2:20pm Thursday 21st May 2009
By Dave Brown
THE Blackburn and District CTC are promoting their popular two-up team time-trial on the A6/A586 roads just north of Preston tonight.
Organiser Dave Collinge, of Twiston near Downham, has received the entries of 31 teams of two riders for the event with several of them from cycling clubs in East Lancashire.
David Clough and David McDonough of the North Lancs Road Club start as first team at 7pm with the rest starting at two minute intervals. Local favourites for a top placing include Rossendale’s Paul Warrener who rides with Clitheroe’s Duncan Park whilst Jason Bateman, who took second in a ‘25’ in Yorkshire at the weekend with a 53 minute ride, teams with Simon Philips with both from the Pendle Forest club. An interesting team will be father and son pair of Chris and Nathan Smedley of Nelson Wheelers. HQ this year has moved to Bilsborrow Village Hall right on the A6.
Nathan, 14, had in fact been second in the weekly Pendle Forest 10 mile at Thornton-in-Craven clocking 24minutes 29 seconds only nine seconds behind the much more experienced Brian Hickey. Third in this event was Dave Metcalfe of Team Swift with 24-51 and fourth Craig Holden of Pendle Forest with 25-36.
The Rossendale Road Club 10 mile at Hapton had their own Paul Warrener in top spot with a time of 24-50 followed by Mark Bateman (North Lancs Road Club) in 25-56, Patrick Hamilton (Rossendale) 27-18 and Mike O’Shea (Rossendale) 27-54.
The midweek North Lancashire Road Club 10 mile at Clitheroe was won by the promoting club’s Duncan Park in 23-17 who was just five seconds faster than Rossendale’s Warrener. Fraser Snape took third with 23-57 and David Tomlinson fourth in 25-23.
Burnley’s Jimmy Wright starts as a Dark-Horse in the national 10-mile championship at Newbury on Sunday after a brilliant win at over 30mph in the recent Nelson Wheelers event at Keswick. He is not on one of the seeded positions for this prestigious race but neither is Lytham’s on-form Mark Holton another recent 19 minute 10 miler.
At a higher level of cycling competition this week Mark Cavendish claimed his first ever solo stage win in the Tour of Italy and Barnoldswick’s in-form Pro, Ian Wilkinson, has been leading overall in the 57th running of the RAS Tour in Ireland which continues until Monday.
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