The time trials are back! Sign up and have a go for 2021 – they are great events for all riders to challenge themselves against the clock. All the courses are in or near Aberystwyth, making it easy to access and take part in a weekly local event.
All club members are welcome, and no special equipment is needed. Just bring yourself, £3 and a road worthy bike with a rear light.
The first Covid safe event starts on Wednesday 5th May. This will be held on the 10 mile course starting at Statkraft Visitor Centre.
If you would like to ride the 10 mile Cwm Rheidol course before the first TT, sign up to ride the Sunday club ride on the 2nd May (booking link will be emailed to all club members). This will be a chance to ride the course and ask any TT questions on the Sunday club ride.
Further details on how to sign up for the first TT will be posted before Wednesday 5th May on the club Facebook site.
It’s great news that outdoor group activity, organised by official clubs can restart from the 26th April 2021. Following this Welsh Government announcement the club will be co-ordinating Sunday rides starting from the 2nd May 2021.
The club will start with small groups of riders and pre-booking will be required to ensure we can safely organise the rides. Over time we hope to increase the number of rides available and different pace groups.
Each week the ride options available will be emailed to club members (about two days beforehand) along with a booking link.
Please ensure you select a ride that is appropriate to your current pace to ensure everyone enjoys the ride and stays together (2 meters apart).
It is fantastic to be able to offer club rides again and catch up with old and new faces.
Ystwyth Cycle Club have been very fortunate to have the support and expertise for many years from club life member Ken Williams is his role as a National Commissaire.
Ken will be stepping down from this role after a long service of over forty years to Welsh Cycling as a Commissaire, of which over twenty eight of these years were as a National Commissaire. Ken could regularly be found Commissairing at races all over the country ensuring they were run safely and fairly.
The club would like to wish Ken all the best with his retirement from his role of Commissaire and thank him for all his work and help over the many years. Diolch yn fawr Ken.
Ken William’s in his early days racing for Ystwyth CC at the start of the Welsh Brewer’s Road Race in 1970, which started in Aberystwyth.A cycle Race in Aberystwyth 1983. Ken Williams is in the dark suit holding the clip board and the Mayor of Aberystwyth has the finish flag.Ken and Glyn Evans , are life members of YCC. At the time of the photo, they were two of only five National Commissaires in WalesTour of the Mining Valleys Ystwyth CC Road Race 2014 – Ken is on the finish line as Race Commissaire
At the recent club AGM, it was great to have over 20 attendees (online) to help make the decisions shaping the club for 2021.
The full minutes will be circulated soon to club members, but in the meantime we can share some updates for those that were unable to attend.
2021 Committee
The committee for 2021 can be seen on the website: Committee – Clwb Beicio Ystwyth Cycling Club the main change is that John Gee has kindly stepped forward to take over from Lowri as Treasurer. The club are very grateful for all the work and time Lowri has given to the club in this role and Lowri will be working alongside John to arrange the handover when safe to do so.
There is a role vacant for 2021 if anyone is interested! The Press Secretary role involves writing short blog posts on club news and activities and the use of social media to promote these. E-mail ystwythcc@gmail.com if interested in this role or have any questions.
Membership rolled over for 2020 Club Members
There was a decision at the AGM to roll over the membership for 2020 club members, which is great news and those that joined this year do not have to rejoin for 2021.
Club President presentation
We are sad to announce that Leif, our Club President, Life Member and regular club rider has made the move to Denmark and will be greatly missed.
Andy Davies (Club Chairman) presented a club jersey and mounted photo montage to Leif for his commitment to the club over the many years. Leif is happy to continue as the Club President and will be returning regularly post-Covid to visit his family in the area.
On behalf of the club we will all miss Leif who was a regular rider every Sunday. Leif and his wife Kirsten were also regular volunteers at club events and both were accredited cycling race marshals and could be spotted at cycle events throughout Wales.
Leif has been an integral part of the club for a long time and we wish Leif and Kirsten the very best wishes from everyone in Ystwyth CC.
End of 2020…
On the whole it’s been a quiet year for the club, however it’s been great to see so many people out cycling and hopefully when it’s safe to do so we’ll see lots of new faces in 2021.
Thanks to Andy and Derek for safely running the welcomed TT events this year and also thanks to Andy for his work in setting up the Club Zwift TT’s during the lockdown and the quiz!
The Club would like to wish all members a great Christmas break, stay safe and well and hopefully see you all at some point in 2021.
As part of the 2020 TT series there has been a rider chosen each month for this prize. This isn’t necessarily about the fastest but about attitude and effort.
The TT organisers are pleased to announce that the Catalina Architecture September rider of the month is junior rider Lowri Richards.
Lowri has taken part in every single TT event in the 2020 series and each time she has placed on the podium, with five wins out of the nine events. Despite still being a junior (under 16) she has shown her strength over every distance from winning the tough Devil’s Bridge hilly course to winning on the shorter but no easier one mile hill climb.
Congratulations to Lowri Richards on receiving her Catalina Architecture TT rider of the month prize.
Lowri Richards – September Rider of the Month Photo: Aled Richards
As part of the 2020 TT series there will be a rider chosen each month for this prize. This isn’t necessarily about the fastest but about attitude and effort.
The TT organisers are pleased to announce that the Catalina Architecture August rider of the month is local rider Josh Tarling. Josh has ridden all the time trials in August and won three out of the four August events and in doing so set a new course record on the 26th August on the Cwm Rheidol course with a time of 20.37.
Congratulations to Josh Tarling on receiving his Catalina Architecture TT rider of the month prize.
