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News

October Festival of Racing at Hillingdon

Saturday 4 October: youth races at 1.15pm, beginner men's race at 2.45pm and a women's race for Cat 1/2/3 riders at 2.46pm. You are invited to compete in an afternoon of racing on the Hillingdon cycle circuit. It's traffic-free, so especially suited to children and all those adults who are newcomers to racing. The mens' race is one hour plus five laps. For youth races, entries on the line are £3, for the adult races: advance entries £13 abd entries on the line £16. Email the Surrey League's john.leitch@rbi.co.uk for more information.

New Members

A welcome to all the new members who have been joining the club over the summer. Membership has now gone beyond 200 people. You can take what you want from membership, from the odd Sunday club run to getting stuck into a full season's racing or trying other activities from a curry night to a club trip abroad.

Remember, we welcome newcomers to try the club run but if you've ridden it a couple times and like it, please join us. Click on the membership link for more details.

More candidates are needed for the regular "Introducing" interview on the site. If you're a member and want to have a go, email and ask for the questionnaire.

Surrey League Revolutions

Stage 5, Ashdown Forest, 70 miles
There was a giddy euphoria in the air today in spite of a gloomy forecast and plenty of chat about the infamous "Wall" climb, as the 40 or so still left in the race knew it was the final day of what has been a supremely tough stage race.

We set off to complete six laps of the Ladies Mile circuit- quite short but with a difficult profile as it basically consists of a climb and a descent. There was a very early move by Tom Last (Kinesis) who stayed away all stage to win in some style. On the circuit there were a couple of splits as the stronger riders put the hammer down, but I was always the right side of them today having learned from yesterday!

We then moved across to a circuit around Crowborough - and I wasn't expecting the very steep climb that we had to do twice. This did start to see riders shelled out of the back, and as we turned to make the long ascent to Kingstanding at the top of the Ashdown Forest it was only 20 or so riders left in the group.

After the fast descent into Hartfield it was time to hit "The Wall". This is a tough climb principally due to a combination of changing pitch, and the fact that for the majority of it you can see the dead straight road going up in front of you all the time! I held on (just) ready to tackle it second time around. On the second time up, things started to fracture and I found myself blowing a bit at the top as I wasn't riding within myself, but managed to regain the bunch on the descent with a few others. On the final climb, I drifted off a bit with several others, and then had the misfortune to touch wheels with the guy in front, which caused a split in the large group I was in over the top. The six of us left worked hard on the run into the finish, and we gained lots of time on all those left behind on the climbs. I'm not sure where I finished on the stage, but I did manage to make my target of a top-20, finishing the overall race in 19th place.

This has been the toughest physical challenge I have taken on, and I can barely walk now, but it has been a great experience riding with the likes of National Champion Rob Hayles who incidentally, I managed to leapfrog on GC after the hills of today. Happy days.

Stage 4, Goodwood, 93 miles
It was a windy day in Sussex today, writes Steve Saunders, but mercifully after a scarily fast and painful start to the race, things calmed down for the first hour or so as three non-threats on GC got up the road. I was happily cruising along daydreaming of rolling around in the bunch and maybe contesting a sprint finish when we turned into the long main road headwind section. At this point Rob Hayles moved to the front and rode like a motorbike, putting a huge strain on everyone to hold the wheel in front. Sadly, someone didn't have the legs and a huge split opened with 20 or so guys up the road, and me in the wrong half of the split behind.

We had a half-hearted chase but it became apparent people were not going to work well in the bunch so along with Martin Smith and Steve Gowar I put in several attacks to dishearten the few willing to chase, until on the fourth attempt we made it stick. Four riders then bridged across so seven of us started working to minimise loss to those up the road and put time into those behind. It was a long couple of hours of hard work into the wind, and we still finished a good eight minutes behind the leaders but a four minutes up on those behind. I finished in 21st place and. Wouter Sybrandy (Sigma Sport) won the stage with Tom Southam (Halfords) still in yellow.

The net outcome is that I have dropped a few places to 23rd overall, but I'm hopeful the final day in the hills of the Ashdown Forest will provide a chance to break into the top 20!

Stage 3b, Goodwood, 87 miles
I didn't make the break of 6 that included Southam, Hayles et al, but comfortably made the split of about 30 riders that got away on that first climb up to the racecourse, writes Steve Saunders. We initially worked well to chase, but predictably not everyone did their turn, things got frustrating and attacks soon followed. Gary Dodd, Steve Gowar, Andy Betts and another got away to make a middle chase group, we never saw them again but we did chase hard at the end to keep the gap down. The big circuit was hard, we started on the race track but then headed out onto the South Downs. I did a lot of work today, trying not to lose time to that middle group and really suffered for it. There was however good camaraderie between the riders, all of whom were feeling the effects of 3 days hard racing! In the end, I was 25th inside the bunch. Only two days to go! My knees hurt!

