R6 Friction Hydraulics Series: WCTTCA & SCCA 30

Dean Callister made his first Open event appearance of the year in a tricky distance to judge in Round 6 of the Friction Hydraulics Series, the West Cheshire TTCA and Shropshire CCA 30. Utilising the A442 and A53 between the Shawbirch and Gingerbread islands, many riders race at the same pace they would for the more commonly seen 25 then hang on for dear life for the last five miles – and that certainly seemed to be Callister’s game plan. The Aerologic rider stopped the watch on 1 hour 2 minutes and 46 seconds in a glorious, warm and fast environment which saw him beat Wrekinsport’s Tomos Hales by 1:04 and register a course personal best as well. Callister was more than happy with his efforts, stating: “Great weather saw fast conditions, which was nice. 30 miles is always hard to pace; and also my longest race of the season so far. My pacing was OK, but the last fiver miles were tough to push on – I was happy to take the County win and set a course personal best”.

Callister wasn’t the only one taking full advantage of the great conditions to set personal bests, as was evident from the post-race comments of both runner-up Hales and third-placed Mark Pritchard. Hales had the added incentive of Callister starting a minute behind him in a Championship field setting, from slowest to fastest based upon previous results. This was the spur to put in a stellar performance of 1:03:50, pushing Pritchard out by 1:02: “What felt like quick conditions on the day left me with a 30 mile personal best. With Dean my minute man the idea was to hold him off as long as possible, which was great motivation, but he did catch me with three miles to go. Well done to Dean for the win; and thanks to the WTTCA for hosting and everyone involved”.

Pritchard made it a superb showing of three Aerologic riders in the top four with his 1:04:52 pushing out team mate Jonathan Mills-Keeling by 2:27 despite less than ideal preparation for the race as he explained: “I was real happy with my ride, but was carrying some heavy legs from a road race two days before. I did a 30 mile time and power personal best and had a really smooth race – thanks to the marshals and organisers for a great race”.

The personal bests didn’t stop there as Deb Hutson-Lumb took an almost obligatory win in the Friction Veterans Series with a solid +18:24 ahead of Mills-Keeling with +14:42; also taking the runner-up spot in the Friction Female Series with an actual time of 1:12:38. Hutson-Lumb was unusual in planning her pacing specifically for this rarely seen distance, and this paid dividends as she explained: “After the previous weekend’s 50, the 30 felt like a short ride. I managed to stick to my pacing plan and didn’t have any traffic issues, despite it being very busy. I finished with a bit too much left in the tank if anything, so I was very pleased to get a 30 mile lifetime personal best. I was a super event, well organised, and I’m looking forward to riding it again next year”.

Hutson-Lumb was 59 seconds behind Female winner Hayley Wells of Wrekinsport, but despite that win her race didn’t go quite as smoothly as tiredness and judging the distance raised their heads: “A tough morning in the saddle, I was holding on to some fatigue making every pedal stroke feel tough. Always a difficult distance to pace, but felt I maintained some consistency. I was chuffed to have taken the win, many thanks to all for organising and volunteering”. Wells is creeping up the standings after missing a couple of rounds and now lies 26 poinst behind Emma Brown.

In the Friction Road Bike Series the Series leader Jon Goh extended his advantage at the head of the standings to 100 points after his fifth win in six events. Goh recorded an actual time of 1:11:55 for seventh spot Overall, and when the handicap was applied this converted to 1:10:46, 1:53 ahead of reigning Road Bike Champion Mark Fenn. Goh had a few issues with traffic, but as with all longer events a short lull can work in the rider’s favour thanks to time to catch the breath, which was the Paramount rider’s experience: “The lovely weather made this race a real delight! Although I was anxious about the number of roundabouts on the course, the well marshalled course helped keep things calm. There were a number of times when I got stuck in traffic. Rather than get wound up by this, I took the opportunity to have a few snacks and drinks. Then I set about getting back into a rhythm and chasing the clock. In the end, I was surprised and pleased with my time and am looking forward to giving some shorter distances a go over the next few weeks”.

SCCA:

Veterans:

Females:

Road Bikes:

Top Club Award:

Cumulative Standings after six rounds

Friction and Hydraulic Services Shropshire Championship Points Series

Friction and Hydraulic Services Veterans Championship

Friction and Hydraulic Services Road Bike Championship

Friction and Hydraulic Services Female Championship

Top Club Award