With August now over and September upon us, it’s time to look back at our 5 Mile TT Series which once again occupied our Tuesday evenings throughout August. With Keith Boardman announcing after last years edition that he was stepping down as organiser after 10 years, the baton was passed to Brad Smith for 2020.

With the world being turned upside down in 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, and all racing cancelled for three months, there was a long while where we didn’t know if the 5s would be able to go ahead in 2020, but fortunately July brought some relaxation in the restrictions meaning that the 5s could go ahead as planned, and the final preparation work began; including how to put them on safely whilst still in a global pandemic. But fortunately Brad rose to the challenge and we were able to put on another wonderful series.

The first event of the series, a non-aero event, took place on the August and brought about a first for us; a full field. In fact, the demand was so high that riders, unfortunately, had to be turned away but with a field size capped at 40 by the police, we had no alternative. Of those that faced the clock, Matthew Wales of RichBott RT came out on top with a time of 10:25, whilst Craig Rogers, Cambridge University CC, and Richard Evans, Birkenhead North End, posted a 10:36 and 10:41 to take second and third respectively. Fastest Female on the night went to Liverpool Century’s youth rider Evelyn Field with a 13:26 whilst fastest junior went to Nathan Smith of Birkenhead North End with a 10:45.

Round two came about a week later and was the only aero event of this years series, more on that later. And the unprecedented demand was back again, a theme running through all of our 5s this year. First place this week went to Nathan Smith, Birkenhead North End, who stopped the clock on 9:57, the 16 year old the only rider to go sub-10 minutes this year. Remember his name. Second place went to Jimmy Smith riding for Specialized with a 10:25 and Pirate Juice CC’s Steve Downey rounded out the podium with a 10:26. Fastest Female this week went to Zoe Brunton of Mersey Tri Club with a 12:30, whilst Nathan Smith also took fastest Junior.

Round three was back to non-aero on the evening of the 18th, and once again produced a full field. Steve Fidler of the 3C Racing Team pedaled his road bike to the fastest time on the night, a 10:18. Week One’s winner, Matt Wales placed second this week, with another 10:25 whilst Cambridge University’s Craig Rogers took the third step with a 10:37. Fastest Female was again Mersey Tri Club’s Zoe Brunton with a 12:19 whilst Nathan Smith, Birkenhead North End, made it three from three as fastest Junior, when he stopped the clock on 10:39.

And then finally the fourth and final round was scheduled for the following week as the second aero event, but both the arrival of Storm Francis and a present from Wirral Council in the form of gravel chippings meant that the difficult decision was made to cut the series short for rider safety. The combination of strong wind, rain and the poor surface simply meant that we couldn’t risk running the event.

On behalf of all of us at Birkenhead North End, I’d like to thank all the riders for coming out and facing the clock, and we can only apologise to those that didn’t manage to get a ride; in 11 years of running the event we’ve never had a full field so that first week was somewhat unexpected. I’d also like to thank all of the club members who came out to marshal any of the events, and a special thank you must go out to Dave Large for once again timekeeping all of the events, and also to Brad Smith for organising. Without either of them the events simply wouldn’t go ahead.

The results sheets for all three events can be found at the links below, as can a series of photos taken by Dave Newby at rounds 2 and 3, with links taking you to his website. Thanks for coming, and we hope to see many of you again, next year.

Week One Results

Week Two Results

Week Two Photos

Week Three Results

Week Three Photos

The 2020 racing season didn’t get off to a great start, with only a handful of races taking place before the season was paused as a result of the COVID-19 Global Pandemic. As a club, this meant we had no choice but to cancel our first five events of the year; 3 of our Saighton 10s, our Hilly 22 and The Jackie Mac Memorial 25. But, with the situation improving across the UK, the CTT gave the green light for Time Trials in England to resume from the 13th July 2020, meaning we could go ahead with our planned event for the 30th July at Saighton. Upon hearing the news, event organiser Ian quickly jumped into action to get the event ready, and ensuring we could run it whilst following the CTT Covid Risk Assessment and Government Restrictions.

On the night, we arrived at the event to find a group of eager Time Trialists waiting to sign on, but all staying apart and following social distancing guidelines. Sign on ran without an issue, with 33 riders signing up to face the clock over the 10 mile course around Saighton.

