Dewey and Lethbridge victorious in Gil Jessop Memorial TT
John Dewey (Team Bottrill) and Alice Lethbridge (Drag2Zero) took victory in the Kingston Wheelers Gil Jessop Memorial Sporting 14 held on Sunday morning.
While the overnight prediction of snow held off, riders were still faced with cold and damp conditions and a sub-zero wind chill as they tackled two laps of the course from Hungry Hill to East Clandon and West Horsley.
Given the forecast, both winners had opted to forego some speed for staying warm, with Dewey sacrificing aero gains in order to maintain feeling in his fingers and toes and Lethbridge going for full thermal winter kit under her skinsuit and three pairs of gloves.
For Dewey it was a superb start to the season, recording a time of 30.07 to break the course record by 24 seconds, though he nearly failed to make the start after a last minute rear puncture.
Dewey said after the race: “Shortly before the start my rear tube popped, leading to a frantic fumbled change of inner tube.
“I was delighted to win with a new course record, and be awarded some great artwork designed by Dominic Trevett from the organising club.
“The race was excellently marshalled by Kingston Wheelers and passed with only a few trips into the ‘famous’ potholes. The first win of the season for Team Bottrill!”
Rob Sharland (Paceline RT), winner of this event for the past three years had to settle for second this time round, despite also breaking his previous course record with a time on 30.11.
Despite narrowly missing out on the win, Sharland was happy to run Dewey so close. Liam Maybank (Twickenham CC) recorded a time of 30.45 to take third overall and fastest veteran on standard. There was also an impressive ride by Paceline’s Paul Moore to finish first road bike and 10th overall.
Lethbridge finished 16th overall, more than eight minutes ahead of her nearest rival to complete a hat-trick of victories in this event - but like many she struggled in the cold conditions and recorded a time somewhat slower than 12 months ago.
“It was touch and go whether I would ride today given that I don’t cope well with the cold and I’d had to miss training at the end of last week due to illness,” said Lethbridge. “But this has been my season opener every year since I started time-trialling properly and it’s one of my favourite events.
“It’s just a shame the weather put off most of the other women, though I don’t blame them really as it took me about six hours to warm back up! I’m really looking forward to the season ahead with Drag2Zero as my winter training has been going well.”
The Paceline RT trio of Rob Sharland, Pat Wright and Thomas Whatley took the team prize, narrowly missing out on their course record set last year by just four seconds.
Results:
1 John Dewey Team Bottrill / HSS Hire 30:07
2 Robert Sharland Paceline RT 30:11
3 Liam Maybank Twickenham CC 30:45
4 Matt Langworthy Mid Devon CC 31:41
5 Pat Wright Paceline RT 31:55
6 James Wright Charlotteville Cycling Club 32:57
7 Andrew Snook Kingston Wheelers CC 33:32
8 Henrik Persson Kingston Wheelers CC 33:39
9 Thomas Whatley Paceline RT 33:43
10 Paul Moore Paceline RT 34:05
11 Neil Grunshaw Kingston Wheelers CC 34:32
12 Mark Aldred Kingston Wheelers CC 34:40
13 James Griffin Kingston Wheelers CC 34:44
14 Eddie Allen Redmon CC 34:50
15 Andy Lack Paceline RT 35:07
16 Alice Lethbridge DRAG2ZERO 35:33
17 Les Liddiard Team Jewson - MI Racing 35:35
18 Tom Herbert Kingston Wheelers CC 36:21
19 Jonathan Pontin Addiscombe CC 36:39
20 Harry Bunnell Kingston Wheelers CC 36:53
21 Andy Leatherbarrow Kingston Wheelers CC 37:00
22 Martin Winter Twickenham CC 37:27
23 Ayoob Ghani Imperial College Cycling Club 37:54
24 philip deacon Epsom CC 37:56
25 Damian Poulter Hounslow & District Whs 38:03
26 Thomas Cornwell In-Gear Quickvit Trainsharp RT 38:19
27 Craig Lawrence Kingston Wheelers CC 38:22
28 Elliot Banks Imperial College Cycling Club 38:31
29 Daniel Loveday Charlotteville Cycling Club 38:48
30 Chris Phillips Charlotteville Cycling Club 39:09
31 Luca Palazzo Kingston Wheelers CC 39:24
32 Daniel Sharp Charlotteville Cycling Club 39:29
33 Luke Snellin Kingston Wheelers CC 39:58
34 Derrick Thirlwell Kingston Wheelers CC 40:21
35 Jamie Freeland South London Harriers 40:30
36 Lee Williams Wimbledon Windmilers 42:01
37 Jack Knivett Charlotteville Cycling Club 42:17
38 Dominic Trevett Kingston Wheelers CC 43:15
39 Helen Bridgman Kingston Wheelers CC 43:51
40 Jack Hartrey Kingston Wheelers CC 47:20
41 Nicholas Rowe Kingston Wheelers CC 47:54
42 David Eccles Redmon CC 48:03
43 Chris Brewer Redmon CC 53:39
44 Richard Hoskin Redmon CC 1:01:06
Michael Draper Charlotteville Cycling Club DNS
David Sharman Wimbledon Windmilers DNS
Neil Hornett PMR @ Toachim House DNS
Andrew Cain Charlotteville Cycling Club DNS
Kim Bainbridge Viceroys Triathlon Club DNS
David Churchill Bigfoot CC DNS
James Horan South Downs Bikes / Casco Europe DNS
Luke Horsfield Wimbledon Windmilers DNS
Jacob Law-Sales LFGSS CC DNS
Harry Skinner Kingston Wheelers CC DNS
John Dent Newcomers Cycling Club DNS
nick harmon Viceroys Triathlon Club DNS
Sophie Household SSLL Racing Team DNS (A)
Theo Tadros In-Gear Quickvit Trainsharp RT DNS (A)
Tom Hampshire Paceline RT DNS (A)
joscelin lowden Lewes Wanderers CC DNS (A)
Rachel Przybylski Charlotteville Cycling Club DNS (A)
David Ryan London Dynamo DNS (A)
Peter Tadros In-Gear Quickvit Trainsharp RT DNS (A)
Keith Lea Paceline RT DNS (A)
Dale Lush Kingston Phoenix DNS (A)