2023 Club run open time trials

Club competition time trials

The club has a number of awards for time trialling. The list below shows an example of the club competition and the events.

Events can be entered on the CTT website and must be done at least 2 weeks before the event date. All the competitions are handicapped so can you please let either Nigel or Amanda (email here) know when you have entered the event with your current PB for the distance so a handicap can be applied.

If you have any questions, please get in contact with Nigel or Amanda. We would like a good turnout to these events especially the NLTTA championships (marked below).

Club Competition	Course	Date	Event	Link to CTT website
Morris Jones 10 mile cup	D10/1 Rainford	23/4/2022	Mersey Tri	Here
Cavey 25 mile cup	L2524 Levens	26/6/2022	Kent Valley	Here
Cutler 10 mile cup	L101 Garstang	23/7/2022	Chorley CC (also NLTTA Championships)	Here
Liptrot Dewhurst 25 mile cup	L2511 Keswick	7/8/2022	Border City Wheelers (also NLTTA Championships)	Here
Fletcher 50 mile cup	K5012 Keswick	18/9/2022	NLTTA (organised by Nigel) (also NLTTA Championships)	Here

Club Time trial results

For Rainford 10 Time Trial results from 2018 until now please see here

The Wigan Wheelers and Triathalon club where winners of the NLTTA’s combined club 25mile time trial on L2521A, on 06/09/2020.

2022 Race reports

Below are race reports from 2022, written by Paul Stupples.

Mersey Tri ’10’ and Maurice Jones Cup

Saturday 23 April 2022

The Mersey Tri ‘10’ was the first of this season’s club trophy events, contested for the Maurice Jones Cup, and was held on a dry and sunny, but decidedly windswept, Rainford bypass last Saturday afternoon. The D10/1 always seems to be windy, but for the first open event of the 2022 season the usual conditions were reversed. Instead of the typical southwesterly, we had a strong and gusty east-northeasterly. And, as you can see on the myWindsock map and charts from Saturday (shown below), this meant that the wind was whistling pretty much straight across the dual carriageway section, and not much help up the lane to the finish either. The deep blues and reds that covered almost the whole map promised an afternoon of battling against cross- and head-winds that were forecast to reach a steady 18 mph, but gusting to nearly 30 mph.

Those warming up on the course before the event confirmed that it was going to be a bit of a struggle along the more exposed sections (I.e., pretty much all of it), but especially where the small amount of shelter offered by trees or buildings suddenly ended and you caught the full force of the wind. After the race, I heard several riders talking about having to spend time on the base bars as it was not possible, or at least safe, to stay on the tri bars all the way round. In fact, it seemed as much an upper body workout as a test of leg strength, with the repeated (compulsory) ups and downs from the tri bars at each roundabout added to the constant battle to control the bike in the buffeting wind. One rider, when asked, ‘how did it go?’, just said, ‘That was scary, just scary,’ which gives some idea of the conditions. Not ideal, but the same for everyone.

There were 76 entries for the race, but nearly a quarter of these didn’t start on the day. Perhaps some had checked the forecast and decided to keep their powder dry for a better day. Of the 58 who did face the timekeeper, it was last off Chris Humphries of Bioracer UK RT who led the field home with a time of 20:20, and Deborah Moss, riding for Team Merlin, who took the women’s honours with a time of 23:25. Both winning times were over a minute outside the course records, which (to me) seems amazingly close given the conditions. Even more impressively, Chris lost less than 10 seconds to his predicted Spindata time, and Deborah only about 30 seconds, but I would guess some (myself included) lost a fair bit more.

Three club members contested the Maurice Jones Cup, which is decided on a handicap basis. From my (provisional and possibly incorrect) maths, it seems that congratulations go to Nigel, who pipped Mark (who finished just outside the top 3 overall) by 11 seconds on handicap, with me trailing along in a distant third. Club results are below and full results can be found on the CTT website. There are also some photos from the event on the Mersey Tri Facebook pages.

Provisional Maurice Jones Handicap Result

Name	Pos.	Time	H/cap	Result
Nigel Clementson	15th	22:18	1:20	20:58
Mark Chadwick	4th	21:09	0:00	21:09
Paul Stupples	37th	25:32	2:45	22:47

It can’t have been an easy afternoon out in the wind for the marshals, timekeepers, and other volunteers from Mersey Tri on a course that has no HQ (or toilets) and requires a lot of marshals for such a short race. Thanks to all. Thanks also to Ben Norbury for kindly allowing me to use the myWindosck images in the report.

