National VTTA Championship 25 mile TT on V236/1. 16/04/2023.
Event Details
VTTA (Veterans Time Trials Association) time trials have results based on an adjusted time that depends on age. These events are held under CTT regulations and are open to younger riders as well, but awards are made only to VTTA members.
For 2023, a new method is being used to declare results. Age Adjusted Time (AAT) is the actual race time minus an age adjustment. This depends on the race distance, the rider’s age and the rider’s sex. As examples, for the two winners of this 25 mile time trial, the age adjustments are 6 minutes 15 seconds for Russ Richardson, aged 65 and 12 minutes 48 seconds for Linda Dewhurst, aged 64.
Organised by the Yorkshire VTTA, this event took place on the V236/1 course that uses the dual carriageway A168/A19 running between Topcliffe and the north end of Thirsk. Starting near Topcliffe and heading north, there are two laps giving 4 legs on the dual carriageway of approximately 6 miles each. There is a net elevation gain of around 20m from start to the northern turn with gentle rolling climbs and falls superimposed upon it. Both turns are slow, particularly the northern with a roundabaout and a long looping sliproad to negotiate.
For this day, the forecast was for a mild temperature of around 10°C and a gentle wind of around 4mph from the south. It turned out to be a little cooler and the southerly wind strengthened as the event progressed, becoming a stiff breeze for the later finishers.
VTTA Results – men
Only twelve seconds separated the medal positions in the men’s event.
| Position | AAT | Actual | Name | Club | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 48:09 | 54:24 | Russ Richardson | Zurbaran Racing | 65 |
| 2 | 48:19 | 50:42 | Richard Bideau | Pendle Forest CC | 52 |
| 3 | 48:21 | 54:14 | Joseph Costello | Legato Racing Team | 64 |
VTTA Results – women
| Position | AAT | Actual | Name | Club | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 48:17 | 1:01:05 | Linda Dewhurst | Team Milton Keynes | 64 |
| 2 | 49:10 | 0:58:03 | Deborah Moss | Springfield Financial RT | 52 |
| 3 | 50:39 | 1:00:04 | Angela Hannon-Flaherty | Seacroft Whs | 54 |
VTTA Results – group
The VTTA is divided into groups, each reporesenting a different part of the country. The group award was won by North Lancs & Lakes with a combined adjusted time of 2:26:33
| Position | AAT | Actual | Name | Club | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 48:19 | 50:42 | Richard Bideau | Pendle Forest CC | 52 |
| 49:04 | 57:56 | Peter Greenwood | Clayton Velo | 71 | |
| 49:10 | 58:03 | Deborah Moss | Springfield Financial RT | 52 |
VTTA Results – team
Springfield Financial RT were the festest team of three with a combined time of 2:31:06
| Position | AAT | Actual | Name | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49:10 | 58:03 | Deborah Moss | 52 | |
| 50:53 | 52:24 | Derek Parkinson | 48 | |
| 51:03 | 1:03:27 | Theresa Taylor | 63 |
Overall Results – women
| Position | Time | Name | Club | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 58:03 | Deborah Moss | Springfield Financial RT | 52 |
| 2 | 1:00:04 | Angela Hannon-Flaherty | Seacroft Whs | 54 |
| 3 | 1:01:05 | Linda Dewhurst | Team Milton Keynes | 64 |
| 4 | 1:01:21 | Joanna Cebrat | 360 Racing | 43 |
| 5 | 1:01:35 | Susan Semple | Legato RT | 57 |
| 6 | 1:02:13 | Sarah Harrison | Trek Sheffield | 49 |
Overall Results – men
| Position | Time | Name | Club | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 49:19 | Richard Sharp | Addform Vive Le Velo | 40 |
| 2 | 50:37 | Marcel Schubert | Darlington CC | 41 |
| 3 | 50:42 | Richard Bideau | Pendle Forest CC | 52 |
| 4 | 51:17 | Alexander Royle | Manchester BC | 29 |
| 5 | 51:24 | Michael O’Keeffe | London Dynamo | 53 |
| 6 | 51:30 | Julian Ramsbottom | Team Bottrill | 51 |
Pendle Forest Results
With only two riders competing, PF didn’t have a team result. Jason Bateman and Simon Phillips are former PF members.
| Position | Time | Name | Club | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 50:42 | Richard Bideau | Pendle Forest CC | 52 |
| 56:33 | Paul Braithwaite | Pendle Forest CC | 47 | |
| 53:46 | Jason Bateman | VTTA North Lancs And Lakes Group | 51 | |
| 59:49 | Simon Phillips | Stockport Tri CLub | 62 |
Race Report
By Richard Bideau.
Both my previous time trials using Dalton Villiage Hall ended with a DNF. Last year it was a puncture and in 2015 I retired due to back pain. The latter was particularly galling as I only entered as a precaution to defend my BBAR lead over Adam Topham and would much rather have been with Pendle Forest on a hostelling weekend. In the end the BBAR for 2015 was settled by the Stockton 100 course being declared short.
To date, my performances in 2023 have been sustantially weaker than in previous years. However, I have been steadily improving, and my ride of the Circuit of the Dales coupled with some good training performances in the week preceeding this event gave me confidence that form was returning. Accordingly, I chose to start with a target power that I used back in 2019.
With the forecast, I was expecting the southbound legs to be faster due to the elevation drop, the wind forecast being insignificant. It didn’t seem insignificant during my warmup, but I decided to stick with my plan.
These flat dual carriageway courses give a very different race experience to the hilly SpoCo events. There are no obstacles in the form of steep climbs, sharp bends, sheep and phesants etc. All there is is a straight flat road upon which to perform that feat of riding necessary to be as fast as possible: push out the maximum amount power without falling apart before the distance is up.
Heading north on the first leg, the power felt sustainable and the resulting speed agreeably high. Once the effect of accelerating away form the start had begun to be submerged, the average crept gradually towards 30mph, the magic number! I was slightly surprised to find that the road did not feel flat at all. There were rises and falls, the speed sometimes falling below 28mph, sometimes over 34mph.
Six miles done and my average speed had climbed to 30.1 mph. I was very happy with that, the southbound leg would surely be faster and, provided I could sustain the power, a sub 50min ride seemed assured.
The turn is horribly slow and by the time I was back on the dual carriageway, the average was down to 29.6mph. Worse, it only took a short distance south to realise that the wind was stronger than forecast. The southbound leg would not be faster after all. I brifely considered riding to speed instead of power, but quickly dismissed that as being too ambitious. No, I would be content just to hold the power.
Starting the second lap, I saw 29.8mph, maybe it was still on… By now it was beginning to hurt, the smooth power delivery of the first lap gradually gave way to a constant battle to keep the power up.
Turning south for the final leg was the worst part, the temptation to ease off was difficult to resist. I started to count off the miles remaining. Four miles to go, about eight minutes. Concentrate just on the next mile… Three miles, six minutes – don’t crack! Two miles – will the end ever come? One mile, half a mile, this is awful but one minute, just one more minute or it has all been for nothing. And then, as ever, it was over.
I’m delighted that I didn’t crack, but it was close and it is a long time since I’ve pushed myself so hard that I vomited after finishing. I’m very pleased with this ride, my best performance since at least 2019. I put out more power than in the VTTA 10 of six weeks ago.
Many thanks to the organisers for an excellent event – it was good to see so many marshals (all volunteers) on the course. It was also good to have an event with a full field and a full set of reserve riders, just what the CTT needs at the moment.
One final point… The presentation photographer complained that the men on the podium looked miserable and asked us to laugh instead. He chose to use that one in the VTTA report!