Report 2009
Sunday, 31 May 2009
Ninety five riders set off from the Pont Cysyllte under clear blue skies.
Ahead of them, 171km (106 miles) and 3000 metres (10,000 feet)
of ascent over a figure-8 course that would
take them up Methodist Hill onto the Ceiriog ridgeway,
then over the Horseshoe Pass to Ruthin and out thru Clocaenog Forest
to Brenig Reservoir, dipping down to Pentrefoelas before climbing again
up the Conway Valley and on to Bala.
Returning via Corwen for the final climb of the day over
the Llangollen Panorama.
Finish at the Froncysyllte Community Centre for afternoon tea on the terrace.
We were blessed with truly glorious weather;
bright and sunny all day with a light easterly wind.
A high of 24°C was recorded and it was warmer still in direct sunlight.
The fastest time was posted by Gary Jones,
finishing in an impressive 6 hours 45 minutes
(there are a couple of faster times but see note below).
A total of 78 completed the course,
the last taking 9 hours 25 minutes although he was delayed by two punctures.
A number of riders omitted the final climb over the Panorama;
some missed the signs, others simply couldn't face another hill!
Comments from riders
"Thank you again for an excellent day yesterday and please pass on
my thanks to the rest of your team who were very friendly and
extremely helpful."
"Thanks for a fantastic event - who knew there were that
many climbs in Wales ?
Lots of little known routes to explore in future and
cracking scenery all the way round."
"Many thanks for organising a fantastic event yesterday.
Everything was top notch, including weather."
"Thanks for a suburb route and your excellent management yesterday."
"Thank you for a wonderful event, on behalf of VC Melyd,
we would applaud the great food and weather.
The views from the Panorama were an awesome new sight for us
local riders who had not yet discovered its delights."
"Big thanks to the team,
lovely atmosphere and stunning area of beauty to take us through."
Rider Reports 2009
And two people have blogged a complete report on their day:
Finally, I'll add my thanks to everyone in Froncysyllte who helped
make this event a success.
And here's to a bigger and better event in 2010.
Stan Thomas
Results 2009
| Name |
Club |
Time |
| Gerard 'wedge' Adams | Stratford CC | 08:37:18 |
| Robert Adie | | 07:34:50 |
| Richard Baker | lancs road club | 07:19:59 |
| Claire Ballamy | Wrecsam Tri | N/S |
| Mark Bancroft | VC Melyd | 08:06:20 |
| Barry Barnes | | DNF |
| Paul Bottrill | | DNF |
| Julian Bouchet | | 07:29:36 |
| Ian Boult | PSOF | 07:55:31 |
| Michael Brooke | | 08:22:28 |
| Dave Brown | | 06:46:01 |
| David Brown | Likely Lads | 07:51:10 |
| Paul Brown | Likely Lads | 07:29:47 |
| Robin Burrows | TEAM SHINY BIKES | 07:44:35 |
| Steven Cartwright | CTC | 07:29:42 |
| Les Charnley | Weaver Valley CC | 07:13:33 |
| Wayne Clark | | 07:51:58 |
| Jan Clews | PSOF Chestr tri | N/S |
| Neil Coakley | liverpool mercury | 08:01:36 |
| Peter Cobb | Chester Tri | 07:20:26 |
| Robert Cole | wheels in wheels | 07:54:56 |
| Karl Cooper | | N/S |
| Linzi Cooper | | N/S |
| Charles Cowan | | 08:26:18 |
| Mike Cummins | vc melyd | 07:10:14 |
| Simon Davies | | 08:17:32 |
| Maureen Douglas | Chester Tri | 09:03:12 |
| Philip Doyle | phoenix c c | 08:03:33 |
