Weather Forcasts and the Redmon 25

In my way of dividing up the racing season, the Redmon 25 is the start of Time Trialing proper. January and Feb kicks things off with the Reliabilty Trials (that didn't really happen this year tbh), March is all about the sporting courses, Hardriders and the like.

Today was also the 3rd round of SEWTTS, with another strong field of women riders. They enjoyed the dubious pleasure of going off first. Rebecca Slack, the mastermind behind SEWTTS earned the Michael Fish award for optimistic and inaccurate weather forecasts, with an early tweet suggesting that the women riders would miss the rain. Hmmm, as I arrived the first salvo of women riders were on their way. Their grim faces, and the work my windscreen wipers were having to do, suggested that whatever she turns her hand to a glittering career in the met office doesn't await.

The course was a new one on me, and a change from previous years, the G25/46. On a first acquaintance I can't say I liked it much. But the combo of wet, nagging cross winds, and headwinds probably did not let me see it at its best. I was the only Old Port in this one. The other Testers either in deepest Kent or applying salvon to their cobbled parts in Flanders. It was a day to get through, and I managed a less than sparkling 1.08.09

For the Men, it was Conal Yates who I think came out on top, with a 54.44.  At the start he was my minute man, at the end, my 15 minute man. With the outstanding rider of SEWTTS round 1, Natalie Cresswick a DNS, there was a well fought battle for the women's prize.  However looked like Jasmijn Muller had good minute on the rest to finish with a 1.01.06 . Great rides by both the winners on a tough morning.

A Revolution in a start sheet - SCCU spoco 23rd March

It is a small revolution, but in the world of cycle time trials as seismic one. Go to the CTT website and click on a start sheet, just about any start sheet. Count the number of women riders. Three, four, five, maybe seven if there is a big field? Rubbish isn't it, between 5 and 10% of the field on a good day. Now click on the start sheet for SCCU 21 mile TT on 23rd March being run in tribute to the late Don Glover. Now count them, yes 49 women riders, and still more on a reserve sheet who could not get in.

Fifty odd women have put their money down to race a tough little TT around Bletchingly. What's changed? Everything and nothing. This is not a new event, it has been run for years over a course designed by the aforementioned Don Glover. The rules haven't changed. But this race, organised by Tony Alston is the first in the new South East Women's Time Trial Series founded by Rebbecca Slack, and a huge well of women, interested in the race of truth has been tapped. Well over 100 riders have registered for the series.

Time trialling is a great way to get into competitive cycling. All you need basically is a bike (the pointy hats and scaffolding come later). Events are cheap to enter, and as you are basically racing against yourself. Even if your first ride is a stinker you have laid down a personal best to beat next time out. Many women have been testing for years, as part of triathlon, but never entered CTT events. Now finally with the arrival of a competition specifically for women across the season, TTing seems to a captured their imagination, at least in the South East.

What is particularly exciting is that of the 49 women starting the race next Sunday for a huge number this will be their first ever race. This new blood could if the idea spreads galvanise this branch of the sport in so many ways.

SEWTTS have done a great job of working with the clay that already exists but moulding it meet their needs. A traditional hurdle was that to TT you had to be a member of an affiliated club. Some clubs are great, but not all have a great track record in welcoming and developing women riders. By creating 'Newcomers CC' for all unattached riders SEWTTS have removed this obstacle at a stroke. Having a points based series based on placings, rather than fastest times and  complex vet standards creates a sense of direct competition. It also removes the advantage of targeting events on 'fast' courses. Rather than run new events they are breathing life into the existing calendar by getting organisers to commit a certain %age of places to women. The size of the field for the 23rd has pretty much doubled at a stroke.

The result is a massive win win, and the chance for the sport to reach out to the missing 51% of the population.

Not quite the storming of the Winter Palace but hopefully that start of something special in TTing