The two-up took place on Saturday 6th March, 24 miles over the hardriders course - an event which serves not just as a training event, but also as a marker to see how everyone is getting on. It often happens that someone who tears your legs off training doesn't quite make the podium for the real thing.

We had attracted quite a star-studded field, the best since Mike Williams organised the event four years ago.On paper there was no one to beat champions Kevin Dawson and John Tanner, it was only a question of time and margin. There were, fortunately , many good contenders for the runner-up positions and a close battle was expected between last year winner Julian Gromett riding with Steve Barker, last years second placed Joel Wainman and Simon Beldon hoping to take revenge, and fastman Wayne Randle and Richard Dean who never likes to be beaten. And of course our own Neil Cleminshaw and Chris Whitelam together will be a force to be reckoned with.

The course, a 24 mile circuit north of Beverley, undulates quite a bit, particularly on the return leg, but not sufficiently to call it a hilly race. It is known locally as the hardriders course and it takes its toll on legs and hearts that are not yet fit. The wind was in the north making the outward leg slightly harder. It was much warmer than expected, particularly after last week's cold snap when the roads were covered in ice and snow. The course was marked out with the new CTT warning boards and arrows and they looked to be very effective, not to guide the riders around but to warn other road users.

 

Dave Bishop provided me with some half way times (12.1 miles) and they were very valuable in creating a lot of interest in the changing rooms. The first pair, youngsters Nathan Wilson and Steve Guymer had no one to catch them and recorded the first half time of 30.37. Next by this point were Mark Morgan and Mark Wilks, off at 10, who recorded 27.44, havaing passed the two girls, Nigel Goscinski on his own and the pair off 8 mins past missed their start. Derek Roe and Lee Watson recorded 28.35, Jon Dibble and Rich Moore recorded 28.42 before Joel Wainman and Simon Beldon passed the timekeeper in 26.54. Then came back the news that Wayne Randle had scratched. Taking his new time trial machine out for his warm up he discovered that the headset was tightening making cornering a risk he wanted to avoid and he sensibly returned to base.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wainman and Beldon's halfway time looked good, Neil and Chris recorded 27.37 and two minutes behind them Glen Turnbull and Rick King were closer with 27.10. Meanwhile the two favourites were reportedly on another planet, to quote a cliché that I'm sure is going to be used often. As Wainman and Beldon finished with a 51.36, Dawson and Tanner passed the halfway with almost a minute lead in 25.55, followed shortly by Gromett and Barker struggling with 27.22, eventually to retire as Barker's crank came loose.

At the finish, the Planet X pair extended their lead to over two minutes from the Pete Read pair Wainman and Beldon, finishing with 49.33. and Bannatyne pair of Turnbull and King finished third with 52.19.

Neil Cleminshaw and Chris Whitelam flew the flag well for the club, comfortably taking fourth spot. Neil said after the event that he was glad they had managed a 53 minutes, there was no way he would have lasted for an hour!

The veteran's prize was taken by Derek Roe with Lee Watson (Pete Read) returning faster than the Bridlington pair David Compston and Stuart Pickard who had a one second advantage half way. Not sure who was the unluckiest - the two Clifton girls who lost a quarter of an hour with a puncture (but finished), or Matt Miles (Triangle) who punctured two miles from home and was the only rider to get caught in the downpour as the event closed.

It was thought in the changing rooms that Tanner and Dawson's 49.33 was a record for the event but a browse through history showed that Chris Newton and Phil West recorded 49.26 four years ago beating Kevin Dawson by a similar margin to his win today.

If you want to be reminded of the result from 4 years ago click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Result Hull Thursday Two-up "24"   Saturday 6^th March 2004

Pos.	Riders	Club /Team	Inter	Time
1	John Tanner/Kevin Dawson	Planet X CRT	25.55	49.33
2	Joel Wainman/Simon Beldon	Pete Read Racing	26.54	51.36
3	Glen Turnbull/Rick King	Bannatyne CRT	27.10	52.19
4	Neil Cleminshaw/Chris Whitelam	Hull Thursday RC	27.37	53.18
5	Mark Morgan/Mark Wilkes	Argon18/Extran RT	27.44	54.09
6	Lee Watson/Derek Roe	Pete Read Racing	28.35	54.50
7	David Compston/Stewart Pickard	Bridlington CC	28.34	54.53
8	Steve Burrows/Chris Higgins	Pete Read Racing	29.05	55.01
9	Phil Bateman/Mark Bateman	Triangle RT	29.01	55.18
10	Jon Dibble/Richard Moore	Cottingham Coureurs	28.42	55.27
11	Stuart Atkinson/Lewis Jackson	Bridlington CC	28.46	55.31*
12	Steve Macklin/Dave Shackleton	Hull Thursday RC	28.46	55.46
13	Dave Hudson/Matthew Fenton	City Road Club (Hull)	28.54	55.47
14	Andy Tummons/Tony Washbrook	City Road Club (Hull)	28.53	56.03
15	Ben Garrard/Ben Bigglestone	Triangle RT	28.50	56.23
16	Doug Hart/Tim Ashelford	Leeds & Bradford TRI	29.57	57.39
17	Chris Shorter/Andy Fisher	Anfield BC/Mirage CC	29.57	57.48
18	Martin Haworth/Jack Savage	Barton Wheelers CC	30.03	58.15
19	Len Grayson/Steve Gelder	Pete Read Racing	30.20	58.17
20	Anthony Nash/Kyle Byers	Scunthorpe Poly CC	29.55	58.20
21	Nick Bates/Sarah Cramoysan	Pete Read / Caygill Frames	30.10	58.46
22	George Young/Ian Kent	Clifton CC	30.26	58.52
23	John Brearley/Chris Brearley	City Road Club (Hull)	30.46	59.01
24	Simon Atkinson/Philip Wells	Triangle RT	30.19	59.06*
25	John Clarke/Jon Grant	Pete Read / VC York	30.28	59.20
26	Paul Kilvington/Tim White	Hull Thursday RC	31.16	59.38
27	Dave Nolan/Rob Williamson	City Road Club (Hull)	30.56	59.54
28	Nathan Wilson/Steven Guymer	Hull Thurs/Manx RC	30.37	60.01
39	Colin Sinclair/Simon Wright	Race Scene CC	31.50	60.19
30	Cath Musgrave/Claire Gilmartin	Clifton CC	45.34	77.51
	Nigel Goscinski  (solo)	Triangle RT	30.23	58.58
	Steve Barker/Julian Gromett	Wil-lec Panoramic / Cott Coureurs	27.22	crank
	Graham Rose/Matt Miles	Triangle RT	29.37	punc
	David Young/Roger Dunbar	Triangle RT	dns	apols
	Wayne Randle/Richard Dean	Doncaster Wheelers	H/set	dns
	James Baker/Peta Estens	Leeds Road RC	dns	dns

·         Stuart Atkinson & Lewis Jackson's time includes 5 seconds late start

·         Simon Atkinson & Philip Wells' time includes 30 seconds late start