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The wind blew and the rain fell, but it didn’t stop hardy time trial riders from competing in the first events of the new season last weekend.
A full field of 120 riders had entered the Kingston Wheelers’ Gil Jessop Memorial sporting 13.6-mile time trial in Surrey, where Alice Lethbridge (Drag2zero) equalled her own women’s course record for the Hungry Hill circuit near Ripley with a time of 34-18.
Fastest overall was Leo Hayter (VC Londres), the 17-year-old from Croydon who clocked 30-13 to win by 26 seconds from Liam Maybank (Twickenham CC).
The event is branded as the Gil Jessop Memorial. Gil was an original member of the club who was instrumental in reforming it after World War Two in 1953. He later became club president, a post he held until his death in the early 1990s.
Over in Cambridgeshire, 75 hardy souls entered the Ely and District CC hardriders’ 25.2-mile event, although only 45 chose to start, many put off by the weather conditions.
Felix Barker (ActiveEdge RT) took the win, while Cindy Berry (Pedal Power Cycles Ipswich) was fastest woman.
“It was raining pretty hard and it was very wet on the course,” said Barker. “It’s a challenging course with lots of bumps and potholes, so it keeps you on your toes.
“It was freezing cold. It took me about an hour to stop shivering after I had finished, and I think it was the same for everyone.”
Fastest female Cindy Berry, 24 and from Norwich, confirmed Barker’s feelings: “It was really grim! The last couple of times I’ve ridden this event it has been cold but not too bad, but with the rain there were puddles all over.”
* 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.