Five Star riders, Stuart Quick, Simon Bull, Mike Kirby, Marcus Gaskell and Denise Shepherd, along with our Team Cherwell friends, Ben and Annie Heaney, entered Oxonian Cycling Club’s Open 50 mile TT on Sunday, with only Stuart and Mike having raced this distance before.
On a windy morning with an early start the H50/17 course consists of an out and back route along the A420 south west of Oxford, between the roundabouts near Kingston Bagpuize and Watchfield. This has to be done twice and with the strong winds continuing from the previous day the two out legs were very tough, with blustery head and crosswinds to contend with. At points it was quite sketchy when the TT bikes, with their deep rims and disc wheels were caught in the crosswinds.
Oxonian CC riders took the first three places of the 50 rider event, which was won by Dan Blake on 1.51.54. First Star rider home was Simon Bull in 7th place on 2.00.27, followed in 8th place by Ben Heaney on 2.00.53. Great near 2 hour times considering the wind and with both completing their first 50 mile TTs. Simon’s time also gained him third place in the Vet Category.
Stuart Quick finished 11th on 2.04.40 and Mike Kirby 17th on 2.08.00. Both had done this event last year, when it was their first 50 mile TT and in spite of the conditions, both managed to improve their times by around 4 minutes.
Annie Heaney finished 21st on 2.10.06 which gained her third place in the Women’s Category. Marcus Gaskell finished 23rdt on 2.11.34 and Denise Shepherd finished 27th on 2.19.45.