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@clubman
This report is a bit out of date now, but I'm posting it because there are some general comments which I hope will be of interest. They are only points which have been made many times in the past, but the evidence is that it is necessary to make them again.
**Interclub 25 **(Hounslow, Twickenham and Westerley)
12th may 2013.
This event cannot be reported in the normal way because, for the first time ever in my experience, the fastest rider ticked the ‘no publicity’ box and must therefore be referred to as ‘Mr. X’.
Since the best ride is always the keystone of any race report I must confine myself to as much of the result as I can reveal, and some general comments.
First, although the organisation was generally good I did find the layout of the field somewhat confusing. The convention (which did not seem to have been followed here) that the fastest riders should be put on the ‘0’ numbers with the next best on the ‘5’s not only reduces the risk of good rides being invalidated by suspicions of pacing, but also makes the race more intelligible to spectators at the roadside. If this practice has been used it is possible to put a stop watch on the fast men and see how they compare during the event. Although time trial spectators are a rare breed they should not be dismissed as unimportant because they can include press reporters, and it is, I suggest, these individuals who may achieve the difficult task of bringing interest and life to time trialling. Anyone who doubts this should look at ancient copies of ‘Cycling’, where they will find the reason why British time trialling exists as it still does today.
On a completely different point, watching from the roadside it was striking that there was a great variability between the riders in their knowledge of how to time trial, far more than one would expect to see in a normal open event. Quite a number of riders were using road bikes without ‘clip on’ bars, and while I applaud anyone who does not see cycling as a retail experience where the main competition is to spend as much money as possible, I do hope that these riders realise how much time they are losing (between the tough course and their sub optimal riding position) and that they are not put off time trialling because they compare their times with the fast results done elsewhere on specialist machines. Conversely I saw some riders grimly hanging onto their tribar position while grinding up climbs at very low speed; surely it should be understood that the modern time trial position is only beneficial when the rider is travelling at a reasonable speed.
Finally, although it was disappointing that only five Hounslow riders started, I for one was pleased to see that 60% of them were wearing the traditional and official racing kit.
Result:
7= T. Childs (Westerley) 1. 05.37.
7= D. Woodhouse (Twickenham) 1. 05.37.
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