A relatively windless night for the club's 10 Mile Time Trial Championships meant many personal bests were set, but the fastest time on the night was Eric Downey, blasting home in 22'52". Top of the women's podium was Lucy Soden, also the fastest of the Limit group, knocking nearly 90 seconds off her previous time for a lightning fast 25'52".
The calm conditions are attested to when comparing the 10TT Champs times with the earlier Round 5 10TT. Nearly every rider shaved some time off, with best improved rider of the listed times being Jules Cantwell (SS). Knocking nearly one and a half minutes off, despite riding in borrowed shorts, Cantwell should be very happy with his ride.
Eric Downey will be the happiest though, with his winning time of 22'34", he was 18" faster than his previous effort. That marks a two-in-a-row for Downey winning the Orwell 10TT gold medal, although his only concession to aerodynamics was a pair of clip-on bars. Hot on his heels in second position was Tom Blennerhassett, whom we hope is no longer haunted by the mere 2" gap that cost him gold. Pat O'Brien took the last spot on the podium, holding off Brian McArdle by another close gap of 4".
Downey in action
Those four were also the top Scratch men, with the last two placings taken by Brian Ahern and Liam Rowsome. While Ahern's time will be further encouragement of his returning form, Rowsome's famed testing abilities (he took the bronze medal last year) ere hampered by a mechanical on the start line, which cost him at least ten seconds, and probably threw his focus off for the evening.
For the women's medals, Lucy Soden took top honours to complement her top Limit placing. Soden was just behind Cantwell in most improved time, gaining 1'25" on her previous best. She's also greatly improved from last year, when she scooped the bronze medal. Chomping at the bit just 6" behind her was Monica Marconi, and Charlotte MacDonald put in a great ride to earn the bronze.
Soden on her way to gold
In Semi-scratch, Neal Hudson set a blistering 23'06", even beating some of the Scratch placers, followed by Lloyd Berry, last year's silver medallist. Jamie Busher beat the newly promoted Valdis Andersons for third, while Ed O'Mahoney took fifth ahead of Jules Cantwell.
Donal Brady headed up the Semi-limit group with 24'15", proving his second place in the opening round was no fluke. Behind him was Brian Doyle, who topped Semi-limit in the R5 10TT, and in fourth was strong man Ryan McCarthy. The freshly-minted A3 John Twomey was next, with aspiring junior Fionn Sheridan taking fifth. Rounding out the placings was Oisín Boland, who's been honing his TT-ing skills on the track.
A great shot of Ryan McCarthy putting the head down, thanks to SwimCycleRun.com
Limit suffered from a lack of numbers, but you can only race who shows up, so the placings should be treated with an equal amount of pride. Behind gold medallist Soden were freshmen Fergal Daly and John McElligot, who both stated afterwards that they were hungry for more opportunities to display their testing abilities.
All photos are thanks to SwimCycleRun.com. Next week is the dreaded Sallygap finish, where the climbers of the club will have their chance to sparkle. For now, congratulations to this week's medallists!
Orwell 10TT Medallists 2013
Men:
Gold: Eric Downey @ 22:34
Silver: Tom Blennerhassett @ 22:36
Bronze: Pat O'Brien @ 22:54
Women:
Gold: Lucy Soden @ 25:52
Silver: Monica Marconi @ 25:58
Bronze: Charlotte MacDonald @ TBC
Orwell League R11: 10TT Champs (Black Bull)
Limit:
1 Lucy Soden 25.52
2 Fergal Daly 26.30
3 John McElligot 26.54
Semi-limit:
1 Donal Brady 24.15
2 Brian Doyle 24.28
3 Ryan McCarthy 24.48
4 John Twomey 25.02
5 Fionn Sheridan 25.24
6 Oisin Boland 25.27
Semi-Scratch:
1 Neal Hudson 23.06
2 Lloyd Berry 23.12
3 Jamie Busher 23.13
4 Valdis Andersons 23.57
5 Ed O'Mahoney 24.08
6 Jules Cantwell 24.30
Scratch:
1 Eric Downey 22.34
2 Tom Blennerhassett 22.36
3 Pat O'Brien 22.54
4 Brian McArdle 22.58
5 Brian Ahern 23.08
6 Liam Rowsome 23.15
Unplaced Woman:
Monica Marconi 25.58
