News

Photo: Steve Saunders Wins SERRL Championships

John Bornhoft Memorial Hill Climb

Saturday Club Run

There will be a club run this Saturday to ride out to the John Bornhoft Memorial Hill Climb. Starting at the usual time and place, although the ride needs to leave promptly to get to the HQ in Forest Green in time. Competitors and spectators alike are welcome to join, the aim is to get plenty of support to Leith Hill, you will be able to cheer on the riders and enjoy some cakes and drinks at the race HQ. And if you want, bring some chalk to mark the name of your favourite rider on the road.

SERRL Championships

Congratulations to Steve Saunders for winning the SERRL championships on Sunday. The SERRL is Kent's version of the Surrey League and like the Surrey League they run a prolific calendar of races across the region, including an open championship race.

Steve's collected many excellent results this year but surprisingly no win. Until Sunday of course, when he did it in style, winning solo with the arms up in the air. Steve is also the SCCU Champion and the Surrey League's time trial champion too. You can read Steve's full account of his win over at his blog. Well done!

John Bornhoft Memorial Hill Climb

The entries are now closed and you can download a copy of the programme. Click here for the startsheet.

Naz Runs Away

It's been a year of change for the club's Time Trial secretary Naz Peralta. Not only has he got married, he's also taking up running. "I have been roped into doing 13 miles...of running. I have spent the last few weeks and months trying to acclimatise myself with this unusual pastime, not realising how little my cycling fitness would help! I am running the Royal Parks Half Marathon on 11 October, not long now. A team of us from KPMG are taking part, raising money for the NSPCC. This is also the charity of choice of the Kingston Wheelers", says Naz. If you want him to run off with your money, click here.

British Triathlon Inter-Regional Championships

Kingston Wheelers Junior member Henry Dawson, produced a top-10 performance in the British Triathlon Inter-Regional Championships in South Wales last week finishing ninth in the T2 age group. Representing London by virtue his win in the London Triathlon series he was competing against the top two triathletes from each of the 11 British Triathlon regions.

After a strong swim he was sixth going into first transition and moved up to fourth place after the cycling leg on the hilly course at Bryn Bach Park. His efforts to stay with the leading pack however told and he faded on the run before placing comfortably in ninth.

Vitruvian Triathlon

Harry Skinner and I have just been up at The Vitruvian, writes Ian Russell. It is a half Ironman distance event up at Rutland Water in Leicestershire. It attracts a very good field (excluding Harry and I) of about a thousand triathletes. It is a first class event that saw us enjoying beautiful scenery and sunny but windy conditions - as ever though thoughts of scenery and surroundings faded and we both ended up scratching around in the pain locker. During the drive back Harry refused to talk about the event and his complexion paled each time I probed so I cannot really provide commentary on his event, but his splits were as follows: Harry came in 25th in his age group with a total time of 05:50:31 and swim/bike/run splits of 00:38:52 / 02:56:09 / 02:10:00.

For my part I maitained my ethos of a triathlon being an average bike ride sandwiched between a crap swim and a worse run. The swim came and went, I slipped on the club jersey for the ride having shown rude good form in recent downhill time trials - I felt sure I could give a good and proud account of myself and the Wheelers - if only on the downhill sections. The two lap course came and went amongst gusty conditions and the Rutland Ripples (quite a big name for three rather small hills). At T2 I slipped out of the race jersey to avoid embarrasment and a plummet in year end membership and in the obscurity of a black tri suit snook off onto the run course like a thief in the night - or rather a large wheezing buffalo. I had trained to beat the five hour mark and on starting the run (half marathon) had enough time in hand. I went out for the first half in 51 minutes and had enough time to get back but it was going to be close. Plenty of intervals left me thinking that I could put in a quick last mile if I needed ...... great thought ..... the last two or three miles became a little attritional and the time was slipping away - the harder I pushed the speed on my GPS didn't increase it just stayed the same - I pushed hard to the end and hey presto - messed up!! My splits were: I came in 37th in my age group with a total time of 05:01:30 and swim/bike/run splits of 00:40:04 / 02:27:14 / 01:46:38

60 second interview: Ben Elliott

How has the season gone so far?
I've been pretty chuffed with my performance this season, finishing 'in the money' fairly regularly. An open event win still eludes me though.

