Ben Elliott defended his Bec CC 25 title on Sunday morning whilst Katie Crowe was the fastest woman in the West Sussex event.

A large field were participating, running from Horsham to Crawley and back mostly along the A264, with minimal wind to speak of to hamper them.

The cooler conditions brought about some good times for the first riders away, Carl Richardson (Trainsharp) was amongst them and he set the early pace at 55.04, a time that would see the veteran hold onto a top five spot.

Dave Pollard (In Gear Quickvit) also started early and he would go on to be the fastest veteran on standard, 14.14 inside the target time to claim the prize as well as the trophy in the VTTA Surrey and Sussex competition.

Jamie Pine (Nuun Sigma Sport-London) went to the top of the standings with a strong time of 52.05, however Elliott (Paceline RT) was the final man off and he was the only rider under 52 minutes, claiming a 13 second victory in 51.52.

Elliott won the event in 2016 too but the winning time this year was over a minute faster, highlighting his strong form that has seen him achieve several other podium finishes in the last couple of months.

Pine had to settle for second, whilst Matt Peel of Redhill CC completed the top three, holding off the challenge of Howard Bayley by a single second.

Katie Crowe (Dulwich Paragon) has also been hitting some good form and she was victorious in the women’s competition, the veteran posting a time of 1:00.42 to claim victory.

Crowe has had a busy 2017 and was only on the podium on Wednesday after a third-place finish at the A3crg 10, adding this victory to success at the Epsom CC 10 last month.

Elsewhere, the trio of Mark Valios, Mark Thomas and David Milne claimed the team prize for Bigfoot CC in a cumulative time of 2:57.22 whilst Christopher Rosam of Epsom CC claimed a best improvement prize, bettering his previous time by 4.52.

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

Results:

1. Ben Elliott (Paceline RT)   51.52

2. Jamie Pine (Nuun Sigma Sport-London)   52.05

3. Matt Peel (Redhill CC)       53.27

4. Howard Bayley (Blazing Saddles) 53.28

5. Carl Richardson (Trainsharp)          55.04

6. Paul Byford (Crawley Wheelers)    55.09

7. Kevin Plummer (South Down Bikes)         55.35

8. Stuart Hodd (PB Cycle Club RT)   55.38

9. Chris Wolton (Southborough & District Whs)       55.45

10. Mark Valios (Bigfoot CC)            56.05

Vet on std: Dave Pollard (In gear Quickvit Trainsharp)         +14.14

Women: Katie Crowe (Dulwich Paragon)      1:00.42

Team: Bigfoot CC (M. Valios, M. Thomas, D. Milne)          2:57.22