Meanwhile James quit the race. "My mind was willing but the legs just weren't there. Next year! I'd recommend the race, each stage would make an impressive race in its own right.". Well done to Steve for his consistent riding. The last two days will be tough, both are hilly.

Stage 3a, Goodwood, 2.4 miles
This was a short time trial, one lap of the Goodwood motor racing circuit. Steve Golla (Sigma Sport) pipped Rob Hayles (Halfords) but Golla was on a TT bike and Hayles just used his standard road bike. Steve finished in around 20th place with James around 45th place.

Stage 2, Loxwood, 101 miles

There was a fast start to today's stage with riders who had missed yesterdays action keen to try and get up the road, writes Steve Saunders. The strong riders wouldn't let things go clear, until the second lap of a big circuit through Northchapel, Petworth and Kirdford where Rob Hayles slipped away and opened the gas up. All the GC contenders started to get excited, and gradually all the top-10 seemed to get off the front, and Sigma Sport, unsuccessful yesterday had managed to get two up the road. I looked at the moves and thought "If I don't get across to that, it will be even more GC time and the stage over" so I took a deep breath, shifted up and went for it. Steve Golla (Sigma) and one of the Irish Team Ras Mumhan racing came with me, and gradually we worked together for a hard five minutes get across. The last 200 metres to the break was pure pain, but it was worth the effort as this now large group (including the earlier move by Hayles) of about 20 worked to put some time into the bunch.

After what seemed like forever (bear in mind this is a 101 mile stage, having raced 91 miles yesterday) we moved onto the Dunsfold circuit, and this did my confidence good as I knew the roads. The large group stopped working together and several riders repeatedly tried to get away. Eventually Tom Southam and Miceal Concannon (Team Ras Mumhan) did break free, followed a lap or so later by Rob Hayles. The rest of us (and it seemed numbers were dwindling towards the three and a half hour mark) rode with a mixture of some smooth through and off followed by brief periods of hard attacking.

Eventually we moved onto the finish road and I think everyone was very grateful to see the line. Southam and A.N. Other had got the stage sewn up, a couple of minutes ahead of my group, with Hayles some 40 seconds or so ahead of us. I came seventh in the group, meaning tenth on the day, all I know is that the usual sprint was somewhat lacking.

The bunch rolled in a good seven minutes back by my reckoning with James in there. "It was ideal having Steve up the road, I could take it a bit easier. Not that it was easy, the start was mental at times but the longer things went on, the more comfortable I felt. But the distance eventually took its toll, I tried to lead out the bunch sprint but realised in seconds my legs weren't there and got swamped by everyone."

Only three more days to go. This is tough, tough racing: huge distances + strong riders =PAIN!!

Stage 1, Staplefield, 91 miles
We lined up in nice weather for a change, writes James Beaumont and once the race got going the pace was high as we lapped through Warninglid, Staplefield and up the one mile climb to Handcross as riders tried to go clear. On the second time up to Handcross, the race winning move did go clear, only at the time it didn't feel like it at the time. The Sigma Sport team had missed the move and it seemed to early but the leaders soon pulled out a lead.

With the break inevitably up the road several riders were trying to escape the bunch and counterattack. Normally they might have succeeded but Rob Hayles (Halfords) was there for his team mate Tom Southam, who was up the road. At times it looked like a training session for Hayles, for whenever a few riders went up the road he would cruise up to the front on the bunch and then open the throttle. He's the reigning British road race champion and a triple Olympic medallist. So when he starts chasing, the entire bunch gets lined out. Personally, this is exactly the sort of riding I hate: big gear, crosswind, trying to cling to the wheel in front, it doesn't get much worse for me. Each time Hayles brought back the moves and he'd drift to the back of the bunch and relax until the next time.

Mid-race I wasn't enjoying things, cramping and suffering. Steve had been looking strong during the day and things went on, the cramp faded so by the last lap, I tried to soften up the bunch a bit for Steve. I tried a few attacks, including a final one on the run in to the finish. I got a gap and turned onto the finishing road, which we'd not used during the race and I didn't know, only to find the finish was about two miles further away than I'd assumed. I kept going to make the bunch chase and help Steve and in due course, he came past on Hayles' wheel and kept up the pace on the way to the finish. Mindful it was only the first day, I sat up and didn't contest the finish at all and the others rolled past. Steve rolled into 31st place with me in 48th. Everyone looked tired at the finish but it's only the first day. The stage was won by Irish invitee Peter Hawkins (Team Ras Mumhan) who came in with a group of 11 riders, some six minutes ahead of four chasers with the bunch almost 10 minutes down.

Surrey League Road Racing, Ockley

1/2/3, 70 miles
There were only about 25 riders signing on for the 1/2/3 race, and the field looked pretty strong, writes Steve Saunders.

