We might not be able to compete with the Coronavirus lockdown in full swing, but we can look back to what was happening this time last year!

In the first of a series of features exclusive to the CTT website, we cast our minds back to April 2019, when the VTTA National 10-Mile Championship was taking place in Sussex.

Angela Carpenter (a3crg) and Keith Ainsworth (Sheffrec CC) were crowned champions after a hard-fought competition on the Sussex border.

Ainsworth, aged 60 at the time, was crowned the men’s champion with a time of 21:07, giving him a plus on age standard of +6.32. He was chased home by younger rival Neil Mackley (...a3crg) whose slightly slower scratch time of 21.16 gave him a +5.56.

The women’s event saw a3crg team-mates Angela Carpenter and Sarah Matthew battle it out for the victory.

Carpenter’s time of 23.02 was enough for the win with a standard result of +6.04 ahead of Matthew (+5.28), while fastest tandem was Ian Greenstreet (AeroCoach) and Rachael Elliot (Newbury RC) who finished in 20.56 giving them a standard of +5.43.

Elsewhere, Crickhowell in Wales was the venue for the Welsh CA hilly 21-mile event, although the course was revised late in the day.

Victory went to Ioan Smallwood (Cardiff Ajax CC) and Stephanie Post (Team Bottrill) on the A40 from Crickhowell to Brecon and back, after the planned course was closed due to roadworks on the A479 between Tretower and Talgarth.

Smallwood clocked an impressive 46:09 while Chris Gibbard (Bynea CC) was second fastest with 47:58. And Post won the women’s competition with 54:20, while Michelle Fishbourne (CES Sport) was runner up with 1:03:11.

Glasgow Nightingale CC hosted the CTT Scotland District Championships at Westferry 12 months ago, and Douglas Watson and Victoria Smith were fastest male and female.

Watson (GTR – Return to Life) clocked a time of 19-23 to take the win, and Smith (AeroCoach) was fastest female and seventh overall, clocking a time of 20-44 to claim the top step on the podium with a women’s course record time.

In Kent Chris Fennell (The Independent Pedaler) smashed his own course record by a minute and a half in the VTTA Kent 30 while Andrew Meilak (VeloRefined.com) was the fastest veteran on standard.

Fennell clocked a winning time of one hour and 18 seconds along the A2070 out and back course near Ashford. Fastest woman was Charmaine Pullen (Folkestone Velo) who clocked a winning time of 1:16.24.

In East Sussex Fennell’s team-mate at The Independent Pedaler Joscelin Lowden was fastest female in both Saturday’s East Sussex CA 10 and their 25-mile event on Sunday too.

She clocked 21-51 for the 10-mile event where Simon Mcnamara (South Downs Bikes) was fastest male with 20-15, while the following day Lowden covered the course near Maresfield in 55-42 to win by over six minutes, while Howard Shaw (trainSharp) was overall winner with 52-17.

There was a course record performance in East Yorkshire that weekend too, with Sarah Lewthwaite (Team Sportslab) clocking 1-01-47 in the Vive le Velo 25 near Bridlington, while Richard Sharp (Team Swift) was fastest male with 52-40.

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