The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Three riders had reason to celebrate at the penultimate round of Spalding Cycling Club’s ten-mile TT League.
Round ten, as is tradition, incorporated the Fisherman’s Arms Trophy race – which is awarded to the member who records a time closest to their season’s fastest time (SB) and recognises consistency rather than speed.
Andy Bowser was quickest on the night to take the TT honours, but it was Ross McGivern and Sarah Bentley who took the trophy spoils.
One of the smallest fields to sign on and one of the windiest evenings of the year meant that the race was going to be hard fought.
From a field of ten club members and two guests, just eight riders qualified for the Fisherman’s, which represents a disappointing turn out for a club trophy event – but perhaps a sign that others are wanting to have fresh legs for the club 10 championship race.
At the head of the field for the round ten result, Bowser finished on 23.01mins – some two seconds quicker than the previous week on an arguably tougher night with a gusting head wind on the return leg.
Second place went to McGivern, who posted 24.35mins, while third-placed Mark Hills was 36 seconds slower than last week on 25.37mins.
The final classification for the Fisherman’s Trophy saw a reversal of places one and two, with McGivern on top spot just three seconds off his season’s best and more than 1.30mins faster than his 2015 ride time of 26.09mins.
Bowser’s time was eight seconds slower than his SB but 1.53mins quicker than the 24.54mins he clocked for sixth place in 2015.
Meanwhile, the first lady for round ten – and in the Fisherman’s for the second year running – was Bentley.
Her time of 28.32mins was yet another strong ride 23 seconds quicker than in round nine.
The only other lady competing, Natasha Tooley, pushed hard to get close to Bentley but eventually finished four seconds down with 28.36mins.
This was 1.12mins faster than her 2015 ride time in the Fisherman’s.
A dead heat finish between Kieran Buffham and Chris Bettinson – both clocked 27.31mins – put them in fourth overall in the round ten result.
For Buffham this was a PB ride while defending Fisherman’s champion Bettinson occupied fourth overall in that competition.
Of the other members who qualified to count in the Fisherman’s results, Barry Drew completed the course in 29.36mins and Derek Chamberlain stopped the clock on 32 minutes.
After blowing cobwebs off his bike before the start, Sam Bentley’s 28.42mins marked a welcome return and maybe an indication of a fine ride in the championship event.
Spalding’s guests, though fewer in number than previous weeks, posted some great times with ex members Bryn and Gareth Richards (Bourne Wheelers) posting times of 25.29mins and 26.10mins respectively.
- Upcoming Spalding CC events: September 3 – Grass Track event; September 10 – Club downhill championships; September 18 – Dash down the Delph and club season end social.
