Bishopton 25mile TT, 11 Jun 2023

A few weeks ago I was set a challenge by Tim to do a TT race. Whilst I have grown as a cyclist over the last couple of years, it’s only probably since I had a lovely ride out with Tim and Lizzie in Cambridge recently that I’ve considered myself pretty decent on the bike.

So I entered a local 25mile TT and did a bike recce the previous week…there were a couple of sizeable hills so it wasn’t necessarily going to be the fastest race but it was a stunning course nonetheless.

I didn’t really know what to expect and what it would actually be like to do a bike race without the feeling of slightly tired legs from either a swim or the first run. It turns out bike races hurt the legs…a lot!

I was given the start number 3 behind two very slow riders who I overtook within the first 5km. So for most of the race I was completely by myself.

I was pretty pleased with my bike performance and felt there was little left in the tank by the end. A new course record (by 6minutes) and the overall win was a very successful TT debut, and I’m sure it won’t be the last!

Sarah Harding