Wheelers also lift cycling team prize

West Suffolk Wheelers Sporting 21-mile Time Trial

Under grey skies, with the threat of rain and in a stiff south westerly wind Peter Balls of West Suffolk Wheelers covered the 2-lap circuit based on Risby in just 48m 19s to take a convincing victory.

With supporting performances by Dale Sturman (52m 35s) and Paul Rooke (55m 24s), The Wheelers lifted the team prize, making a brilliant start to the season for the Bury St Edmunds-based club.

Balls' time of 48m 19s gave him a margin of 42s over 2nd place man A Leggett of Stowmarket and District CC and 1m 39s ahead of 3rd placed A Dyason of PCA CICLOS UNO, just holding off Arctic Premier CC rider D McGaw by five seconds.

Locally-based East Grinstead rider Brian Phillips could only manage sixth at 50m 56s despite looking extremely fast out on the circuit.

He was nearly a minute down on 5th-placed Ipswich CC rider A Jardine.

Results - Veterans' Award On Standard: 1. M Church, Fenland Clarion Cc, Plus 11m 28s (actual time 53m 22s), 2. J Adams, Stowmarket & District Cc, Plus 10m 27s (actual time 55m 04s), 3. P Baumber, Cambridge Cc, Plus 10m 05s (Actual 1h 02m 56m 22s), 4. C Nudds, Cc Breckland, Plus 9m 56s (actual time 53m 57s).

Ladies' Award: Sue Clarke, Team Cambridge, 1hr 05m 10s

Team On Scratch: 1. West Suffolk Wheelers P Balls, D Sturman, P Rooke, 2h 36m :18s, 2. Stowmarket & District Cc A Leggett, A Pettitt, J Adams, 2h 38m 28s.

Full Top Ten Results - 1 P Balls West Suffolk Wheelers 48:19, 2 A Leggett Stowmarket & Dist.CC 49:01, 3 A Dyason PCA Ciclos Uno 49:58, 4 D Mcgaw, Arctic Premier R.T. 50:03, 5 A Jardine Ipswich B.C. 50:54, 6 B Phillips East Grinstead CC 50:56, 7 D Murphy Cambridge CC 51:40, 8 D Sturman West Suffolk Wheelers 52:35, 9 N Jackson Cambridge CC 52:51, 10 E Packard Willesden CC 53:09.