KCC riders compete in the Chronos RT 10 mile TT, 25th July 2020

The F2A/10 in Cambridgeshire attracted a total of 180 riders for the Chronos RT 10m TT that took place on Saturday afternoon on the A428 at Cambourne, of which, 7 were Kettering Cycling Club riders taking to the start line.

The weather forecast was rain, although the first riders had a dry start and completed their rides before the rain started. The continued heavy rain and a lot of road spray infringed the race and with the visibility worsening the officials had to make the decision to cancel in the later stages of the race and about 30 riders did not get to ride. The main photo is by Michael Webb Photography shows just how bad it was for one rider (thankfully not a KCC rider)!

Well done to all the riders, in order of their start times, Maria Gent, Robert Barker, Paul Ashdown, Adrian Gorham, Michael Cope, Antony Brown and Noel Toone, for completing the course.

Congratulations to Maria, who came first in the Female Espoir TT Bike category and bagged herself £20, with her winning time of 24:41.

Here’s how it felt to be one of those riders, by Noel Toone

After deciding not to start on the E2/50 the Sunday morning before due to the wet conditions it was looking OK at the start of the week for the following Saturday. However as the week progressed it was looking like a heavy rainfall was forecast…

Due to the Covid-19 restrictions there was no hanging around chatting at the HQ so didn’t manage to see anyone I knew let alone other KCC members. As one of the first races back on the calendar after lockdown and also on a fast course this proved a popular race. So popular that the organiser decided to select the field giving those that ticked the ride as reserve box a priority over faster riders who didn’t!

I arrived at the HQ after driving down the course from the Caxton roundabout. This is the way I decide whether or nor to ride in wet conditions, so I can see how it looks from a driver’s perspective. It looked OK with no spray to speak of. After signing on (with my own pen) and collecting my number I drove closer to the start, there was no parking allowed at the HQ so finding a parking spot near the start was not so easy as usual but I found one down a side road in Hardwick.

Just as I parked up the rain started getting heavier, I had about 45 minutes to go so I hoped it would pass. It eased a bit so I very quickly built my bike, i.e. took it out of the boot and put wheels on and just got back in the car before the heavens opened again. Now it was a case of getting my skinsuit on and waiting…would the rain ease enough to risk riding on a fast dual carriageway (DC) course? 15 mins to go and the rain seemed to have passed over with just a drizzle left so I made my decision and off I went on my way to the start.

Once I was going it seemed fine (in fact according to Strava it was 47” faster than last year), wet but visibility OK. To the turn and a nice clear RaB but I took it fairly easy due to the wet surface as I was reminded of the time 40 years ago crashing on a wet RaB on the old N1/25. On the way back with a tailwind now so I was feeling good, but with about 4 miles to go the heavier rain restarted and visibility was getting poor. To compound matters my visor had misted up so that the only way to see where I was going was to move to the base bars and sit up a bit. I was also hugging the white line more than usual so hit the occasional bump and then a pothole as I passed the timekeeper!

I didn’t see any other KCC riders except Maria, a much earlier starter, who I saw riding on the outward leg as I drove to the HQ. However, post event I have managed to get hold off some very good action shots from Michael Webb (see below) and the as yet unofficial times from an “inside source”! Apart from Marias, the times have not yet been ratified, and may not be so, as the event was actually called off due to the rain 10-15 minutes after I had started. Apparently it would have been called off a little sooner had the organiser been able to phone the start but the signal was not good.

So my final analysis is that it wasn’t a slow day as such, in fact could have been fast, but very different for different riders at different times. It will be interesting to see everyone’s times, especially so we can compare our times to those around us on the start sheet as well as the usual comparisons with similar speed riders, but in the meantime, I do now have the KCC times and for the sake of comparison I have added the spindata.co.uk ranking site’s predicted times too. 

Many thanks to https://www.mwebbphotography.co.uk/ for allowing me to use these photos in this race report.

by Noel Toone, KCC

Results. Use the arrows to sort columns. Predicted times by Spindata in brackets.

Photographs courtesy of Davy Jones & Michael Webb

Awards and official times for winners