Veteran rider Matt Moorhouse (Preston CC) and senior Anna Turvey (Drag2Zero) took victory in the men’s and women’s events in the Derwentside CC 40-mile mountain time trial.

Moorhouse, who finished third in the same event last season went two places better on this occasion and almost two minutes faster to clinch top spot in a time of one hour, 44 minutes and 36 seconds.

The Derwentside CC event over 40 miles is renowned as a challenging event starting in Northumberland and heading over the border into the Cumbrian town of Alston with several climbs and riders reaching 4000ft of climbing and 650 metres above sea level.

A field of 100 riders took part in this year’s event and were greeted by cold and windy conditions but dry and better than expected.

Moorhouse who won the Saddleworth Clarion Mountain Time Trial last season also figured strongly in several hill climbs.

Despite the conditions his winning time was just two minutes short of the course record.

Lewis Timmins (Team Swift) took second in 1:47.13 while Collin Humphrey (Team Kirkley Cycles) finished third clocking 1:48.44.

“The M40 is a great event, this is the fourth year I’ve raced it,” said Moorhouse. “I really don’t mind the hills and courses like this one are great, throwing you challenges beyond that of going full bore down a dual carriageway.

“I was after bettering my time which I set in 2016 and getting close to Carl Donaldson’s record for this course, but I lost about 30 seconds in traffic on an early descent and the cold and windy conditions didn’t help either.

“The organisation of the event is amazing and the buffet is the best around! It was a real shame that Adam Wild punctured, as I reckon his form could have easily threatened the record.”

Meanwhile the road bike rider category was Andrew Duggan (Physiohaus Health And Performance) who set a time of 1:51.38.

Turvey had a close battle for victory in the women’s category before eventually finishing 51 seconds clear of her nearest rival.

The 39-year-old, who also won the Cleveland Wheelers event last weekend, clocked a winning time of two hours and eight seconds.

She was pushed all the way by Fiona Burnie (GS Metro) in 2:00.59 while first woman road bike rider Gemma Frost (Team Swift) took third overall in 2:08.38.

Afterwards, Turvey said: “I had one or two issues today with my race wheel, but luckily I had my training wheels in the car so I put those on, only the gears didn’t work. They were jumping a fair bit and I dropped my chain twice.

“The first time I managed to pedal it back on, the second time it was a get off the bike job!  At that stage I was thinking, just carry on – it’s all good training!

“It’s a great race on a brilliant course. The event is really well organised and I’m thankful to Derwentside CC for helping me out with my wheel problems. I’m going to have to learn to index my gears!”

The veteran prizes went to Kieran Lacey (Barrow Central Wheelers) in the 40+ category, Paul Fleming (Preston Wheelers) in the 50+ and Roy Flanagan (Rossendale RC) in the 60+.

The fastest tandem was Miriam Jessett (Team Kirkley Cycles) and Jon Bennett (Tyneside Vagabonds CC) who clocked 2:04.40.

Chris Mather was the quickest host club rider with 1-54-09 for ninth overall, while Daniel Holmes (Derwentside CC) won the juvenile award with 2-06-23.

The last man off and one of the pre-race favourites, Adam Wild (GS Metro) punctured after around 11 miles.

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

Results:
 

Men

1 Matt Moorhouse (Preston CC) 1:44.36
2 Lewis Timmins (Team Swift) 1:47.13
3 Collin Humphrey (Team Kirkley Cycles) 1:48.44

Women
1 Anna Turvey (Drag2Zero) 2:00.08
2 Fiona Burnie (GS Metro) 2:00.59
3 Gemma Frost (Team Swift) 2:08.38

First road bike male: Andrew Duggan (Physiohaus Health And Performance) 1:51.38
First road bike woman: Gemma Frost (Team Swift) 2:08.38

Veteran 40+: Kieran Lacey (Barrow Central Wheelers) 1:53.09
Veteran 50+: Paul David Fleming (Preston Whls) 1:58.00
Veteran 60+: Roy Flanagan (Rossendale RC) 2:09.03

Tandem: Miriam Jessett (Team Kirkley Cycles) & Jon Bennett (Tyneside Vegabonds CC) 2:04.40