Barker and Berry fastest in early-season Ely and District CC hardriders 25
Felix Barker and Cindy Berry were fastest male and female riders respectively as Ely and District CC staged their 25-mile hardriders classic in Cambridgeshire on Sunday.
Barker, the 24-year-old Cambridge resident who now rides for the Active Edge Race Team, clocked 56-25 to take the win by just three seconds from Toby Cowell (Cambridge Univ CC), whose team-mate Rob Walker clocked 56-39 for third spot.
And 24-year-old Berry from Norwich covered the challenging BS19 course based on Little Downham in 1-07-13 to win the women’s prize, more than three minutes ahead of runner-up Zena Palgrave (Ely and District CC) in second.
The 31st time the event has been staged, the 2019 event used the same BS19 course that has been in operation since 2003, which takes riders from the start at Little Downham, down through Coveney and left towards Witchford.
From there they head back north up the A10 to Littleport and up to 100 Foot Drain on the B1411 before turning left and heading south through Pymore and on to the finish near the outskirts of Little Downham.
Conditions were cold and very wet, with several non-starters including last year’s winner John Mulvey – although his withdrawal was down to a virus and nothing to do with the weather.
Indeed, few riders enter this early season event and expect to go home with tan lines. This year was no exception.
“It was good fun,” said Barker. “It was raining pretty hard and it was very wet on the course. It’s a challenging course with lots of bumps and potholes, so it keeps you on your toes.
“Quite a lot of the event is on single lanes and it’s very lumpy so it’s a good test of your time trial bike handling skills.
"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.
Results:
No. Name Team Gender Category Time
1 Felix Barker ActiveEdge Race Team P/B Cooper/BMW Inchcape Male Senior 56:25
2 Toby Cowell Cambridge University CC Male Espoir 56:28
3 Rob Walker Cambridge University CC Male Espoir 56:39
4 Mark Richards DAP CC Male Senior 57:09
5 Jack Brown ActiveEdge Race Team P/B Cooper/BMW Inchcape Male Espoir 58:10
6 Ben Beynon Team PedalRevolution.co.uk Male Senior 58:18
7 Lucas He Cambridge University CC Male Espoir 58:41
8 Milo Chapman Cambridge CC Male Junior 59:48
9 Jack Kellam Brixton Cycles Club Male Senior 1:00:54
10 George Macfarlane VC Norwich Male Senior 1:01:43
11 Frank Holmes Chesterfield Coureurs CC Male Veteran 1:02:09
12 Mark Williams Royal Air Force Cycling Association Male Veteran 1:03:27
13 Andrew Askwith Vive Le Velo Male Veteran 1:03:58
14 Leo Falkner St Ives CC Male Veteran 1:05:14
15 Jali Packer Cambridge University CC Male Espoir 1:05:28
16 Lee Heron Banbury Star Cyclists' Club Male Veteran 1:05:59
17 Stefan Hurst Charlotteville CC Male Senior 1:06:48
18 Cindy Berry Pedal Power Cycles Ipswich Female Senior 1:07:13
19 James Wyatt Audax UK Male Senior 1:07:39
20 David Halliday Newmarket Cycling & Triathlon Club Male Senior 1:07:52
21 Thomas Adams Cambridge University CC Male Senior 1:08:42
22 Ross Thomson Hitchin Nomads CC Male Veteran 1:09:19
23 Gordon Irvine Newmarket Cycling & Triathlon Club Male Veteran 1:09:46
24 James Quigley City RC (Hull) Male Espoir 1:10:02
25 Jamie Maidment Eat Plants Not Pigs CC Male Senior 1:11:33
26 Martin Holmes Ely & District CC/B&T Motor Repairs Male Veteran 1:12:13
27 Ritchie Parkins Diss & District CC Male Veteran 1:12:35
28 Laurence Watts Hub Velo Male Veteran 1:12:43
29 James Rush CC Sudbury Male Veteran 1:13:15
30 Andrew Newey Ribble Valley C&RC Male Senior 1:13:16
31 Andrew Salkeld Cambridge University CC Male Espoir 1:13:18
32 Michael Cope Kettering CC Male Veteran 1:13:51
33 Thomas Payne VC Norwich Male Senior 1:14:27
34 Neal Marrin Finsbury Park CC Male Veteran 1:16:01
35 Peter Tibbitts Ford CC Male Veteran 1:17:04
36 Jason Ward Ely & District CC/B&T Motor Repairs Male Veteran 1:17:33
37 Stuart Emmett Wisbech Whs Male Veteran 1:17:44
38 Nick Hickman Team Salesengine.co.uk Male Veteran 1:18:10
39 Ben Loxton West Suffolk Wheelers Male Espoir 1:18:39
40 Zena Palgrave Ely & District CC/B&T Motor Repairs Female Veteran 1:20:19
41 David Fenn CC Sudbury Male Veteran 1:24:00
42 Richard Pimlott Finsbury Park CC Male Veteran 1:32:40
43 Alison Holmes Ely & District CC/B&T Motor Repairs Female Veteran 1:39:11
Gary Boyd Hub Velo Male Veteran DNF
Hugh Williams Redbridge CC Male Veteran DNF
Andy Sewell Aspire Velo Racing Team Male Senior DNS
Rebecca Johnson Brother.UK Fusion RT Female Senior DNS
James Sherwood Orwell Velo Male Senior DNS
Jonathan Polley Histon & Impington Bicycle Club Male Veteran DNS
Sebastian Dickson Cambridge University CC Male Senior DNS
Phil Barnes SheHair Racing Team Male Veteran DNS
Craig Rogers Cambridge University CC Male Espoir DNS
Leanne Cutler Team Salesengine.co.uk Female Veteran DNS
Lloyd Chapman Plomesgate CC Male Senior DNS
Chris Smith Tri-Anglia Triathlon Club Male Veteran DNS
Dan Bromilow Ely & District CC/B&T Motor Repairs Male Veteran DNS
Max Falker St Ives CC Male Juvenile DNS
Rob Clucas Cambridge University CC Male Senior DNS
Ruth Stapleton St Neots CC Female Senior DNS
Adam Laycock VTTA (East Anglia Group) Male Veteran DNS
Jamie Bishop St Neots CC Male Veteran DNS
Tim Phillips St Ives CC Male Veteran DNS
Stuart Fairweather Team Velovelocity Male Veteran DNS
Cliff Matthews Wolsey RC Male Veteran DNS
Max Sahota Team Bottrill Male Senior DNS
Jonathan Peters Team Milton Keynes Male Senior DNS
Jan Smith Great Yarmouth C C Female Veteran DNS
Gabriel Fowden Pedal Power Cycles Ipswich Male Espoir DNS
Alex Phillips Cambridge CC Male Senior DNS
Phil Jarvis Colchester Rovers CC Male Veteran DNS
Ivan Carr Kings Lynn CC Male Veteran DNS
John Mulvey ActiveEdge Race Team P/B Cooper/BMW Inchcape Male Senior DNS