Rudy Project # 8 - Final

I'd not ridden a Rudy Project time trial since the early season, too much to fit it in with the BBAR so there were those out to place in the series and local riders like me trying to get a place on the day (and a free pair of socks). I'd raced this circuit a couple of years ago when I was just getting going on my comeback, 9th in 47.11 behind the winner Ray Hughes 42.01.
Quite a hilly course (8m) to be covered twice plus a bit (three for the Elite), I'd been off the bike two days and all day on my legs at the Bike Show the day before. Did an hour in the morning and because it's local at Middleton between Mkt. Harborough and Corby I had time to ride a lap as warm up as well.
Circuit courses mean that you do not get to see the opposition, so you have no idea how you are doing and with two laps you catch riders on their second lap or on their first a lap behind, very confusing.
The day was delightful but the course is 'lumpy' as that is the nature of these races, hilly one side and fairly flat the other so with a SW wind super fast along this section which made the hard parts even harder, still same for everybody and much better than the sleet and gales that I'd ridden the early season event. I went as hard as I dare without getting into trouble on the first lap inside 20 minutes but still 45 seconds behind Richard Prebble (G S Strada), what was he doing in our event? Well he is a veteran, just at 41 (when he should be with the Elite). The Vet's race on 'target' as well as 'scratch' it all adds to the confusion as these are translated into 'points' for the overall.
I must have eased off on the second lap as I was slightly slower in 20.03 but in the final analysis my 42.57 good enough for 3rd place only 1.27 behind Prebble the eventual winner, Ian Dalton (Cherry Valley RC) squeezed between us in 2nd place with 42.21 the winner of the series on 'Scratch'. 14th place John Woodburn (VC Meudon) 47.28 was the winner on 'Target time' (+12.08) and the winner of the series.
Jimmy Wright (Preston Whs.) won the 'Elite' 1.02.15 Kevin Dawson (Sportscover) the winner of the series 2nd 1.04.33 and 3rd Bradley Johnson (Sportscover) the Espoir winner in 1.05.07. On reflection my ride good enough to be within a minute of these two after 2 laps.

Kevin Dawson - Having a rest from the BBAR


Just before the off I was talking to Bradley Johnson, helped him on with his 'Camelbak' plus a bottle for a 25 mile race! Taking after his mentor Kevin Dawson who he joined in the 'Sportscover' team this year and always a fan of keeping hydrated but I thought this going a bit far. At 22 years old Bradley has applied for Dave Rayner funding as I know we in the club support this organisation in memory of a young rider who died tragically young. He hopes to go and race in Europe and make it on the road, I wished him good luck and did not mention that it was another BBAR opponent for next year out the way (currently 7th) we have had a fair few battles this year (he won mostly!) but come on a long way from when I caught him for 7 minutes in last years Swift '100', he says he remembers me coming past and I must have given him a shout as it would have been near the end as he did 4.03.09 but I beat him by 12 minutes. This year a 21 minute improvement to 3.41.32 and there won't be many in the 'flat lands' that have done that and a 12 hour! If only he had not had two punctures and that snapped chain he may have run out the winner as he was less than 4 miles off Ian Cammish's winning distance.



Bradley a man for the future?