Cyclists from across Britain and beyond will be descending on mid-Essex this weekend for the 47th Grand Prix of Essex - now at its new home in Great Saling.

Whoever wins this Sunday's international cycle race at Great Saling, Braintree will know he has triumphed over the cream of Britain's young pedal power and much more.

This year's 88-mile classic has been redesigned for riders under 23 years of age (espoirs) and comprises the penultimate round of the British Cycling Federation's National Under-23s Series.

With few exceptions, all the leading contenders for the overall title (and the coveted Tom Simpson Memorial Trophy) will be among the 60 riders travelling to Braintree for the Grand Prix from every region of the UK and even Flanders in Belgium.

Glendene Cycling Club's race promoter Colin Mannakee, who lives in Braintree, said "I am truly delighted with the quality of the espoirs' entries and also with the support I have received. I predict a really fast, attacking race."

Heading the domestic entry is a youthful seven-man squad representing England, the first time a full national team has been nominated to ride the Essex classic.

Led by ambitious Adam Henley, 19, (from Princes Risborough), the team is very young indeed. Adam will be supported by Barnsley's Owyn Wallace, 19, Preston's James Davies, 19, Northfleet's Craig Sellen, 19, and a trio of junior riders, Huddersfield's Richard Sutcliffe, 17, Beaconsfield's Steve Harrison, 17, and East Anglia's Kris Story, the eighteen-year-old track racing star from Witham.

The team will ride in special yellow jerseys bearing the legend of their sponsor 'Sport England' which is funded through the National Lottery.

Pitted against the young hopefuls, however will be three of Belgium's most promising rising stars, Andy Sandtsheer, 20, and Ben Joos, 18, both from Sinnai, and Stefan Suy, 18, from Waasmunster.

Sandtsheer and Joos already have several important foreign wins to their credit this year while Suy, a big, burly sprinter in the typical Belgian mould, has been placed in the top three finishers no less than 15 times!

They have also competed in the amateur Belgian Classic, the Tour of Flanders. The talented trio will be travelling to Essex via Manchester, where for the past two weeks they have been training especially for the Grand Prix.

Their message to the Brits is 'watch out'!

Notwithstanding, according to Colin Mannakee, the hottest cycling talent on display on Sunday will be the 1998 World Junior Track Champion, Bradley Wiggins (now 21) from London.

Wiggins, who regularly competes in the senior ranks for Great Britain, was a surprise solo entry and although he will not have official team support this time his record in road racing as an individual is equally formidable.

Earlier this year he caught the eyes of the continental press by first winning the Tour of Majorca and then a top French classic, the Fleche du Sud.

As a member of Great Britain's elite four-man team pursuit track squad, Wiggins gained the bronze medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and then went on to take silver in the 2000 World Championships. He will be the man to beat!

The Grand Prix will start at 9.30am from Great Saling Village Hall, where programmes may be obtained throughout the morning, and follow seven circuits of an undulating 12.5 mile course through the picturesque villages of Great Bardfield, Duck End, Bran End, Stebbing and Great Saling.

The finish line is situated between Stebbing Green crossroads and Great Saling, alongside Andrewsfield Airfield.

There will be intermediate sprints at the end of laps one to six towards an overall points classification, the first three riders to score each lap.

Assuming an average race speed of around 25mph, the winner should cross the line at approximately 1pm for the £100 first prize.

At the race finish, where a full race commentary will be provided by Bob Barber (National Competition Director of the British Cycling Federation), the first three prize winners will be invited to mount the podium and receive the applause of the spectators.

More information including a full list of the competitors at www.glendenecc.org.uk/gpsx.htm

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