Best moment this season?
I was having real trouble doing a sub 22 min 10 on either Holmwood or Bentley courses. I finally achieved it on the megafast HCC175 course, missing out the 21's altogether with a sub 21 min ride. That was a massive high.

Worst moment this season?
I've finished all the races I started this season so nothing really bad has happened. The three worst moments I can think of occurred in the same race. My water bottle coming out of its cage after about five miles and had to run back and get it; both thighs cramped horribly with 15miles to go and a competitor swerved to avoid a pothole whilst I was overtaking and nearly put me under a lorry.

Describe a typical week's training
For this season I've done something along the lines of 2x45 minute spinning classes, 1x2-4hr ride, 2x10000m indoor rowing, 1x weight training session (I'm a big fan of crosstraining). It's not a very scientific approach, indeed I don't use HRMs or a powermeter but it works for me.

What races have you got coming up?
Having just got back from two weeks on a beach in Egypt, my season's over for this year. Next year I'll be looking at entering the 10 and 25 nationals and even a road race...

60 second interview: Steve Saunders

How has the season gone so far?
This season has been a good step forward for me, with regular top-tens and podiums in the biggest South East races. It would be nice to finish it off with a win and an elite license!

Best moment this season?
That would have to be racing the Ras Mumhan stage race in Ireland. The race is held on closed roads and takes in stunning scenery in South West Ireland, with the climb up the Conor Pass a real highlight. I hope to return next Easter!

Worst moment this season?
That's easy! Puncturing on stage 3b of the Surrey League Revolutions and not making it back to the bunch. Devastating to lose out on what should have been a strong overall result.

Describe a typical week's training
This varies depending on the stage of the season. At the moment I'm taking it quite easy in the week to avoid burning out. A typical training week in the winter is more structured and would involve three turbo sessions with workouts like 2x20mins, a 2-3 hour park ride on Saturday and a long four hour+ ride on Sunday. I aim for 14 hours a week of good quality in winter then a little less during the season around 10-12 hours.

What races have you got coming up?
My last target races are the Surrey League at Cutmill and the SERRL champs at the end of September. I'm having a shoulder operation in December so might keep racing later than usual.

Club Kit

For those of you who are asking, the club has placed an order for kit, including winter items. Delivery is expected to be at the end of October, although remember this is an indication from the supplier in Italy, not a promise. We’ll be stocking the following this winter: Bibs, L/S Shirts, S/S Shirts, Bibs, Bib 3/4’s, Bib Longs, Winter Jackets, Gilets, Skinsuits plus Womens Shirts and Shorts.

Cyclo-Cross Season Starts

The winter sport of cyclo-cross is getting under way. If you're new to this branch of the sport, LondonCyclesport.com have a handy guide.

The club is affiliated to the London Cyclo-Cross League and there are races held under other leagues to try. You can use a special cross bike but a mountain bike is fine, even a normal road bike equipped with bigger tyres is possible. It's easy to have a go.

Several club members have got cross bikes in recent weeks and hopefully we can read about their muddy exploits in the months to come. One name you won't see so often that of national youth champion Anthony Anderson, he's having most of the winter off because of exams at school.

60 second interview: Maryka Sennema

How has the season gone so far?
Pretty pleased with it! I've accomplished my main triathlon goal in qualifying for the Ironman World Champs in Kona, Hawaii and have been pleasantly surprised with what I've been able to do in my first year of cycle racing too (2nd category and finally that elusive first win).

Best moment this season?
Finding out I had won my age group at Ironman Lake Placid. When I crossed the finish line, I wasn't entirely sure what place I was in, though I knew I had qualified for Hawaii. It wasn't ‘til 30 minutes later when I looked at the posted results that my jaw dropped to see I had won, too.

