CYCLING — Fastest Time Of 2018 In Alex Hunter Time TrialTHIRTEEN riders raced the clock in the ninth race of the Alex Hunter 2018 time trial league.
Conditions were close to perfect for time-trialling; dry and warm with practically no wind to complain about — not surprisingly, four personal best (PB) times were recorded.
With big improvements each week they race, Tom Cardiff managed to chip off just over two minutes and Brian Wallace shaved another 29 seconds, a clear indicator of fitness improvements and knowledge of how to ride the undulating course more efficiently.
It was a one-two scoop for Largs club Encore Velo with Gordon Young in second place, setting a PB of 29:09, and victory, secured by Paul McGonigle, also riding for Encore Velo, with the fastest time of the year so far. He crossed the line with a superb personal best of 28:36.
Results
1 Paul McGonigle 28:36 PB
2 Gordon Young 29:05 PB
3 Paul Symington 29:18
4 George McCarter 30:19
5 Douglas Nicholson 31:28
6 Derek Robinson 31:46
7 Tam May 32:02
8 Robert McCready 32:46 Road Bike
9 Mark Smith 33:05 Road Bike
10 Jim Beckett 33:20
11 Peter Harrodige 34:46
12 Tom Cardiff 34:58 PB Road Bike
13 Brian Wallace 35:10 PB
In open racing, Matt Hennon, above, of Inverclyde Velo, had been keen to compete south of the border because of a lack of events in the Scottish calendar. Matt headed to the popular Levens course just outside Kendal for the 10-mile time trial organised by the Kent Valley Wheelers, chasing his personal best time across the distance.
The forecast for the event was decent, although the wind was to pick up in the evening when the event was due to start. Matt had got down early enough to get out on the course to warm up but the crosswinds during the first mile, which is the fastest part of the course, were very strong and keeping the bike in a straight line proved to be almost impossible.
During the race, the combination of the crosswinds and headwind made the outward leg extremely tough and dangerous. Matt couldn’t make the time up on the shorter 4.5-mile return leg with the tailwind, crossing the line in 34th place with a time of 21:38.
Not happy with the result, he entered the next event on the same course the following week, organised by Springfield Financial cycling club. Conditions this time round were slightly better. The first mile again was hampered by serious crosswinds and traffic making the aero position impossible, but after that section the headwind wasn’t as bad and it was full gas to the finish line.
Averaging just over 29 mph for the 10 miles and crossing the line in 18th place with a personal best time of 20:39, Matt managed to chip 25 seconds off his previous best time which was set on the same course in 2009.
Matt’s now training hard for his next 10-mile time trial on the Eglinton course in Ayrshire on 12 August where he will be hoping for another sub-21-minute performance.
New riders are welcome to go along and race the clock in the time trial — every Tuesday on Cloch Road, Gourock just after McInroy’s Point — and, for the APR (Australian Pursuit Race), every Thursday along at the Gantock flats. Both events start at 7pm. Anyone using Strava can check out the route for the time trial and APR using the Cloch Time Trial segment.
Inverclyde Velo run group rides on Wednesdays, meeting at the Co-op on Eldon Street at 7.45pm; Saturdays at 7:55am and Sundays at 9am, meeting at Hunter Place. The routes are usually posted on the on the club website forum under “training rides”. Anyone interested in joining Inverclyde Velo can contact the club via its website www.inverclydevelo.co.uk.