I was involved with a couple of attacks and chases on the first lap, but as seems to be the pattern missed the early move that ended up being successful! On the third lap Gary Dodd (Sigma Sport) chipped off the dwindling bunch and a fast chase ensued, with riders dropping like flies off the back. We brought the early move back to within 20 seconds, and a very strong AW Cycles rider heroically bridged across, Rob Enslin. With his extra umph, the break then pulled out to two and a half minutes, so the 15 of us left in the bunch got more organised and chased hard for two laps, where I worked pretty hard only for the gap to drop by 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

With about a lap and a half remaining, Gary Dodd and Richard Hoult (London Dynamo) winner of the Pearson Cycles Jaunts, got away from our group, followed by another move by I think David Kennett (Norwood Paragon) and Simon Lawn (Sigma Sport). They timed the attack well because I was dead by this point and couldn't sprint for the wheel. I turned around to find there were only three of us left in the bunch, if you could call it that.

The last lap was painful, with the 3 of us all pretty much bonked, so at the bottom of the climb I attacked them (Well, rode a bit faster anyway) and got a good gap. In spite of nearly grinding to a halt halfway up the climb I managed to finish in 13th place, with a couple of points for my efforts. I think the winners was Rob Enslin, a good few minutes ahead of me! A tough day on the roads of Surrey...

Third category, 50 miles
Jonathon Donald and James Beaumont rode the morning event on Sunday, a 50 mile race around a flat course through Ockley, Walliswood and Forest Green. Early talk of a "summit" finish on Leith Hill vanished, frustrating James but pleasing the majority of the riders. With a stiff breeze, most moves struggled to go clear. Halfway through the race Jonathon was caught behind a crash and with several others, could not get back on, the crosswinds making the chase harder.

On the final lap, James tried a move but it came to nothing and as the bunch neared the finish, there was one rider 30 seconds ahead and a chasing group of five up the road, but the bunch was closing quickly on the five. "With 400m to go, I led out the sprint and knew I'd take a few riders with me but it was either that or sprint for sixth place. I caught the breakaway and passed all but one of them just before the finish line, with another rider coming round me right on the line, so fourth place. Given the flat circuit and inevitable sprint finish, that was about as much as I could hope for", said James. The race winner was Tom Wrzecionowski (Prologue Bikes), who managed an impressive solo ride for the last 15 miles but apparently he is an ex-elite rider and he's won all of the last four races he's entered in July and August.

Akiskoviner 25 mile Time Trial

Rupert Bole, Svilen Marinov and myself raced the Agiskoviner 25 mile TT on Saturday, writes Ben Elliott. Conditions were far from ideal, with high winds, rain and poor visibility on the H25/88 course at Bentley. The conditions seemed to put many off as only five or six riders had started before I was off at no. 20. The outbound leg along the A31 proved tough, struggling to maintain any decent speed. The return leg with a tailwind provided some consolation, giving an insight into what it's like to be Mr Hutchinson cruising along at 35mph! By that time though, the damage was done and I just scraped in under the hour. Rupert clocked 1.04.21 and Svilen did a time around 1.09.20.

Surrey League Time Trial

Adam Page and James Beaumont rode the Surrey League's time trial on Saturday. As last week's race, the course was a hilly 26 miles but this time the conditions were worse, with the start taking place under a downpour. Adam collected a third place and James was back in eighth spot. James Whatling (PCA Ciclos Uno) won on the day, ahead of last week's winner Ishmael Burdeau (Agiskoviner).

Sliven – Sofia - Varna

The route, click on the image for a larger view

Club member Svilen Marinov returned to his native Bulgaria with fellow Wheeler Murdo Jamieson to ride the 1200km Sliven – Sofia - Varna randonée. Escaping the rainy British weather at the end of June, fellow club member Murdo Jamieson and Svilen travelled to sunny Bulgaria to spend two weeks by the sea and take part in a 1200km international cycling marathon. This was the seventh edition of the event organised by the Bulgarian branch of Audax Club Parisien (the Paris-Brest-Paris people). The 1226km route was varied and went over three mountains featuring a fair amount of climbing. To read more, click here.

Go Sharon!

A former club member is off to the Olympics in Beijing. Sharon Laws joined the club in 2005, when she was working as a botanist in London, in between projects for her employer, one of the world's largest mining companies. She'd just returned to London after winning the Cape Epic and soon work took her abroad to South America and Australia, so she left the club but evidently didn't stop cycling.

"Until this spring, the 33-year-old was racing in her spare time, on and off-road, while working in Australia as an environmental adviser for Rio Tinto Zinc, the mining and exploration company. Her greatest success had been in the eight-day Cape Epic mountain-bike race in South Africa in 2004. But in January, she lined up for the Australian National Championships in Ballarat and, in only her eighth road race, placed second behind Oenone Wood, who was fourth in the road race in Athens. More importantly, she left Wood's compatriot, Sara Carrigan, the Olympic road race champion, trailing in her wake" writes Jeremy Whittle in The Times.

