Charles Taylor and Charlotte Gorman were the respective men’s and women’s winners at the Congleton CC 50 near Cranage.

It was the largest field for a 50-mile event in Cheshire this year and despite some blustery conditions it was a warm and dry day for the competitors.

In the overall standings, it was the prolific Taylor that came out on top, the Team Bottrill man claiming victory.

The 35-year-old from Derby was amongst the later starters and he stopped the clock in 1:45.01, a time that sent him to the top of the leaderboard ahead of Mark Turnbull and that time would not be beaten.

Taylor has been in excellent form over 50 miles having won all five of the events held in Cheshire so far in 2017, as well as a second-place finish at the National 100-mile Championships last month.

Turnbull, the 44-year-old TORQ Performance rider from Macclesfield, held on to second place, he was only 18 seconds slower than the winner and was the highest place veteran.

Of the starters after Taylor it was Stephen Irwin that made the biggest impact, a time of 1:46.08 saw him claim a place in the top three.

The 46-year-old from Burnley also claimed the prize for the best veteran on standard, over 32 minutes inside the target time.

In the women’s competition, it was Charlotte Gorman that came out on top of the pile with a strong ride on Saturday.

Gorman (Team Lusso) stopped the clock in 2:09.17 which was good enough for a winning margin of over half a minute.

The 34-year-old from Rawtenstall, Lancashire, is another rider having a good year, adding this win to her collection which includes the Yorkshire Cycling Federation hill-climb, the Springfield Financial 10 and a catalogue of other podium finishes.

Claire Harrison (Vision Racing) finished second with Molly Horsley-Frost (Buxton CC) rounding off the top three, two minutes behind Gorman.

Elsewhere on the J4/9 course, Mark Wilkinson (Team Wheelguru) clocked the fastest junior time, whilst the trio of Adrian Hughes, Alan Chorley and Daniel Mathers helped Seamons CC to the team prize, Hughes and Chorley both individually making the top ten.

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

Results:

1. Charles Taylor (Team Bottrill/HSS Hire)  1:45.01

2. Mark Turnbull (TORQ Performance)         1:45.19

3. Stephen Irwin (North Lancs RC)    1:46.08

4. Tom Rigby (Springfield Financial Services RT)    1:47.31

5. Ben Norbury (Congleton CC)        1:50.45

6. Philip Jones (Bella in Sella)            1:52.03

7. Andrew Whitely (Langsett Cycles RT)      1:53.48

8. Adrian Hughes (Seamons CC)       1:54.07

9. Ian Holbrook (Stone Wheelers CC)           1:45.58

10. Alan Chorley (Seamons CC)        1:55.28

Women:

1. Charlotte Gorman (Team Lusso)    2:09.17

2. Claire Harrison (Vision Racing)     2:09.49

3. Molly Horsley Frost (Buxton CC)  2:11.23

Junior: Mark Wilkinson (Team Wheelguru)  2:17.15

Vet on std: Steve Irwin (North Lancs RC)     +32.10

Teams: Seamons CC  (A. Hughes, A. Chorley, D. Mathers) 5:47.27