Smith takes SCCU win after puncture drama
Mark Smith (Crawley Wheelers) proved fastest in the Southern Counties CU sporting 21-mile time trial in Surrey on Sunday, after rival Pat Wright suffered a puncture mid-race while leading.
48 and from Lindfield in West Sussex, Smith (Crawley Wheelers) clocked 52-21 to take the win by 28 seconds from Steven Kane (Team TMC), while Nik Allen (Team TMC) was another 17 seconds back in third spot.
The event uses two laps of the course near Bletchingley, and Paceline RT rider Pat Wright had been 16 seconds ahead at the end of the first lap before a puncture ended his hopes of taking the win.
Although it wasn’t raining during the event the roads were damp, and the surface was reasonable until the final couple of miles of the circuit where Wright suffered his deflation.
The event has been going for several decades – originally as the Balham Hardriders and then taken over by the Croydon and District CC before the Southern Counties CU took over the running of the event.
This was Smith’s first open time trial of the year, with his last appearance in a CTT event being his victorious ride at the Hounslow and District Wheelers 100 last August. He is due to be back in action next weekend with two rides in two days at the SCCU Sporting 10 and the SCCU Sporting 25.
Smith was second the last time this event was run on 2020.
The GS/334 course begins to the north of Bletchingley and has riders head over the M23 to Nutfield before turning south, back under the motorway and down to the outskirts of Smallfield, where they head back north through Outwood and back up to Bletchingley for one more lap.
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