The final place in Knaresborough Racing Team's new Elite squad has been filled by York's Paul Watson, but only after much soul searching.

The 21-year-old Heworth rider, currently studying at Loughborough University comes from a long line of cyclists in his family, his grandparents were both national record holders, while Uncle Peter is a former West Yorkshire Division road race champion and King Of The Mountains in the Milk Race.

However, it is father John Watson's exploits that have impressed son Paul the most, for dad represented Great Britain in the Mexico Olympics, and the former Milk Race, set British records of 1hr 43min 46sec, for 50 miles, and 281.87 miles in 12 hours in 1970 and 1969 respectively, and in 1970 won the British Best All-Rounder competition over 50 and 100 miles and the 12 hour distance with an average speed of 25.958 mph.

Already Watson is showing he is a chip off the old block, with wins in both road races and time trials in 1999, recording personal bests at all distances from ten to 50 miles.

He started racing with Velo Club York, where he had always been happy, but the chance of advancing his cycling career with the new Knaresborough RT Elite squad, racing as a member of a powerful road racing orientated team in Britain's major races such as the Premier Calendar Series is too good to miss.

Watson's former team mate at VC York, Steve Gore-Brown said this week: "Paul is a class act, and will go a long way in the sport and I wish him all the best!"

Watson's new team mates are Tockwith 18 year old Richard Heath, who represented Britain at the 1998 world championships in Holland, Colin Ash, the former Middridge CRT rider, Paul Bridgen, formerly with Brough Wheelers, and Mark Scatchard an Elite category mountain biker.

Meanwhile the pre-racing season series of Reliability Trials gets underway tomorrow with the Knaresborough RT annual events which start simultaneously from the Royal York Hotel at York and Rigton Railway Crossing three miles west of Harrogate, at 9.30am.

Entrants have the choice of covering either a 30 mile route in two or two and a half hours, or 50 miles in three or three and a half hours.

Entry fee is just £1, payable on the lin at The United Reformed Church hall, Knaresborough.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.