No fireworks at Kibworth TT

There’s nothing quite like feeling the sun on your back and a warm evening breeze as you blast down the A6. 

And Tuesday night’s TT was absolutely nothing like that. 

Instead, riders tackling the first Kibworth 10 of the season were greeted with unseasonably cool temperatures and a not-very-helpful side wind. 

But that didn’t deter an in-form Hans van Nierop, who recorded the quickest time of the night at 21.46 – an average of 27.5mph. 

Hans was followed home by Phil Rayner (22.44) and Matt Plews (23.05); with Linda Hubbard fastest woman at 25.37. Leading road bike riders were Rhys Thomas (24.11) and Milly Pinnock (26.56). 

Back in the middle of the pack on the night was yours truly – trying out a new pacing plan (sans bike computer). 

My usual ‘going off like a startled rabbit with a firework up its chuff’ strategy has served me badly for a number of years – invariably resulting in a slow and painful ‘death’ over the second half of any course. 

This time; things would be different. 

A longer than normal warm-up ride seemed like a good idea.  

And arriving just a couple of minutes before the start saw me retain my Ready Brek glow in the cool conditions. 

(Incidentally; don’t we all secretly love looking at who’s starting in front of us and setting a target distance for ‘the catch’. On this occasion the ‘hare’ was Phil Rayner. And my target distance for the catch was race HQ over a cuppa and a cake. Got him.!) 

Anyway, starting off at c80% effort for the first couple of miles felt very alien.  

Once past the shooting range and on to the long straight approaching the McDonald’s roundabout it was time to press the accelerator. 

Pleasingly, there appeared to be gas in the tank and I was able to hold some sort of form and speed until the bitter end.  

Probably my quickest 10 at Kibworth for some time; so will be giving the ‘going off like a chilled Koala with a cigar in one hand and a negroni in the other’ strategy another go next time. 

Thanks, of course, to all the time keepers, volunteer marshals and catering supremos (those chocolate donuts were scrummy), without whom none of this TT malarkey would be possible. 

 

 Thanks to Chris Dainty for the report