Aquaterra Energy is pleased to be sponsoring racing and Time Trial events organised by professional cyclist Glenn Longland, during 2014. Glenn has been competing in the sport and organising races for nearly 45 years, starting his own racing club, the Antelope Racing Team, in 1976, and racing as a professional with club sponsor Michael Radford from 1995-1998.

Glenn’s career began at an early age when he was inspired by catching a glimpse of the 1970 Tour de France on television. He immediately asked his P.E. teacher how he could get his own yellow jersey and soon teamed up with other local cyclists at the Crabwood Cycling Club, who continue to support Glenn to this day. Glenn went on to compete for Great Britain in the 1100 mile amateur version of the Tour de France, known as the Peace Race, for three consecutive years in 1987, 1988, and 1989.

Aquaterra Energy has already sponsored two Time Trial events, organised by Glenn, between Kings Sombourne and Romsey earlier this year, which he also competed in. The Time Trial events consisted of both a Solo 10 mile, and a 2-up 10 mile event.

The company’s sponsorship has significantly increased the profile of Glenn’s events; enabling  new podiums to be built and providing trophies, as well as flowers, winners caps, drinking bottles and, of course, prize money. Glenn said: “I have been organising bicycle races for 40 years now, and racing for 44 years. To have a sponsor like Aquaterra Energy behind me gives my events some real prestige, and being able to present to the riders on a proper stage, as if it were the Tour de France, is marvellous.”

Glenn has a number of impressive achievements under his belt, including being the first cyclist to ride 300+ miles in a 12 hour time trial.  He has been crowned the 12 Hour National Champion a total of five times, and earned the title of Britain’s Best All Rounder. He is training hard for his next event in May, in which he intends to break the Land’s End to John O` Groats Tandem Record, where he will have to complete the journey in less than 50 hours 14 minutes and 25 seconds.

Glenn’s success is down to his perseverance and talent, but he also gives some credit to the engineering technology which has dramatically improved the bikes he has ridden over the years.  Glenn said: “Bikes have changed unbelievably since 1970, there are now bikes for every kind of discipline you can think of, whereas we used to have just one bike, which we might tweak slightly for different events. Bikes are significantly lighter these days too, which allows for greater acceleration, although you still have to train very hard if you want to compete and win races.”

Patrick Phelan, Managing Director of Aquaterra Energy, said: “Sponsoring events led by esteemed athletes such as Glenn is a fantastic opportunity for Aquaterra Energy, and it makes us all very proud to be able to encourage more people to get active and become part of this exciting sport. Glenn’s enthusiasm for what he does and his steely determination to succeed is an inspiration to everyone and we look forward to seeing his next race unfold.”