Bedfordshire Road CC 25

Andy Critchlow earned his ninth open time trial victory of the season at the Bedfordshire Road CC 25-mile time trial near Tempsford on Sunday morning, with Emily Robertson the fastest female.

Paceline RT’s Critchlow finished in 50-31 to take victory, while Richard Kennington, riding for the promoting club, sealed second place in 55-47 to edge Cambridge CC’s Adam Fisher into third place in 55-47.

Living up to his billing as pre-race Spindata favourite, Critchlow now has seven wins from 14 events so far in 2023 having earned his first win of the season at Farnborough & Camberley CC 25-mile time trial on April 15 before registering victories at the Sussex CA 10, Sussex CA 25, Southern Counties CU 10 in May as well as first place at Epsom CC 10 and Sussex CA 50 in July.

On his win, Critchlow said: “They were challenging conditions today with wind blowing across the course on the A1. I had to focus on keeping the bike straight and backed off the power a lot on the fast exposed descent after the turn.

“Before the start I thought about riding my shallow 28mm front wheel instead of tri-spoke like I did in the Chronos 10 on Saturday and that may have been a better choice in hindsight given the conditions.

“But overall I am pleased to come away with a win in a quality field ahead of travelling up to Scotland for the UCI Masters World Champs next weekend. When I get back my focus will shift entirely to the BBAR and the 12hr, which is a distance I’ve never raced before.”

Robertson’s time of 1:01-41 helped seal a narrow 11-second win from Icknield RC’s Deborah Beare who finished in 1:01-52, while Ride Revolution Coaching member Helen Roby secured the final place on the podium in 1:02-05.

“I considered not riding today due to the strong sideways gusts that were forecast, but I’m glad I did!” said Robertson. “I’m not used to riding in strong wind, and I feel like road-bike losses are more on windy days, so I had low expectations.

“I did an event on the same course three weeks ago and I went two and a half minutes faster for less power than today, which shows what a tough day it was out there. This year’s new road bike category has given me a new lease of life! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the new challenge.

“Today was my club’s event, and the road on which I did my first 25 back in 2013, so to take the win was particularly special. I would still like to do a faster 25 and 10 on the road bike this year, hopefully within the next two weeks, if the weather sorts itself out!”

This event, run on the F1B/25 course, starts just east of Roxton, heading south past Sandy on the A1 and then through Biggleswade to reach Radwell, where riders turn and follow the route back past Biggleswade and Sandy to finish in the same location as the start line.

* All reports are copyright of Cycling Time Trials/Snowdon Sports. Not to be used without permission. This report by James Ayles.

Results:

Men:

1. Andy Critchlow (Paceline RT)       50.31

2. Richard Kennington (Bedfordshire Road CC)   54.52

3. Adam Fisher (Cambridge CC)        55.47

4. Oswin Grady (Bedfordshire Road RT)     57.19

5. Jason McRae (Bedfordshire Road RT)     57.21

6. Louis Tate-Harris (Bedfordshire Road RT)          58.20

Women:

1. Emily Robertson (Bedfordshire Road RT)           1:01.41

2. Deborah Beare (Icknield RC)         1:01.52

3. Helen Roby (Ride Revolution Coaching)   1:02.05

4. Chanel Mason (Army Cycling)      1:04.24

5. Juliet Smith (Bedfordshire Road RT)       1:08.18

6. Stephanie Cousins (QN Racing)     1:11.13