VTTA 15 Mile Championship 2024

This Sunday (18 August) saw London & Home Counties VTTA run the VTTA National 15 Mile Championship, promoted by Newbury Velo.

The event was promoted on the H15/3 course - a fast course that really does boast a four mile downhill section to start - although a niggling westerly wind saw the course running slower than it was for the same event last year. Nevertheless, a slightly chilly late summer morning turned into one awash with sunshine - leading to a fete-like atmosphere at Boxford Village Hall.

Both the open and women's events saw incredibly close results on age adjusted time (AAT) (here's a quick explanation for anyone who is new to VTTA events: https://www.vtta.org.uk/.../678-what-are-age...). In the women's event, last year's champion, 65-year-old Linda Dewhurst (Ride Revolution Coaching/London & Home Counties), rode a stunning time of 34:26 - a new age record - equating to an age adjusted time of 26:50. This was enough for her to retain her title. The silver medal, with an age-adjusted time of 27:29, went to recent 10-mile age record breaker, Sarah Fiona Matthews (...a3crg /Wessex) - just a year Linda's junior. The bronze medal went to 67-year old Lucia Borradaile (CC Weymouth/Wessex) with an age-adjusted 29:17. A special mention to the fastest woman of the day: local rider Melanie Sneddon (TORQ Performance/London & Home Counties) rode an excellent 33:33, with her age-adjusted equivalent putting her in fourth place.

In the open event, it was Team Ohten Aveas who dominated the proceedings, with last year's winner, Richard Oakes (Team Ohten Aveas/Notts & East Midlands), taking the crown once more. Richard was the only rider of the day to clock a 28-minute ride, with his 28:59 equating to an age-adjusted 27:15. For the final two podium positions, we ended up in the unusual position of a tie: Oakes' teammate, Mike Twelves, rode an age adjusted 27:41, with Michael Lythgoe (Kenilworth Wheelers) riding exactly the same adjusted time. This means we have the pleasure of awarding two silver medals in the open event.

In the tandem event, it was 91-year-old Norman Harvey and 67-year-old Mary Corbett who took the gold medals riding their tandem trike. The 42:04 equating to a stunning 26:20, beating off rivals Ian Greenstreet and event organiser Rachael Elliott (Newbury Velo/London & Home Counties) whose 30:00 time equated to a 26:57 on AAT.

In the club team category, it was of no surprise that it was Team Ohten Aveas who took the gold medals, with Oakes, Twelves and Andrew Critchlow taking the honours with a cumulative AAT of 1:23:01. With Critchlow being a member of Surrey/Sussex, Ohten Aveas were unable to double up with the group team gold medals, it was the "home" group of London & Home Countries who took the honours, with strong performances by Gareth Williams, Anthony Turner and, of course, Linda Dewhurst, who took the top spot on the podium with a cumulative 1:23:21.

You can see the full solo result on the website here https://www.vtta.org.uk/events/view/26741

We would like to thank all those who chose to ride the championship, and would like to extend our thanks to the members and friends of Newbury Velo whose volunteers were instrumental in the successful - and welcoming - event that it was.

Photo of medal winners by David Clifford, all photos available here.