10 mile individual time trial - Crossgar Road, Ballynahinch (map)
06 May 2010
Thirty nine riders gathered on the Crossgar Road in Ballynahinch for the 6th round of Dromara Cycling Club's Thursday night league. This venue was switched just a few days before due to the elections going on which would have interferred with the proposed event at Annahilt. The riders were blessed with a nice evening, little wind and glimpses of sunlight which helped to off-set the tough 5 mile course which descended towards Crossgar on a twisty road and meant the riders had a bit of a climb on the way back. Davy Robb and Nigel Sudlow set about sorting out the start order but were delayed when some of the first riders were out warming up. Instead it was down to Mary Hunter to be the first away with the rest of the riders starting at 30 seconds intervals. There were a few inital problems getting a few riders away as the road surface sloped down to the kerb (and bike and rider went into the kerb) and had meant a couple of restarts. All got away in the end with the final rider, Marcus Magowan, setting off last as is his custom.
Fastest rider on the night was Ronnie Smyth setting a time of 24 minutes and 49 seconds with fellow racer Davy McKnight only 10 seconds slower. Darren Weir chose his road bike tonight (instead of his time trial bike) and set a time of 25m 54s. In the battle of the Magowan brothers it was the junior of the pairing Chris, who finished fourth fastest 11 seconds ahead of Gavin. Marcus was 6th fastest in a time of 26:36 and he was closely followed by road racer Simon Welby who set a time of 26:45. Damien McDonald did not have a great night as he had taken a wrong turn to get back, but did manage to come home 8th fastest. Neill Currie was 9th in 27:06 with Derek Hanna 10th (27:17). Ryan Mallon set the fastest youth time of just over 30 minutes (30:05) with the fastest female Caroline Patterson just 8 seconds quicker. Our oldest competitor on the night was Raymund Martin (aged 66) who was 32nd overall and finished in a respectable time of 32:39.
Full results below.
When the times were adjusted, using the riders' individual time handicaps, the winner of the event was Derek Hanna who had improved the most (1 minute 9 seconds) compared to his time handicap and won the maximum of 40 points towards the overall league. Next was Craig McDowell who had improved by 25 seconds on his last time and won 39 points with Darren Weir taking 38 points after improving him time by 14 seconds.
Time handicapped times below (->)
Many thanks to timekeepers Davy Robb and Nigel Sudlow to all the marshals for keeping the riders safe. The next round is a circuit time trial on Thursday 13 May 2010 starting at 6:50 pm, from the Ballycreen Road and finishing on the Magheraknock Road.
Timekeepers: Davy Robb & Nigel Sudlow
Marshall: Alan McMullan, Dennis McMullan, Noel Gibson, Peter Jamison
Report & photographs: Martin Grimley
Raymund
Mary