She's no longer a club member but no doubt those who remember her will be wishing well. If you didn't know her, just ask Mark Briers to tell you about the South Downs Way MTB ride...

Surrey League Time Trial

Steve Saunders and James Beaumont rode the Surrey League's time trial on Saturday. The course was 26 miles, made up of two laps of a hilly course passing through Handcross, Staplefield, Cuckfield and Balcombe. Conditions were less than ideal with rain but this eased off during the ride. Steve clocked the second fastest time of the day, with James coming in fifth. The winner was Ishmael Burdeau (Agiskoviner).

Le Tour: Anderson and Anderson

   

Stage 7 of the Tour on 11 July ran from Brioude to Auriallac and over the Puy de Mary, writes Nicola Wadham. The Puy de Mary also featured in the 2004 Etape for the Kingston Wheelers who rode that event and some of you might remember it has an interesting two kilometre ramp at the top that makes White Down look flat. The Tour didn’t take that particular route up but was still a climb of note and the bunch were well split up with big gaps. The weather was hugely disappointing as you can see and very cold. Click on the pictures above for larger versions.

Here is a certain Kingston Wheeler with an eponymous Tour rider of repute – I resisted the temptation to burst into tears and say "don’t you remember me? this is your SON!" but it was a close run thing.

SCCU 100

It was the 100th anniversary of the Southern Counties Cycling Union 100 mile TT and four club members took part, Ben Elliot, John Coolahan, Phil Ember and James Beaumont. Using a lot of the 25 mile and 50 mile TT course on the Horsham bypass, the route also took in some slower roads towards Cowfold and Danhill. Conditons on the day were near-perfect, being mild and with almost no wind.

John clocked the fastest time from the club of 4.20.23, with James in 4.21.01 and Phil in 4.22.04, surprisingly close times given the long distance and different styles. Ben didn't finish, running out of energy later on and he packed. John had a fast start, clocking impressive times for the first 25 and 50 miles before finding the last 25 miles to be the hardest. Phil's pace was more even and James started slow and picked up the pace later on. After the event, John said he would never do a 100 again but within hours was talking about finding a faster course!

¡Congratulations Carlos!

Congratulations to Carlos Sastre (CSC-Saxo Bank) for his 2008 Tour de France victory

Hit the North

I was pretty hopeless in the Manchester based 12-hour endurance race "Hit the North" on 18 July, writes Jon Rollason. Course conditions were frankly evil, with thick, clarty mud covering a substantial portion of the 8-mile course, clogging bikes and sapping the will of all but the hardiest racers. The challenging conditions, collapsing drivetrains and the great deal of rather leisurely pushing going on in some quarters kept average speeds for much of the field well below 10 miles per hour, although Shaun Wells in first place solo and Neal Crampton in second had each blasted out 14 laps of the course by the time the 12 hour bell sounded. Fine riding from both on a very difficult day. For most people, endurance events are not really about the winning. Few people who compete are really able to churn out a serious racing pace for 12 or 24 hours on the trot. This makes for a sociable form of racing, with the beer tent often doing surprisingly brisk business from an early hour.

Southern Counties Road Race Championships

Second claim member Andrew Bye (Sigma Sport) and myself rode the 138km Southern Counties Cycling Union championships on the Ewhurst circuit finishing up Leith Hill, with Tim Lawn as chief Commissaire, writes Steve Saunders.

The course was altered from the usual circuit on the day due to roadworks in Ewhurst, so we took the rather narrower road left at Forest Green to rejoin the bottom of the circuit. I was caught napping in the first couple of laps and missed the winning break of the day, that included a Andy Bye. Also in the move was John Tiernan-Locke, the winner of last week's London Dynamo Race.

The break got out to nearly two minutes and the Plowman Craven patrolled bunch seemed content to let it go, with attempts to counter attack chased down. With two laps to go we came across a body and bike on the road from the break - John Teirnan-Locke was looking in a bad way from a crash caused by a bolting horse - so as the second lead car and ambulance dealt with it the bunch decided to neutralise racing until we could resume safely. In the end the decision was made to turn us up Leith Hill a lap early to contest the minor placings while the break finished the full course. I managed fifth on the climb, which translated to 13th overall.

I waited at the finish and was happy to see Andy coming up on his own, some 40 seconds ahead of Dan Patterson in second place. It was a great win and showed bags of class.

Obviously all our thoughts are with John Tiernan-Locke who we heard had suffered a broken jaw and lost teeth. I hope he has a speedy recovery.

Gezza's Journal

He's back from the Pyrenees and his attempt at the Etape du Tour where foul weather as much as anything else put him one minute out of the elimination time to start the climb to Hautacam. Click here to read his journal.

G'day

It seems one Aussie search engine is sending a lot of visitors to this website. People are typing "Evans Cycling" and landing on kingstonwheelers.com. That's because we're sponsored by Evans Cycles, a UK chain of bike shops and not because we're linked to Cadel Evans. If you want up to the minute news on Cadel, click here.

