THORNTON TRIUMPH IN INTER-CLUB TIME TRIAL!

The inaugral Inter Club Time Trial took place last Sunday 26th July between Thornton, Rye, Ashford and Hastings. The event attracted 29 riders and took place over 10 miles on our own Newchurch-St Marys-Ivychurch course. Riders enjoyed near perfect conditions with a temperature of 17 degrees and a 5mph south-westerly. Fastest rider was Dave Wheeler, Rye, with 21.40. Rye Wheelers claimed the scratch trophy. However the very prestigious handicap trophy was scooped by Thornton RC thanks to some sterling efforts. Eric Bates and Rachelle Pumphrey continued their fine form with times of 28.13 and 29.19 respectively. Gordon's 54.39 included stopping to repair a puncture. Richard Foster returned a creditable 27.47 following a two week holiday lay off and Don Houghton scorched around in 25.56. Well done everyone who took part in the ride. Many thanks to those who kindly gave up their time to marshall/time-keep/push-off/cater, etc. You all helped to make this event enjoyable and successful. Results: Gordon Davis 54.39 Colin Tuckwell 23.31 Rachelle Pumphrey 29.19 Richard Foster 27.47 Don Houghton 25.56 Eric Bates 28.13 Best wishes Colin Tuckwell

L’Etape du Tour

A Report from Danny frost.

A report on the Etape:

Géant de Provence - L’Etape du Tour

Mondovélo sous le soleil du Ventoux

Monday 21^st July 2009 I awoke at 3:55am for an early breakfast and was took my place on the coach for the 2009 Etape Du Tour a route which mirrors stage 20 of this years Tour de France which finishes at the top of Mont Ventoux (the Giant of Provence). The ride commenced from Montélimar (Drôme) to the Mont Ventoux summit, with 172 km and 4 cat 3 / 4 climbs (côte de Citelle, col d'Ey, col de Fontaube, col de Notre-Dame des Abeilles) as a leg warmer before the Ventoux.

took my place with 8,500 others an hour before the start with the ride commencing at 7:00 am. The start of the Etape is a pure adrenalin rush with everone racing off to get into a good group. I fortunately found some good early groups and was travelling up to 27mph on the flat with my average speed rising. With three categorie 3 climbs completed I had an average of 21mph with around 3.5 hours completed. The penultimate climb was the col de Notre-Dame which was around 7km long and provided a decent of 9km on roads as wide as the A20 with speeds touching 50mph this was a breath taking descent. At the foot of the Ventroux with an average spped of 19mph all was going to plan. With one and half bottles of water remaining I decided not to stop at the base feed station and climb to the top. With the climb commencing and an intimidating sign pronouncing 24km to the top, the challenge was set. As I entered the first part of the climb, the infamous forest, the heat become a problem with a temperature of 40 degree Celsius; it was like riding in an oven. Having elected for a 25 rear gear I soon ran out of gears and then dragged my way up to around 10km. At this point I was down to half a bottle and it was getting hotter as there was no real tree cover. Fortunately at 6km to go there was a final water stop which provided much needed refreshments for the final push to the summit, Outside of the trees the gradient eased and with the Tom Simpson memorial at 1 km to finish the end was in sight. A mad dash up the final slope resulted in a time of around 7:17 and a place of 1200 out of 8500; which was a result I was pleased with, 1300 never made it! A sub 7:00hrs time was achievable but the heat and my choice of gearing had put pay to this. Recently crowned French road racing champion, Dimitri Champion won the event in 5 hours, 11 minutes.This was the toughest event I have ever done but one I would recommend to anyone.The crowds at the base of Ventoux were large with high numbers of people lining the slopes all the way to the top. This event really gives you a feel of the excitement and joy of riding a tour stage and the pain. Having vowed to myself I will never be doing this again, by morning I was thinking I wonder where next years event will be, do you fancy joining me?

CIRCUIT OF KENT SPORTIVE

This event has always been very popular with Thornton riders - a couple of years ago we had 12 entries! Let's aim to beat that this year... 13 Spetember 2009, Start/Finish - Sevenoaks 140km or 80km routes to choose from Visit www.kentcyclosportive.co.uk for further details. Best to enter ASAP as it may soon fill up. Colin Tuckwell colin.tuckwell@ntlworld.com

Club 10 Mile Time Trial

The Results are now on the website and can be seen here Club 10 Mile Time Trial results for 14th July 2009

ON YER BIKE CYCLE CHALLENGE

Many apologies to Roy and Jane for forgetting to post this message sooner: In May Roy and Jane White took part in the 21st edition of the On Yer Bike charity event. They were joined by 530 other riders with routes of 25 or 40 miles to choose from. The Thornton duo rode the longer route which ran from St Leonards, towards Bexhill, past Pevensey Castle and through Wartling and Magham Down - all in perfect weather. Roy and Jane completed the ride in two and a half hours and in doing so managed to beat the Rye Wheelers B Team. Well done! Colin Tuckwell

INTER-CLUB 10 MILE TIME TRIAL

As you may be aware, we have agreed to take part in an inter club time trial along with Ashford Wheelers, Rye Wheelers and Hastings CC. Details as follows: DATE: SUNDAY 26 JULY 2009 - 1ST RIDER 7.00AM PLACE: THE THORNTON 10 MILE CIRCUIT (ST MARY IN MARSH - NEWCHURCH - IVYCHURCH) HEADQUARTERS: NEWCHURCH VILLAGE HALL, 6.30AM SIGN ON We would love to see the club well represented. If you haven't time trialled before it doesn't matter. You don't need any fancy gear, you just need to be able to ride 10 miles at your own pace! Great! Look forward to seeing you on the day! Colin Tuckwell

La Marmotte 2009

La Marmotte Sportive On 4th July Michael Pumphrey and I took part in this year's edition of the mighty Marmotte. The course is 108 miles long and crosses 4 massive passes: Le Glandon, Le Telegraph, Le Galibier and L'alpe d'huez. Luckily conditions were warm and dry as we set off from Bourg d'oisans along with 7000+ others. After 12km we started our first climb, Le Glandon - a 20km climb up to 2000 metres. Michael rode off ahead of me as the road turned upwards and was sure I wouldn't see him again until I finished. Halfway up it began to dawn on me that I was going to pay the price for a serious lack of training miles in the last couple of months. However I plodded on to the summit and had immense fun on the fast, technical descent. I really struggled up La Telegraph (it seemed a lot steeper than when I last rode it with Sticky a couple of years ago). I eventually arrived at the feed station at the base of the mighty Galibier and after refulling I was just about to set off again when, to my great surprise, Michael turned up. It turned out that I'd passed him at the feed station up Le Glandon. We set off again up Le galibier and as before Michael went of into the distance, this time not to be seen again. Le Galibier (2648m) was a tough struggle as always but I eventually made it to the top before enjoying the 30km sweep down into the valley and on to the final climb of the day - L'alpe d'huez (1848m). Those of you who have ridden this alpe before can testify just how steep the first 4 hairpins are. Add 35 degree heat and 100 miles into the equation and it makes things extremely 'character building'! In the end I got to the top and crossed the line in 9 hrs 49, thus beating the 10hr target I'd set myself. I saw Michael while queuing for my post-ride meal. He'd got round in 9hr 12. He found it a bit more of a struggle than last year but his efforts were rewarded with a Gold Standard classification. This was my third Marmotte and although it's a really tough event with long periods of suffering involved, the rewards are high. I'll definitely be back for more! Colin Tuckwell