News & Features

Heavy rain and winds made for challenging conditions for time trials across the country last weekend, but the hardy continued on regardless and posted some good times and strong rides.

The Western TTA 100-mile event went ahead with 13 entrants choosing not to ride because of the conditions, while nine others climbed off mid-event.

In the end just 23 hardy souls completed the distance, and it was Harry Walton (Cheltenham and County CC) who proved fastest and was the only rider to come home under the four hour mark in 3-59-18.

Second was veteran Tony Chapman (Frome and District Wheelers) while the fastest of two females to complete the distance was Corinne Clark (VeloVitesse) with 4-46-52.

On Bank Holiday Monday the Essex Roads CC staged a 25-mile event to the west of Chelmsford, and it was the promoting club’s own Colin Ward who took the win in 51-08, while fastest female was Easterley Road Club’s Julia Freeman with 1-05-06.

In West Sussex, the Sussex CA staged a 25-mile event on Monday and it was James Rix (Team Bottrill-Vanguard) who took the win with 54-58, around two and a half minutes quicker than runner-up Steve Dennis (East Grinstead CC).

Tenth overall and fastest female was in-form Lisa Davis (Lewes Wanderers CC) with 1-05-58.

Simon Wilson (Ribble Pro Cycling) was fastest in the  Withington Wheelers 10 in Cheshire on Saturday. His time of 19-33 for the Monks Heath course was 1-11 quicker than Darren Maironis (Velotike RT), while Keri Parton (VeloRunner RT) was best of the women in 25-03.

The hill-climb season is just around the corner, and in one of the early-season events it was Andy Nichols (Team B38-Underpin Racing) who proved victorious in the Birdwell Wheelers event near Wentworth in South Yorkshire.

His time of 2-15.6 was 5.3 seconds quicker than Kieran Smith (Bolsover & Dist CC), while fastest female was Emilie Verroken (Maxx RT) in 3-08.6, 18 seconds clear of the next best woman.

In Scotland, there was a tie for first place in the Dooley’s RT 10 near Westferry. Veteran Douglas Watson (GTR-Return to Life) and espoir Adam Wild (GS Metro) both clocked 19-40, while Lynsey Curran (Dooley’s RT) clocked 23-08 to take the women’s prize.

In Berkshire, Ron Hallam and Angela Carpenter won the Veterans TTA 15-Mile Championships on Saturday, as both the men’s and women’s team competition records also fell in the event promoted by VTTA (London and Home Counties).

Hallam (South Pennine RC) was 10-55 faster than his age standard, the 87-year-old clocking 42-01 for the H15/1 course near Padworth. And fastest female was a3crg rider Angela Carpenter, the 49-year-old whose actual time of 34-15 gave her a plus of 9-12.

With the event open to all riders and not just veterans, it was eligible for national competition record attempts, and both the men’s and women’s team records were broken.

The Team Bottrill trio of Stuart Travis, George Evans and James Rix were first, third and fourth on actual time, posting a combined 1-28-58 to beat the 2017 previous best by six seconds.

And the Drag2zero team of Alice Lethbridge, Vicky Gill and Liz Powell combined to clock 1-40-17, slicing more than four minutes from the old record set in 1996 by Oundle Velo.

* All reports are copyright of Cycling Time Trials/Snowdon Sports. Not to be used without permission.

* See the individual event listings for more detailed reports on these and other time trials.