Tyneside Vagabonds Mountain Time Trial

The 56th Tyneside Vagabonds Mountain Time Trial saw a worthy winner in Andrew Wilkinson (Port Sunlight Wheelers), who pushed Richard Handley (Team Raleigh) into second place by just 22 seconds over a revised 45 mile course based on Rothbury in Northumberland, to win the £300 first prize courtesy of Wellstream International.

With roadworks planned for the bridge in Rothbury, the start and finish were moved from Belsay to Rothbury to allow the classic course to be used. This meant the usual largely downhill run to the finish was replaced by one of the toughest sections of the course, with a number of climbs before a kick up to the finish line. Cool and damp conditions, together with a westerly wind gusting to 30mph, made for a tough day on an already hard course, and making the exceptionally fast times set by the leading riders even more impressive.

The event promised an interesting competition between long-distance record holder Andrew Wilkinson, 11 times BBAR winner Kevin Dawson (Sportscover.com), Team Raleigh professional Richard Handley, and top local rider and former event winner John Tuckett (Active Cycles), and it didn't disappoint.

Category:

Sports

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• vagabonds
• mountain
• time
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• trials
• cycling
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