THE season gets serious this Sunday for the Halesowen Athletic and Cycling Club academy riders with Jack Stanton-Warren engaged in the prestigious Klondyke Grand Prix in the north east and a three-man team tackling the Coalville Wheelers National B road race in the east Midlands.

Stanton-Warren is looking to gain experience this season by riding the toughest one-day races in the UK, the Premier Calendar series, and the Klondyke Grand Prix is the first of the series over a hilly course based on the town of Guisborough and featuring all the UK's top professional teams such as JLT Condor, Madison Genesis and Bike Channel-Canyon.

"I rode one of these events last year," said the Ludlow cyclist, who is based at Manchester University. "I didn't feel I was far off the physical level, it's a matter of getting experience in how they are raced as with all the top guys in the UK there the tactics are very different."

Stanton Warren will also ride the second round in the series, the Tour of the Wolds on April 9.

Closer to home, Nick Clayton, Patrick Fotheringham and Tom Swingler are among 80 riders entered for the 80-mile Coalville Wheelers race in the East Midlands, which forms part of their build-up to the three-day Tour of the North over Easter in Northern Ireland.