VTTA National Championship 30 Mile Report

VTTA 30 Mile National Championship was held on the WE30/01 course in Fife, Scotland on Sunday 30th July. The weather was windy and the road was wet, but the rain largely stayed away during the race.

The top three men on age adjusted time were Douglas Watson (1:00:10), Phillip Kennell (1:01:47) and Mike Twelves (1:02:28). Here is Douglas’s story of the event: "The change of venue made for a much harder course due to it's rolling nature and heavier surface in places, so I knew it would be a tough outing! Torrential rain on the way over to Fife soon became much lighter, but the strong westerly wind persisted. My strategy was to go hard to the turn and see what was left when the wind got behind me. As expected, the exposed roads were seriously tough on the out leg  and I was literally counting down the miles to the Milnathort turn. We were all rewarded with a very fast return to Melville lodges roundabout, and I knew by my average speed that a decent time could be possible so I just needed to keep steady till the end.  Speaking to the other riders at the prize giving, the general consensus was a tough but enjoyable day. This was only made possible by Mhairi Laffoley going  above and beyond in rearranging the venue at last minute, which was appreciated by us all".

The top three women on age adjusted time were Deborah Moss (1:02:06), Margaret McMillan (1:05:29) and Liz Ball (1:06:11). Deborah's says "First of all, I must say a BIG thank you to the organiser, Mhairi, for ensuring that the event went ahead, with having to change course and sort out the HQ right at the last minute. Looking at the course profile, it looked like a pretty tough course and with the wind added into the mix, it was! Having looked at the weather forecast numerous times, I knew it would be headwind to the turn at Milnathort so it was a case of a big effort to the turn and then use the tailwind to the top turn and save a little bit for the headwind to the finish. Heavy rain was forecast but thankfully, that didn`t happen so it was just the wind to contend with. Although it was a really hard effort to the first turn, it seemed to endlessly go up, I really enjoyed the course. A proper time trial course. Thanks also to all the marshals, time keepers and helpers for putting on such a great event. "

The winning club was the Legato Racing Team composed of Joseph Costello, Simon Horsley and Mark Hamer, with a combined age adjusted time of 3:14:01.

The winning group was the Scotland composed of Douglas Watson, James Cusick and Marc Anderson with a combined age adjusted time of 3:09:15.

The tandem champions are Allan Maclean and Isobel Fletcher with an AAT of 1:17:10.

Follow this link to see the results for overall, men, women, club and group on scratch, age adjustment and age band

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/sdend459w1ww8b2ii8v93/h?rlkey=eajcqkhhxpfvquva1ugfeeh20&dl=0

Many thanks to the organiser Mhairi Laffoley and her team for putting on an event that was well attended by riders of all ages. The course had to be switched at short notice because of road works on the original course, ironically because of a UCI World Championship event on the same road this week! It was only due to Mhairi’s determination and dedication that the event could be held at all.

See the photos at https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1858447211223901&set=pcb.1858457287889560

Jon Fairclough, VTTA NEC representative