Worst moment this season?
Bonking early in a road race at the Bedford 2-Day women's stage race. I hadn't eaten or drunk enough between the morning TTT and the afternoon race, and soon ran out of food and water on the hilly course. Got dropped by the bunch and spent a very painful hour rueing my misjudgement.

Describe a typical week's training
Cycling: one long endurance ride, a couple of medium tempo rides and a short intense ride or race. Mostly on the road bike, but the TT bike is more a focus the closer I get to Ironman race day.
Running: 20-30 miles as one intervals run, one long run, one tempo run, one easy run.
Swimming: as little as possible! Once or twice a week, just enough to maintain technique.

What races have you got coming up?
Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii in October. I've also got 10 and 25 mile TTs between now and then as training and to put down some times to beat for next year. Road racing for me is finished for the season as I can't risk crashing so close to Kona, but I'll start up with that again in the winter.

A3 CRG 10 mile TT

Maryka Sennema breaks Womens' 10 club record

Jim and I made the drive on Saturday afternoon out to the P881 course to take part in another well-organised A3CRG event, their 10 mile TT, writes Maryka Sennema. The weather was pretty good though the wind direction was rather unfavourable, making the first half predominantly downhill with a tailwind and the second half the exact opposite. Jim was full-on roadie - no clip-ons even - and I was full-on TT with an adjustable stem borrowed from Adam Page to get my bars an inch lower. Since Jim was second off, he had a shot at getting "first across the line" which he did handily with a 24:52, a PB of 21 seconds. A bottle of champagne was his prize.

An hour or so later I set off sandwiched between two A3CRG ladies with ~21:30 PBs. I never saw either one again during the TT, but found out later that I had beaten both by several seconds with my time of 22:29 and also managed to capture "most improved" as I PB'ed by more than any other rider. In fact, mine stood as the winning ladies' time much to my surprise and that of the race organiser who, when announcing my name, asked whether I'd get a skinsuit for next time! So that's a huge PB for me and breaks Nicola's long-standing club record finally! (I have to admit that was my primary goal today). Dinner was on me, of course.

Kenmare Lost Sheep Half Ironman

Cathy Clifford today competed in the Kenmare Lost Sheep Half Ironman triathlon in Ireland. The course with two category one climbs on the bike leg was the usual tough slog. But the conditions were excellent and Cathy smashed her previous PB of 6.01 with a time of 5.36.

In a savage dose of reality the overall winner, a former pro biker and Irish national runner did it in about four hours.

L'Etape Sanfloraine

The ninth edition of this sportive took place from St Flour - the finish of a stage in the 2004 tour (the stage was won in a remarkable breakaway by Virenque) and was also that year's Etape de Tour which some club members rode, writes Nicola Wadham.

It offered three routes - the 57 km 1150m climbing short route was won in a time of 1.42.03. In the age groups, the winner of category I (1994) came in at 2.06.47 pipping second spot by a few seconds. The final podium slot however was snared by Anthony in a time of 2.22.54 (51st overall) although it transpired he shouldn't have ridden at all being five years shy of the cut off (none of us realised at sign on - tant pis as they say). Collecting a prize of tripe and lentils from the hands of Hinault himself (who was riding the event - far left) must be a highlight in any fledgling career.

I managed by dint of being old and female also to have my moment in the sun within my age category (well about five hours of moments in the sun - somewhat longer than the winner's time but I won't dwell on that) with a not deeply impressive but very enjoyable ride in the 114 km route. I also received tripe and lentils in third spot.

Extremely well organised - highly recommended event (c. 700 participants in total) in August (second week) if you are in that area. Do bring your climbing legs. Every time I lifted my head from the bars there was another cheerful sign planted by the side of the rode 3km au sommet until I actually started to think kindly of Holland.

Giles Rée Memorial

Steve Saunders took seventh place in the 1/2/3 category race around East Dean and Beachy Head. Luke Wallis and James Beaumont also rode. Feeling under the weather at the start, James jumped on an early attack to get a guage for how the legs were going but appropriately enough for the climb to Beachy Head, it was a suicide break which didn't last long and an hour into the race, James pulled out feeling ill. The race had already thinned out, the field was down to no more than 30 riders by halfway.