West Pennine RC – 12th March 2022

A long time ago, near a town not too far away, there used to be a time trial called the Circuit of Longridge. It was long. It was hard. And, it’s gone. This original two-lap test of early-season fitness covered 35 miles and included two ascents of the tough Chaigley climb, up the Chipping Road and past the (now closed) Craven Heifer pub, as well as the relentless ups and downs of the roads that encircle Longridge Fell. For those that didn’t find the uphill bits taxing enough, there were also two white-knuckle descents on each lap that ended with a crossing of the River Hodder via its narrow, and usually dark and slippery, upper and lower bridges. Even the flatter run-in back towards Longridge, after the descent off Chaigley, was usually into the wind and so offered little respite for those grimly contemplating the second lap or trying to raise a final finishing burst. Sadly, however, this springtime challenge disappeared from the calendar after a new supermarket was built on the course. It was briefly (I think) replaced by a version that used just a single shortened lap of the original circuit, with the start and finish placed either side of the new supermarket to avoid most of the associated traffic chaos and road furniture. However, given the difficulties of racing through a congested town centre, this too eventually received, a perhaps inevitable, DNS.

The L142 course map

The event that now remains on the calendar near Longridge in early March is the West Pennine RC hilly. This covers the 14.6 miles of the L142, which is based on an out and back section of the B6243 along what was the first half of the original circuit. Starting a couple of miles east of Longridge, the opening leg of the L142 runs for about five miles in a generally northeasterly direction through Knowle Green and Hurst Green, and past Stonyhurst College. The riders then tackle a four mile loop around Edisford Bridge and Bashall, before taking a final right-hander back onto the return leg that retraces the opening five miles to the finish. I think on Zwift it would be called a lollipop route.

L142 course profile (elevation in metres; distance in miles)

The ‘stick’ of this lollipop is essentially a crossing of the valley of the river Hodder, a tributary of the Ribble, which can occasionally be glimpsed far below as it flows towards Ribchester. On the way out, the road descends steadily towards the lower Hodder bridge, but via a series of maybe six or seven sharpish, shortish climbs followed by relatively longer, shallower descents. Consequently, it never really feels like you are on a descent because the constant out of the saddle (for me anyway) efforts disrupt the rhythm and reduce the speed. The course profile suggests that the lollipop circuit around Bashall may be a little less demanding. The fast and flat opening mile of the loop certainly comes as a welcome relief and offers a chance to spin the legs, although a series of sweeping bends add to the sporting nature of the course. Unfortunately, however, the tight left-hander at the Edisford Bridge pub signals the start of a couple of miles of hard, draggy climbing that brings you back towards the lower Hodder bridge and the long slog for home. And, of course, the run for home is the reverse of the opening stretch and so comprises a series of longer climbs punctuated by shorter, steeper descents, all of which (again, for me at least) can get slightly knackering by the finish. I have certainly struggled in the past on the final tough section towards the line as my legs, or possibly my resolve, started to fail at the thought of yet another hard uphill grind. So, as is often the case with these sporting courses, what would probably make for a pleasantly challenging training ride can turn into a very hard day indeed if the conditions or the legs are not at their best.

This year, race-day dawned sunny and cool, but not as cold as the previous few days, and with the roads slowly drying following the overnight rain. In fact, it felt warm enough at the sheltered start to tempt one or two riders into some last minute hopping about in the lay-by as they struggled to remove leg-warmers before the off. I kept mine on, it really wasn’t that warm once you got out onto the open road. Also, more importantly, I hadn’t shaved my legs. The reason it wasn’t that warm was the strong southerly wind that was whistling directly across the exposed opening section as it hugged the upper slopes of the Ribble valley and plunged down towards the first crossing of the Hodder. For me, this strong crosswind made handling the TT bike a bit more of a challenge as I am still getting to grips with some newish deeper section wheels and how much wind they catch in these situations. No one else seemed too bothered, judging by the array of disks and much deeper rims on display, and I guess I will eventually get used to the feeling of the bike moving around a bit more than it did with the old wheels in.

Unfortunately, my power meter and Garmin head unit had some kind of falling out while I was making the last minute preparations in the HQ after warming up, so I have no power data from the race itself. I am not sure how much help the power meter would have been during the race, but it would have been good to see the data afterwards. The heart rate trace, as you would expect, mirrors the elevation profile, with the uphill efforts staying consistently in the high 150s, and dropping to the mid-140s on the downhill sections. I maintained a solidly consistent effort throughout, not something I have always managed in the past at this event (or anywhere else for that matter). My heart rate peaked at just over 160 on the climbs away from the Hodder bridge in each direction, suggesting that these are the steepest and hardest sections of the route. No kidding.

