In season one, we saw the all conquering Olivier crowned King of the Mountain, defeating all opponents on the “battle of Chris’s Hill” waving his “Spotty Pants” for all to see from the highest point. On the lower slopes of the “Ionians Pass”, Chris Shep blew away all with a blistering burst of pace to lay claim to the “Green Pants” award. Finally on the much coveted “Shark’s Tooth” time trial there was strong competition between Chris and Michael but both were eventually subdued by Olivier’s ‘army’
In season two, the battle for KOM has shifted to the “Burgate Mountain”, a category 4 climb out of North Newbald. “That bloody hill” as some have described it or “Once done never again” as mentioned by someone else. Likewise the contest for the sprint section will now be held on the “Warter Road” North of Etton. The “Shark’s Tooth” however retains it’s bite and returns for another season.
There are some other changes to expect in season two. We will have the “Champions league” where previous winners compete against each other, then there’s the “Premier league” for gents under 40 years of age, “Division 1” for those in the 40-60 bracket, “Division 2” for the 60+ group and “Division 3” for the 70+. In the ladies section this season, we see the creation of the “Super League” where all our ‘girls’ compete against each other.
How are we proceeding so far I hear you ask? Fifteen ‘players’ have posted times to date. Laying down an early marker for the KOM crown is Iain Goodlass with a time of 08:42m followed closely by Steve Guest only 1 sec behind. In the “Super League” only Heather has ‘played’ posting a time of 09:24.
There’s been a bit more action on the sprint section with 25 ‘runners’ posting times this year. Olivier currently stands top of the leaderboard with a time of 50 sec which equates to an average speed of 54.2 kph (33.8 mph), best of the rest is Barry Denness at 55s. In the Super League, Heather is once again top of the tree with a time of 1:07 with Sarah breathing down her neck at 1:14.
Over in the shark infested waters of the time trial, it seems people are remaining wary of “dipping their toes in the water” for fear of being “bitten” by the “pearly whites”. Only two efforts have been recorded this year, Olivier in March with a time of 18:17 and Jim Saunders in April, showing age is no barrier with a time of 21:15.
The “season” is still young with many opportunities remaining to improve on your best time. Best of luck everyone.