Almost 70 riders turned out for the final round of the Evening Time Trial Series last Thursday, despite the poor weather conditions, racing once again on the Colemans 10 Mile course.
There was everything to race for in the categories to pick up the impressive overall trophies supplied by CutLaserCut and prizes donated by sponsors Wightlink, Wight Mountain, Island Stoves, Chessell Pottery, West Wight Alpacas and Ceyreste.
Kev Chant (Wightlink-Wight Mountain) was on form again not only taking the victory on the night in a time of 20 minutes and 35 seconds, but also the Overall Series Winner top spot. Joe Staunton and Simon Ambrosini, who also finished 1st in the Vet 50+ category, took 2nd and 3rd place respectively in the overall standings, making it a hat trick for the Wightlink-Wight Mountain team.
Martin Piper (NAUT Cycling), who had consistently pulled out impressive times over the 4 rounds, took the non-Wightlink-Wight Mountain overall title and was also 2nd in the Vet 50+ category. Dominique Noyce (Independent), in her first season of racing, worked hard to take the ladies overall title and Kevin Bull (NAUT Cycling) was awarded a well-deserved Vet 60+ title by winning all 4 rounds in his category.
The Juniors, who have continued to improve on their results throughout the series, didn’t disappoint on the night and pulled out some terrific times. The overall category winner for the Junior Boys was Ewan Cook (WWW) who finished in the top 20 in the last round against some of the best Senior riders on the Island, is certainly one to watch for the future! Kaitlin Wilson (IOW Triathlon Club), who had competed in every evening round in some challenging conditions, was a worthy winner of the Junior Girls trophy.
The team are now looking forward to hosting the 2-day TT Festival on the weekend of 4th/5th September, based at Chessell Pottery. Riders will be competing on the Brook 10 Mile course and the tougher Chessell 40km circuit.
Further afield, the Wightlink-Wight Mountain team have continued to race on the mainland.
In the 3rd round of the Southdown Velo series at Goodwood, Kev Chant was given 2nd place after a photo finish at the line in the E/1/2 race with Matt Allsopp taking 5th and Stuart Waite winning the bunch sprint to take 7th place. Charlie Orchard was the best-placed 3rd Cat rider, coming home in 10th place.
James Veal and Joe Staunton’s hopes of getting a result in their races on Sunday were dashed by a crash and a puncture. James who competed in the 100km John Holman Memorial Road Race near Shaftesbury, was going well until he was caught up in a crash in the last 1km – thankfully he only suffered minor injuries. Joe, who is now in great form, travelled to Oxfordshire to compete in the Victor Berlemont Road Race, but a 15 minute wait for a wheel when he punctured scuppered his plans for a win.
