Tillett and Georgi victorious in Wales
There were victories for Sam Tillett and Pfeiffer Georgi in the Cardiff Ajax 10-mile time trial staged near Abercan in Caerphilly on Saturday.
Tillett, The 18-year-old Wales Racing Academy rider from Newport in Gwent, covered the R10/16a course in 19.59, the only rider to go under the 20-minute mark giving him the win by 37 seconds from Cwmcarn Paragon RC.
Third spot went to Tillett’s team-mate Peter Kibble who was 45 seconds slower, and led in a quartet of Wales Racing Academy riders in the next few positions.
Liv CC rider Georgi, 17 and from Gloucestershire, covered the course in 22.24 to edge to victory in the women’s category by just three seconds from Stephanie Post (Team Bottrill).
The popular Cwmcarn course comprises of a mixture of single and dual carriageway roads. Weather conditions were a marked improvement on recent weeks with cool temperatures, a gentle but testing breeze and no snow or rain.
First man off was Ian Homer from the promoting club, who stopped the clock with a respectable 25:03. However, the early pace was set by Steven Powell, a previous winner of this event and now riding for Team Backstedt Bike Performance, with a solid 21:25.
Ten minutes later Will Roberts, the first of six riders from the Wales Racing Academy, stopped the clock at 20:55. However, Robert's lead was short lived; Cwmcarn Paragon's Chris Smith used his local knowledge to edge past Roberts with an eye-opening 20:36. Smith was looking almost unbeatable until a superb ride from Tillett who stopped the clock with a spectacular 19:59.
Attention then turned to the last two fast men on the road, Peter Kibble and Ioan Smallwood. Kibble (Wales Racing Academy) finished with a 20:44, good enough for third overall while Smallwood, racing for the promoting club and last year's winner, had suffered a mechanical with his tri-bars during his warm-up and so completed the entire event riding on the bull horns of his 1980s steel low profile and failed to topple the top three.
The woman's competition was hotly anticipated and didn't disappoint.
Isabel Ellis, riding for Backstedt/Hotchillee, set the early pace with 24:56 until her team mate Elynor Backstedt finished in 24:27. But a just minute later Ella Barnwell (Towy Racing Cycling Club) riding her first ever 10 mile time trial stopped the clock in 23:00.
Steph Post (Team Bottrill / Vanguard) was the next of the fast riders to finish with a rapid 22:27. All eyes then focussed on the last female, Pfeiffer Georgi of Liv CC Halo Cycles. Georgi just edged in front of Post, finishing in 22:24.
The team award went to the Wales Racing Academy, with all their six riders finishing in the top 10. In the veterans competition, first year vet Carwyn Davies of Cwmcarn Paragon took the honours, edging out Powell and Chris Massey (Team Backstedt Bike Performance).
Under the one-rider-one-prize rule, the fastest junior prize went to Barnwell. The organiser was delighted to see so many junior females take the start and all put in awesome performances.
* All reports are copyright of Cycling Time Trials/Snowdon Sports. Not to be used without permission.
Results:
1 Samuel Tillett Wales Racing Academy 19:59
2 Chris Smith Cwmcarn Paragon Road Club 20:36
3 Peter Kibble Wales Racing Academy 20:44
4 Will Roberts Wales Racing Academy 20:55
5 Dan Coombe Wales Racing Academy 20:58
5 James Tillett Wales Racing Academy 20:58
7 Ioan Smallwood Cardiff Ajax CC 21:05
8 Carwyn Davies Cwmcarn Paragon Road Club 21:12
9 Steven Powell Team Backstedt Bike Performance 21:25
10 Owen Line Wales Racing Academy 21:42
11 Chris Massey Team Backstedt Bike Performance 22:00
12 Niall Foster Cardiff Ajax CC 22:02
13 Euan Davies University of Bath Cycling Club 22:16
14 Pfeiffer Georgi Liv CC Halo Cycles 22:24
15 Stephanie Post Team Bottrill / Vanguard 22:27
16 Thomas Dye Cardiff Ajax CC 22:50
17 Ella Barnwell Towy Racing Cycling Club (TRCC) 23:00
18 Gareth Pugh Cwmcarn Paragon Road Club 23:20
19 Paul Lacey Sportzmad 23:21
20 Leon Evans Cardiff Ajax CC 23:29
21 Oliver Crocker Cardiff Ajax CC 23:45
22 Jon Vickery Cwmcarn Paragon Road Club 23:46
23 Rhodri Lord Cardiff Ajax CC 23:51
24 Ross Morgan Port Talbot Whs CC 24:12
25 Andrew Hayward Cwmcarn Paragon Road Club 24:26
26 Elynor Backstedt Backstedt/Hotchillee 24:27
27 Ross Phillips Cwmcarn Paragon Road Club 24:41
28 Paul Stephens Ross on Wye & Dist CC 24:49
29 Isabel Ellis Backstedt/Hotchillee 24:56
30 Ian Homer Cardiff Ajax CC 25:03
31 Richard Rees Cardiff Ajax CC 25:44
32 Elena Shaw Cardiff Ajax CC 26:04
33 Michelle Fishbourne Team Backstedt Bike Performance 26:10
34 Gwynon Williams Cardiff Ajax CC 26:12
35 Kieran Crawford Cardiff Ajax CC 26:15
36 David Preece Cwmcarn Paragon Road Club 26:27
37 Stephen Davies Cardiff Ajax CC 26:36
38 Jo Buckland Bush Healthcare CRT 26:39
39 Helen Priest Cardiff Ajax CC 27:04
40 Louise Georgi Giant CC Halo Films 27:12
41 Michael Gelder Tricycle Association South West Region 28:09
42 Bob Symons PDQ Cycle Coaching 28:30
43 Paul Griffiths Cardiff Ajax CC 30:20
44 Dave Symmons Bynea Cycling Club 32:08
45 Martin Howe Veloflow CC 34:20
Paul Jones Team Backstedt Bike Performance DNF
James Coxon Caerphilly Cycling Club DNS
Andy Morgan PDQ Cycle Coaching DNS apol
Adrian Coles Cardiff Ajax CC DNS apol
Sophie Lankford Cardiff Ajax CC DNS apol
Chris Fishbourne Team Backstedt Bike Performance DNS apol
Christopher Owram Severn Valley Cycles DNS
Sally Harmer Pembrokeshire Velo DNS
Patrick Jerome Ride Bike Wales DNS
Ryan O'Rourke Cwmcarn Paragon Road Club DNS
Ken Evans PDQ Cycle Coaching DNS