Simon seals King’s Lynn championship with five races to spare
Lynn Cycling Club’s Simon Hardy romped to his ninth successive win to seal the men’s old school title with five races to go.
Hardy sits on a mammoth 158 points, with an unassailable lead over Tye Rugg, after crossing the line in 24.57 – his best time of the season – during the club’s latest time trial.
A lovely sunny evening brought out a healthy turn-out of 20 riders and there was plenty to celebrate as the favourable conditions enabled no fewer than five of them to record personal best times over the 10-mile course.
Rugg,13, was also runner-up on the night with his personal best time of 28.09, whilst the third-placed man, Trevor Marshall, could only manage 28.43, being jaded from his epic 200-mile ride at the weekend that included the overnight Dunwich Dynamo event.
Marshall’s daughter Ellie, also 13, was another star of the show, as she rode her first-ever solo time trial in an impressive 35.05, to take second place to Rugg in the juniors class.
She also took third spot in the ladies old school, where it was very tight at the top.
Sam May claimed victory with a PB of 31.48, getting the better of Heather Rugg, who continues to lead overall, for the first time – but only by ten seconds.
With Bethany Barnett absent on the night, Kay Burgess was the only rider in the ladies time trial class, and she produced another fine performance to come home in 25.34 – her fastest of the season – to trim Barnett’s overall championship lead to 18 points.
The other two PBs of the evening belonged to Justin Gyton and Chris Levy in the men’s time trial category.
They posted 23.38 and 24.43 respectively to place fourth and fifth.
Ahead of them in 22.38 was championship leader James Senter, who remains ever-present for the season, with 12 scoring rides to his credit.
The runners-up spot was taken by Steve Neill with 21.41 and hot on his heels was Velovelocity’s Ben Keeley, just three seconds back, though only KLCC riders are eligible to score points.
The maximum haul was taken once again by Ben Stancombe, yet another competitor to register his best ride of the season, recording 21.00, at an average speed of 28.6 miles-per-hour.
Full results: Ben Stancombe 21.00, Steve Neill 21.41, Ben Keeley (Velovelocity) 21.44, James Senter 22.38, Jon Talbot (Wisbech Wheelers) 22.40, Tom Lowe (RAF) 23.04, Justin Gyton 23.58, Martin Johnson (RAF) 24.06, Chris Levy 24.43, Carl Murley (Wisbech Wheelers) 24.47, Simon Hardy 24.57, Kay Burgess 25.34, Pete Baldwin (Wisbech Wheelers) 26.41, Tye Rugg 28.09, Trevor Marshall 28.43, Denese Hallahan (Wisbech Wheelers) 29.59, Sam May 31.48, Heather Rugg 31.58, Ellie Marshall 35.15, Dave Bethell 36.40.
