Club League Rnd 19 Brendan smashes hour barrier for 25miles
After a week that had me concerned that the club league round 19 was going to be a canoe race rather than a cycling event. Thankfully the weather gods have been kind and the rain subsided even the sun popped out to say hello. Round 19 is the 16 or 25 mile Time Trial on the now familiar Bann road. So with roads to be marked for the hilly and marshals required for the 16/25mile TT we managed to survive so many thanks to :
The timekeepers – Ronnie S and Neill C
Thanks to the marshals at McCoys garage – Mike B and Stephen I
Thanks to the marshals in Banbridge – Raymund M and Gavin M
A dry evening with little wind made for perfect conditions which saw BVK revert to the road bike clearly unable to take the shame of owning a TT bike. Brendan D had flown in his supporters from across the pond and bought along his new born (who slept through his performance!!) so pressure was clearly on to produce something special. There were 11 cyclists who stepped up and choose to do the 25mile TT option. For quite a few this would be their first 25m TT and therefore a PB ;-). For the rest it was a list of excuses from “its not in my training schedule” to “I’m going to see Mickey Mouse” before lining up for the 16mile option.
For the 25mile the obvious competition would be between Chris M and Brendan D to see who had the quickest time. To appreciate the time that Brendan D did of 59mins 29secs you need to go and ride the course. In fact go and get a group and have a go – awesome time. Chris M wasn’t hanging about either with a 1hr 1min 32secs on the clock. To complete the podium for the night one of our visitors John Clyde clocked in at 1hr 2min 54sec. The third DCC man of the night was Graham McC produced a sensational time of 1hr 4min 6 sec which included a stop with myself to move a few sheep of the road (he claims it held him up by about 4mins 10 sec but i make it closer to 9mins).
In the 16mile TT it was Zak “Its not in my training schedule” Hanna who kept the mtb in the garage to produce an excellent time of 40min 56secs with Kevin “is it time to see Mickey Mouse?” Walker taking 2nd fastest time of the night. Gareth “I’m just borrowing this TT bike because mine isnt quick enough” Woodall completed the top 3. A big shout out to Aaron, Colin, Neil and Graeme who stepped up from doing 10m TT to having a go at the 16m TT – great times from all of these guys and looks like they are getting faster each week.
Everyone under 70mins for the 25mile TT is very impressive for a nights work so give yourself a pat on the back as you really deserved it. Ride of the night will probably go to Graham Beckett who produced a stunning time. I am sure I have missed someone in this round up but full respect goes out to all who completed the 25m TT as it was Tough with a capital ‘T’ now when is the next one?
The Results are below including the club league points just for Kevin. The “potential medals” are shown as well. If you have not won this medal for this distance before, then you will be awarded it at the club’s Christmas dinner/Awards night. You don’t get the same medal twice.
And with the handicaps added based on 10mile times:
Next week it will be back to the Harry Ferguson for a good old fashion road race. I’m looking plenty of marshals for this. Good luck for those doing the Hilly on Sunday with a large thank you to all who have helped marking roads, entries, course setup and helping on the day. Its going to be a great one.