A move of six riders went away and with several strong riders left in the bunch. "I wasn’t immediately worried with several strong riders still in the bunch, and proceeded to hammer it up the climb to try and get things moving." says Steve. "Alarm bells started to ring at the top as the break was still some way up the road and on looking back the race had split up with only a group of twenty-five or so chasing. Actually chasing is the wrong word- only myself, Alex Higham (Wyndy Millar) and Ishmael Burdeau (Agiskoviner) tried to drive things, with cameos from others at times.".

In the end Steve slipped the bunch with some others and took a very decent seventh place and some more BC points, bringing him ever closer to that Elite racing licence. "In spite of missing the key move of the day, this was a thoroughly enjoyable race. Normally I would be annoyed at not giving myself the chance to win (and of course I still am a bit!) but the spectacular scenery, extreme nature of the course and generally good roads made this a race I would want to do for years to come." says Steve.

Club Membership

The club's going to switch to 12 month membership periods rather than basing it on the calendar year. If you're an existing member this means no change, you can renew when your existing membership is up at the end of the year, as normal. But new joiners will get a year's membership from the date they sign up.

The idea is to gradually spread the admin associated with processing your membership information and payments throughout the year, rather than doing it all in one block when many renew around Christmas. We've also found some people holding back from joining until they can sign up for the second half of the year at the half-price rate. It should be fairer with new joiners will get a full year's membership rather than the proportion of the year remaining. The changes to this will go through soon once the details have been ironed out.

Entry Fee Refunds

The club will be setting aside some funds to help those members who race to reclaim part of the cost of their entry fees. It works like this: a fixed pot of money, set for 2009 at £1000, is being set aside and at the end of the season if you have raced then you can submit a claim for your entry fees. Your claim will be added up along with all the other claims and then a pro rata proportion of the entry fees will be repaid.

For example if you have spent £100 on entry fees during the season and the total claimed by other members adds up to £1,900 then the total claim is (your £100+ the others £1,900) = £2,000. This total is twice the kitty so you will get back half of your claim, ie £50.

You can submit a claim for any registered British Cycling road race, Open CTT time trial or cyclo-cross race. The funds should be repaid upon your membership renewal for 2010. You must have finished the race too, we’ll probably want to see proof of your placing or time.

More details about all of this will be made available in due course, such as who to contact, but the idea is to spread the word now so you can think about keeping a record of races entered in time for later in the year. Other clubs and teams do something similar and the club will review the scheme in due course to see if it works well.

A3 CRG 50 mile Time Trial

It was only me and Maryka for the Wheelers on Monday morning, writes Andy Lack, and I only just scraped in as, amazingly for a 50, there was a full 120 rider field, 10 reserves and apparently another 50 who were turned away. As one of the reserves I had a late start time so went off with all the fast guys, me in search of finally going sub-two hours, them in search of something considerably quicker.

It was run on the A3 course near Petersfield on what was a damp, humid, foggy, breezy morning. I started reasonably fast and the first 25 seemed to fly by, which was a good sign. As I passed halfway, I looked at the clock and it read 57.34 - a PB for a 25 by about a minute. Surely a sub-two hour time was on now? As the mile markers ticked away I could see that, barring accidents, I was on for a PB of some sort and finally crossed the finish line in 1.55.28 - over five minutes inside my previous best. The bling new TT bike had finally delivered!

Maryka, riding her first ever 50, finished in (I think) 2.05.34 - sixth woman, just outside the prize money, and a very fast time for a first outing, although it was probably small beer after completing an Ironman. Not sure of the winner, but he set a new course record of around 1.40.30ish - it was a fast day as it turned out, not that I'm complaining!

Introducing Interview

Candidates are needed for the website's interview page. If you'd like to have a go, email info@kingstonwheelers.com for a copy of the questionnaire.