Dame Sarah Storey (Storey Racing) battled wet conditions to take victory in the fourth round of the women’s Merlin Cycles Classic Time Trial Series in Cumbria.

Storey, aged 43, from Eccles, is preparing for the Paralympic Games at the end of August and into September.

The 14-time Paralympic gold medallist is using time trials to hone her form before an assault of further medals in Tokyo.

Wet conditions and lumpy roads tested the technical skills and strength of riders in the fourth round of the Merlin Cycles Classic Time Trial Series.

In the women’s event Storey took her third open victory of the season clocking a time of 36 minutes and 14 seconds.

The testing course saw riders start and finish at Greystoke before heading out on an unclassified road through Johnby and then circling the Greystoke Forest and then completing the 14-mile loop on the B5288 via Motherby.

Veteran rider Storey has already won the Coalville Wheelers 10 and …a3crg Glorious Goodwood Circuit 11.8 this season.

Pushing Storey all the way for victory was Rachel Brown (Carlisle Tri Club) who was 42 seconds down in 36-56.

Jessica Rhodes-Jones (Aerocoach) finished third in the previous round and replicated that result in Cumbria to give her overall ambitions a boost.

Meanwhile, quickest juvenile girl was Sophie Heighton (Ferryhill Whs) who clocked a time of 47-07.

“It was pretty horrific warming up knowing what to wear so I went for winter gear to try and make sure I could stay warm enough to produce some power,” said Storey.

“The power file was good considering the temperature was five degrees. It was lumpy and there’s one small section where I was in the little ring for a bit to get over the last kicker just over the halfway mark.

“Apart from that the climbs were big ring and you just have to be quite variable on the power. The average cadence was obviously lower but then there were some sections where you were going 70 kilometres an hour.

“In the wet you are obviously just trying to make sure you are still able to stop.”

In the road bike category Nikola Matthews (Halifax Imperial Wheelers) took her first victory of the series clocking 42-45.

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