What is a time trial?
A time trial is the purest and simplest form of cycle racing, it’s you, your bike and a clock against which you are competing. You start at one minute intervals with seeding carefully computed using a top-secret algorithm known only to our official timekeeper. Club members take it in turns during the season with marshal duties, helping at road junctions and pre-race signage.
Who can time trial?
Our time trials are open to all club members and guests alike. From 2024 we are reverting back to CTT and will be offering sign up on the night, the requirement for pre-registration is now behind us.
What do I need?
You can ride any bike as long as it’s fitted with working front and rear lights, add a helmet and you’re all set! Some riders use their standard road bikes, often fitting clip-on aerobars for improved aerodynamics, and others will turn up on high-end time trial bikes, complete with skin suits, shoe covers and aero helmets in their quest to shave seconds off their times. From 2024 we will be encouraging road bikes to be used in time trials with the goal of attracting as many club members to take part in the sport.
The cost to race will be free for club members who’ve paid the time trial supplement as part of the membership package, £3 for other club members and £5 for non-members. Payment is taken via a contactless card reader at race number collection. (No Cash Payments are accepted)
What else do I need to know that’s new from 2024?
CTT have officially recognised two new ten mile courses which will be used this year. You can find the maps for these two plus all our other race routes, plus downloadable Garmin links on the TT course page.
Don’t forget your lights, smile for the camera and do a good ride!
Open Time Trials
The racing season opens with our Hardriders “Open” time trial in early March on a challenging 21 mile course, which includes the 17% Sunrising hill. It’s a great test of winter fitness training and attracts national champions.
To bookend the season, we complete our racing year with an Open 10-mile event on the K4/10W course which features a descent of Warmington Hill right at the start. The date for this TT will be confirmed as the season progresses.
Wednesday evening club time trials
From late March until September the club organises a series of hotly contested time trials, taking place every Wednesday evening over a range of courses from a 5-mile dash up to a 29 mile endurance event on local routes with many trophies awarded to the season’s winners. Some time trials are “two-up” races where you race with a partner, in theory sharing the burden of being on the front. In addition to these events, our local hills feature in the club’s uphill and downhill challenges.
