Jamie, who has ridden for racing team Starley Primal for the past three years, is preparing for the criterium a high-intensity race around a mile-long circuit in the town centre on June 14. The event, which has been started by his father Tom Caldwell, features races from 4pm to 10pm, starting with youngsters, veterans, ­professional women and ­culminating in the professional mens race. The route starts outside the Corn Exchange, travels between the Golden Lion and the Town Hall, before sweeping around towards Birt Lane and a tight right-turn towards the Quay. Cyclists will then race along Bridge Street, turn left into Merryland before making a U-turn on the Broadway and heading back towards the Corn Exchange. Roads will be closed from 12.30pm to 11pm, including parts of Market Hill and The Broadway. Jamie, 24, who started cycling at St Ives Cycling Club, said: Its going to be an exciting race having seen the route. Theres everything a criterium needs narrow roads and tight turns. Its going to be quite surreal cycling around my home town. The biggest advantage I will get is the buzz from the crowd that will spur me on. It has the potential to be a great event and I cant see why it cant do as the Circuit of the Fens has done in becoming one of the top eight races in the country. Jamie, an aeronautical engineer who lives in Portsmouth, started cycling when he was 16, with club runs and races before moving on to race professionally. The best thing to do in the St Ives is to get to the front and fight hard to stay there. Down towards the Oliver Cromwell pub is going to be very narrow, so Im expecting to be cycling very quickly in single file. Then along The Broadway we will get a bit of time to recover before tackling the narrow streets again. Its going to be a spectacle.
