RTTC National 12 Hour Championship

Kim Barfoot-Brace and Tim McEvoy were crowned winners of the 2021 National 12-Hour Championships after close battles on the roads of Norfolk on Sunday.

Barfoot-Brace, the 40-year-old from Bath who rides for Bath CC, covered 278.49 miles to take the women’s title, while 43-year-old Bodmin-based McEvoy (FTP Fulfil the Potential Racing) covered 314.18 miles.

Promoted by CC Breckland, the event near Attleborough was a close-run thing with less than five miles covering the top five male riders, and a tie for second spot between Richard Sharp (Chapeau! Vive le Velo) and Tom Hutchinson (Team Bottrill) who have both provisionally been given distances of 312.18.

There was also a tie for second in the provisional women’s result, with Lisa Davis (Drag2zero) and Joanna Cebrat (Bury Clarion CC) both covering a provisional 263.51 miles.

McEvoy, who is targeting the British Best All-Rounder this season, kept a cool head to win despite a leaky camelback and unshipping his chain twice.

“I didn’t have the best of starts,” he said. “Almost straight away I could feel a very cold liquid dripping from my camelback, so I had to stop to sort that and got caught by Richard Sharp.

“I didn’t realise how good he would be, but I knew we would be lapping fairly similarly, so I had to put some efforts in to stay with him. With a 12-hour the race doesn’t really start until a long way in, so I knew I would be OK if I just stayed calm and kept going.

“After six hours Tom [Hutchinson] went in for a fuel change and I was a bit quicker at that point so got an edge and felt fairly comfortable, but I would’ve preferred it not to have been so close. On the finishing circuit you didn’t have a visual reference on the other guys, so I wasn’t sure how it was going.

“I dropped my chain twice too, but managed to wiggle it back on without stopping, so I kept a calm head.

“I couldn’t have wished for a better forecast, because I don’t do well in the heat so it was a dream.

“I’m doing the BDCA 100 next, and aiming for a good result in the British Best All-Rounder.”

Barfoot-Brace, who had yet to win a race in 2021 before the National 12-Hour Championships, said: “I’m really pleased to get the national veterans record. I’ve just turned 40 so that was a target for me.

“I felt that if everything went to plan I could get close to Alice [Lethbridge]’s record, but I’ve not had the best week of preparation leading up to this so I’m very happy to beat Beryl Burton’s time and be the second fastest woman ever!

“I was riding to raise money in memory of a good friend who died this year, the Natasha Lewis Foundation. She encouraged me to do my first 12-hour last year, and the foundation is raising money to support athletes in the Bath area to fulfil their dreams.”

In the team category GS Metro trio of Andrew Hall, Tommy Murray and Philip Kennell combined for 880.52 miles, while there was no qualifying team in the women’s competition.

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