Matt Bottrill on record-smashing form in Northamptonshire

Multiple national champion Matt Bottrill (Drag2Zero.com) got his 2014 season off to a flying start when he smashed the course record in the A5 Rangers hilly 31-mile event in Northamptonshire.

Bottrill, the reigning National Time Trial Series, Circuit Time Trial and National 50-mile champion, clocked 1-07-40 to slice more than a minute off his own previous course record and give him victory in the event by more than five minutes from Luke Clarke (TMG Horizon).

“I’ve worked incredibly hard this winter, and I’m working towards my target of the British Time Trial Championships in June,” said Bottrill afterwards. “It’s always nice to get the first race under way and see where your form is at.”

Elsewhere, Manchester Wheelers pair Simon Bridge and Scott Burns secured a one-two in the second round of the Manchester and District TTA 10-mile Series in Cheshire.

Bridge, 43, took the win with 21-24, while Burns clocked 21-38 to take second by almost a minute from Lyme RC’s Paul Robinson in third.

There was also a one-two in the Malton Wheelers 10.5-mile event at Sledmere in North Yorkshire, where Joel Wainman took the win by five seconds from team-mate Mark Wolstenholme, 24-32 and 24-37 respectively.

And Team Swift were also celebrating a win in the Scunthorpe Road Club 10 at Kirton Lindsey, in North Lincolnshire.

Simon Beldon clocked 2-033 to win by just five seconds from Nigel Haigh (Strategic Lions), while Robbie Krygsman took third spot for Team Swift with 21-15.

Rapha Condor-JLT had Hugh Carthy and Richard Handley in first and second positions in the 27-mile Circuit of Ingleborough in North Yorkshire on Saturday.

Carthy took the win in 1-03-24, while Handley was 20 seconds back in second. The best of the best was more than two minutes back – Ian Bibby (Madison Genesis) took third with 1:07:07.

Team Pedal Power rider Adam Gascoigne won the Stourbridge Velo 22 at Bobbington in the West Midlands. He covered two laps of the K21/11 course in 49-06 to take the win by 15 seconds from James Ratcliffe (Fred’s), while Cambridge University CC’s Joshua Jones took third, around three minutes off Gascoigne’s pace.

In Suffolk, Velo Velocity placed two riders on the podium in the West Suffolk Wheelers’ 21-mile event at Risby.

Jason Bouttell took the win with 45-43, and while Mark Arnold (CC Desireagear) took second with 46-06, Matt Smith joined his Velo Velocity team-mate on the podium with 46-07 and third place. All three rode strongly and broke the old course record for the BS31.

Arnold stepped up to the top of the podium the following day when he won the Great Yarmouth CC 25 on the Somerleyton circuit in Suffolk.

His winning time of 55-09 took ten seconds off the long-standing course record previously held by the late Zak Carr, and gave Arnold victory by 2-37 over Barry Charlton (Swinnerton Cycles).

AW Cycles’ Nick English won the Farnborough and Camberley CC 10 at Bentley in Hampshire, clocking 20-36 to win by 39 seconds from John McClelland (Bush Healthcare).