RACING cyclist Fraser Snape of the North Lancs Road Club produced two new course record performances in the space of 48 hours in events on local roads.

On Tuesday in the Rossendale Road Club promotion on the Accrington to Burnley Road over 9.4 miles, Snape clocked 21mins 13secs to beat the previous best set by Clayton Velo rider Jack Belcher by two seconds.

On Thursdsay he set a new record for the recently designed 10 mile course at Edisford near Clitheroe with 23mins 18secs over testing country roads.

Second on Tuesday was Dave Edwards of Blackburn and District CTC with 22mins 11secs while third and fourth were taken by Rossendale members Paul Warrener in 23.27 and John Leach riding his training bike to 24.45.

On Thursday, Stuart Whitehead of Langho and the Clayton Velo was second in the 10 mile with 24.43, Ken Holden of Accrington finished third in 25.26 and Dean Butterworth of Oswaldtwistle and Clayton Velo was fourth in 25.36.

The Pendle Forest did not hold their Thursday event last week due to local foot and mouth restrictions but plan to hold an 11 mile hilly event this evening from Thornton in Craven.

Pendle Forest's Jonathan Boothman from Barnoldswick was unlucky not to win the Preston Cycling Club 10 mile time trial on Saturday evening at Garstang.

He produced an excellent 21.30 which was just one second slower than Manchester rider Rick Clough.

In the same event team mate Simon Phillips won the prize as second best veteran 40 plus with 22.15 while NLRC rider Ralph Pilkington won the similar prize in the veteran 60 plus with 25.44.

THE 2001 track championships continued on the Kirkby Stadium on Wednesday evening but not before the Blackburn and District CTC squad had claimed four third places in warm-up events.

Norden School pupil Richard Hek was third in the four lap youth race followed by a third in the four lap youths paced race.

Ian Yates was third in the eight lap A category race and Tony Stott claimed another third in the A category Devil Take the Hindmost.

Richard Hek then rode excellently to move through the heats of the championship youth sprint but having got to the final was outwitted by Rob Pugh of Liverpool Century and had to be satisfied with silver position.

In the senior championship sprint ex-national champion Gary Hibbert was winner but it was another Blackburn and District CTC rider Paul Smith in third slot.

Approaching midnight 13 riders started in the Deeside Decider with only four finishers and it was Southport CC's Matt Sewell first over the line followed by Paul Smith second, Ian Yates third and Gary Hibbert fourth.

PRESTON-based multi national champion Gethin Butler updated one of the longest standing records on the books on Sunday when he rode the 211 miles from Liverpool to Edinburgh in record time.

The record has stood since 1954 to ex-Hercules professional Ken Joy with a time of 9hrs 6mins. Buter did not underestimate his task and had previously postponed attacks due to forecasted northerly winds but committed himself to leave Liverpool city centre at 6.30am on Sunday for a testing day in the saddle.

A few enthusiasts clocked him through Preston and Garstang at six minutes up after 40 miles and he kept up the momentum over Shap to Carlisle and over the hills to the Scottish capital to finish in 8hrs 31mins 27secs, an average speed of a fraction under 25mph and almost 35 minutes better than the Road Records Association record.