Hello TT’ers! It doesn’t seem 5 minutes since we last pushed our lungs, legs and minds to their limits in search of that ever elusive PB on our 9.7 miles course of pain inducing tarmac. It’s great to be back isn’t it!
Whilst still under the threat from Storm Katie, I had made a promise of great weather for our Wednesday night launch of the new season, and in the main, it was a fairly good night to lay a marker time down for the future rounds. There was sunshine aplenty, but a nagging side wind which never really seemed to help….as always seems to be the case! The cold also didn’t make for loose muscles and fast times, but it didn’t stop our top three finishers from setting a shocking early season pace. Once again it looks like the course records are in danger with the Jones brothers and Kieran Hotson resuming their battles and with Stevie G and Aiden yet to roll out, it promises to be a mouth-watering season; can someone go under 20 minutes?
Following the departure of long standing TT stalwarts, Vicky Wells and Wayne Beedham, we had a new look team at the helm last night, and what a fantastic job they did in providing us with a seamless and safe night of racing. We even treated them to some new stopwatches!
Kerry has done a huge amount of work in organising and arranging for marshals and timekeepers to allow us to race safely and provide us with split second timings for our efforts, I’m sure that we are all extremely appreciative of her efforts and those of the helpers last night, we can’t race without these volunteers!
So, the role of honour for last night’s TT aces: Kerry, Tom, Erica and Anna on the watches; Fast Freddie and Suzy on number collection duties, the Walsh family on registration, especially Rob who turned out despite feeling less than tickety-boo. Duncan Wright for holding us steady at the start line, Matt and Isabel who were ready to stop the watches at the level crossing; the vocal duo of Jane Clarke and Pam Greer at the roundabout. Wal and John were also on duty, making sure that we didn’t nip in for a sneaky bag of chips in Hibaldstow! You are all stars and we appreciate your time and dedication to the cause.
A couple of new rides were on display last night with Gareth Crabb aboard his new Planet X (and also minus the usual 3kgs of accessories and paraphernalia!) and Ash taking the start line after joining the exclusive and growing elite of Team Moda! Had they dialled them in effectively? Time would tell!
Sheehan was the lead out rider with the responsibility of posting the first time of the season; Sheehan never disappoints, always giving a max attack performance. More importantly, he had a dinner date with his wife which was an extra incentive to scorch the tarmac; not wanting to be in her bad books, straight after crossing the finish line he shot off into the sunset to sort his hair and don his best lycra….23:28 and 6th spot Sheehan. Not bad at all.
Watched over by his ultra-runner dad Dave, special mention goes to Chris Durham who had the misfortune of a snapped gear change cable just before the start, leaving him to push a big gear for the full 9.7 miles; how he managed to finish in 23:03 and 5th place, we’ll never know. Great effort Chris!
The raffle made a welcome return and it was also great to see so many people making use of Pete’s King William wares, it is only right that we repay Pete’s kindness for allowing us to descend en-masse at his establishment every fortnight!
The raffle prize, amazingly, wasn’t won by a member of the Padley clan, but by our resident Irish cycling sensation, Pam Greer! Pam’s box of chocolate delights was very kindly donated by Wal Kent. Thanks Wal.
There were quite a few new faces watching from the side-lines last night, as one by one, the riders launched from Duncan’s steady hands; don’t be put off from clipping in by the pain etched on the rider’s faces as they flew over the finish line, remember, pain is temporary, glory is forever! Have a go, you may even be treated to the vocal encouragement of team Fish as Kev, Alexa and Molly walk the streets of Hibaldstow, we heard you guys despite the pain, thanks!
So, here are the podium riders for the first of our 11 great TT’s, well done to everyone riding and once again, thank you to all of the above mentioned people who make this great series happen.
Male
1 Josh Jones: 20:52
2 Bev Jones: 21:13
3 Kieran Hotson: 21:15
Female
1 Sue Szenher: 26:05
2 Ruth Wilson: 26:10
3 Caitlin Bower: 28:30
The full results are posted on the Forum.
Thanks for another fantastic night of racing and socialising, it’s great to be back!
Ride safe.
TT Grandmaster