David Fellows (Solihull CC) took the victory he desired after making the long trip north for the Derwentside CC 40, while Melanie Hall (North Tyneside Riders CC) won the women’s event.

Fellows, from Birmingham, thrives on the sporting course and came away with victory in a time of one hour, 39 minutes and 57 seconds.

The sporting M40 course was slightly shortened due to a set of temporary traffic lights within touching distance of the finish line.

Competitors started and finished in Allendale Town, Northumberland, before joining the A686 back down towards Alston and turning onto the A689 towards Cowshill - the finishing leg saw riders head back to Allendale. The tough course spans three counties including Northumberland, Cumbria and Durham.

After a grey and misty start, the morning turned out to be reasonably dry with some sunny spells.

Fellows, aged 30, came into the event after winning the Kent Valley RC hill climb last weekend and the Banbury Start hardriders 23.5-mile event in March.

The Midlands rider said he made the trip to Northumberland hoping to win the event he had previously been disqualified in.

“I came up to ride today as I have unfinished business with the M40 after getting disqualified a couple of seasons ago,” said Fellows. 

“The event wasn’t on last year, so I thought I better make the most of it this time around.  The conditions were pretty much perfect today.

“I was always going to ride a time trial bike today in full aero set-up. My average speed was around where I wanted it to be on the climbs and I could make up plenty of time on the fast descents.”

Quickest veteran on scratch Carl Donaldson (GS Metro) led the battle behind finishing second in 1-46-57, while Darren Robson (Muckle Cycle Club) was third in the time trial bike category in 1-49-11.

Leading the road bike category was veteran Rob Carter (Cleveland Wheelers CC) whose time of 1-43-36 was the second quickest overall.

Lee Ager (Muckle Cycle Club) was second in the road bike category over six minutes back stopping the clock in 1-49-49, while Simon Crisp (Gosforth RC) was third (1-53-22).

All of the women’s competitors were in the road bike category with Hall leading the way covering the 40-mile course in 2-13-38.

Veteran rider Hall finished fifth in the North Tyneside Riders 10 last month but showed her form on the hilly terrain to take an impressive victory.

“We came to recce the course yesterday and the car struggled to get up Alston High Street in first gear,” said Hall.

“The 17% climbs around Nenthead are pretty scary and there were a few other challenging sections where I simply ran out of gears.

“The weather was gorgeous today with very little wind.  When you are No 12 and No 45 goes flying past you, it is a bit demoralising, but you just have to get your head down and get on with it to get back. 

“It’s the longest time trial I’ve done to date, so I’m feeling pretty happy right now.”

Results

Time trial bikes
1 David Fellows Solihull CC           1:39:57
2 Carl Donaldson              GS Metro             1:46:57
3 Darren Robson              Muckle Cycle Club            1:49:11
4 Terry Wilkinson              GTR - Return To Life P/B Streamline           1:50:53
5 Colin Atkinson                Muckle Cycle Club            1:53:13
6 Dan Kendall     Rock To Roll CC  1:53:45

Road bikes

1 Rob Carter       Cleveland Wheelers CC  1:43:36
2 Lee Ager           Muckle Cycle Club            1:49:49
3 Simon Crisp     Gosforth RC        1:53:22
4 Christopher Wilcock     Muckle Cycle Club            1:58:55
5 Joseph Wright Rock To Roll CC  1:59:02
6 Tom Campbell Muckle Cycle Club            2:00:14

Women

1 Melanie Hall    North Tyneside Riders CC              2:13:38
2 Louise Burnie  Blaydon CC          2:15:08
3 Jen McMahon Jadan Vive Le Velo            2:18:55
4 Celia Michie    Alnwick Cycling Club       2:20:57