying her hand at rowing, following encouragement from her rower-turned-cyclist team mate, Romero, and has found herself sculling on the Deben under the guidance of Chris Jillings, coach to current GB Rowing Team junior, Clio Aubugeau-Williams. Jillings encouraged her to keep up her cycling at the same time as rowing and after some tweaks and technical tuning to her training plan, was thrilled with her results.

The day was not so lucky however, for travelling companion, Phil Hetzel, from Ipswich Bicycle Club, who was brought down in an horrific high-speed crash, head first into the steep banking, breaking his bike to pieces and taking several lumps out of the rider. After a trip to hospital for observation, he was eventually allowed home, strapped up and limping painfully – it will be some weeks before he his back to racing.