Hayley Simmonds surprised by her winning margin in National Time Trial Championships
Emma Pooley, the Team GB women's time trial rider at the Rio Olympics Games, finished fourth in Stockton, a minute shy of defending champion Hayley Simmonds

Hayley Simmonds (AeroCoach) has admitted her surprise at becoming the women's national time trial champion for the second successive year by more than 30 seconds from her nearest challenger, Claire Rose (Podium Ambition).
Simmonds stormed around the 34.8km course in Stockton-on-Tees on Thursday in a time of 47:33.36, almost 33 seconds quicker than Rose, with her teammate Dame Sarah Storey six seconds back.
Emma Pooley, who has rejoined Lotto-Soudal Ladies in readiness for the Rio Olympics, was a minute off the pace and could only place fourth.
>>> Hayley Simmonds wins British women’s time trial title as Pooley places fourth
"I thought it was going to be close, and I think it was close until the turn on the last lap when I somehow managed to push out my lead," Simmonds, who recently left her American professional team United Healthcare because of problems with her time trial bike, told Cycling Weekly.
"It was the same as last year [at Lincoln] - I thought I would be on the podium and it would be close and it was the same this year. It wasn’t quite as close as I thought [it would be], but I’ll take it."
Pooley has temporarily halted her triathlon career in favour of pursuing a gold medal at Rio in August, and despite her unconvincing form at the Aviva Women's Tour, she was still regarded as favourite in Stockton, where a victory would have been her fourth.
>>> Scott Davies wins British under-23 men’s time trial for third time (video)
"Obviously Emma is an incredible athlete and she has been for years, but she’s not been focusing just on cycling but I knew if Emma was back on top of her game, she would be hard to beat," Simmonds admitted.
"I thought Claire was going to be my toughest competition on this course because she’s good at the corners and is good on the out-and-back drag sections. I was getting time checks on Claire and Emma so those were the two I was worried about."
For Pooley, failure to step onto the podium left her downbeat but she noted that the flat course was befitting of her qualities.
She said: "I’m disappointed today but if you look at the course it didn't suit my strengths. But you race the course they put to you.
"I did my best and didn’t win. I would have liked to have won. I went out and rode my hardest. I know I’m not properly time trial fit yet so it wasn’t that big of a surprise not to win.
"It’s a good sign of standard of women cycling in the UK. Credit to Hayley Simmonds, Claire and Sarah – great rides."
Thank you for reading 10 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Chris first started writing for Cycling Weekly in 2013 on work experience and has since become a regular name in the magazine and on the website. Reporting from races, long interviews with riders from the peloton and riding features drive his love of writing about all things two wheels.
Probably a bit too obsessed with mountains, he was previously found playing and guiding in the Canadian Rockies, and now mostly lives in the Val d’Aran in the Spanish Pyrenees where he’s a ski instructor in the winter and cycling guide in the summer. He almost certainly holds the record for the most number of interviews conducted from snowy mountains.
-
-
Specialized releases pro-race winning Roval Rapide Cockpit
Integrated rated Roval bar and stem has already seen multiple wins on bikes of Demi Vollering and Fabio Jakobsen this season
By Joe Baker • Published
-
Tour de France: Unchained episode by episode guide
The Cycling Weekly guide to all eight episodes of the Netflix show, from Copenhagen to Paris
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Emma Pooley: 'I have to be happy with the decision I made'
The British rider could only manage 14th in the women's Olympic time trial, after returning from retirement especially for Rio 2016
By Jack Elton-Walters • Published
-
Kristin Armstrong wins Rio Olympics women's time trial; GB's Emma Pooley 14th
American Kristin Armstrong takes her third Olympic TT gold ahead of Olga Zabelinskaya of Russia; Emma Pooley finishes in 14th place
By Nigel Wynn • Published
-
Rio 2016 Olympic Games women’s time trial start list
Provisional list of riders taking part in the women's time trial on August 10 at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
By Nigel Wynn • Published
-
Hayley Simmonds questions British Cycling's 'unprofessional' lack of communication over Rio selection
Two-time national time trial champion hits out at British Cycling for their failure to notify her personally of non-selection for the Rio Olympics.
By Chris Marshall-Bell • Published
-
Hayley Simmonds wins British women's time trial title as Pooley places fourth
Successful defence of the British time trial national title for Hayley Simmonds, as Claire Rose and Dame Sarah Storey complete the podium
By Nigel Wynn • Published
-
Emma Pooley re-signs with Lotto-Soudal Ladies for the second half of the season
Emma Pooley has rejoined Lotto-Soudal Ladies, the team she rode for before her retirement
By Jack Elton-Walters • Published
-
Emma Pooley leads young Great Britain team at Aviva Women's Tour
Emma Pooley is joined by five young riders for the Aviva Women's Tour, which starts on June 15 in Southwold
By Stuart Clarke • Published
-
Emma Pooley set for road racing return at Women's Tour ahead of Olympic Games
The former world time trial champion could start her come back to road racing after retirement at the Aviva Women's Tour in June
By Owen Rogers • Published