Time Trials
## New rule for 2020, please ensure you have a rear light on the back of your bike to be able to ride in club and CTT time trials ##
Time trails measure how fast a rider can complete a set route and distance with a fixed number of riders at the event. They are normally very popular and you have to book the event in advance on the organisors web site. Time trails (or TT’s as they are referred to in the club) usually have a 1-minute gap between each rider. The aim is to ride the course as fast as possible in the quickest time.
The prizes are awarded to the riders in their category that complete the course in the fastest time. The general distances that time trial courses are set are 10 miles, 25 miles and 50 miles. Much longer distance are also available ranging from 100 miles, 12-hour and even 24-hours. These are tough events and are for serious time trialists wanting to find the ultimate challenge racing against the clock.
Time Trails are a great test of personal fitness and endurance and whilst you set off on your own (unless you are doing a 2 or more rider time trail) they are very competitive. You can ride on a normal road bike however most riders use a specialist TT bike that is aero and built to go faster than a normal road bike. Generally the position is more aggressive and much lower than a normal road bike.
As a guide, a good measure of fitness and time trail capability is to initially complete a 10-mile time trial in under 25 minutes and a 25 mile time trial in under 1-hour.
Club Events and Open Events
There are 2 types of time trails and these are either club events or open events.
Club events are designed to build experience and techniques to riding TT specific events. They are open to club members and non-club members and do not require pre-booking on the web site beforehand. You can turn up, pay a small fee and ride. Remember though, they are popular and attracting a lot of interest and only a set number of riders can ride so get their early to register before your event. Additionally there is a CCA TT points classification system by rider category with prizes awarded to the fastest times.
If the rider is under 18, please fill out the CTT Parental Consent Form.
Annual CCA Hill Climb Championship
The Club also as an annual hill climb championship time trial. It's a double-header at the end of the traditional season in October, featuring Chalk Hill, coming out of Baldock towards Weston, and Coombe Hill coming up from the junction of the A505 up towards Kelshall. There is a trophy for the best Men's and Women's times. All members are encouraged to have a go, try for a PB and bring along friends, family and spectators armed with cowbells and horns to provide an audible psychological boost to all the intrepid riders.
Inter-Club Time Trial Series
CC Ashwell are proudly part of a five-club 'championship', along with Icknield Road Club, Beds Road CC, Hitchin Nomads CC and St Neots CC to have an Inter-club TT series. These are SPOCO type events (sporting courses) and so tend to be on rolling country lane courses rather than dual carriageways. These are friendly, informal events of between 10 and 30 miles and are suitable for all, youth, vets, fast and slow. There are prizes for individual efforts and an overall Series club winner. All CC Ashwell members are very welcome.
Find out more and to book a SPOCO event
Open events are organised by the UK’s governing body Cycling Time Trails (CTT) and anyone can pre-enter for these events by registering on the CTT website. These events are normally priced higher than the club events and all of the events in the UK are easily accessible and listed on their web site. Note that entering an open TT does not automatically qualify you to ride. In some instances there may well be a criteria or a “cut-off” time that the rider has to have achieved. For very popular events the field may be oversubscribed in which case selection will normally be based on past performance and less able riders and novices may have to go on the reserve list or be refused.
CCA Club-10 Course (Course to be updated in 2020)
CTT Course: F14/10
CCA Club-25 Course (Course to be updated in 2020)
CTT Course: F14/25
For further information on Time Trials email: tt@ccashwell.com