National 24 Hour TT Championship

 

Among the ladies, Jill Wilkinson was now notable by her absence, while Lynne Biddulph rode steadily, looking happier than she had during the night.
 

 
Back at the HQ there seemed to be a number of riders who had aged prematurely, but the Coyle and Shubert seemed relatively fresh, and certainly in better condition than some past winners. Jonathan Shubert is certainly an unusual time triallist, especially by today’s standards where ‘scientific’ preparation is the norm; he says on his blog that ‘while I enjoy bike racing, touring is my first love.’ However it is a love which was tempered by a longstanding ambition to emulate his Grandfather Frank Shubert, a champion long distance rider in the thirties, and having achieved this at the relatively early age of twenty seven, we can only hope that this articulate young man’s cycling career will continue to benefit him and the cycling movement generally.
 

 
It was hard not to feel sorry for Ultan Coyle. He had made this event the focus of his season, done an excellent ride and recorded a distance which would have won most of the championships in the ‘tribar’ era. Although this course was probably better than the 2011 course (on which Andy Wilkinson did his almost inhuman comp. record) it was no give away and anyone doing over 500 miles on it must be a member of a small elite in this discipline.
 

Continued overleaf…