Stage 1 - Individual TT
6 July 2011 22:40
A short spin in the car from the Newport Campus, where most of the riders are staying led us to Llangybi [LLan-guh-bee] . Alex and I hadn'd checked out the route for the individual Time Trial, so having found the start point, we set off in the car to drive the 4.2 mile course.
All was well until 3 miles in, the course turned a sharp left and it was all uphill to the sky.
My hopes of powering to an early advantage over a rolling TT course were dashed, and I saw Alex rubbing his hands together with delight. His petite frame was perfectly suited to the last section of the TT and saw him gain 5 seconds on me. I clocked 12:28, Alex 12:23 - placing us 17th and 10th of a field of 100. Not bad, but not great either - as it later transpired that 2 riders in particular had gained a substantial advantage over the field by clocking times of under 12 minutes.
Not too displeased, I gained time on some Eastern Region riders who I'd seeded myself against before the start of the event.
Tomorrow takes us north past Abergavenny to a Road stage, which takes place on the same circuit as the opening event of the National Junior Road Race Series. Alex has ridden the course before so tomorrow we'll have experience on our side.
