Julian Macbride secured his first win of the year, while Kerry Gowland was fastest female on her return to competition at the Houghton CC 10-mile time trial near Quarrington Hill in County Durham on Sunday.

Macbride, 35 and from Prudhoe, clocked 21-35 to win by six seconds from Phil Hall (Breeze Bikes RT), while Lewis Wake (Team Kirkley Cycles) was another 21 seconds back in third.

And in the women’s event Gowland covered the course in 25-37 to win the women’s category by 16 seconds from Blaydon CC’s Joanne Rea, while Jennifer Batey (Team Boompods) was another nine seconds back in third.

It was a cold and breezy morning for the event, and the chilly conditions may have led to a few non-starters, but it remained dry and sunny spells softened the blow of cold conditions.

“Thankfully this event was a bit warmer than last year,” said Macbride. “It was still cold and breezy making some of the faster sections a little tricky but on reflection, the wind picking up throughout the morning maybe benefitted me a little.

“I had a good race and I’m chuffed to get my first win of the season.”

The female competition was closely contested.  Riding for the host club and returning strongly this season after taking a bit of time out last year, Kerry Gowland recorded 25:37 to take the win as well as being fastest female over-40 veteran on the day.

“I managed to get rid of my some of my nerves the previous day when I competed in the Ferryhill Wheelers Charity TT event,” said Gowland. “But I’m not going to lie, I was still pretty nervous on that start-line today!

“I know I have a lot of hard work ahead of me but I’m really glad to be back and will be focussing my training on time trialling this season.

“Being back in the company of good friends and club-mates certainly lifts the spirits and I’d especially like to thank my husband Elliot who is always a constant support.”

In other categories, the first rider home for the host club was Nick Weddle in a time of 22:24 to secure him a solid fifth place overall.

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