Brough Wheelers 10-mile TT
30-Aug-1998
| WRAPPING up his preparation for the Commonwealth Games, Chris Newton (Team Brite) stormed to an event record 18-48 in Brough Wheelers' invitation `10' on Saturday, shaving a second off the season's best. It was a sparkling performance by the Middlesbrough rider on the North Cave course in East Yorkshire where he beat his great rival Stuart Dangerfield (Fastrack RT) - also Kuala Lumpur-bound - by 21 seconds. And, in an event which once again attracted a star line-up to the popular V718 course beyond the eastern end of the M62, all-rounder Kevin Dawson (Team Ambrosia) knocked three seconds off his personal best, done here 12 months ago, to snatch third spot in 1929. Eight riders got inside 20 minutes. Despite an enforced date change, nearly 300 entries were received for an event which carried a prize list worth almost £1,000. With only a light breeze making the return leg slightly harder than the outward half, it wasn't long before the 20minute rides were rolling in. Among them was former hill-climb champion Jeff Wright, who switched to Team Guru only days after winning the Scottish road race title in Edinburgh BC colours. He clocked 20-11 to set his new squad on the road to a clear team victory, but in the meantime Martin Oakes (Beeston RC) had taken over the lead with his 19-54. Matt Bottrill (Northern Foils) fell one second outside that mark, but his 19-55 was good enough for the espoirs' prize. Then, in the last 20 minutes of the event, a flood of superfast times came rattling in. Julian Ramsbottom (Harrods-Giant), several times inside 20 minutes on this course, took the lead with 19-30, Ian Dalton (Cherry Valley RT) scraped two seconds inside 20 minutes and local man Adam Hardy (Leo RC) matched him five minutes later. Another five minutes after that, a gasp went up around the results board as Newton's time was posted. His 1848 was a 10-second improvement on team-mate Jonny Clay's event record of last year, and took a second off Rob Hayles' 1998 best set in the national championship at the beginning of May. "I'm well pleased with that time today," said Newton at the prize presentation. "Actually, I looked at my watch just after I'd crossed the line, and for a moment I thought it said 18-08, not 18-48. I thought, `wow!', and then moments later I felt a bit of a prat when I realised what I'd really done. "Anyway, it's this competition between the likes of me and Stuart that's been great this year. One week he wins, and next week it's my turn. I like events like this." So Newton leaves for the Games in good spirits, as does Dangerfield, despite a reversal of positions from the previous week's RTTC time trial series event. Dangerfield said: "My training for the Games has been a bit different from Chris'. "He's been going out on the road, while I've been doing conditioning training. I've had a boiler in the garage, where I've been doing hard 30-minute sessions on the turbo wearing two Gamex capes. "I've been sweating off about one-and-a-half litres at a time in 30-degree heat and 100 per cent humidity. I've had no rest days at all this week, so I'm not too surprised that I couldn't get my pulse rate up to its usual maximum." In the accompanying women's event, Di Otley (RAF CC) scraped a one-second win over 1997 BBAR Jill Reames (Swaledale CC), but for once Reames was happy with second spot following her struggle to reach full fitness after illness earlier this year. Chris Newton went away with £250 for first place plus an extra £l00 announced on the day from main sponsor Paul Hardy Builders for breaking the event record. Tekno Fuel, Cycling Weekly, Toyota, Body Shop and Wisepack also backed the prize list for what has become a feature event on the time trial calendar. 1. Chris Newton (Team Brite) ........... 18 48 (event record) 2. S. Dangerfield (Fastrack RT) .......... 19 09 |