Ely Hardriders is always a ‘fun’ way to kick off the TT season. Occurring in mid-February the race is renowned for very poor weather conditions (usually snow, rain, or ice) and worse roads. Last year about half the field crashed due to the amount of mud on the corners.

With this in mind, I felt almost lucky riding to the course in a comfortable 7 degrees, with minimal wind and only a bit of flooding on the course! I had been ill the week before the race and had basically written it off as a waste of time and effort. However, I was feeling better the day before so decided to go for a short spin on my TT bike. I had forgotten how much fun it is to ride a TT bike and with that in mind I decided I might as well race, and see it as nothing more than good practice riding in the TT position.

I was quite nervous on the start line. I still felt under the weather and I was worried about coming off my bike. I took the first section very cautiously, coming off the skis for the corners and standing water, but still holding a good effort. Once I was onto the A road stretch I told myself that I’d pick up the effort. This never really materialised but the speed did improve thanks to the cars whizzing past. I passed my two-minute man around this point, which gave me quite a lot of motivation and made me realise I was riding a lot better than I was expecting despite not feeling able to push the pace too much.

Turning off the A road, I realised my minute man hadn’t caught me and that I had a good chance of winning the women’s category if I started to push on. However, hitting ‘hundred-foot bank’ the speed dropped off massively. The road surface was awful - I was down onto the base bar and trying not to hit too many potholes. Coming out of this section I realised I was only 5km from the end so decided to put in a max effort, which was paired with a helpful tailwind. I crossed the line a little disappointed with my time but happy I’d raced.

It was brilliant to come away with my first TT win and has given me some extra motivation to keep training hard and work towards smashing more season goals.

Maddie Angwin

Ely Hardriders 25mile TT, 11 Feb 2024

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