Fifteen CUCC riders signed up to ride 2018’s Ely Hardriders event despite its reputation for foul, cold weather. Perhaps the draw of the cakes was too much to resist? The weather on Sunday morning was clear without a frost, but unfortunately very breezy with gusts exceeding 30 mph. Disastrously CUCC’s resident megawatts machine, Ali Golby, choppered himself on the ride out to the course when some road detritus jammed in his front wheel. Jali Packer and Rob Walker were there to pick up the pieces and even a trip to A+E could only keep Ali from intervals on Bottisham for a matter of hours.
Twelve riders (assuming we’ve counted correctly) made the start, where there was much debate on the level of aero kit to use. Toby Cowell’s view was that since he’d spent four hours getting his disc cover on there was no way he’d be taking it off for a bit of wind. 50mm deep and disc for him… Meanwhile Seb Dickson chose to wear his trip socks to eke out some more warmth when he realised he’d forgotten his leg warmers in the morning rush.
The westerly wind resulted in a strong headwind for the first and last sections of the course with some sketchy cross-winds in between. Perhaps this explains why Felix Barker managed to miss his exit on a roundabout and took a little detour. This mishap allowed John Mulvey to open a strong lead. Fresh out of a win at Hog Hill on Saturday John won the men’s race in 57:13, 34 seconds ahead of Felix. Seb was three seconds back in 3rd, with Rob Walker in 5th and Toby Cowell in 9th making up the top ten.
Jess Atkinson placed second in the women’s race in 1:07:56 – a time that would have earned her the win in 2017!
Photos: Davey Jones and Mike DF (flickr)
John Mulvey on his way to the win
Jess Atkinson
Rob Walker
Felix Barker
John Mulvey
Toby Cowell.
Jack Brown
Tom Simpson
Seb ‘short shorts’ Dickson
1 John Mulvey Cambridge University CC 57:13:00
2 Felix Barker Cambridge University CC 57:47:00
3 Sebastian Dickson Thanet RC 57:50:00
4 Graham Knight JCA Equipe Velo 58:04:00
5 Rob Walker Cambridge University CC 58:37:00
6 Mark Williams Royal Air Force Cycling Association 59:42:00
7 Kieran Brady Team KTM UK 01:00:10
8 Reece Barclay Hoddesdon Tri Club 01:00:45
9 Toby Cowell Cambridge University CC 01:01:59
10 John Gull Espresso Library 01:03:19
11 Tom Simpson Cambridge University CC 01:03:24
12 Ben Redman Cambridge Triathlon Club 01:03:25
13 David Procter Team Velovelocity 01:03:44
14 George Macfarlane Cambridge Triathlon Club 01:04:02
15 Richard Lamb Peterborough CC 01:04:09
16 Daniel Ward South Normanton C C 01:04:35
17 Paul Beattie Rockingham Forest Whs 01:04:42
18 Jack Brown Cambridge University CC 01:04:50
19 Henry Farrell Full Gas Racing Team 01:04:57
20 Nick Jackson Cambridge CC 01:05:14
21 Chris Hopkinson Richmond CC 01:05:25
22 Lucy Charles Hoddesdon Tri Club 01:05:43 Female
23 Anthony Collier Hoddesdon Tri Club 01:06:22
24 David Halliday Newmarket Cycling & Triathlon Club 01:06:46
25 Philip Watkins North Norfolk Whs 01:07:13
26 Geoff Frost Team Velovelocity 01:07:21
27 Jess Atkinson Cambridge University CC 01:07:56 Female
28 James Rush CC Sudbury 01:08:02
29 John Swindells Iceni Velo-Duff Morgan 01:08:14
30 Chris Shaw Fenland Clarion CC 01:08:40
31 Paul Hayward VC Baracchi 01:08:54
32 Milo Chapman Team Corley Cycles 01:09:05
33 Ivan Carr Kings Lynn CC 01:09:17
34 Seb Baucutt Cambridge University CC 01:09:54
35 James Dynes Cambridge CC 01:09:58
36 Dan Bromilow Ely & District CC/B&T Motor Repairs 01:10:34
37 Euan Tebbutt Cambridge University CC 01:10:54
38 Helen Gravatt London Women’s Racing CC 01:11:35 Female
39 Mandy Bunn CC Sudbury 01:12:05 Female
40 Stewart Kirk CC Sudbury 01:14:13
41 William Weatherill Cambridge University CC 01:14:21
42 John Manlow Ely & District CC/B&T Motor Repairs 01:14:30
43 Harry Moore Cycling Club Hackney 01:15:25
44 Peter Tibbitts Ford CC 01:15:58
45 Stuart Emmett Wisbech Whs 01:16:41
46 William Drake Cambridge University CC 01:17:27
47 Gary Boyd Hub Velo 01:17:34
48 Patrick Ellerbeck St Neots CC 01:17:34
49 Andrew Newey Ribble Valley C&RC 01:18:37
50 Paul Riley Hitchin Nomads CC 01:19:32
51 Nick Hickman Hitchin Nomads CC 01:20:20
52 Paul Breeze Peterborough CC 01:21:18
53 Zena Palgrave Ely & District CC/B&T Motor Repairs 01:21:32
54 Nick Parravani CC Breckland 01:22:32
55 Sharon Clifford SheHair Racing Team 01:23:41 Female
56 Sue Rogers Crest CC 01:26:37 Female
57 Paul Willis Wisbech Whs 01:26:41
58 Alastair Ray Ely & District CC/B&T Motor Repairs 01:29:32