Gentry and Richards keep Baracchi Trophy alive (more than only just!)

This year’s Baracchi Trophy two-up time trial may have been a low key affair, with only one VCB team on the line in the Godric CC 25-mile club event, but it produced a stunning ride.

Despite the lack of pressure from any competing riders Liam Gentry and Mark Richards kept the event very much alive in 55:02, which may well be a two-up record on the Earsham course.

James Moore of VCB rode solo in 1-00:34 and the fastest solo ride was 57:56 by Gavin Money of Iceni Velo. Seventeen rode.

John Swanbury and Kate Churchill rode the first mixed tandem time to add to the VCB annals, laying down a record of 23:48 in the Diss CC club 10 on the slower “Brockdish circuit” version of their club course. It was also said to be the course tandem record.

Churchill, in her former surname of Crisp, is the joint holder of various national competition tandem records, including an unbroken 10-mile mixed tandem record of 18:28 set in 1989.

There were 15 riders in this event, the fastest of whom was Tom Fitzpatrick of Diss in 22:01.

The CC Breckland open 25-mile time trial on Wednesday for the fastest 60 entrants produced a sparkling 54:29 personal best ride by Richards in ninth place. This time has only been beaten twice in the club before; by John Wych in 1998 (54:26) and by Gentry in 2010 (53:32).

Swanbury and Womack, both aged 68, played out their usual rivalry and just for once Swanbury was the faster, with 1-00:27 to Womack’s 1-00:52, also winning the prize for third veteran on standard, with a “plus” of 12:43 and it was his fastest 25 for 15 years.

John Thompson had reason to be encouraged by his 1-09:37 result in the same event. Steve Gorbutt of Diss CC won in 51:46. Jennifer Smith of VC Norwich represented the ladies with 1-01:11.

Womack had a great deal of potential to bite back, which he duly proved by an excellent sub-hour ride on Saturday’s API-Metrow 25-mile time trial on the “E2” course on the A11 south of Newmarket. His time was 59:41, an improvement that other riders who had taken part in the Wednesday event did not emulate.

At the top in the API-Metrow event were Matthew Smith of Team VeloVelocity 48:20, his team-mate Jason Bouttell 49:22 and Daniel Northover of Finsbury Park CC 49:46.

Thompson went on to ride the next day’s East Anglian VTTA 10-mile event on the A11 road from Six Mile Bottom. On a faster day than the week before he edged 30 seconds off his previous time, to finish in 27:16. James Long (Bishops Stortford CC) won in 19:35.

Richards

In the Godric CC open 50 on Sunday Richards just missed out on a sub-two-hour ride with 2-00:05, which can happen even at 25mph because courses are often slightly long for the advertised distance. Thompson was philosophical about his own 2-37:01. Daniel Bloy (King’s Lynn CC) won in 1-49:59.

Richards rode the Pedal Revolution ravine rip-up at Gorleston, describing it as, “a fantastic event which got all ages evolved. I made it in to the semi-final of the knock out style competition.”