The conditions on the night were great for racing around Saighton, with temperatures in the low 20s, a southerly breeze providing assistance up the main climb on the circuit and the air not too humid. This resulted in some good times posted, with the riders who raced the Birkenhead Victoria event on the same circuit last week posting faster times across the board; and the winner on the night just 10 seconds away from the course record.

So, moving on to the results from the night. The fastest time was posted by Ben Lloyd (Provision Race Team) with a great time of 20:43. Second place went to our very own Richard Evans (BNECC) who stopped the clock on 21:03, just missing out on going sub-21. Third on the night went to Richard Bott (RichBott RT) with a 21:12. The fastest Female on the night was Frances Owen (Fibrax Wrexham RC) in her first ever TT with a time of 23:54. And finally, the fastest Junior on the night was Ben Singer (Team JRC) who crossed the finish line on 23:43. The full results sheet can be found below.

We’d like to say a big thank you to all the riders who turned up and raced, it was great to see so many faces, both new and old, and everyone did as we asked and followed both the government guidelines, and those we ourselves set out in our Time Trialing Resumes at BNECC post. Also a big thank you to organiser Ian, as well as our Timekeeper Dave and all the marshals.

The next event for the club is the first of our Boardman 5 events this Tuesday in Willaston, with our next trip to Saighton taking place on Thursday 27th August.

For the tenth year, Keith Boardman hosted his series of 5 Mile time trials on a course between Willaston and Clatterbridge this August, but it wasn’t all plain sailing this time round. There was a good turnout of North Enders at each event, as well as plenty of riders from other local clubs, and as always a few first timers getting their first taste of time trialling and plenty of Youth and Junior riders. That’s what cycling’s all about.

Our local time trials for the last few seasons have been plagued with roadworks, but that fate was avoided for the 5’s, instead there were different challenges for us. As normal, Keith was planning on hosting a series of 4 events, one on each Tuesday evening in August, loosely following a pattern of non-aero/retro and aero, but disaster struck on the first of these events with Keith’s car facing ‘technical difficulties’ en route to the race, with not just Keith but also all of the signs in the car as well. As such, the first event had to be cancelled at very short notice; we can’t run an event with no organiser and no signs.

Moving onto the second (or was this now the first?) event, the usual August weather was around, with a mainly sunny evening and importantly; it was dry. The first event was taken by Craig Rogers of Cambridge University CC, in a time of 10:39, with Adam Smith, BNECC, and Kev Larmer, Port Sunlight Wheelers, taking second and third with 10:47 and 10:57 respectively,

Moving onto the next event, and this is where once again there were ‘difficulties’ for all involved; for the first time in 10 years we had our first ever rain. However, the riders weren’t put off by the slightly damp* conditions with a field of 27 and there were still plenty of brave marshals helping out too. Once again this weeks winner was Craig Rogers, CUCC, taking 9 seconds off his time from a week earlier, despite the weather, with a time of 10:30. Second was Sami Al’Hadid, BNECC, with 10:51 and rounding out the podium was Richard Evans, BNECC, stopping the clock at 10:59. (*By slightly damp, we mean it was almost biblical)

And onto the final event of the year, the summer weather was back once again and we were greeted with 30 riders signing on. There was no Craig this week, his brother Rob reporting he’d suffered similar ‘technical difficulties’ to Keith, except to his bike; and that meant no hattrick of wins for the CUCC rider. The winner was the previous weeks second place, Sami Al’Hadid, BNECC, who shaved 15 seconds off his time, crossing the line on 10:36. Second this time out went to Rob Hennessy, North Wirral Velo, with a 10:49 and the final podium of the year was BNECC rider, Richard Evans, with a 10:50.

As always, following the final race it was a trip to The Weathsheaf Inn, Raby, commonly refferered to as ‘The Thatch’ for cheese and ‘a couple of drinks.’ A good way for many to sign off their season, and a good chance for a catch up. For more photos and full results from each TT, head to our Facebook page.

On behalf of the club, I’d like to thank all the riders for coming out and supporting the event, and to all the marshals who came out and supported the riders. And as always at a BNECC Club Time Trial, a special thank you goes to Dave Large for timekeeping. And finally, a huge thanks to Keith; who after 10 years of running these events announced that this year was to be his last as organiser. On behalf of BNECC, all the riders who’ve experienced a 5, and the Wirral Cycling Community as a whole, thank you Keith for all your hard work and effort over the last 10 years with these events.