Bottrill wins fifth round of Rudy Project Series

Series leader Matt Bottrill notched up his second victory in the Rudy Project National Time Trial Series, the I Ride RT man covering the 33.1-mile course in Worcestershire more than three minutes quicker than his nearest rival.

Bottrill, from Leicester, now has the required five rides and has dropped just three points, having finished second on three occasions. But with his nearest rival being 18 points adrift, it would take a big reversal of fortunes to deny him the overall victory.

Bottrill clocked 1-12-40 for the two-lap K22/16 course based around Great Witley, winning by 3-14 from his nearest rival.

The lower two steps of the podium were filled with Chippenham and District Wheelers' shirts, but it was Ben Anstie who took second, beating team-mate Jeff Jones - who is second overall - by 1-05.

The real drama was in the one-lap women's race, where Olympic track ace Wendy Houvenaghel (Bike Chain Ricci) took an expected victory.

Second-placed Trudi Sammons (Reading CC) added to her overall points, and now has a healthy lead after her rivals Michele King and Jane Kilmartin both crashed out of the event.

The two Cult Racing riders fell victim to wet and warm conditions, with a misted visor contributing to Kilmartin's crash, while King suffered a sore hip and grazed arm after slippery roads caused her fall.

Another big winner in the women's race was their Cult Racing colleague Nadine Mayhew, who moved from fifth to second in the overall after finishing fifth.

For more on the fifth round of the Rudy Project Series, see Thursday's Cycling Weekly.

Rudy Project National TT Series (Round five, Great Witley, Worcestershire)

Men (33.1 miles)

1 Matthew Bottrill (I Ride RT) 1-12-40

2 Ben Anstie (Chippenham & Dist Wheelers) 1-15-54

3 Jeff Jones (Chippenham & Dist Wheelers) 1-16-59

4 Tejvan Pettinger (Sri Chinmoy CT) 1-17-10

5 Scott Walker (I Ride RT) 1-18-09

6 Lee Tunnicliffe (Cycles Dauphin RT) 1-21-17

Women (16.4 miles)

1 Wendy Houvenaghel (Bike Chain-Ricci) 38-29

2 Trudi Sammons (Reading CC) 42-18

3 Sue Fenwick (Crest CC) 43-12

Veterans (Actual)

1 Ian Dalton (Cherry Valley RT) 38-15

2 Stephen Marchant (Swindon RC) 39-03

3 Stefan Harrison (Team Echelon-Spiuk) 39-15

Veterans (On Target Time)

1 John Woodburn (VC Meudon) +7-47

2 Carole Gandy (Born to Bike) +6-36

3 Tony Taylor (Team Endura) +5-15

Juniors

1 Alex Royle (I Ride RT) 38-01

2 Tom Lackenby (I Ride RT) 38-56

3 Andrew Brind-Surch (VC St Raphael) 39-16

Girls

Holly Page (Worcester St Johns CC) 48-27

Disabled

Rebecca Rimmington & Lora Marie Turnham (Melton Olympic CC) 37-19 (adjusted).