Bissell’s pedal power pays off

The hard work is paying off for Stevenage cyclist Peter Bissell. Bissell has spent the last two summers racing in the Vendee region of France for Team Albert Bigot. His first year saw him win four significant races and several other high placings. He did

The hard work is paying off for Stevenage cyclist Peter Bissell.

Bissell has spent the last two summers racing in the Vendee region of France for Team Albert Bigot.

His first year saw him win four significant races and several other high placings.

He did this by funding himself with a little help from the Talented Young People's grant scheme.

Peter is now racing at national level against semi-professionals and hoping to catch the eye of a professional team.

He is being helped this year by the Dave Rayner Fund that supports a limited number of British cyclists who are racing abroad.

His most recent success was when he returned home to contest the national under-23 road race in Buckinghamshire, riding in the colours of Arctic/Shorter Rochford.

This was a demanding 97-mile race consisting of Britain's best young riders.

From almost the second lap Peter was mixing it in with the leaders.

This is how the race progressed with a gap of six minutes developing between the leading group and the chasing pack who left it far too late to organise an attack.

It was left to three riders to contest the podium on the last lap of the circuit and on the last hill, Bissell managed to find enough energy to attack and jump away to win the race by 18 seconds.

Bissell, talking about his racing in France, said: "It is unbelievably hard there and it's also helped me in other ways like watching the other riders in the team in France which is currently lying fifth best team in that country.