Hayward sets personal best 10 time

Paul Hayward of Velo Cub Baracchi set a new personal best time of 21:25 in Saturday’s VC Norwich open 10-mile time trial on the A11 between Attleborough and Snetterton.

Hayward went well into the wind on the first leg and made the best of the tailwind return.

Other VCB times were Paul Dennington 21:58 (which was actually a better ride than Hayward’s in the age-adjusted veteran competition), Chris Womack 24:06 (which was similarly a shade better than Dennington’s ride on veteran standards) and John Swanbury 25:18

The top rides in the event were Stuart Fairweather (Team VeloVelocity) 19:18, Joe Spaulding (Ipswich BC) 19:47 and Jorge Viera (Team Pedal Revolution) 20:17.

VC Baracchi’s own promotion the following day was an open 50-mile time trial along the local course between the Needham and Stockton roundabouts, encircling both of them twice.  It incorporated the District Championship.

Dennington about to ride

Richard Allen organised it well and was supported to marshal the event and prepare the course both by club members and by members of other clubs.

Within the club the interest should have centred on another duel between Hayward and Dennington with Mark Saunders in the mix, but of these who had entered only Dennington rode, with 2-05:32.

Alex He achieved 2-16:50 and Lucas He did not finish.  Swanbury and Ali Banks rode the sole tandem in the related tandem event and achieved 2-02:33.

Alex He prepares

The event featured a strong breeze from the west that certainly helped on two legs of the course but added to the difficulty of the return rides from Stockton. Just nine riders took less than two hours.

Most times were down, with notable exceptions including the winner and new district champion Matthew Senter’s new course record of 1-45:27, beating that of 1-46:39 held by Joe Skipper since 2015.

The three fastest were Team VeloVelocity’s trio of Senter 1-45:27, Ben Stancombe 1-48:15 and David Procter 1-54:28, with John Bradbury of CC Sudbury fourth in 1-54:44.

Mandy Bunn of CC Sudbury was the women’s champion in 2-12:03 with Jan Smith of Gt Yarmouth CC second in 2-15:49.

Mark Saunders won the VC Baracchi Athlete’s Cup (for VCB riders without time trial aero aids) in the Gt Yarmouth CC club event in hard conditions at Lound with 25:09 from Dennington’s 25:57 and they were also the two fastest in the event as a whole.

In the last Godric CC evening 10 Mark Richards of DAP CC (a second claim VCB member) set a new record for the club course at Earsham in 19:42.

VCB times were Dennington 22:07, Hayward 22:25, Stuart Chase 23:26, Paul Reed 24:58 (PB), Chris Womack 24:59, Ali Banks 25:29, Mike Rainton (in his only time trial of the year) 29:35 and on the tandem, Kate Churchill and Swanbury 23:02.