Paul Hart and Elizabeth Marvelly were the fastest male and female riders as Hainault Road Club staged a hilly 28-mile time trial in Essex on Sunday.

While the rest of the country seemed to be shivering from the snow and freezing temperatures brought on by the Beast from the East, it seemed there was something of a microclimate in Essex as a sunny morning and temperatures reaching nine degrees greeted the hardy riders who had made it to the venue near Navestock Side.

From an entry of 92 riders just 53 started, and all made it back safely after a challenging 28-miles around Essex country lanes.

From a start just to the east of Navestock, riders headed west to the A113, then turned left and just over the M25 before looping back and heading north east.

They went back up the A113 up to Little End before heading round an anti-clockwise loop up to Toot Hill and Colliers Hatch, back over the M25 before completing the loop and heading back down the lanes to a finish just outside Navestock Side.

Hart covered the course in a new course record time of 1:06.29, beating Jonathan Shubert’s 2014 time by 35 seconds. The 38-year-old Southend Wheelers rider was 1-42 ahead of his nearest rival, Richard Price (London Phoenix), while third spot went to John Mulvey (Cambridge Univ CC) who was another 19 seconds off the pace.

Fastest of the two females who rode was LIV AWOL junior Elizabeth Marvelly, who clocked 1:24.03 for the course.

Hart’s time was 47 seconds quicker than his performance in the same event 12 months earlier where he was second behind Lloyd Chapman.

It was his first open time trial performance of the 2018 season, and comes after a 2017 which saw him win the Essex Roads CC 25 in August as well as the Eastern Counties CA 10 in June.

In other categories, Finsbury Park CC won the team prize with the trio of Gray Turnock, Philip Murrell and Dominic Bray. With Turnock fourth and Murrell seventh, they had a combined time of 3:42.40.

And West Suffolk Wheelers’ Charlie Knowler was the fastest juvenile, covering the course in 1:04.25.

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

Results:

1. Paul Hart (Southend Wheelers)      1:06.29

2. Richard Price (London Phoenix)    1:08.11

3. John Mulvey (Cambridge Univ CC)           1:08.30

4. Gray Turnock (Finsbury Park CC)  1:12.45

5. Jack Steven (East London Velo)     1:12.50

6. Tim Chilvers (Maldon & Dist CC)  1:13.03

7. Philip Murrell (Finsbury Park CC)  1:13.54

8. Daniel McKenny (Basildon CC)    1:14.36

9. Lee Kennedy (Army CU)   1:14.40

10. Matt Steel (Shaftesbury CC)        1:15.14

Women: Elizabeth (Marvelly (LIV AWOL)   1:24.03

Team: Finsbury Park CC (Gray Turnock, Dominic Bray 1:16.01, Philip Murrell)      3:42.40

Juveniles: Charlie Knowler (West Suffolk Wh)          1:40.25