Mike Sirett reports on the Hinckley CRC 25 mile Team Time Trial
This morning, two WVCC teams turned up at Wolvey to have a go at the Hinkley 2 UP TT course. Matt Plews/Jon Durnin and John Abbott and myself, Mike Sirett.
Matt/Jon on TT Bikes and John A/myself on Road Bikes
John and I had entered a few weeks ago and I had rather conveniently forgotten it was a 25 Miler. I’ve been going ok of late on a couple of 10’s but 25 is a whole different beastie. Matt P and Jon are quick as a rule and John Abbott has got very strong in the last year so I was a bit concerned about keeping up with him
Both pairs had a separately had a practice last Wednesday and it hadn’t been pretty but both pairs felt it would be ok on the day.
John and I have done a 2 up previously and we usually wear the same lush gloves and lids. John rather reluctantly informed me that he had laddered the very nice socks with the faint bunnies on so we had to reluctantly wear the very nice second pair. His have gone a bit grey in the wash which was a bit disappointing, but he did sort out the lids so easy come, easy go.
As regards the lids, John sorted me out with a very nice apparently more Aero lid than my already lush one, which he then had to adjust for me in situ on my nut and suggested that I may be his somewhat doddery old Uncle, not TT Partner.
On the day, Matt/Jon were going off 2 places and 4 minutes before us out of 16 pairs. On our warm ups we kept passing each other and waving good luck which seeming a bit strange by the third time so we went off to the start before it got a bit weird.
On the start we wished Matt/Jon good luck as they went off and we then had some rather nice pictures taken by the lovely organisers. God knows why, but we were all smiling in them at the start. It was also rather noticeable that there was a rather pungent aroma emanating from the Pig Field adjacent to the start with the bonus of quite a few flies. Still, onwards.
Now then, as the sensible ones amongst us know, you put your strongest rider off first, so I have no idea why I thought it was a good idea for me to go off first especially as we didn’t change over until the Wolvey Heath roundabout 2 and a half minutes later and consequently I felt it. We changed over down to the Magna Park A5 roundabout but a mile later when it got properly rolling, it was pretty obvious John was a fair bit stronger, he nicely did a massive turn at the front up to the turn left.
The turn left back to the Wolvey Heath roundabout is a bit grottty, as is the road surface so our speed tailed off and then picked up again back past the start.
There are 2 laps of the same and on the second lap we saw George Barnett giving us a welcome cheer at a road junction on the way back down to the Magna/A5 roundabout and then at a junction about ¾ of the way back up to the turn left. This was rather handy as John Abbott nearly turned off there and George helpfully waved him back onto the road again.
The turn left was even worse for me second time around and it was hurting a bit now and I was really holding John back. We then got back down to the Wolvey Heath roundabout with about a mile and a bit to go and I told John to push on as I thought it was all downhill to the finish but it wasn’t so it was pretty hard at the end. Sometimes I really don’t help myself. Jon D/Matt P were nicely shouting for us at the end after they finished.
We duly got finished over the line and I was properly knackered. My glutes tied up big time then also.
I was in a bit of pain back at the car and I somewhat limped into race HQ to check the times and have a cuppa. I reminded myself of the Popular 80’s beat combo Hayzee Fantazee’s song “John Wayne is big leggy”. Matt P was very generous informing me that he’d film my walk back to the car.
Anyhow, to the times.
Jon D/Matt did 59.15 for 2nd place overall. Jon informs me that the 10 mile version of this course is a bit slower than our Kibworth course so that’s pretty decent.
John Abbott and I did 67.12 for 11th place overall . I think John with a better partner would do a low 63 on the right course.
Many thanks to George for turning up and cheering us on and the organisers whom did a smashing job.
Mike
📷‘s by Alan Kitching and John & Denise Plews
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