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@clubman
Here is my press release for the Hounslow Good Friday 25. As you will see there is something here which may be of particular interest to users of this forum. You will not be surprised to hear that quite a large number of expensive state of the art TT bikes were ridden in this event, but all their sophistication did not enable their owners to beat Nic.
As I hope you can see in the picture he did have a very good pair of wheels, but there was nothing special about the rest of the kit. The frame is badged as a Pake (there should be accents over the ‘a’ and the ‘e’ but I can’t make this keyboard show them)
It is built with Tange cromo seamed tubing and tig welded, we think in Taiwan. Nic believes these frames are not available in this country at the moment – he bought this one in the USA for about $250 retail. When I spoke to him yesterday Nic seemed almost to be having doubts about whether the new conventional TT bike he has on order is actually necessary! There is a Pake website.
Nic Stagg is an ex Clarence Wheelers rider, and so as a young beginner came under the influence of Alf Whiteway, a passionate advocate of fixed, who was for many years known, but not always loved, by every racing cyclist in West London and beyond. His most successful protégé (ah! the machine knew about those accents) was Tony Doyle, and just in case you haven’t heard of him, he was world professional pursuit champion in 1980.
I’m getting too far away from our humble 25 here, but if people are interested and prompt me, I’ll write a separate little piece about Alf.
Here’s my account of the 25:
**Hounslow and District Wheelers Good Friday 25. **
The Hounslow’s season opening club 25 mile time trial was notable for three outstanding rides.
Paul Holdsworth’s 58 minutes 43 seconds gave him second place, and on this undulating course where most riders can only dream about getting under the hour it must be an encouraging start to the season. This was a good display of short distance speed from a rider who is now more formidable at fifty miles and upwards.
Rob Gilmour took the third place with 59.04. This was an impressive performance because senior veterans are just not supposed to go that fast, especially on hilly courses. The time was good enough to give him equal first place on handicap (with Neil Ferrelly) and it should be remembered that it is rare for established riders like Rob to do well on handicaps since these awards almost always go to relative novices who have achieved a sudden improvement which has somehow escaped the eagle eye of our handicapper. Incidentally the marshals were in agreement that had Rob not been brought to a near standstill by traffic when turning onto the bottom of Hawthorn Hill he would have been inside 59 minutes.
Good as these two were, it was Nic Stagg who was the victor of the day and who took most of the spectators’ attention. Recently Nic had the great misfortune to lose his bikes in a burglary, and the machine he used on Friday was intended as a temporary stand by. It is built on a modest off the peg steel frame and apart from a good pair of wheels it uses fairly basic equipment along the lines of the ‘less is more’ theory. Nic used a single 88” fixed gear to record a time of 58.04, and, following that less is more idea, it is unnecessary to say any more about this ride.
There were another three strong rides which might have been good enough to win the event in the recent past. Stuart Stow, in fourth place with 1.01.31, looks set to repeat or improve on the excellent season he enjoyed last year, while Roger Sewell and Damian Poulter also produced efforts which would have put them comfortably under the hour on a fast course. Subsequent positions begin to show a rapid dropping away of speed which may reveal a lack of racing experience, particularly in road and track racing where time trial speed has so often been generated in the past.
The event attracted 44 entries, which included 20 Hounslow club members, and 24 private time trials (i.e. members of other clubs). This is in line with the current trend for what were once considered modest club time trials to get as many riders as the more prestigious open events. The organiser on Friday was Graham Davis, Trevor Gilbert held the watch and Martyn Roach was the handicapper: our thanks go to them and to all those who gave up their morning to act as marshals.
Result:
1st Handicap, Neil Ferrelly (actual time 1.13.04)
Best private TT: Chris Taylor (Berks Tri Squad) 1.00.46
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