St Ives CC Press Report

24^th October 2011

St Ives Cycling Club’s elite time trail team ended their season on a high by winning the Eastern Counties Cycling Association 3 up time trial at Chelmsford on Sunday morning.

Individual time trial specialists, Mick Hodson, Lee Desborough, and Gary Stevens joined up to ride the team event which are a feature of the end of season racing. Riding in a closely packed single line each rider takes a turn to cut through the wind on the front, before moving across and allowing the next rider in the line to come through. In a well drilled team, three riders working together can go significantly quicker than an equivalent solo rider and for the St Ives three this was no exception.

Being the penultimate team to leave the start gate, Stevens rode the first turn before handing over after the usual one minute of flat out effort on the front. The twisting and undulating B road course can upset the rhythm compared with flatter courses but the experienced St Ives trio rode well together. The early morning dampness was still hanging in the air and had left a treacherous greasy sheen to the road surface. Stevens kept the tempo high through the twisting sections confidently throwing his machine around, whilst Hodson used all his power and straight line speed in the flatter sections.

Nearing the end of the 23 mile circuit, the St Ives team caught sight of Colchester Rovers CC who had started 3 minutes ahead of them. Spurring them on, St Ives crossed the line just behind Colchester to take the win in a time of 47 minutes and 43 seconds, averaging 27.5 mph, over a minute ahead of the second place club Chelmer CC.

As individual riders the St Ives three have all enjoyed great seasons and they were delighted to finish the time trail season with a win in this unique team event.