>The Wigmore CC 25m TT was my first race ever in Kent. It’s a nice course with a good road surface and a ski-jump start. It’s all single carriageway, but wide and with good visibility. It was a warm, sticky morning. There was a strong breeze but long, tree-lined stretches neutralised it for much of the race. The £600 prize list attracted a good field of 105 riders.
The early start and long drive to the event meant a good warm up was needed. Never mind. The new tri-bars were a bit of an adventure at first but once the race started I really liked them. I may be marginally lower which might be a factor in the hamstring and back pain I had after the race. The position felt good though, so I will stick with it. The best bit was that they didn’t move.
My former team mate at Willesden CC, fast man Peter Dixon, was off eight minutes behind me. I made it a target to hold him off to the final roundabout (17 miles). In fact he only caught me in the last mile having gone slightly off course at the first roundabout. He clocked a very good 57:14 and looked powerful as he sped past. It was good to catch up with him. He looks set for another fast season.
My new team mate Peter Tadros (In Gear Quickvit Trainsharp) continued his great form with a 3 second beating of the course record to win the event in 51:52. Twenty nine of the field were under the hour.
I came 56th of the 82 finishers. I would have needed to do a long 1:01:+ to make my perpetual target of top half of the field. I think that would have been possible last season. However, starting from here, 1:05:33 is another small step forward. There’s a photo of me here that shows that I’m still carrying too much luggage around the midriff and that I’m collapsing forward too much.
Race stats: Time: 1:5:33 (22.88mph). First 12.5 miles: 32:00, last 12.5 miles: 33:33. Top speed: 38.7mph. Slowest mile (14): 3:14 (18.56mph), fastest mile (1): 1:56 (31.03mph). Average HR: 163bpm, maximum HR: 170bpm. Average cadence: 74rpm. 56th of 82 finishers. Winner: Peter Tadros (In Gear Quickvit Trainsharp) 51:52
Lance Woodman 