Report/Result: Hounslow & District Wheelers 100

Report and result by Chris Lovibond on Jake Sargent’s win and course record in the Hounslow & District Wheelers 100; Chris Murray was fastest woman

Report/Result: Hounslow & District Wheelers 100
26th May | by Chris Lovibond

With the course and event record standing at 3.27.34 (Keiron Davis, 2016) it would be natural to assume that, aside from talent, a competitor would need a near perfect day and a trouble free ride to improve the existing figure.

Jake Sargent (Team Bottrill) recorded 3.25.48 to win, improving Davis’ record by 1 minute 46 seconds. This was achieved on a day which started calm but wet, then became sunny and windy before the finish – the wind was from the south west, generally undesirable on this course. In addition to the wind Sargent punctured at about half distance but, owing to the modern miracle of self sealing tyres this just resulted in losing about half the pressure from the tyre, enabling him to continue without serious ill effects. It’s not possible to calculate how much difference that loss of pressure caused but clearly, with better luck, the ride could have been even faster.

Jake’s first racing season was in 2019 and although he wasn’t slow to start scoring BC road race points, he found that he preferred time trials with the 100 his favourite distance; this preference is understandable since he won the National 100 Championship in 2022. His targets for the rest of this year are the 50 Championship and the BBAR – given his performance in this event, victories in both seem quite possible.

Second placed Chris McNamara (Sigma Sports RT) whose 3.28.35 made him a clear winner in the vets’ category, is an amazing evergreen who, at the age of 46 is still a contender at the top level of domestic road racing. While it’s much less common now than formerly to mix road and time trials, Chris’s ride shows that it’s still perfectly possible to mix the two disciplines. This result must also be an excellent advertisement for his coaching skills.

Third place went to Hadyn James (BPC Bioflow RT) with 3.29.48, comfortably clear of fourth placed David Parkin (Velotik RT) who recorded 3.37.16.

The Women’s race went to Chris Murray (Army Cycling) with 4.9.41, in second place was Corinne Clark (360RT) who recorded 4.21.56. Chris Murray looked surprisingly fresh after the finish, but perhaps this is not so surprising when you learn that she is the current 24 hour competition record holder (490.28 miles). Note how cheerful she looks in the photo taking a drink near the finish.

The winning team was VC St Raphael, the counters were: Andrew Rivett, 3.45.32, Malcolm Cox, 3.45.43 and John Hyde, 4.14.13.

But the race is not only to the swift! There are at least two slower rides which deserve mention.
First Sien van der Plank who won the women’s road bike prize with 4.38.53. Although this time looks slow compared with other results, those of us who remember riding this distance without aero kit will know the worth of this ride.

The second story is the tandem trike, piloted by Mary Corbet and ‘stoked’ by Simon Hall. They did 5.12.28 on this photogenic machine (see picture) and with a combined age of 120 years this gave the national age record for this admittedly obscure category. Perhaps more impressive is that Mary intends to ride the Welsh 12 Hour in September with her other stoker, Norman Harvey who is 91 years of age, giving them a combined age of 157!

Finally, Bruce McMichael’s effort in organising, along with many Hounslow members, should be recognised. We must be grateful for these volunteers who make this sport possible.

RESULT
1. Jake Sargent Team Bottrill 03:25:46
2. Christopher Mcnamara Sigma Sports Race Team 03:28:35
3. Hadyn James BPC Flowbio race team 03:29:48
4. David Parkin Velotik Racing Team 03:37:16
5. Alexander Royle Manchester Bicycle Club 03:37:37
6. Sven Sabas Rapha Cycling Club 03:42:33
7. Henrik Persson FTP ( Fulfil The Potential ) Race Team 03:42:57
8. Lee Williams FTP ( Fulfil The Potential ) Race Team 03:44:24
9. Andrew Rivett Velo Club St Raphael 03:45:32
10. Malcolm Cox Velo Club St Raphael 03:45:43
11. Karl Norris 360VRT 03:47:52
12. Alastair Luxford Wightlink Wight Mountain Race Team 03:54:06
13. Christian Geldard North Hampshire RC 03:56:55
14. Adam Rogers Eastbourne Rovers CC 03:57:56
15. Edward Renwick Dulwich Paragon CC 03:59:56
16. Neal Beauchamp Kingston Wheelers CC 04:00:46
17. Paul Tippett Destination Bike RT 04:01:08
18. Simon Butteriss Ely & District CC/B&T Motor Repairs 04:02:04
19. Tom Ridsdale High Wycombe CC 04:05:34
20. Chris Murray Female Army Cycling 04:09:41
21. Daren Austin Twickenham CC 04:11:25
22. Nicky Wilson Crawley Wheelers 04:11:46
23. Ian Dickens Droitwich Cycling Club 04:13:01
24. Peter Tomlin North Hampshire RC 04:13:39
25. John Hyde Velo Club St Raphael 04:14:13
26. Ian Cheesman Worthing Excelsior CC 04:16:46
27. Gary Francis Wincanton Wheelers 04:18:46
28. Corinne Clark Female 360VRT 04:21:56
29. Chris Shaw Fenland Clarion CC 04:22:43
30. Naomi Shinkins Female Bournemouth Jubilee Whs 04:32:42
31. Vitali Jokst Crawley Wheelers 04:33:43
32. Sien Van Der Plank Female New Forest CC 04:38:33
33. Nigel Vuagniaux Bath Cycling Club 04:46:32
34. Colin Ashcroft West Kent RC 04:56:05
35. Anita Turner Female Eastbourne Rovers CC 05:10:06
36. Alison Vuagniaux Female Bath Cycling Club 05:32:08
37. Vernon Schutte Farnborough & Camberley CC 05:32:54