| Peter Escritt | Wolverhampton Wheelers | 08:27:59 |
| David Evans | Harry Middleton CC | 08:03:48 |
| Dewi Evans | | 07:23:33 |
| Eddie Evans | | 07:34:32 |
| Gruffudd Evans | | 07:48:05 |
| Tim Ferguson | Sportcity Velo | DNF |
| William Flockton | Audax UK | 08:22:43 |
| Paul Goodwin | | 07:27:16 |
| Jo Green | Deloitte | N/S |
| Tom Green | Ludlow CC | DNF |
| Emyr Gronow | VC Melyd | 07:42:59 |
| Richard Gunston | | DNF |
| Martin Haenlein | VC Melyd | 07:12:24 |
| Ben Hanley | Solihull CC | N/S |
| Richard S Hayes | Wrecsam Tri | 08:57:02 |
| Tom Herridge | Sherwood CC | 06:31:32 |
| Andrew Hill | | 08:03:40 |
| Nick Hill | Addiscombe CC | 08:28:25 |
| Claire Hose | | DNF |
| Mark Hose | | DNF |
| Andrew Hughes | TEAM SHINY BIKES | 07:46:15 |
| Andrew Hyland | MVH Tri Club | N/S |
| Chris Jones | Birkenhead Victoria | DNF |
| Delyth Jones | | N/S |
| Gary Jones | Likely Lads | 07:25:52 |
| Gary Jones | Plassey PT | 06:45:59 |
| Harri Jones | | N/S |
| Christopher Kelly | | 07:23:00 |
| Les Kennedy | PSOF | 07:55:24 |
| Dan Kenyon | Liverpool Mercury | 08:02:47 |
| Carl King | Warrington RC | 08:03:41 |
| Frank Kinlan | CTC | 09:24:59 |
| Chris Lee | | 08:28:10 |
| Dave Lee | Epic-Viner rt | 06:32:06 |
| David Lee | VC Melyd | 07:39:44 |
| Graham Lee | EPIC Cycles Viner RT | 06:16:24 |
| David Lehrle | | DNF |
| Peter Lessiter | | 08:29:25 |
| Dan Liddle | VC Melyd | 07:10:20 |
| Dave Lloyd | | DNF |
| Chris Lord | vc melyd | N/S |
| Kevin Maddocks | | 08:12:29 |
| John Mainwaring | VC Melyd | 08:06:44 |
| Andy Malcolm | VC Melyd | 08:14:36 |
| Rob Mcdonald | Fibrax Wrexham RC | 08:06:09 |
| Suzanne Mcdonald | Fibrax Wrexham Roads Club | 08:06:28 |
| Dan Mchugh | | N/S |
| Phil Millar | CTC | 09:25:12 |
| Cheri Mills | | N/S |
| Shaun O'keefe | wrecsam tri | 06:53:17 |
| Nick O'prey | | N/S |
| Alan Overson | V C Melyd | 07:09:59 |
| Alun Pugh | | 07:26:47 |
| Hugo Rees | | 07:00:12 |
| Nik Roberts | Oxford Tri | 08:01:08 |
| Stephen Roberts | OOtri Oswestry paragon | 09:14:32 |
| Barry Robertson | Glendene CC | 08:58:07 |
| Howard Rodon | AUK | 08:07:51 |
| Stuart Royce | | 09:14:18 |
| Paul Rutt | VC Melyd | 07:24:22 |
| Tony Ryan | | 08:09:25 |
| Paul Sharman | | DNF |
| Paul Simpson | PSOF Chestr tri | N/S |
| Kevin Skidmore | Wolverhampton Wheelers | 08:28:02 |
| Chris Smith | Wrecsam Tri | 06:52:54 |
| Dave Soles | | 07:40:22 |
| Julian Sutcliffe | Bedfordshire Road Cycling Club | 07:59:20 |
| Daniel Talbot-ponsonby | Oxford Tri | 08:01:05 |
| Vicky Thomas | Liverpool mercury Dolan Aintreee Osteopaths | DNF |
| Viv Tolley | Epic Cycles RC | 08:27:48 |
| Ian Turner | North Road CC | DNF |
| Martin Turner | | 08:31:14 |
| David Tyson | | 08:31:06 |
| James W Watson | Aspley Guise CC | 08:58:12 |
| David Watt | VC Melyd | 07:10:17 |
| Andrew Williams | | DNF |
| Richie Williams | | DNF |
| Simon Williams | | 08:12:20 |
| Fraser Wilson | Team Shinybikes com | N/S |
| Michele Wilson | Team Shinybikes com | N/S |
| William Young | | 07:29:53 |
|
| total finishers: 78 |
Photographs 2009
Photographs taken on the first climb out of Froncysyllte.
Click on thumbnail for larger image.
All photographs are copyright © Arthur Thomas, 2009.
Full size (2048x1536) images available on request.
