Bertha makes presence felt

CYCLING

MEMBER of the East Lancs Road Club were out in force in the Altrincham Ravens CC 25-mile time-trial.

Starting south of Gawsworth village on the A536, the riders tackled two laps of a circuit, which took them along Dark Lane and across to the A34, where they turned towards Congleton.

At Congleton they went sharp left back up the A536 towards Macclesfield to complete one lap.

Conditions were blustery with Hurricane Bertha still making her presence felt, and the southerly leg was into a headwind which reduced speeds to 12mph at times.

Speeds, on average, were down for all the riders, but as always some seemed to defy the elements.

The East Lancs contingent, which includes several Oldham riders, experienced mixed fortunes.

Ian Grime recorded one hour, four minutes, 40 seconds and Frank Smith 1:6:0. Ben Trippier (1:9:34) was two seconds adrift of his brother Alex, while Alex Wiseman posted 1:20:0.

Pride of place, however, went to 15-year-old Sam Walley, who stopped the clock at 1:5:24 in his first 25-mile-time trial, while the club’s fastest rider of the day was Sam Wilson in 1:4:22.

Bearing in mind only two riders went under the hour mark for the 25 miles, then this was a solid effort by the East Lancs group.

The event was won by Scott Burns, of Manchester Wheelers, in 55:22.

The club’s only competitor in the CDNW road race at Oakenclough was Danny Brewjo.

For third and fourth category riders over a distance of 56 miles, the circuit involved a climb to the finish.

Torrential rain affected the speed of the peloton, but the group maintained their pace carefully picking their way through the debris on the narrow lanes.

Brewjo kept his place in the peloton throughout, despite having to race the entire event on the small chain ring.

In the final sprint he came home in ninth place for which he earned points towards an upgrade in his racing category.

Brewjo’s excellent form bodes well for the forthcoming hill climb season.