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No chain reaction from Pennine rider

14/ 6/2008

BRITAIN’S David Millar was in sight of the finishing line at Giro D’Italia when a broken chain ended his race.

Venting his frustration Millar threw the bike over the safety fence.

Luckily for West Pennine’s Denis Thompson he was able to simply freewheel the remaining yards to the finish in Saturday’s Lancaster Cycling Club 10-mile time trial.

Despite his problem, his time of 23 minutes 13 seconds was the best from the Pennine bunch on the speedy Levens course in Cumbria.

Turning the tables on his club rival, Mick Standring managed to put 11 seconds between himself and Sel Ives when he finished in a time of 24.46.

In turn, Ives’ 24.57 was a mere second faster than the time posted by senior veteran Ron Mellor who is back on the time trial scene after a month’s lay-off.

Rather more than a few weeks away from that scene was the return of Joscelin Ryan who rode her first event for 24 years. Well inside even time (20mph) she finished in 28.52.

Pendle Forest CC’s Jason Bateman posted the winning time of 20.41.

The Rainford bypass, near Southport, was the course for Mark Hulme’s outing over 10-miles on Saturday.

He finished the Liverpool Century RC promotion with a time of 22.47. His 14-year-old son Robert, back a minute on his best result on that course, clocked 28.36.

The winner, with a time of 21.10, was Preston CC’s Robin Brennan.

Hulme’s next event was the following day’s Kent Valley RC 25, but that came after he had met up on Saturday night with Pennine president Richard Taylor for what they described as ‘a good old fashioned club weekend.’

It didn’t appear to do any harm to Hulme who finished the Leven’s based course in the fairly impressive time of 57.05.

A prolific winner this season, Cleveleys RC’s Derek Parkinson did it again with his 52.42.

Moving up to 50 miles, Kev Shand combatted breezy conditions in Sunday’s Cleveland Wheeler’s event on the Kirklevington-Dishforth course in North Yorkshire.

West Pennine’s fastest at the distance so far this season, Shand finished with 1-56.50 up on the result board.

Yorkshire time trial star Kevin Dawson was the winner with his impressive 1-42.54.

Highlighting a busy week of racing, ranging from the Antwerp area down to the hilly Ardennes, Daniel Shand’s DNF in a race at Gullegem, near Kortrijk, might be described as his best performance.

With just a couple of the 18 x 9.5 km laps to be covered the Profel- Prorace rider was away in a break with absolute stellar company.

Sadly this experience was shortlived, as Shand had the ill luck to puncture.

With the peloton roaring up a minute or so behind, and just the odd lap to be covered, he had no alternative but to obey his manager’s instructions and climb off his machine.

Tomorrow brings Pennine’s open 25 promotion for the Frank Hudson Memorial Cup, and the Eva Benson Trophy for women.

With an 8.25 am start time, organiser Steve Smith has assembled a disappointing small field of only 35 riders.

With entries well down throughout the country, even last week’s 25-mile national championship failed to make the 120-rider full field, club folk are beginning to ask if this is just a passing phase or an irreversible decline.