MTB Varsity
The all Cambridge podium
Last Sunday saw the Cambridge Mountain Bike team put on one of the most dominant Varsity displays in recent years. Down at the Olympic course at Hadleigh Park the Cambridge team took a landslide victory claiming all top 5 spots and winning the Varsity for the third year in a row. The combination of amazing weather and standout performances led to a perfect day out.
The race was effectively won before the end of the first lap when our riders led the race out, swiftly dropping the entire Oxford team and ending up competing against each other for the podium spots. Fitz fresher Craig Rogers led the line and never looked back, he stormed to a fantastic debut win. I am sure he will continue to be dominant over the next few years. Very strong rides from second year Will Weatherill and third year PhD student Fin Allen saw Cambridge complete the podium by taking second and third place respectively. Thanks to Max Vesty and Robbie Blythe, Cambridge also claimed fourth and fifth, with the first Oxford rider coming in in sixth place.
Special congratulations must also go to Izaak Cobb and Alex Pantelides who, competing in their first MTB Varsity, added to a very strong team performance.
Other big shout outs must go to CUCC president Rob Walker for getting the team down there, Euan Tebbutt for not letting us down when given the van’s aux cord and to Elliot Scott and CUCC alumnus Seb Baucutt for providing great support* on the day.
All in all it was a fantastic day out for CUCC and the best race I’m proud to say I’ve been a part of with the MTB team. A MASSIVE congratulations to everyone involved. A big thanks to Oxford for organising this year’s event and we’ll see them next year to make it four from four.
Robbie Blythe
CUCC MTB Captain
*Making sure everyone sent it down the A-line
Ely Hardriders 2019
Ely Hardriders isn’t just the first TT of the season that CUCC turn out to in force, but in fact only the second open TT of the season across the country! Being held in February, it is infamous for attracting terrible weather to what is possibly the sketchiest TT course going (even in good conditions!), and to top it all off, it’s in the Fens (I know there’s a few club members who in hushed tones would admit to enjoying the Fens, but I can assure you they’re misguided!).
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- On his way to 2nd!
Although a few riders were struck down with illness, CUCC nevertheless turned out in large numbers on the day, with 8 riders from a field of 43 starters and a keen eye on securing the team prize for another year in a row.
As expected, the heavy rain overnight continued for much of the morning, turning pothole-ridden roads into puddle filled roads with the potholes lurking just beneath the surface (lovely)! Warm-ups were mostly minimal, riders preferring the dry HQ to what lay ahead outside, but one-by-one we set out into the cold and onto the course.
Thankfully, all CUCC riders made it round without major incident, and on returning to the HQ, there were some fast times being posted across the board. The competition was very close at the sharp end, with Toby missing out on the win to CUCC alumnus and housemate Felix Barker by only 3 seconds, and Rob just a further 11s adrift in 3rd! We claimed 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 13th,17th and 26th place, as well as doing enough to win the team prize thanks to rides from Toby Cowell, Rob Walker and Lucas He.
A well-earned congratulations to all those that rode today, especially those taking part in their first 25-mile TT – they’re not all this nasty! A special mention goes to Lucas He, who was the fastest fresher on the day, completing the course in 58:41.
Photos by local stalwart Davey Jones.
| Toby Cowell | 2nd | 56:28 |
| Rob Walker | 3rd | 56:39 |
| Jack Brown (AERT) | 5th | 58:10 |
| Lucas He | 7th | 58:41 |
| Jack Kellam | 9th | 1:00:54 |
| Jali Packer | 13th | 1:05:28 |
| Thomas Adams | 17th | 1:08:42 |
| Andrew Salkeld | 26th | 1:13:18 |
| John Mulvey (AERT) | – | DNSA |
| Seb Dickson | – | DNSA |
Full results can be found here in due course.
The next major event on the race calendar is Varsity Cross-Country on 24th February (see below for sign-up), where we head to Hadleigh park in an attempt to retain the crown of Varsity XC champions!
CUCC at CTT’s Champions Night
On Saturday the 19th of January was ‘Champions Night’, held at Heythrop Hall near Oxford.
This is the annual awards dinner for time trialling in the UK, and is so called because it celebrates the winners of the various championships , and it happens at night time. This is clever, as otherwise it would be called ‘not champions mid-afternoon’ or something (aka just after lunch every day in Oxford, amirite?).
Riders from Cambridge University Cycling Club had one of the club’s best seasons in the national scene for nearly 20 years, and so the club had several people representing them. The master of ceremonies for the evening was Michael Hutchinson (CUCC Blue 1997, as well as over 60 national titles) whose efforts lead to one of CUCC’s last national successes when they won the team prize in the National 25 way back around the turn of the last millennium.
Rob Walker received the prize for winning the Espoirs category in the Classic Series, taking home a nice pair of Knight Composite wheels.
Rob Walker – Winner, Espoirs, Classic Series
John Mulvey and Seb Dickson were along to collect their trophy for their National title in the team time trial. Those familiar with this will remember it as a slight debacle, involving rather more of the rule book than anyone wanted to see. A highlight included Seb being reported for not being a member of CUCC (bafflingly), the head of CTT legal then investigating this, and then Seb politely referring him on to the CUCC membership secretary to confirm this. In a plot twist, this turned out also to be Seb. Perhaps understandably, this was not taken as sufficient corroboration!
However, the end result was these shiny hats, and who can say no to that? (Seb spilt beer on his within 5 minutes, so his keepsake is now permanently spoilt).
Keen bean/ robot that John is, he actually cycled the 90 miles there, only turning up 40 minutes late in the process, (competitive by CUCC standards). CTT loving a late start/sign on as they do (they don’t) this was slightly stressful and he had to get changed in a loo with Seb shouting the countdown theme at him through the door. Felix Barker, the remaining member of that team (also the one that did the vast majority of the work round the course), was unable to attend because he didn’t get his response in on time (also a CUCC trademark). Amazing how they even fought their way out of the womb those two.
Seb Dickson and John Mulvey with Alf ‘the King’ Engers- National Team TT Champions!
Guest of honour was renowned 1960s and 70s cyclist Alf ‘the King’ Engers, who was the first person to break 50 minutes for 25 miles, although is equally remembered for the number of times the RTTC changed the rules to try and thwart him.
At the dinner after the awards ceremony, several alumni came forwards to have a chat, leading to some interesting conversations about times gone by, and the potential for some events going forwards!
The next morning, much was made of the free breakfast, including jamming pockets with pastries for ride food.
Seb vomited into a bush, John cycled home and Seb and Jack went to Oxford to crash the OUCC club run.