Medway Velo riders Michael Stanley and Sally Smith in action at the Trail X off-road MTB duathlon
06:00, 10 September 2020
It was a busy weekend for the racers of the Medway Velo.
First off on Saturday were team-mates Michael Stanley and Sally Smith who travelled to Reading for the Trail X off-road MTB duathlon.
The event involved a 3.1km run followed by a 18km mountain bike and then another 3.1km run. The courses had been designed by off-road experts with twists, ups, downs, a jump and more roots than you can shake a stick at. It made it fast for the nimble and a challenge for the less technical.
First back was Stanley who managed 23rd place in a packed field, stopping the clock in 1hr 37min 27secs. He also had the fastest transition of the day in just 20 seconds from bike to run.
Smith finished in 1:50.23, which placed her fifth lady overall and third in her age group (vet female).
The following day Smith was joined by track secretary Alex Cook in Winchester for Battle in the Bowl - a gruelling two-hour cyclocross race. It involved the off road riders taking on an eight hairpin descent then a grassy climb which was followed by a gravel climb.
Conditions were good, making it a dusty affair and as the clock ticked down the 100-plus riders were all looking exhausted.
Cook rode strongly to take 39th place in the senior men's field and Smith finished 12th overall female and second placed vet 40-50. It was encouraging to see over 20 women racing.
Matt Nunn and Michael Stanley rode the Wigmore CC 10 mile time trial in Iwade.
The course is always a challenge and the wind was particularly blustery. However, both riders completed in the 25s with Nunn riding 25.21 for seventh place and Stanley returning a personal best time of 25.59 for ninth. The event was won by Lance Childs of Trainsharp in 23.35.
This was the last in the series promoted by Wigmore CC, who did very well to run several successful events despite Covid 19 restrictions.
Smith also travelled to Winchester to take part in the summer cyclocross racing run by trail events.
A tough rolling course with a hard climb and some technical switchbacks made for good racing and she finished in ninth place.
