PROMISING High Wycombe Cycling Club riders Karl and Martin Freeman are quitting the club, after being approached by the new Team Corley Cycles outfit, based in Milton Keynes.

The brothers, who have been part of the Wycombe club since schoolboys, will now race for the five-man sponsored team, which will also be co sponsored by Trek UK bikes and Madison Cycles.

The pair will retain membership of the Wycombe club on a second claim basis. Wycombe's Margaret Wright said: "We wish them all the best with their racing careers and thank them for carrying the club colours so successfully over the past four years."

Both Karl, 21, and Martin, 19, will be the team's top hopes as they compete in the national under-23 series this season. The brothers have both been elevated to the top elite category based on a string of top performances during the 2000 season.

Phil Corley, the cycle supremo who is backing the team, said: "I think that Karl has a real chance of at least picking up some race wins in the under 23 series this year, if not winning the title outright. And there's no reason why Martin won't be too far behind him either."

And the brothers will have the gear to do it. Their bikes will be the same carbon frames and wheel sets used by Lance Armstrong - two times winner of the Tour de France - as he goes for his hat-trick of wins in the French classic later this year.

Both have already shown the potential that merits Corley's hopes. Martin represented Britain in the Youth Olympics in 1997 while Karl, on top of a hatful of race wins on the road, is the current British University Students Association Points champion on the track.

Karl is looking forward to the new challenge. He said: "Phil hopes I will win and that's what I'm racing for. I really want to do well in the under 23 series."

Younger brother Martin is not worried about the quality of the opposition he'll face this year. He said: "The races will be longer and faster but if I want to succeed I've got to adapt."