Burntwood cycling fanatic scoops first place in competition

Cycling fanatic Lynne Biddulph brought home the gold from the Masters Track World Championships at the Manchester Velodrome in October.

Lynne took to the track with three friends, Janet Birkmyre, Julie Scales and Lindsay Clarke, in the Team Pursuit event on the day, which saw the group cycle 16 laps in five minutes and eight seconds and win first place in the aged 55 to 64 category.

And it is not the first time that Lynne has celebrated a winning title, having been awarded the record for cycling more than 600 miles from Land's End to John O' Groats in the north of Scotland in two days and four hours, by the Road Records Association.

She also held the speed record for cycling 1,000 miles in just two days and 16 hours.

The 54-year-old explained she had been training for just eight weeks in the lead-up to the competition, after a broken coccyx left her unable to ride a bike for 16 months.

Lynne said: "I was over the moon [to win]. I was very nervous but nerves are good – that is what keeps you going.

"I'm normally a long distance rider but I took up the track probably about six years ago. My husband raced at the track all the time and said 'why don't you have a go' and it progressed from there."

Alongside competing, Lynne is an assistant manager at Cannock-based Bridgtown Cycles, which her dad, John Taylor, opened in 1981.

Lynne attributed her cycling ability to her dad who was also keen on the sport before he sadly died last year.

She added: "It all stems from my dad who cycled long distance. He unfortunately passed away last year.

"He was always the one to give me a nudge and say 'you can do this' so I think he would be over the moon that I won. I never give up, I am a fighter – I got everything from him."