The final round of the Wightlink-Wight Mountain Time Trial Series took place on Saturday 12th September on the new Chessell TT course.
Although this was a tougher circuit, with several challenging climbs, over 60 cyclists signed up to battle it out over the longer distance of 40km for the Seniors and 20km for the Juniors.
Riders from the Wightlink-Wight Mountain team, various Island clubs including Team Spy, Wight Tri, IOW Triathlon Club, West Wight Wheelers, Bike Jockey CC and a number of independent cyclists, joined together to compete in the various categories.
This final round would decide the overall series winners and after 2 rounds, it was far from certain who would be taking the podiums. Despite the testing course, all the competitors stepped up to the mark in the favourable conditions and there were some very fast times set.
The fastest riders on the day were again from the Wightlink-Wight Mountain team. Kev Chant took the overall win, with an average speed of over 26mph to be the only rider to record a time under an hour by coming home in 59 minutes 46 seconds, winning himself a box of beer donated by the organisers Jerry and Julie Cooper.
In second place was Simon Ambrosini in 1.00.35, who also won the Vets 50+ category, closely followed in third place by Adam Holleyman in 1.00.40.
In the other categories, the fastest Non-WL-WM rider to cross the line was Dave Dent (GS Stella) in a time of 1.04.19 and Faye Faber (CycleCoach.com) was first home for the Ladies in 1.04.33.
In the Junior event, over one lap, Ewan Cook (West Wight Wheelers) continued his winning streak to record an impressive time of 35.12 and Sophie Nolan (Independent) took first place as the fastest Junior Lady, finishing in a time of 43.25.
The Overall Series Category winners and podium places were decided on the combined times of the riders who competed in all 3 events and they were presented with prizes donated by the sponsors, Wightlink, Wight Mountain, Chessell Pottery, WW Alpacas and Island Stoves and trophies supplied by Russ Mellor of CutLaserCut.
The overall winner after 3 rounds was Kev Chant who dominated the series from the start; Adam Holleyman took second place and Simon Ambrosini came in third. Simon also took first place in the Vets 50+ category.
Martin Piper (Team Spy) and Anne Loh (Team Spy) retained their Overall Series crowns by again winning the Non-WLWM category and Ladies category respectively.
Ewan Cook (West Wight Wheelers) and Sophie Nolan (Independent) were the Overall Series Junior winners and are certainly 2 talented youngsters to watch for the future.
All in all, the TT Series proved to be a great success and showcased how amazing the spirit is amongst the IOW cycling community who either competed in or supported the events, especially during these unprecedented times which have impacted on sporting events on the Island this year.
The WLWM team are hoping to hold a Hill Climb championship next month, which is already generating a lot of interest. The organisers will also continue to promote the TT Series for 2021 and are hoping that it will be even better and bigger than this year.
