Ron Brown Memorial 100 2015 Result
Adam himself was satisfied with the outcome. Just back from a continental business trip, he had been concerned that he would not be sufficiently well rested to produce his best, but that was exactly what he did, and he felt that this may be his best hundred to date. It was, he said, a ‘power personal best’ (a new term referring to the wattage shown on a power meter), so well judged that all five laps had virtually identical times.
This is his ninth season of time trialling and with so much achieved the question of further motivation must be raised. Adam says that because he has been involved in sporting competition since the age of eight, now at the age of forty six, it would be hard to imagine life without it. His immediate target is the all time fastest BBAR average speed, but he says that he still gets most pleasure from competing in time trials up and down the country against the best riders of the day. This is echoed by the feeling within the Hounslow that a rider like Adam, who applies himself to each event as if had not got a head start, really deserves to be in a more competitive environment.
Bob Loader, at 82 the oldest man in the field – he finished in 5.51.07
And judging by the number of entrants without a qualifying time on this full start sheet, it does seem that this may come to pass. Excluding the reserves there were twenty one entrants in this category, most of whom would have been novices. From these came three outstanding rides: Steve Williamson (a3crg, 3.52.26), Matthew Woods (Eastbourne Rovers, 3.59.23) and Andrew Warby (RST Sport, 4.00.11.), these are all excellent times. However, Williamson and Woods are both forty four year old veterans and while Topham has demonstrated very clearly that being over forty is no bar to outstanding time trial performance, it is natural that improvements by veterans are likely to be less dramatic than those of younger riders.
The Hounslow’s best rider of the day, Paul Holdsworth
For this reason Andrew Warby, a youthful senior, may be the most promising of the three. It is said that Fortune favours the brave; how many of us would be brave enough to tackle a first hundred on fixed, as Andrew did? By the way, his gear was 53 x 14 or 100.3”…
In the Ladies Race Jasmijn Muller (Paceline) fulfilled expectations by recording 4.07.30, comfortably clear of her nearest challenger, Jill Wilkinson (Chester RC, 4.13.47), even though Jill improved on her qualifying time by almost 6 minutes. Last year’s winner Jody Conibear (Hemel Hempstead) improved by three minutes, but sadly this wasn’t enough to keep her on the podium.
The Ladies winner Jasmijn Muller
Jasmijn Muller is the current ladies BBAR champion, a title she notably achieved in her first season of time trialling. She had ridden without any assistance, an unexpected disadvantage for such a prominent rider. Jasmijn is not optimistic about defending her BAR title since she feels she will not be able to beat Julia Shaw who is riding again this year. However, although Ms. Shaw is an exceptionally strong rider Jasmijn Muller has age on her side; in addition this event was only her third attempt at the distance, so there should be significantly faster rides to come. Don’t be over pessimistic, Jasmijn!
Continued overleaf…
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