The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Seven riders got inside the magic one-hour mark at Spalding Cycling Club’s open 25-mile time trial event.
Held on the Donington course, some 31 bikes faced timekeepers Sharon Fensom and Nicky Ellis on what was a warm, but windy, day.
The overall winner was Adam Coffey (Velo One) in 54.15mins, while previous winner Neil Palmer (Velo One) took second on 55.43mins.
Third place went to regular visitor Ian Dalton (Cherry Valley RT) with 56.54mins.
Fastest lady on the day was Team Swift’s Louise Day, another regular at Spalding CC events, who put in a fine ride of 1.06.22hrs to finish 17th overall.
From within the club this Championship was anticipated to be a three-way battle between Ross McGivern, Simon Wright and Mark Hills. However, the odds were narrowed somewhat by McGivern opting not to enter.
That decision opened the door to an exciting tussle between Wright and Hills, who were separated by just six seconds after 25 miles – they recorded 1.04.26hrs and 1.04.32hrs respectively.
The third Spalding rider was Chris Bettinson on 1.07.54hrs, followed up by Barry Drew with 1.10.45hrs.
Currently just a few of the club’s lady members compete at this distance, so the championships award went to the ever-consistent Natalie Tooley with 1.13.55hrs ahead of Sarah Bentley (1.14.13hrs).
- A few days later – and once again on the out and back course – the 2up Team Time Trial attracted a good turn out with eight teams eligible for the champion title, two guest teams and one composite team of a club member and a guest.
First and second places overall on the night went to the guest teams of Velo One’s Palmer and Josh Wallis (21.25mins), while Adam Ellis (Velo One) partnered RP Vision’s Maddie Gammons to finish on 23.33mins.
The best Spalding team was the untried combination of Ben Moore and Bettinson, who stopped the clock on 24.08mins.
That saw Moore repeat his win of 2015, while Bettinson moved up after being in the third placed team last year.
Just 13 seconds later McGivern and Hills crossed the line on 24.21mins, which was significantly faster for both than previous rides.
Making up the club championship podium in third place were Simon and Tom Wright, who posted a fine 25.35mins.
The ladies’ competition had only one full team, with Nicole Flatters and Kimberley Fisher posting 37.48mins.
Spalding’s Gerry Charlwood joined forces with James Nation (Bourne Wheelers) to finish on 26.06mins, just ahead of another untried pairing of Keiran Buffham and Richard Flatters (26.38mins).
The majority of the Gurney family filled positions five and six, with Andrew and Will putting in a ride time of 26.57mins while Ed and Tilly rode consistently well to finish on 30.37mins. The other mixed team in the event, Derek Chamberlain and Katie Wright, posted 32.54mins
