Paul Blackmore writes…
Having chosen to ride this event for its late start (I was off at 10.46) I was out for a bit of personal redemption as the last time I rode I didn’t go too well and got caught by my minute man.
It was warm but not too bad in the pointy hat and the wind wasn’t too strong. Despite the hour the traffic wasn’t too heavy on the A31. The good news was the worse bit of road surface just after the start has now been resurfaced with some nice smooth stuff. The first couple of miles are a bit of a drag into the wind but then I got going and the legs were responding well.
Just after the last turn I got caught again, this time for 4 minutes by Richard Prebble, and although I tried to hang on he soon disappeared. Fortunately he was on a flyer, winning the event in 50.07.
I suffered in the last few miles but was delighted to get a new personal best with 54.53. That got me 7th place, out of the prize money naturally.
