This weekend saw the highlight of the St
Ives timetrialling achievements for the year. At the beginning of the
season I suggested/convinced a few folk that St Ives CC should join the
ECCA (Eastern Counties Cycling Association) so we could participate in
the Festival weekend and Championships. Festival weekend went ok, but
was not the main draw. The Championship 10m/25mTT were the target for
our season and St Ives entered a team of 4 riders into each, these were
Andre Dyason, Lee Desborough, Mick Hodson and Paul Davis. This was in
our view one of our strongest teams to field. The anticipation
builds....
On Saturday afternoon the 5th June the weather was 25deg, and sweltering
but St Ives riders were in high spirits with recent TT results showing
good/reasonable form for all. In the 10mTT on the E2/10 course (Newmarket)
its all about pure speed, the ultimate aim to hold 30mph to break the
20minute barrier a super but tough milestone for a quality Tester. The
v good field only lacked a few riders who headed off to Yorkshire for
the National 25mile Champs.
Some very fast riders and strong teams remained to battle out for
Eastern gloating honours. Lee Desborough was up first for St Ives in
the field of 120 riders and recorded a respectable seasons best of
21m12s, showing it was a decent day for good times, despite the
breeze. Next up Paul Davis set a season best just dipping under
the 21min mark (commenting, "I am well happy with that"). Then Andre
Dyason recorded a superb 20m33s showing that his form is coming on
nicely, but the best was yet to come. All the team mates had waited
to cheer each other on and to ensure we came home safely. Then... Mick
Hodson arrived back having scorched around the 10mile course in a
staggering 20m04s. This is a shade under 30mph average speed, and was
good enough for 2nd place, the silver medal overall and first veteran
(over 40). Mick said, "at one point I reached 36mph, I did not take my
heart monitor as I did not want to scare myself!". A little
dissapointed not to break 20mins, but a great effort none the less and a
PB to boot. Only a minute separated the St Ives boys times. Awesome
result.. Most importantly though St Ives won the
team prize and gold medals for the
combined times of Mick, Andre and Paul (see piccy).
Three 10mTT times in the 20minutes shows the class of these riders. The
event was won by local favourite Richard O'Rourke in 19m37s with Pete
Balls having punctured. Fabulous start to the weekend. Spirits were
sky high and looking forward to the 25mTT champs the following morning.
The following morning, Sunday 6th June - early! 6am to be precise saw
the start of the 25mTT on the E2/25 course (Newmarket). Expectations
were high but fortunately temperatures were somewhat lower. There was a
slight breeze again, but conditions were good. Another top field with
many regional favourites wanting to do well. The early start did not
blunt the speed or effort as PB's were set by Mick who stormed around in
an amazing 52m58s and Lee Desborough knocked over 2 1/2 minutes off his
previous best to record a great 55m17s. Andre and Paul also
recorded fast times of 55m35s and 55m51s respectively, less than a
minute separating them. However Mick was the class act again placing
4th, just off the podium this time. The event was won again by Richard
O'Rourke in 51min25s - clearly the best man. All four St Ives riders
were placed in the top 10 from a field of 100. St Ives once again took
the team prize and gold medals for the
combined rides of Mick, Lee and Andre. Just superb.
What a fantastic set of results and personal achievements. Team winners
medals for all the St Ives riders in either the 10m or 25m TT's and a
Silver medal individual for Mick in the 10mTT. PB's for Lee and Mick
and super rides from Andre and Paul, showing St Ives CC are a
timetrialling force :-)
