New Championship Record

LRRA 50 - 24/07/2005 - C50/2

Ian Dalton regained the Lincolnshire 50 championship title in style on Sunday 24th July, whilst leading the rest of the Cherry Valley team of Andy Moore and Sam Tuplin to the team title once again.

With Ian’s and Cherry Valley RT’s grip on this event looking more unlikely to be loosened, Ian flew around the course to set a new championship winning time which was only a few minutes from his personal best on a far from perfect course and day.

The course based on the A15 and A52, starting near Sleaford then heading South on the A15 to Osbourneby roundabout and then turning right to Grantham on the A52. At Grantham Spittlegate roundabout (17 miles) the riders turned and followed the A52 back to Osbourneby roundabout (25 miles) and then onto Donnington roundabout on the A52 where they turned again to retrace back to Osbourneby roundabout (42 miles). The final leg of the 50 was from Osbourneby roundabout on the A15 to Sleaford turning at Quarrington roundabout and then finishing just north of the start. With a strong and ever increasing wind blowing from an Easterly direction, it was a far from perfect day for a course which is not renowned for its fast times.

First of the Cherry Valley riders on the road was Sam Tuplin. Still on a high from setting a new personal 10 time the night before, Sam was full of confidence as he started just outside Sleaford. Despite being confident, Sam soon settled down to the task in hand knowing he couldn’t allow himself to over commit too early with this being a 2 hour race and also carrying the responsibility of being the third counting rider for the team award.

Andy Moore was next to start and soon found a solid time trialling rhythm which is essential for a race of this distance with team mate Ian setting off close behind.

The riders faced a cross wind on the opening sections on the A15, but would fly on the A52 towards Garantham as the wind helped up the longer drags to the turn at Grantham Spittlegate roundabout. The return leg to Donnington was the hardest where Ian recorded speeds dropping to as low as 23 mph, but once turned at Donnington roundabout, the speed soon rose once again reaching a maximum of 34mph.

With most of the pre-race favourites starting at the back of the event, Sam was an early leader with a time of 2.00.04 which was once again a new personal best time for 50 miles. Sam held the lead for a short while until team mate Andy Moore posted a time of 1.54.43. With the seeded riders close together in the road, the lead soon changed once again as Ian lodged a time of 1.51.20 which was a new championship record.

The overall result was most satisfactory for Cherry Valley RT as they took the team award once again and with all three riders in the top 4 placings.