Josh Tarling on his way to the new Cwm Rheidol course record Photo: Aled Richards
The conclusion of the Catalina Architecture 2020 Series did not disappoint. With all sixteen riders on road bikes for the 1 mile hill climb from Llangorwen, there would be no hiding. Each rider taking on the climb and the clock.
There were fast times posted, with the first six riders all breaking the 5 minute barrier. The overall leaderboard was dominated by the first claim junior riders from the Caffi Gruff Race Team proving their strength on the hills.
The overall men’s win went to Jack Ramsbottom, who flew up the climb in 4.00 minutes. Jack was only 24 seconds behind the fastest time ever on the course set by Stevie Williams in 2017 while racing for SEG Racing that year. Only 21 seconds behind Jack was Dafydd Wright, crossing the line in 4.21 and then only a second separated second and third on the podium with Owen Evans taking third place in 4.22.
The battle for the overall ladies win saw junior rider Lowri Richards power to first place in 5.47, closely followed by Katie Miles 5.57 and completing the podium Anita Saycell in 6.28 and setting a V40 course record.
Thank you to all the riders that have taken part in the TT series over the last 9 weeks and adhered to the new guidelines. It has been great to see new as well as returning faces at the TT series this year and well done to all the juniors riding their first TT season.
Thank you to the series sponsor Catalina Architecture and all those that have helped to make the events a success, whether marshalling, timekeeping or capturing the action shots for the riders. Finally the club would like to thank TT Secretary Andy Hunt and Assistant TT Secretary Derek Rattray for all their work in organising and running a successful and safe TT series.
Results: Jack Ramsbottom 4.00 Dafydd Wright 4.21 Owen Evans 4.22 Ciaran Rowett 4.30 Rhys Evans 4.42 Tomos Roberts 4.48 Rhodri Jenkins 5.11 Llion Rees-Jenkins 5.16 David Jones 5.19 Lowri Richards 5.47 Katie Miles 5.57 Anita Saycell 6.28 Toby Driver 6.52 Gerwyn Humphreys 7.04 Gwion Humphreys 7.15 Elaine Rowlands 8.08 Timekeepers Andy Hunt, Derek Rattray & David Wright
Club member Katie Miles provides us with a great insight into the world of hill climbs ahead of Ystwyth CC’s hill climb event on Sunday.
“Every time I’m at the start line for a hill climb, I find myself wondering the same thing:
“Why am I doing this again?!”
To make the anticipation worse, this year I’ve found myself racing up hills I’d never even been up before – you can study the elevation profile as much as you like, but you’ll never really know quite how nasty the hill is until you’re on it.
Then, before you know it, your number is called, you’re on the start line being counted down, and you’re off for 5–10 minutes of excruciating pain. Marginal gains won’t make a huge difference here – it’s all down to your legs how quickly you make it up that hill – which makes getting to the top so much sweeter.
As you come towards the end of the climb, powered on by the cowbells ringing and friends cheering (because the support at hill climbs is always fantastic!), you no longer care what you look like for the photographers lining the route. But as you collapse at the top of the hill, wondering if your legs and lungs will ever stop burning, you start to realise it wasn’t quite so bad after all. By the time you’re told your time, you feel so elated you think you could even do it all again (but believe me, your legs will disagree).
There’s one hill climb left for me this year – CBY/YCC’s Llangorwen/Clarach hill climb tomorrow morning. Most local clubs will run at least one hill climb as part of their summer TT series. We’re extremely privileged that Henry’s first-claim club, Barrow Central Wheelers in south Cumbria, run a whole hill climb series through August and September. We’ve managed three this year, and I even managed to get myself onto the (virtual) podium for one or two – a real surprise when these events are attended by semi-professional riders from across Cumbria and Yorkshire. There are Facebook pages dedicated to advertising club hill climbs across the UK, and if you’re really serious, there’s always the National Hill Climb Championships.
So don’t knock hill climbing until you’ve tried it – because you will surprise yourself.”
Tonight saw a battle for the overall ladies winner and ladies road bike category winner, with only 3 seconds separating them. Katie Miles, following her recent hill climb podium finishes in events in the North West over the last few weeks, took the win in a time of 27.32. Junior rider Lowri Richards crossed the line only just behind with 27.35. Elaine Rowlands completed the podium with her time of 31.34.
The mens road bike category saw Owen Evans take the win for the second week in a row with his time of 24.45. Crossing the line in second place was Rhodri Jenkins in 26.18 and taking third place was junior rider Llion Rees-Jenkins in 27.13.
The overall men’s winners saw junior Dafydd Wright on top form and take his second consecutive win and with a personal best time of 22.22. Caron Pugh was the second fastest rider on the night with his time of 23.12 and crossing the line in third place with a strong ride was Scott Tompsett in 24.45.
A thank you to the time keepers and marshals for their help on the night to ensure the safe running of the event for all the riders.
Results:
Dafydd Wright 22.22 Caron Owen Pugh 23.12 Scott Tompsett 24.17 Owen Evans 24.45 Tim Davies 25.20 Rhodri Jenkins 26.18 Llion Rees-Jenkins 27.13 Katie Miles 27.32 Lowri Richards 27.35 Liam Morgans 28.01 David Wright 28.50 Elaine Rowlands 31.34 Gwion Humphreys 34.09 Timekeepers Andy Hunt & Derek Rattray Marshall’s Nia Richards & Helen Jackson
Overall men’s winner Dafydd Wright Photo: Aled Richards