But Aussie cyclists are free to browse the site, indeed there's an interview with CSC-Saxo's Stuart O'Grady on here.

Club TT series: Agiskoviner 50

Five Kingston Wheelers lined up for the latest round of the Club TT Series, the Agiskoviner 50 on the Bentley course, writes Adam Page. This was a disappointing turn out after 11 Wheelers took part in the last race in the series – I guess they were put off by the distance!

It looked like being a fast day with warm and still conditions, although the breeze picked up a little towards the end of the morning. Charlotte East and Jack Haswell were the first Wheelers to finish with 2:18 and 2:09 respectively, followed by Phil Ember who improved his PB by nearly 7 minutes to record 2:02:58. He was narrowly beaten by Ben Elliott who went 7 secs quicker. This was Ben’s first ’50’ and he said afterwards that he nearly gave up after 25miles due to finding it so tough. But he kept going and got a bit of a second wind to finish the race.

I was also doing a 50 for the first time so was pretty happy to finish with 1:52:07. I’d had half an eye on the club record of 1:50:51 but really struggled for the last 10 miles (especially 40-45miles which was the first half of the normal 10 course – lots of drags and into the breeze) so it wasn’t to be today. I did place fourth overall though to claim my first prize money of the summer season! The event was won by Laurence Harding of the promoting club in 1:47-something, nearly three minutes quicker than the second and third placed riders. I’m now looking forward to doing some 10's over the next few weeks as I haven’t done one since the National 10 back in May.

Club TT series
Ben Elliot takes the lead in the series, ahead of Jack Haswell. Ali Cigari didn't ride and is away in New York for a month, making the series very open. Next event is the North Hampshire 10 on Sunday 19 July and there's time to enter the Charlotteville CC 10 on Saturday 2 August. Click here for the latest rankings.

Métayer Third in Surrey League Handicap

New member Mickael Métayer took third place in Thursday night's Surrey League race at Chertsey. Close behind the Breton were team mates Adam Page, in fifth place, and Steve Saunders in 11th place. The race was won by Colin Roshier (Team Quest).

Club Time Trial Series

Ali Cigari is leading the club's Time Trial Series. Based on ranking points collected so far from a selected calendar of events, the series isn't just about awarding trophiers but a way to get plenty of members riding the same time trial together. So whether you want points or not, it's a chance to take part in a TT with plenty of club mates. The next event is the Agiskoviner 50 mile TT this weekend. For more on the series, click here.

Etape du Tour

As well as Gezza Rosen, several other club members rode the Etape. "With a little luck, no mechanicals or flats, I managed to get to the top of Hautacam in 9 hours and 26 minutes (about 8.5 riding time), my Garmin says I burned 9769 calories!", says Christian Price. "I was a bit emotional when I crossed the line as there were times I didn't think I'd make it, I set off from Pau too fast and really suffered on the Tourmalet, on the descent I was passed by Nick Goss so it was nice to see a friendly face, I had a 15 minute stop at the foot of Hautacam to try and figure out how I was going to get up it, I set off again and was then passed by Robert Ivens another friendly Wheeler face, I had plenty of stops on the Hautacam due to extreme fatigue and cramp but eventually made it to the top. The whole experience was amazing." Dominic Baker also finished, in a time of 7.25.50. Well done to all for tackling the extreme conditions.

La Marmotte

As well as Andy Bye's storming ride, several other club members rode the Marmotte cyclosportive. On terrain that no doubt suited him, Phil Ember did a great time under eight hours, closely followed by Lawrence Smith who was hampered by a buckled wheel. Other finishers included George Edwards, Chris Hathway, John Loffhagen, Magnus Mill, Harry Skinner, Joe Holder and Fabrizio Viani.

Spare a thought for Richard Allen who made it to Alpe d'Huez, the resort, but not to the finish line. He blacked out near the summit and got oxygen treatment from the paramedics. Make no mistake, it is probably the hardest one day ride around, you can't find a bigger challenge than this. The club will be back next year, so if you fancy trying this, make a mental note for July 2009

Thruxton Racing - Walden Makes the Break

I was racing the the 4th cat race at Thruxton today. The weather was awful-driving rain and wind which had the bunch strung out from the start, writes Richard Walden. I got into a break with about 8 riders which stayed away for the whole race ending up with a minute lead by the end. I managed to take seventh in the final run in. Four points to go and it's third cat!

James Wasley was in the third cat race but got a cone knocked into his path by a rider in front and had to pull out.

Andrew Bye in Marmotte Top-10

Riding with the Kingston Wheelers club trip to the Alps, Andy Bye finished ninth in the Marmotte cyclosportive on Saturday. A 110 mile route taking in the Col du Glandon, the Télégraphe and Galibier, before descending the Lautaret and then the final climb up to the Alpe d'Huez, this is probably the hardest one day ride an amateur can do. Indeed the event is often one by professional riders and specialist mountain climbers. Last year's vintage was won a former pro. So for Andy to get in the top-10 on his first proper attempt - he pulled out mid race last year - is an exceptional performance, brilliant.

