16 mile time trial, Ballynahinch-Hillsborough (map)
12 May 2011
Round 7 of Dromara Cycling Club's league was the first of the 16 mile time trials between Ballynahinch and Hillsborough. This round had the riders start in Ballynahinch just at Lord Moira Park and heading into a tough headwind along the 8 mile undulating course to Hillsborough where they turned just in front of the entrance to Grosvenor's Gate. The riders appreciated the tail wind on the way back to Ballynahinch.
The second leg of these 16 milers will take place at Round 15 with the, in the opposite direction, with the fastest rider across both events winning the Fine Food Distributors trophy.
The evening was bright and sunny but the wind was cold, very unusual for the middle of May. Riders were slow to turn up for this one and with the extra distance there were lots of volunteers to help out rather than take part. Twenty five riders braved the wind, 3 guests and one unattached rider. First rider away was Chris Magowan around 7 pm with the rest of the riders following at one minute intervals.
Fastest rider on the night was Ronnie Smyth who finished in 37 minutes and 45 seconds, just 12 seconds ahead of his main rival Gavin Magowan. First away Chris was third fastest 53 seconds behind his brother, with the Phoenix duo of Cathal Smyth and Fergus Rooney finishing 4th and 5th respectively. Neil Fitzsimons had another excellent ride to finish 6th, just 12 seconds ahead of Noel Gibson, with Neill Currie 8th in just over 41 minutes. John Clyde was enjoying his preferred side of cycling to finish 9th with Rodney Stewart in 10th. Well done to all the riders.
The times for the 16 mile TT were then converted to their equivalent 10 mile time and then the rider's handicaps were applied. This system then normalises all the rider's times so that improvements can be seen and rewarded. Making the biggest gains over his handicapped time was Martin Marner who improved by over 3½ minutes and gained 40 league points. Derek Hanna was the next best improver with an increase of just over 2½ minutes. Ted McKibbin was third best improver withNeil Fitzsimons, Neill Currie and Ronnie Smyth the 4th, 5th and 6th respectively.
Many thanks to the timekeepers and all the marshals. Round 8 is next Thursday (19 May 2011) and will be the second of the club road races. It will be held on the Maze circuit with sign on from 6:15 pm. Car parking outside the Saville Motorhomes entrance.
Timekeeper: Stephen Wallace and Alan McMullan
Timekeeper support: Nigel Sudlow
Marshals: Ivan Bradford, Colin Roy and David Chambers
Report and photos: Martin Grimley
