News & Features

Three is the magic number! Top trios are heading to Cheshire for the National Team Time Trial Championship on Sunday morning, with some of the best time trialling talent on show in the latest national title race of 2019.

More than 50 teams and 132 riders are down to tackle the 30.9-mile circuit from Cranage through Lach Dennis and up to Rudheath, before heading down to the outskirts of Middlewich and back round another two times.

Last team off at 11.12am and pre-race favourites are the Ribble Pro Cycling trio of Dan Bigham, John Archibald and Simon Wilson. Wilson and Bigham will be hoping for a repeat of their 2017 victory in this event when they made up the winning trio alongside Charlie Tanfield.

Behind them, Team Bottrill have Matt Bottrill, Brett Harwood and George Evans in action, while the AeroLabWard Wheelz team of Joe Perkins, Will Perrett and Tom Ward go off three minutes before them.

Last year’s title winners were Cambridge University CC, and two of their three winning riders from 2018 are back in action this time with the ActiveEdge RT, with Felix Barker and John Mulvey being joined by Oliver Peckover.

In the women’s event 2017 winners Emma Lewis and Joscelin Lowden are this time joined by Emily Meakin in The Independent Pedaler team, while other female trios to watch include Storey Racing’s Kelly Murphy, Mo

nica Dew and Chanel Mason.

Second last year, Blaydon CC are back with Joanne Rea being joined this time by Venda Louise Pollock and Carrie Brookes. Should anyone drop out from their team, their reserve rider is Angela Mcgurk, who was part of the silver medal-winning team from 2018.

Also worth watching is the mixed Storey Racing team which sees veteran Sarah Storey joined by in-form sisters, 17-year-old Elynor Backstedt and 14-year-old Zoe Backstedt!

Elsewhere, there’s a strong field for the Viking 50 on the fast E2/50c course near Cambridge on Sunday. In-form Adam Duggleby (Vive le Velo) is last man off, while other top men include Liam Maybank (Twickenham CC), Stuart Travis (Team Bottrill) and Mark Turnbull (TORQ Performance).

There is also a quality women’s entry with Emily Robertson (NOPINZ), who was second in the National 50 in 2014 and third in the National 25 the same year, down to ride. Angela Carpenter (a3crg) and Jackie Field (CC Ashwell) are among a strong entry of veterans.

Raglan near Abergavenny hosts the Welsh 100-Mile Championships on Sunday morning.

Crystal Spearman (Born to Bike) is the last of the women to hit the road, while last year’s runner-up Michelle Lee (PDQ Cycle Coaching) and third-placed Andrea Parish (Velosistas TT Team) are both riding too.

In the men’s event, last year’s bronze medallist Chris Gibbard (Bynea CC) is down to ride, while others who could challenge for a podium place include Graham Kemp (Team Bottrill) and Anthony Jones (Towy Riders CC).

In Cumbria there’s another big field for the Saturday evening 10-mile time trial on the Levens course, with Kent Valley CC this week’s organisers.

A total of 120 riders plus reserves are down to tackle the L1015, with Scott Burns (Drag2zero) the last man off. Alistair Rutherford (Secret Training.cc) and Douglas Watson (GTR-Return to Life) are also fast men who could challenge for the win.

A strong women’s entry includes 14 riders, with Charlotte Boothman (ABC Centreville), Julia Mann (Transition RT) and Carol Westmorland (Border City Wheelers) likely to be among the fastest.

Other events on Saturday include the Godric CC 10 near Wortwell in Norfolk, the De Laune CC 10 in Kent, the Dukinfield CC 50 near Cranage in Cheshire, as well as the Leicestershire RC 25 near Seagrave.

Full startsheets from these and other events are available on the CTT website. Remember to keep checking back to the CTT website over the weekend for reports and results.

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