Who Broke the 25 mile Record?

Steve and I headed down to Liss this evening for the A3 CRG open 25 on the P885/25 course, writes Adam Page. Conditions were near perfect - warm, with with a light wind working in our favour on the long north-bound stretch. Riders were set off at 30 second intervals which led to having plenty of targets on the road to chase, with me off at 7.22pm and Steve seven mins later.

I had plenty of riders to chase and picked them off at regular intervals, going through 10miles in 21:45 and 15miles in 32.10 meaning that I was roughly on target for the club record of 53.17. Coming off the final turn with six miles to go I was doing a spot of mental arithmatic - I needed to pretty much average 30mph till the finish on the fastest section of the course. But as the miles ticked down I was finding it tough into the slight headwind, and with a mile to go it was touch and go. But I managed to pick it up for the finish and crossed the line in 52.56, a new club record by 21 seconds.

Now the big question was how had Steve got on? Out on the course it looked like he was going well, and when I passed him in the opposite direction towards the end I wasn't convinced that he was still seven mins behind me! Eventually we caught up back at the car and he had done 53.13 - also inside the old record! Not bad for his first ever 25! He had also been suffering cramp during the race, and with a bit more TT specific training (particularly getting used to riding in the position for longer times) there is no doubt that he'll go faster! I'd better get down to some training...

Despite our record breaking times we still only place ninth and tenth in the event. Winner was Nik Bowdler (he of the 77 tooth chainring!) with 50.18. The results board paid testament to the excellent conditions with at least 75% of the field scoring PB's.

Webmaster: Congratulations to Adam and Steve. Adam's ride means he breaks a record that has stood since 1990. Charlotte East also rode and she got a PB too of 1.05.37.

National Championships

Well done to club member Andy Bye who took a great 16th place in the National Championships on Sunday. Andy came in towards the front of the bunch in a race won by Rob Hayles. "The bunch was driven along at an incredible tempo by Millar, Stannard, Cavendish and Hammond. Those four seemed to be a completely different level of ability than the rest, capapable of riding at an unbeleivable speed all day" said Andy.

Chersey Race Report

There was a good turnout of Kingston Wheelers for Saturdays Surrey League races at Chertsey, writes Adam Page. In the thirds the club was represented by Alan Sherman, John Coolahan, Tim Lawn, James Wasley and Russell Seekins. Unfortunately Alan and Russell both suffered punctures but Coolers came through for fourth in the sprint finish with James and Tim both finishing in the bunch. I didn't spot any Wheelers kit in the 4ths race.

Myself, Steve Saunders and Thorsten Klassen lined up for the E/1/2 race in a field of nearly 50. I had a minor panic 15 minutes before the start when I discovered that I didn't have a skewer for my rear wheel but thankfully Steve was organised and had a spare one in his toolbox so I managed to make the start. The first few laps were full of short bursts and surges with both myself and Steve active in trying to make or chase breaks. My legs were feeling pretty strong (a complete contrast to Wednesday's Club 10!) and I was happy to do the work at the front of the race.

Eventually a break of five or six riders got away after several laps and the bunch settled in at a fairly leisurely pace! The break had a gap of 40-60 secs for most of the middle of the race, and with few riders in the bunch prepared to work, it looked like it might end up staying away. This was quite frustrating for Steve and I as we constantly found ourselves on the front with only two or three other riders sharing the work. Often the gap would close, then open up again when other riders couldn't pull through. However, we eventually reeled them in with about six laps to go, but one of the breakaway riders immediately managed to get away again as the bunch seemed happy that their work was done in catching the break.

With four laps to go I decided to have a go and attacked up the back straight, quickly establishing a gap on the bunch. I could often see the breakaway rider ahead of me but the gap never seemed to close so I kept my head down in the hope of staying away from the bunch. As the laps counted down it looked like I'd do it, but as I came through the bell a quick glance back told me that a group of riders were closing in on me. And so it was as these five riders caught me with half a lap to go, but I just managed to jump on the back of their train. We were safely ahead of the bunch so as we came into the back straight the usual games began as we eased up in preparation for a sprint. Unfortunately I chose this moment to panic, and as the other riders peeled over to the right of the track, I decided to stay left and go for it. This 'element of surprise' tactic is good in theory, but my problem was that we were still about 600+ metres from the finsh line! Consequently my legs were toast with a good 200m still to go and as I slowed the others were just accelerating and I was overtaken 100m from the line!

So seventh place for me, I'm reasonably happy as I rode strongly, but a bit annoyed that I got my finishing tactics so badly wrong. Thorsten and Steve sprinted in with the bunch, Thorsten near the front and Steve not far behind, although i'm unsure of their exact placings. Chertsey's flat profile is a much happier hunting ground for me than the hilly road circuits of Surrey and Sussex!

