Rob Dickson writes…
After a successful team practice session around Horne the weekend before, John and I set off for Laughton with a reasonable amount of confidence that humiliation could be avoided. On the way down to the start I noted the early riders, including Mike and Ben (hopefully suffering and hanging on as best he could – but couldn’t tell from where we were) setting a reasonable pace. On arriving, parking behind Sean Yates was the reality check we needed to show that things were now getting more serious!
Anyway, at 9:26am we were off, and we were able to settle into some sort of rhythm down the A22. On joining the A26, it was slightly disconcerting to hear John behind freewheeling for reasonably long periods. Infact, I was left with the distinct impression throughout that some secret training had recently been going on, and that he would have been pleased to see me going a little more quickly. However, on turning up the slight rise after Earwig Corner I was able to put him under some serious pressure for the first time (yes, I know it’s supposed to be a team game!), before I slowed a bit on the final drag. My fears were confirmed when, with 200m to go there was a flash of speed and colour as John disappeared into the distance, leaving us with a semi respectable time of 49m 14 sec. All in all good fun, and John and I left convinced that even with broadly similar levels of dedication, we should be able to go a minute or two quicker next year.
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Ben Hardisty writes…
For the second weekend running I paired up with Mr Anton for a 2up TT – but for this event it was stated in the rules that I (the nominated Vet) must stay behind my partner all the way round the course (until the finish) …well at least I had an excuse this week !
This triangular shaped course comprises 17.68 miles of gentle rises and drops but was still pretty fast despite the south-easterly wind. On the longest section of the course, the A26 from the Little Horsted roundabout down towards Lewes there were 3 or 4 very small climbs, but with each one sapping just a little more energy from my legs, I was very glad to only have to worry about staying on my partner’s wheel.
As we approached Earwig corner we saw our 2 minute men ahead and so concentrated on closing the gap over the next couple of miles. I must say it was rather satisfying to pass another pair (from Eastbourne Rovers) before the finish, which we did with 10 seconds to spare (although they were well ahead on std time).
A big thanks to Mike for pacing me round the circuit to perfection for the 2nd week in a row, and also reminding me that the finishing 200 yds was down to me !
Club results in starting order: Time Std Pos Mike Anton & Ben Hardisty 45-24 (+4.39) (32nd) Mark Bashford & Kevin Bashford 43-47 (+6.16) (26th) Rob Dixon & John Cole 49-14 (+7.27) (19th) Stefano Arcidiacono & Ted Boorman 47-39 (+9.02) (12th)
The winners were Steve Frame/Harry Featherstone with a standard time of +18.12 finishing in 42-36. Well done to Ted & Stef with 12th.
Full results