Wind,rain,snow, falling temperatures and hailstones tried their best to upset the weekend's time trialling, but failed as our hardy competitors fought the conditions up and down the country.
NUMBER 10 for GRAVES
Resting Triathlete Philip Graves (Clifton CC York) reached double figures when he won his 10th event of the season in the Otley CC `10` at Arkendale on Saturday, This time scalps included International Steven Burke (Team Wiggins) and Jonathan Wears (SSLL RT) second and third respectively with their 21-20 and 21-49.
Graves missed out on the chance of notching up number 11 when he decided to pull out of Sunday's Yorkshire Coast Clarion's 24-mile event. "This back to back (racing) is killing me," Graves explained adding that he intent on preparing for the next round of the RTTC Classic time Trial Series next weekend.
SSLL CLEAN UP
Wears' SSLL RT team mates Alastair Wareham and Joel Wainman cleaned up in the Yorkshire Coast Clarion event finishing first and second with their 50-42 and 51-17. Last year Wainman was the winner.Sticking with SSLL RT, Andy Jackson added to their score with a win in the VTTA Championship `30` at Ham Street, Kent, on the Q30/2, with a course record 1-02-6. Team Bottrill's Jonathan Parker claimed second with 1-03-30 while Kevin Tye (VeloRefined-Aerosmiths) was third on 1-04-08 and also was the winner on Standard. Bronwen Ewing took the womens title.
WINNING WAYS
Several riders continued their 2015 winning ways, John Dewey (Team Bottrill) took the Farnborough & Camberley CC `25` with a 49-05; Richard Sharp (York Cycle Works) claimed his second win of the season, a 20-59 giving him the Yorkshire CF `10` by just one second from SSLL RT's Simon Beldon. Run off through hailstorms, Beldon led for the first nine miles by an estimated 20 seconds only to fade in the last mile. Anne Walsham (Maxx RT) was best woman with her 24-20. The Watford Velo `14` provided Danny Axford (Arctic-Tacx) with his third win of the current season. Axford came home with a 36-57 ahead of Richard Wood (TMG-Horizon RTT), 37-58, and Richard Gildea (Didcott Phoenix), 38-26, while a 47-04 gave Jody Conibear (Hemel Hempstead CC) the woman' award.
MOSS REPEAT
Conrad Moss (Mid Devon CC) repeated his 2015 success in the Northover Vets `25`, which also included the Royal Navy CA Championship, Moss's 53-39 put him clear of Royal Navy & Royal Marines's Leon Marshall,55-29, and Sean Childs, 55-41, who second last year.
The West London CA `25` fell to 2015 winner Peter Lawrence (High Wycombe CC) who dominated with his 51-21, three seconds slower than last year when he was with Team Swift, but 2-19 clear of runner up Ben Allen (Westerley CC). A 1-08-20 earned Joanna Spragg (Bossard Wheelers) the woman's prize.
Mark Turnbull (TORQ Performance) and Sarah Storey (Podium Ambition-Club La Santa) took the honours in the Macclesfield CC `25` at Goostrey, a 53-59 putting him 1-14 on Macclesfield CC's Chris Quinn while Storey took 57-28 to win the women's competition. The Penzance Wheelers's Alassandro Gourley up held the club's honour winning its open `10` by 1-13 with his 22-03 while Liv CC-Epic Coaching's Lauren Dolan was fastest woman with her 24-47.
CLOSE FOR LEE, BOTH OF THEM
The Glossop Kinder Velo 25.6-mile time trial at Longnor was pretty close with eight seconds between Lee Baldwin (Champion System VCUK) and Craig Battersby (Team Chronomaster), Baldwin on a winning 1-11-32. Vanessa Whitfield (The Racing Chance Fondation) was woman with 1-30-36. Another Lee, this time Tunnicliffe of the Lutterworth Cycle Centre, had an even closer victory in the Burton & District CA `10`, his 20-34 just three seconds faster than Aaron Ward (Team Bottrill) managed. Langsett Cycles Karen Ledger, 22-59, and Alex Deck, 23-34, were top performing women.
TYSON IMPROVES
Second in 2015, Shaun Tyson (Adept Precision) came out tops this time in the Wansbeck CC 21-mile time trial, a 48-05 leaving him with eight seconds in hand over John Sturman (Active Cycles) while Adam Wild (Tyneside Vagabonds) was a further six seconds off of Tyson's pace.