Main Course - National '10'

Training bike 'Lloydy'

Traditionally the National 10 Mile Time trial is the first big event of the 'Testing' season but this year its at the tail end and on the fastest course in the country or a version of it, the powers that be decided for reasons of their own to turn it off the fast dual carriageway and do the last mile along a bumpy B road so that it can finish near the headquarters, this will entail riders to negotiate a slip road a turn and a roundabout (together) when coming to the end of their ride so should be interesting. My last four rides on the traditional version of this course 20:08, 20:07 last season 20:13 and 20:08 this season so while I am informed that I have not experienced it under 'Superfast' conditions (apparently) they have been consistently fast. Now when I saw the National was going to be the tail end of the season a month or so before the World Championships my major objective of the year I planned to target the event as the start of the build up to the main course.

Oldskool style (and time) 23:38 (Pic Taceys Photos)

By way of preparation I had a full Bank Holiday of riding, first the local Leicester Forest CC '10' on A46 Six Hills. and then the VTTA National '25' at Newmarket on the Sunday early! They had tried to run this earlier in the season and it was cancelled half way completed by one of those torrential rainstorms in June. I had not entered the original event, this was to be a complete re-run.

Winner - Matt Sinclair 19:46

I rode a single fixed in both events my steel 'David Lloyd' (Lloyd'y), a modest 92" on my training bike with 'non aero' as there was a Road bike prize and I did not want to stuff my legs, it was important to get two hard rides without overdoing it as this would be my first back to back racing of the season. The only race wheels I have for the Saturday are over 30 years old 28 spoke Campag SF, my best track wheels in the day, elliptical spokes and super-light Argent 10 rims (can you feel the nostalga?), the front tyre (a Clement No6) still shellacked on (Google it!) for that real Oldskool experience. Advanced in their day but would I be able to compete with geared riders on their carbon aero road biked and wheels (No Disc or Tri bars allowed)

'Bands' get an outing

I wanted to change the bars and stem to get a better racing position (on the drops!) but the stem stuck fast, I did a nice warm-up on the rollers and it felt great that gear spinning around at 110 RPM. The race however was another thing, strong cross-winds made it tough both ways on the DC section, some were having problems with their deep rims, not me on my 'skinny' Mavics. I was off number 50 so I knew I would be caught by David Mead (Hinckley CRC) who usually beats me by half a minute or so in the Tuesday evening 10's but without the aero aids he was on me at half distance. To be fair I struggled in the conditions and did not get into my riding even though I was not over-geared and even the fast last 3 miles was a struggle, my time 23:38 only good enough for half way down the 100 rider field but I did manage to get third on the Road bike event and got my entry back, so a result of sorts I don't think I could have bothered the winner Matt Sinclair (Lutterworth) 19:46 by a second from Brett Harwood (Terry Wright RC)


On the Sunday I rode my Pursuit/Fixed Time Trial bike an alloy Cervelo SL which is 'Super Lite'  it comes in only 80 grams over the UCI minimum weight for bikes and makes a lovely 'stiff' TT bike and this was the first time this year I've stepped the gear up to 106" (56 x 14). The conditions for the 6.30 start were not ideal (cold, windy and early!) at least I was off in the last half hour (125) and had time for a 10 mile warm up on the roads this time as the organisers did not want riders disturbing the locals with Turbo's or Roller's at this un-earthly hour.

VTTA 'NuSkool' (Pic Kimroy)

It was a bit of a struggle going out, I could see I was not handling the uphill sections on the bigger gear and then not able to take advantage of the downhill until the way back when I got into my stride and managed a 30mph last five mile split (9:47) But I'd lost too much over the rest of the ride my dad's maxim "You only ever loose time!" ringing in my ears, still 53:30 good enough for 10th overall but only 16th on VTTA Standard (+14:56) Defending Champion Rob Pears (Pro Cycling) went fastest 49:46 at only a year younger than my 25 years but could not match the 'Old Guys' and 6th on Std +18:18. Local 84 year old Eric Marsh (Cycles Uno) +22:11 was the winning plus (1:03:21) over a minute ahead of Scot Derek Stewart (Deeside Thistle) a mere youngster at 78 with 58:22 but Brian Sunter (Condor RC) 54:33 at 71 only good enough for third +20:03

These are the times you need to win at this level, Rob Pears would have to break Competition Record to win today, on a slower/harder course where he is on the roads longer and the 'Old Geezers' suffer more power loss than the younger man they are clear winners even though the Standards have been adjusted (from their 1943 original) in the past few years to allow the younger man to be more competitive as riders are better even though they are getting older.

So the National '10' is this Sunday and I'm off just before 2.00pm No 55 of the 150 man field (Juniors and Ladies at Alcester) so that means there are 95 riders faster than me at the present time (or the time of entering, rider No 2 did a 19:11 in the Swift Charity '10' on the Championship course last week!) so a place in the top 50 could be considered a good one. I would still like to break Roger Hammonds club record 19:49 but that would require half a mile per hour improvement in speed to shave off the twenty odd seconds (two a mile!) needed to go from my personnel best. I would like to be within two minutes of the winner, the last time I managed that of last man Michael Hutchinson was 2010 on the windiest day I have ever raced and that too was on the V718, he just scraped a 30mph ride with 19:57 and I did 21:34 so maybe I should wish for tough conditions but that would mean my ambition for the club record would go out the window and it seems like I have been trying to attain that for most of the ten years since I came back to racing

The march of time

If you look at my times over that time, there have been a few 'wobbles' but I have steadily got faster over the years, despite the encroaching age I still feel I can do it. Roger was a 21 year old recently crowned World Champion and had all the same aero advantages that we have today (aero bars, helmet and disc wheel) but had to negotiate the six roundabouts on the Rusper course (twice) to achieve the feat. I think he was studying at Brunel University when he was racing in the club, going over to Belgium to race in the summer months and I do remember him and Steve Gowar riding (& winning) the Divisional Road Race Championships around Lingfield in SWRC colours circa 1993. I however am also a newly crowned World Champion and when I saw him at the BC dinner where he was being invested into the 'Hall of Fame' I had a quite word with him and shook his hand hoping a bit of Hammond magic would rub off.  o7ò

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