Low Pro

I've seen a guy in full Lotto Belisol get-up around the past few months, and I just put him down as an over keen and ill advised weekend warrior but turns out it actually is a real life continental professional. Now when I started getting back into racing (2006-10) I was riding regularly at Mallory Park the motor racing circuit used for the 1970 World Road Race Championships, it was in the days when I was a 3rd category rider and I needed all the back wheels I could find and around MP on a Tuesday there were plenty. Before we got up to race there was U14 and Schoolboy and girl racing, now Daniel McLay was one of those boys, now after winning a Junior World title on the track and other assorted 'notches' on his palmares  I find him invading the local TT scene on a break from being a NeoPro. I was riding the Derby Mercury '25' up at 'windy' Griffydam (Nr. Coalville) at the weekend and young Dan masquerading innocuously down the field at number 7 and riding under his Leicester RC colours wins the event by a clear 3 minutes with 53:18, I would have hoped for better if I had a bit more racing in my legs but the tough course and windy conditions I managed 6th place with 58:13 but winning my age category

Derby Mercury '25' Result here

A week later I had a double header in the Hinckley CRC Challenge Weekend, which involves a '10' on the Saturday and a '25' on the Sunday. It's the course I ride for my Tuesday evening '10' on B roads between Wolvey and the Magna (Europe's biggest!) distribution centre at Lutterworth on the A5. I used my usual 92" fixed but at least I get plenty of time to warm up so the ride was bookended with ten miles on the 'rollers', it did not seem to do much for my effort as 23:05 was a long way off my best but at least I got close to my 100RPM target (98) in the week before the Masters Track Nationals where I would need good leg speed. There was a stiff cross wind (thankfully blocked by trees most of the way) but the road is 'bumpy & lumpy' so how Matt Clinton (Mike Vaughn Cycles) managed 20:13 I'll never know. On the Sunday's '25' over two laps of the same roads including a bit on the A5 Matt repeated his effort to be fastest in 54:02 and give him the overall win as well, I had a torrid time on my fixed in increased wind (when you race on the flat at less than 20mph you know its hard) but at one point I did touch 40mph (147RPM Yikes!) and that's all I can say of my 1:00:52 performance

Hinckley CRC '10'

Hinckley CRC '25'

During the week there were the BC Time Trial Championships deemed to be open to selected riders, young Dan McLay managed 4th in the Espoire (Under 23) TT Champs up in Glasgow, Joe Perrett who had won the recent RTTC National Championship '25' could only manage 2nd to defending champion Sam Harrison (both 100%me) and in the senior title postman Matt Bottrill (drag2zero) almost pulled off a coup by beating recent Giro TT winner Alex Dowsett (Movistar) who still had 21 seconds in hand after an early crash which left him a bit battered for the Road race titles that were to be decided on the Sunday. Joanne Rowsell (Wiggle Honda) won the women's title

BC Report & Results