As is often the case on these types of course I probably used every gear on the bike and repeatedly struggled with the dilemma of whether to shift down to the little ring or keep grinding away in the big ring. A detailed knowledge of any course is always useful, but would be such a huge advantage here, and at similarly hilly events, where maintaining momentum is so important, and the consequences of being in the wrong gear at the foot of a climb, or taking too much, or too little, speed into a bend, can be costly. I saw all of this in action as Nigel swooshed past me, taking a much better line and carrying a lot more speed, on the twisting descent towards the bridge on the way back, but then unshipped his chain on the lower slopes of the climb on the other side. He was soon up and running again, with the help of a spectator I think, and had caught and passed me again before the top. Nigel went on to finish 21st in 39:39, and I was almost, but not quite, lanterne rouge in 32nd with 44:42. Richard Bideau continued his strong start to the season with a win in 33:01, and Louise Scupham was the only female finisher in a time of 39:59. Not sure what the course record is here, but Bideau was 1:20 faster than his winning time from 2020 when the event was last held. This was also my best time for this course, which may be down to the new wheels, or might suggest that the stiff southerly provided a bit more help than hindrance on the harder sections on the way home, and so maybe it wasn’t such a bad day for this course despite the wind.

The full results can be found on the CTT website, and for some photos from the race you can got to Riding For Love or Kimroy Photography.

NLTTA Combined Clubs 10 – 5th March 2022

To slightly misquote Lord Tennyson:

Spring, and a (not so) young person’s fancy lightly turns to the NLTTA Combined Clubs ‘10’.

Or at least mine did, and so did that of another 40 or so members of the various affiliated clubs (including five Wheelers) who gathered at Winmarleigh village hall on the afternoon of Saturday March 5th. For many, this would be the season opener and the first chance to test the winter training around the mix of lumpy and sinuous lanes that make up the L1017 circuit between Cockerham and Stakepool, just west of Garstang. The consensus in the car park, as bikes and kit were extracted from cars and vans, seemed to be that spring was, in fact, yet to arrive. Certainly, the forecast 9°C felt a good deal colder as the stiff northerly blew the dust around and threatened to carry off a couple of carelessly discarded jackets and wheel bags. However, it was dry and the sun shone brightly, so it could have been a lot worse.

The sunshine convinced a few of the hardier souls into opting for a short-sleeved skinsuit and bare legs, but most were partially or completely covered-up against the keen wind. I suspect a few, myself included, were hastily rummaging around in the boot looking for an extra layer, if only for the warm up.

The L1017 starts just a short ride from the village hall on the narrow and potholed B road that runs north from the A6 towards Cockerham. The first three miles were into the wind and covered a series of short rollers and drags that eventually lead to the sharp left-hander that takes you out of the village and down onto the A588. The road surface on this opening section is not the best, and, combined with the twists and turns, ups and down, and deep shadows cast by the high hedges, made for an interesting first outing of the season on the TT bike. Pulse and power peaked for me towards the end of this opening rollercoaster section after the series of repeated short uphill efforts. These were separated by even shorter recoveries on the downhills, when the strong wind and twisty lanes made hanging on the main aim. After the final, and possibly hardest, uphill effort, the sharp left-hander at the northern end of Cockerham brought relief from the wind and a longer, sweeping downhill that gave the chance to spin the legs and get up to speed before settling in for the six miles or so of flat and much smoother, but still twisting, A-road across the exposed fields and south towards Stakepool. With the help of the cross/tail wind even my speed was fairly high, and apart from having to back off a little for traffic (notably the local bus service) and around some of the sharper bends, I was just about able to maintain a consistent effort.

The last mile, after the second of the three sharp left turns on this course, was a bit of a slog as the strong cross/head wind was now howling through the numerous gaps and gates in the hedges and required a few ‘lateral readjustments’ along the way before the final change of direction and a lung-busting effort up a very narrow lane to the finish into the teeth of the wind. I nearly came to a complete halt after finishing as the combination of wind and rising road reduced me to a crawl, and the return to the HQ was probably the coldest and most taxing few minutes of the day.

Having finished, I appreciated why the timekeeper at the start had suggested that a northerly or northeasterly wind direction was faster than the more usual southwesterly for this course. With the wind from the N or NE, you not only get some protection from hedges and buildings into the wind towards the first turn on the way out, but then also reap the full benefit on the longer and more exposed run across the flat farmland towards Stakepool. This longer section would, I imagine, be quite a different proposition with the prevailing brisk southwesterly blowing into your face.

Some of the challenges posed by these rural roads became evident when Mat finished with a badly scuffed tyre after what sounded like a long speedway-style powerslide around one of the many bends. Adam was also fortunate not to have had any major problems after discovering a crack in his handlebar setup after finishing, which was almost certainly caused by a close encounter with one of the many potholes on the course.

Andy Whiteside of the Springfield Financial Racing Team recorded 21:26 (a smidgen under 28 mph!) for first place, which was a little over 30 seconds outside the course record, and suggests that the timekeeper’s assessment was spot on. (Only the men’s record was shown on the NLTTA start sheet.) The times for the five Wheelers are listed below and the full results are available on the NLTTA website.

5th Mat Morris 21:56

7th Adam Taylor 22:12

14th Nigel Clementson 23:24

26th Paul Stupples 25:43

39th Derek Black 33:54