Brian Phillips writes…
If anyone had been pondering the question just how talented is Steve Dennis then the answer was most emphatically displayed on Sunday by the man himself over 50 miles of the A3 near Petersfield. There was plenty of indication that Steve was going to leave everyone in no doubt of his ability from the result of the ESCA 50 the previous week. Not to mention his 30 mile an hour ride in an evening 10 and of course him being the record holder for this particular course chosen for the National 50 this year.
If Steve was mildly disappointed that his course record had been taken by Michael Hutchinson on Sunday or indeed that he missed out on a medal by a small fraction of a minute, then I would urge him not to be. Michael Hutchinson may have won the championship in 1hr 38 minutes securing in the process his 11th consecutive title but The Hutch is clearly very very exceptional.
Steve beat his old (in fact quite a bit younger) adversary, Ben Instone, by almost the same handful of seconds that denied Steve a medal and that’s how close it was for third place. Watching Steve from the flyover at 19 & 46 miles he was distinctive in his smooth pedalling style making seemingly effortless progress up and down the carriageway. Cervelo bike with disc wheel all standard equipment at this level, blending harmoniously with aerodynamically positioned rider was more art and poetry than science. Although there was plenty of science.
The data from the ride is securely logged in Steve’s Garmin and I’m sure that would make a fitting technical annex if SD can oblige. But the data only tells part of the story Fourth place, 1 hour 43 minutes etc…. Steves training and preparation is no doubt equally fascinating but it may be as secret as the recipe for Coca-Cola. But make no mistake Steve’s ride on Sunday certainly was the “Real Thing”.
Congratulations again to Steve both personally and for putting EGCC back in the Time Trialling lime light. Best wishes for the rest of the season and for whatever events you intend to ride in order to amaze and entertain us.
Footnote: My National 50 ended before 10 miles with a rear wheel puncture but at least it enabled me to get back out on the course and see more of the event. So I ended up driving 400 miles, raced less than 10 which somehow seems wrong for a cyclist!
Results 1 Michael Hutchinson In-Gear/ Quickvit Trainsharp RT 01:38:55 2 Mark Holton www.drag2zero.com 01:41:10 3 Kevin Tye Data Team Allstars 01:43:24 4 Steve Dennis East Grinstead CC 01:43:38 5 Ben Instone Scientific-Coaching.com/SRM 01:43:48
