2014-06-15 Newbury RC 12hr TT – H12hr/8

293.63 miles

I’d started writing this after the race but seem to have got busy in the mean time. Here’s a quick summary, basically for my own notes. Contains some of Rachael’s race report too.

Second place to current BBAR Champion Adam Topham’s 298.13 miles as well as a PB and Willesden CC club record by over 20 miles.

This was my first race of the year – yeah, straight into a 12 hour, no mucking around and the first time I’d ridden the race bike since last season. Just to make things a little more worrying, we’d swapped the cranks for shorter ones and changed my brakes over the Friday just before the race.

The loudest team in the UK, Mal and Scherrit, were back out on the roadside supporting me.

I started a bit faster than I’d planned to and than I’d usually do but I knew I was fitter this year and hadn’t ridden a 24hr TT three weeks prior so I was fresh and pretty sure my power should be up. It was and I felt comfortable holding the higher power. It was a power PB by almost 20W for the 12hr duration so pretty good.

The main problem with not having done any training on the race bike was that the saddle was different and even stopping twice to reapply chamois cream, it cut me to shreds. Not smart. Not fun.

Big thanks to the organisers, all the marshalls, competitors and of course, my team. 300 miles… ? 😉

Snippet from Rachael Elliott’s race report:

Running a 12 hour event is never an easy task, but organising an event on an entirely new 12 hour course is one which takes military precision and patience. For this, we are extremely grateful to the huge team of helpers (please see the back page of this results booklet) ? as well as the riders ? for supporting the first (and hopefully the first of many) Newbury RC 12 hour time trials. We were pleased to be blessed with good weather for the event, although an ever increasing breeze during the day meant conditions got steadily harder for the 27 riders who started the event.

Back at HQ, we heard that both David Triska (Farnborough & Camberley CC) was first back to Chawton and looking ?exceptionally fast?. However, it was Adam Topham (High Wycombe CC) who stole the first big news headline of the day. Topham covered his first 100 miles in 3:47:42 ? and quick calculations showed that if he could keep this pace up, he would cover 316.7 miles in 12 hours ? a whisker away from competition record. Sadly, two punctures and some kit issues meant Topham was forced to spend a significant amount of time off the bike in the second 100 miles, and allowed National 24-hour champion Stuart Birnie (Willesden CC) to clock a second 100 miles faster than Topham. It was getting painstakingly close. Somehow, despite his issues, Topham managed to put in a third 100 miles in a sub-4 hour time and finished strongly to record an exceptional distance of 298.13 miles. Birnie meanwhile, who reportedly spent just 31 seconds off the bike all day, broke his old personal best by over twenty miles with 293.63 miles. And testament to his long distance credentials, circuit timekeeper Marion Fountain reported that Birnie finished the 12 hour time trial looking stronger than most riders do at the end of a 10.

Tom Glandfield (Lewes Wanderers CC) was perhaps the surprise placing of the day. Although entering with some good credentials, Glandfield was riding entirely unsupported and only decided to enter the race after riding the Hounslow 100 three weeks previously. Politely acknowledging Chief Timekeeper, Jim BUrgin every lap, Glandfield went on to ride a massive PB with a stunning distance of 286.41 miles.

Amongst the ladies, Sharon Clifford (Coventry RC) and Mandy Hibberd (North Hampshire RC) were battling it out for the win. Clifford’s primary aim was to beat her club’s 12 hour record of 221.93 which (impressively) had been held by Sheila King since 1959. Clifford successfully smashed this record with a distance of 235.10 miles, whilst Hibberd – who changed from her TT bike to a road bike part way through – also recorded a new club record of 228.33 miles.

2014 Newbury RC 12hr Results