VC Baracchi club 25-mile record for Richards

Mark Richards of Velo Club Baracchi set a new club record at 25 miles in the Team VeloVelocity open event on the E2 course based near Newmarket on Saturday, featuring fast A14 and A11 dual carriageways.

It was a windy day and there were some fast times by those who kept a good pace into the wind to benefit on the return.

Richards’ new personal best and record time was 51:29 for eighth place and he must have been pleased with it from every point of view, including that he beat his rival Harley Matthews of Team PedalRevolution.co.uk who was twelfth in 52:03.

Mark Richards

Ninety-six riders and two tandems finished the event and the winner was Matthew Smith of team Bottrill in 48:25. Sophie Household of SSLL Racing Team was the fastest lady in 55:50.

Denise Hurren of Wrentham (Sole Bay Cycle Sport) with 57:59 was one of the many with personal bests.  James Trenchard of Godric CC was fourteenth in 52:09.

The tandem winners were Mark Arnold of CC Desiragear and Glenn Taylor of Shorter Rochford RT in 45:50.

Richards was keen to get his time trial bike out again the following day for the Gt Yarmouth CC club 25 around the technical circuit that includes a start and finish in Blocka Road and two laps round the triangle that includes Somerleyton, Blundeston Corner, Bradwell and St Olaves.

It was a far cry from the rolling dual carriageways but again there was some wind and it did not trouble Richards, who won in 57:18 from second-placed Jules Claxton of GYCC who achieved 1-05:24.

The full result after Richards and Claxton was Ian Sandall GYCC 1-07:02, Steve Brown GYCC 1-07:19, Mark Nussey Rock Estate 1-07:57, Tom Moore GYCC 1-10:01, Mark Dixon GYCC 1-10:12, Jenny Anderson GYCC 1-10:28, John Swanbury VCB 1-12:08, Brian Averre GYCC 1-13:29, Jan Smith GYCC 1-15:43, Steve Konrad GYCC DNF and Louis Julian GYCC DNF.

This event featured in the Holmes Cup inter-club competition with Gt Yarmouth CC and was on a handicap basis, in which the two VCB riders scored no points.  In the earlier events this year VCB scored 17 to GYCC’s 4 in the scratch 10-mile event and 15 to 6 in the handicap 10-mile one, so even after the Yarmouth club’s latest 21 points VCB is still leading by one point.

Later in the autumn a reliability trial is likely, on past record, to redress the balance in favour of GYCC, who always manage a remarkable turn-out.