Outtrim 23rd July 2016

Cold and wet for the Club ITT (12 event images)

The Club held a round of the State Individual Time Trial series on Saturday morning and it was a windy, cold and sometimes wet day for the riders. The temperature was only single figures but the gusty wind and occasional hail showers were not pleasant for rider or official. To start the day the club held racing for club riders only with the State series starting at 10.00am

In the Club event, a time trial over the 20km course, Will Lumby was the winner with a great time of 29.9min, just 6 sec clear of second place Brett Franklin whilst Austin Timmins came home in 3rd place in 30.03min. The average speed for Will was 41.17kph. The course which was out and back had a substantially tail wind on the outward journey but a solid headwind for the return run. Austin Timmins was riding on his restricted junior gears so lost a little on the tail wind run.

Oliver (36.25 min)

In the juniors Oliver McLean was the winner with a time of 36.25 min. He was followed by Thomas Fitzgerald and Kaleb Jans. The club had intended to run a hill climb championship after lunch but the squally weather and bleak conditions at the top resulted in the climb being cancelled.

In the State series races, the number of riders shrunk from the 76 entries to just 55 hardy souls. The para-cyclists mainly riding a sled and hand pedalling, were all in attendance and braved the elements with an early start. Local cyclist Alex Welsh put in a great effort in his division with a time of 38.41min. Our only other rider was Bernadette Fitzgerald in the Women B grade division but she was hampered by new tri-bars on her bike which slipped over the journey and caused some difficulty and left her with a time of 36.17min and in 7th place and 1.35min from the winner. The former national women’s time trial champion, Bridie O’Donnell raced home in a great time of 30.07min. Best time of the day went to the Masters A grade winner , Nich Squillari (Geelong) in a time of 26.27 min. which is an average speed of 46.3kph which was fantastic for the conditions. That was a time which was better than the elite men riders who ventured out for the challenge.

Next week end the racing is at Korrine for the Sprag trophy. The Club juniors will be keen to keep driving their fitness before the State Titles scheduled for the first weekend in August.

Lindsay