NRC 2025 Achievement and Award Winners end the year in style!
- Newbury Road Club
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Newbury Road Club brought its landmark centenary year to a fitting close with a packed awards dinner at Newbury & Crookham Golf Club on Thursday 27 November 2025.
The evening opened with a beautifully edited retrospective of the year — a moving highlights reel created by Trevor Francis that reminded everyone just how special 2025 has been. In her welcome address, Chair Lorraine Murrell thanked members, volunteers, and committee colleagues for their extraordinary hard work throughout the centenary celebrations.
“As we approach the end of this milestone year, I’m reminded every day how lucky we are to belong to such a warm, close-knit community,” she said. “We are, in every sense, a cycling family — where everyone matters and every contribution counts. While we look back with pride and gratitude, we’re also excited to write the next chapter of friendship, fitness and fun on two wheels.”
After dinner, guests enjoyed a fascinating glimpse into life as a “Cyclor” from guest speaker Matt Rossiter, who competed in the 2025 America's Cup aboard INEOS Britannia. His behind-the-scenes stories were a real highlight.
The stage was then set for the main event of the evening — celebrating the achievements, breakthroughs and contributions of members across the club this year. The atmosphere was warm, proud and full of applause as the 2025 award winners stepped forward.
Time Trial Trophy winners
Abi Goodwin delivered a remarkable year, switching to a TT bike and smashing her personal bests over both 10 and 25 miles. Her efforts earned her the Ladies’ 10-mile and 25-mile Championships, the Ladies’ Sporting Course (SPOCO) Trophy, plus both the Tate Handicap and the Burns 25-mile Handicap. An incredible haul — bravo Abi!
Tim Cartwright made a hugely welcome return to racing, and picked up exactly where he left off. He secured the Men’s Club Championships at both 10 and 25 miles, along with the Veterans’ awards at each distance. Fantastic to see you flying again, Tim.
Sam Krause has been an exciting new force in our TT ranks. Alongside collecting a couple of NRC trophies, he took on the Club’s 12-hour distance record of 265 miles — and might well have beaten it if the weather hadn’t turned against him. With his determination, we’ve no doubt he’ll be back for another shot. Sam also topped the Men’s SPOCO series and won the non-aero road bike competition.
Peter Brooke-Wavell conquered the gradients once more, retaining the Mayor’s Trophy as winner of the Men’s Hill Climb.
This year also saw the inaugural Newbury Time Trial Challenge Trophy between NRC and Newbury Velo — and we’re proud to say Newbury Road Club took the win! A superb team effort from everyone involved.
A special mention goes to the many members who placed second and third across the calendar. Whether you stepped onto the podium or simply turned up and raced your heart out—you helped make 2025 an unforgettable TT season. Here's to even bigger things in 2026.
Discretionary Award winners
This part of the evening began with a special thank you to Dave Portwood, our Club Historian, for the numerous hours he has dedicated to researching and recounting our fascinating 100-year history.
The Junior Trophy – awarded for the strongest performance by a junior rider across any cycling discipline – went to Jack Calvert for his superb second place in the NRC Hill Climb and his category win at the Newbury Velo Hill Climb. A brilliant season, Jack – long may it continue!
Ride of the Year 2025 was presented to Peter Jenkins for finally conquering LEJOG this summer. Peter first set off to complete the challenge in 2021 to raise funds for Sue Ryder, supporting his wife Liz following her cancer diagnosis. He withdrew part-way to be by her side before she sadly passed away that year. In 2025, Peter completed his unfinished business and continued fundraising in Liz’s memory. A moving and inspirational achievement.
The Chair’s Cup – newly renamed this year – went to Gideon Rabinowitz, who achieved both his Randonneur Round the Year (RRtY) and R5000 awards. RRtY requires one 200km audax every month for 12 consecutive months, while R5000 demands 5,000km of audax riding in a single season. A phenomenal feat of stamina, discipline and sheer love of long-distance cycling.
The NRC Women’s Award – chosen by the women of the club and presented to a female member who has made an exceptional contribution to women’s cycling – was awarded to Cassie Friend. Cassie’s dedication as a Bikeability instructor, her mentoring on the Couch-to-50K programme, her leadership of the Glow Ride and her constant encouragement of women riders made her the standout nominee this year. A true champion for women’s cycling.
The Club Run Shield – for the most club runs completed in 2025 – went to David Gattenby, who topped the leaderboard as the non-ride leader with the most club runs to his name. A brilliant show of consistency and club spirit. Congratulations David!
And finally, the prestigious NRC Merit Award, given to a member who has provided exceptional service to the club, was presented to David Glenn. From our museum exhibition to the Centenary Big Bash, the Newbury Festival of Cycling and the Eeklo exchange trip, David has been instrumental in making our 2025 centenary celebrations extraordinary. A tremendous year, made possible by David’s dedication and energy. Thank you, David.
To close, heartfelt thanks go to everyone who helped make the night — and the season — such a success: our hosts at Newbury & Crookham Golf Club, those who staged and presented the awards, and all the volunteers who support our time trials throughout the year. Special appreciation also to Gareth Davies for capturing the spirit of the event — and the TT season — through his excellent photography.
What a way to end an unforgettable centenary year. Here’s to 2026 — and to many more miles together.
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