BSCA Best All Rounder: Anthony Anderson wins!

The road race and time trial events that conclude the British Schools Cycling Association Best All Rounder were held at Darley Moor on 22 June, writes mum Nicola Wadham. In very windy but dry conditions there was a strong field of riders for both events. In the road race Anthony made the break with four others on the first lap. Two more were shelled in the later stages and this left Anthony to lead through to the line. He was pipped for the win in the sprint by the track specialist Joel Partington, who showed a good tactical sense throughout.

The time trial (three miles) saw the same one-two result with Joel riding 9.21 and Anthony second in 9.33. For reference the record is held by Adam Blythe (8.04) – but the day was far from record conditions. I think some of the wispier U-8’s may have been blown into the next county. As a first year U-10 Anthony will have another chance to look at this record next year – but if you do the math its pretty quick for a nine or ten year old!. He will also (apparently) need the aero helmet, tribars and the rest of the traditional TT gear that was used to good effect by some of his competitors!

With four wins (cyclo cross, mountain bike, hill climb, grass track), three seconds (time trial, road, track) and a fifth spot (roller racing) – Anthony takes the U10 BSCA BAR scoring 153 points out of a maximum 160.

Join Now For Half Price

As we are halfway through the year, club membership is now only £15 for the remainder of the year. If you've been hesitating, join us now. Click here for more on membership.

Surrey League Jaunts

In the final stage of the Jaunts, Steve Saunders took fifth place and finished in seventh place overall. A great result by Steve who was placing in the top-10 on many stages and racking up a haul of BC points. The race was won by London Dynamo's Richard Hoult. "This was a really good race, I've learned more about stage racing and will definitely enter the Revolutions later in the year!" said Steve.

Coming up soon, the Surrey League Revolutions is a five day stage race for 1/2/3 category riders held in mid-August. If you can spare the time, enter it as it would be great to field a team of riders.

Ardéchoise Cyclosportif

The Ardéchoise is France's biggest cyclosportif with over 13,000 riders taking part, writes James Beaumont. Held around the semi-mountainous Ardéche region, you choose the route you take on the day, with six circuits from 66km to 266km. Riding were Glenn Chamberlin and myself from the club, plus ex-Wheeler Ben Cousins, now with Stockholm's CK Valhall and wheelbuilding expert Rob Pennell, we'd all had spent the previous week riding in the Alps. Sadly two club members were absent, Tony Lane and Gerry Rosen. Tony was struck down by a virus and Gerry didn't want to drive down alone. But Geneva-based Ian Collins and Parisian Yves Millière were there.

Glenn opted for the 216km route, as did Ben but problems with a front wheel forced Ben to stop twice for mechanical help and he was forced frustratingly to switch to the 171km route. Glenn just missed out on his goal of a top-100 place.

Meanwhile I went for the 268km Ardéchoise Vélo Marathon, complete with 16 cols and over 5000m of vertical climbing. The start - 12km uphill - was even more demented than last year thanks to the presence of two Française des Jeux pros. I rode with the 20 strong lead group for an hour until it split in half and luckily I was at the back of the group, the pace was too high as too many in the group doing a shorter route and others wanted to show off to the pros. I got some respite and was able to get a moment to eat and drink.

It was hot early on and after two hours I stopped at the first ravitaillement at the top of the Col de Mézilhac to grab some water only to see the rest of my group ride on. I lost around 40 seconds, took back around 20 seconds during the brilliant 15km descent and started the next climb trying to chase them down. Riding at close to my maximum, I got to within five seconds of them but couldn't close the gap and they began to pull away on the next descent. Physical and mental agony.

I resigned myself to riding at a decent tempo and soon caught a couple of riders and then we were joined by five others and I rode with them for an hour. I'd been riding for four hours in all when came the point at the Gerbier de Jonc, the extinct volcano cone that is the source of the river Loire where you turn left for the Marathon 268km route or turn right for the 216km route and I headed left and the others went right, leaving me to ride alone. I didn't know it at the time but it meant I was to ride the next 140km alone.

Enjoying the scenery, I rode on as it was getting hotter and hotter, the tar was melting, sounding like a bowl of rice crispies as you rode over it. The views of the ancient volcanoes were stunning but didn't matter, it was just a question of riding hard and eating and drinking a lot. I'd started the ride with my jersey sagging with 10 Powerbars and six gels and was working my way through these culinary delights. The climbs and descents came and went, I just kept tempo to hold off any riders behind. It was tiring but you could just ride steady and gradually I got closer to the finish line. On the way to the finish, you join others who have done shorter routes, which lead on the same roads into the finish and in past years I'd motored past them, this time I was passing slowly. Sure enough the finish line came and I was pleased to finish, taking fifth place. Without knowing it, I was closing in quickly on those ahead of me during the last hour and missed out on a podium place by just four minutes. Had I known, I would have ridden harder. Thanks to bad weather and work in May and June, I've been really short of training so I'll be back next year with the aim of winning this.

