JARED Linden, from the Royal Dean Forest Cycling Club (RDFCC), is going from strength to strength at national level competition.

He has represented the club at a number of events recently, including finishing second out of a field of around 60 top riders at the opening round of the National Cross Country Mountain Bike Series at Sherwood Pines in Mansfield.

Jared started from the third row and got into a lead group early on, only missing out on first place by six seconds.

The next big race is the Wild Boar Chase which takes place around the Wye Valley and Forest of Dean on Sunday 17th May.

The club has also arranged a number of mid-week time trials over the next few weeks. The first is a Lydbrook-Walford TT on Tuesday 28th April, followed by a Tintern TT and a repeat of Lydbrook-Walford TT on Tuesday 5th and Tuesday 12th May respectively. All time trials are ten miles in length and start at 7pm.

The club has also been awarded Go-Ride Club Mark status by British Cycling.

Go-Ride is British Cycling's development programme for young riders and provides a fun and safe way to introduce people to the sport of cycling, improving bike handling skills.

The club mark accreditation recognises that RDFCC meets the best practice criteria in child protection, coaching, competition and club management.

RDFCC's Dan Lewis and the club's youth committee have worked towards gaining the award for some time, organising youth rides and events through the year.

For more information on the club's events, visit http://www.rdfcc.org.uk">www.rdfcc.org.uk