BUCS 10 mile TT Champs

PBscience athlete Tom Morris came agonisingly close to being crowned the British Universities & Colleges Sports 10 mile time trial champion on Saturday, his 21:49 leaving him only 4 seconds shy of the top spot on the podium. Nevertheless an outstanding result and I’m sure Tom will be hoping to go one better in next weeks 25 mile championship event!

Also on Saturday, Chris Long smashed his ten mile PB, clocking 20:32 in the U47 Bath CC event, therefore assuring his place at the National 10 next month. Danuta also rode the event, her 22:28 good enough for second. Elsewhere Richard Prebble won  the Kingston Phoenix RC 10 with 21:22, while Lesley (22:18), Juliette (23:57) and Dan (22:11) got up extra early to ride the ‘chilly’ Catford CC event on the Q10/19.  

Sunday saw Tony ride the Wiggle Sportive taking in the best of the Surrey Hills and North Downs (albeit his own ‘interpretation’ of the route!) while Stewart posted 1:03:39 in a club 25 on the HCC001. Nathan took to the line in the Les Ingman RR, where after winning the first prime he punctured with two laps remaining on the tough Bletchingley circuit.

Sunday also saw Nic begin the Tour of Brittany stage race. A solid 33rd position in the opening road stage sees Nic sitting 1:32 down on the leader but with 7 stages to go there’s still a lot of racing to be done. After his strong showing in the time trials so far this year, Nic will be looking to move up in the classification with a 10.2km time trial on the island of Jersey today – you can follow his progress at www.tourdebretagne.fr

Mixed fortunes at the Antelope RT 3up

This Saturday saw what is sometimes seen as the ‘unofficial’ team time trial championships with the Antelope RT 3up. The event often sees a stronger field than the Nationals and sure enough there were a number of strong teams in action this weekend. Jerone was partnered by Phill ‘tantastic’ Sykes and Steve Golla and looked odds on for the win in the mens event until a cruel puncture 12 km from the end finished their race officially, although Jerone and Phill rode on to record the fastest time of the day with 1:03:59. The ladies team of Danuta, Sara and Juliette rode superbly together to take the ladies prize with 1:20:09, reaping the benefits of a team training session on the track at Palmer Park the previous day. Also in this event, Seb and Paddy were joined by Jez Ponting to take 5th place with 1:07:19 while Lesley ‘mothered’ Nathan and Dan around the course for 1:12:29 and 17th position.

On the individual front the Farnborough and Camberley event on the H25/8 saw Richard take 6th place with 52:51 with Mark A coming home in 55:43 to record a course PB. In preparation for the longer events to come, Oli rode to and from the event, still breaking the hour with 59:32 as part of a (nearly) 100 mile day on the bike. Elsewhere Tom Morris was only 10s shy of the victory in the Elite CC 10, his 21:56 giving him an excellent 2nd place.

Across the pond, Nic continued his rich vein of form, taking the win in the 142km GP de Lancy handicap race in Switzerland. His team mates at Atlas Personal rode strongly to bring back a large break in which the team were under represented before Nic launched a stinging attack on the last climb. He comfortably held on for the remaining 15km, soloing to a 45 second lead by the finish line.

Weekend round up

First up, Martin Alexander and Stewart Guynan competed in the Big Cow Emberton Duathlon on Saturday. Both put in strong performances again; Stewart finishing 6th in AG and 13th overall with 1:57:23 and Martin 13th in AG and 157th overall in 2:13:38. On the TT front, Saturday also saw round two of the Rudy Project series in Hampshire. Paddy was the sole PBscience finisher, posting 1:24:12 for 10th place. Richard was the first but unfortunately not the last athlete to suffer a puncture this weekend. Elsewhere Sara equalled her 10 PB with 23:48 on the L1015 and Chris L had a first recce of this years National 10 course, clocking 21:29 in the Stratford CC event. I’m sure we’ll be picking his brains in the next few weeks to get his impressions of the course! Unfortunately in the same event Danuta became the second puncture victim of the weekend. Sunday saw Tom Morris ride the Redmon CC event on the G25/53 clocking 56:06 for 4th place.

Plenty of road racing action over the weekend, starting with Jerone winning the E/1/2 circuit race at Goodwood. Jerone was part of a 7 man break that lapped the rest of the field, still with plenty in the tank to win the reuslting 5 man sprint. Chris L was also in action at Goodwood but was the final victim of the puncture demons with only 4 laps to go. Also on the road, Nathan and I rode the SERRL race at Brenchley, both taking a battering in the crosswinds on a very tough course… at least Nathan finished!

Across the pond Nic rode the Circuit des Ardennes against British team Rapha Condor Sharp amongst others. Nic continued his excellent run of form to take 6th overall and winning the ‘maillot vert’ in the points competition. Nic’s success was the result of consistently strong performances in each stage, capped off with 3rd place in the 3rd stage time trial. Nic covered the 14km in 17:33 – only 6 seconds behind the winner.

Easter Round-up

The Easter weekend meant an extra two available days for racing and so plenty to report on this week!

Good Friday

First event of the weekend was the High Wycombe CC 10. Richard powered round in 21:23 to take the win with Chris Long not far behind in 11th with 22:33. Danuta claimed second spot in the ladies competition with 24:51.

Saturday

Nathan raced the Surrey League road race on the tough Milland Hill circuit in Hampshire. A four man break slipped away but Nathan finished strongly to take 3rd in the bunch finish and so 7th overall. On the TT front Sara was first lady in the Withington Wheelers event on the J2/9 25mile course.

Sunday

The …a3crg 25 proved very popular with PBscience athletes, a total of 8 taking to the start line. Lesley continued her good form taking the win with 1:00:09 and Juliette posting 1:04:09 in her first outing this season. In the mens event a titanic battle ensued at the top with Jerone (53:40), Richard (53:44) and Seb (53:52) separated by only 12 seconds in positions 2-4. Also putting in strong performances were Paddy (55:38), Chris (57:27) and Oli (1:04:05). Fastest on the day was Stephen Whitewick in 52:30.

Elsewhere Steve took 15th in the Surrey League RR at Cutmill and Nic finished 32nd in the GP Nogent Sur Oise.

Easter Monday

Stewart and Martin competed in the Steyning Duathlon early Monday morning and showed no signs of overdoing it on the easter eggs the day before. Both raced superbly, Stewart finishing top of his age group and 4th overall in 1:37:12 and Martin posting 1:51:37 for 3rd in age group and 61st overall for the 7-36-5km distance.