The event is highly recommened, great routes, well organised and there's a special atmosphere on the day from the thousands of locals. Think about it for 2009...

Hillingdon: Russell Seekins Wins in Wheelers 1-2

Racing on Tuesday night at Hillingdon, Russell Seekins took a fine win in the fourth category race. "James Wasley was busy at the front throughout the race and he and I were both well positioned on the final bend", says Russell Seekins. As the sprint wound up Russell launched his sprint on the inside line, "I held on for the win", says Russell and James took second place. Both now move up to 3rd category, well done.

Photo: Smithfield Nocturne

Jules Birks sprints and wins third place in the 2/3 category support race

Photo: New Forest Half Ironman Triathlon

Ian Russell on his way to completing a half Ironman triathlon on 4 May

Club Run

If you've enjoyed our club runs, then now is the time to join the club. We're happy for potential members to try the run but if you want to come along after a couple of tries, then you should think of joining.

As a member, you get the right to ride every club run but also a lot more. You can join a club and take part in other club activities, from trips abroad to curry nights. On hand you'll find plenty of like-minded members, to share everything from mechanical experience to a lift to a race. Click here for more.

National 10 Mile Time Trial Championships

Dan Sibbick and I travelled down to Liphook for the National 10 mile Time Trial championships on Sunday morning, writes Adam Page. Leaving Kingston it was grey and very wet, but the high winds of Saturday had all but gone. As we neared Liphook the rain had pretty much stopped and it was looking a little brighter, which was good news as there was talk of using a back up course off the A3 which had a great big hill in the middle! Sure enough they had decided to stay on the A3, but the start was delayed by 30 mins.

As the early results came in it was apparant that it was going to be a fast day with several PBs being set by the early riders. Dan was first off from the Kingston Wheelers and returned with a new PB of 20:45, an excellent ride in the now dry conditions. I set off a little after Dan's return and right from the start it was apparant that I didn't have the legs for it today. I finished with a disappointing 21:07, well off the pace of the quick boys going off before and after me. Not sure why it didn't happen for me but my legs have felt dead all week despite taking it pretty easy (my usual training regime!)

The event was won by Michael Hutchinson with a stunning time of 18:07 (yes, he was a full three minutes quicker than me!). All in all 28 riders went sub-20mins, which shows the high standard of the event. The event was extremely well organised and marshalled by the a3crg club. In the end, Dan placed 71st and I was 85th.

Second fastest time ever
This was the second fastest time ever by a British rider in an open time trial behind Bradley Wiggins' 17:58 set last year. Hutchinson's average speed was 33.1 mph. Whilst on the way back to the HQ, Naz Peralta and Will Meers passed Hutchinson and took the above picture of the man in action. "We were doing about 50mph at the time (in the car!) and Dr Hutch was doing about 45mph, phenomenal. Top snapping Will!" says Naz.

Andy Bye in Ireland

Racing in the "Ras", effectively the Tour of Ireland, Andy Bye is sitting in the top-10 overall. Riding as part of the Surrey League team, he's competing head to head against professionals and the Dutch and Polish national squads.

This time last year he wanted to ride but his university finals meant he had to turn down the offer. Indeed, Andy was a second category rider this time last year, making his progress even more impressive. Well done Andy! Keep up to date with Andy's results here.

Pyreenean Recce

Gerry Rosen visited the Pyrenees during the week as part of his build up for the Etape du Tour in July. In case you don't know the story, he's trying to go from 120kg London Cabbie to an Etape finisher in less than a year, for more, click here and has so far raised over £1,000.

Accompanied by James Beaumont who lent his experience in various guises as Frenchman, coach, mountain guide and cruel taskmaster, Gezza viewed the first part of the route on his first day and it's not as flat as the map suggests. Day two saw him tackle the infamous Tourmalet and he started well but riding into the clouds, the temperature dropped quickly and within no time, visibility was down to several meters and emotionally, he had to give up. Better weather on the final day saw him tackle the climb to Hautacam where he even managed to finish the climb with a sprint to the summit.

Club Kit Information

The contact email for club kit, kit@kingstonwheeelers.com will be switched off soon as it is bombarded by spam emails. If you want kit, please contact kitmaster Glenn Chamberlin direct, his details are in the members directory.

A word from the Webmaster: the club kit is great but please bear in mind that Glenn is volunteering to handle the kit. Behind the scenes, he's ordering thousands of pounds of kit, managing the stock levels and storing the stuff at home, and that's before he handles all your order. It's one of the hardest jobs in the club and despite what some might think, Glenn isn't salaried by the club! Be sensible, some have called him at 11.00 pm at night and others demanded he deliver to them. Remember, we're a cycling club and not a business. We're trying to update the kit ordering process, watch this space for more news.