Margam Madness: Beyond perfect

Star date: 19 April 2014
Location: Margam Park, South Wales
Event: Margam Madness 4hr
Weapon of choice: Carbon 29er hardtail with 30 gears
Greatest achievement: Just about taming the new black descent
Greatest weakness: Speed, I guess
Result: 6th vet

Big hills, big wheels, big views, big fun.

Fab photo courtesy of Kevin Thomas who took literally hundreds of shots of the event.

It turns out you can improve on perfection. The original Madness in 2012 was flawless: great climbs, great descents, great venue, great everything. The second coming in 2013 was just as good despite monsoon conditions - see my eulogy here. Third time round and the sun was back, along with some amazing new trails purpose-built for World Cup XC racing. The best just got a whole lot better.

And don't just take my word for it. George Budd, runaway winner of the eight-hour race, who also beat everyone in the four-hour race, even the pairs, and lapped me in the process, and who is therefore a very fast rider indeed and worth listening to, had this to say:

"This event really deserves to be a lot bigger than it is. It's the most demanding and yet most enjoyable lap I've ever ridden, anywhere" 

From "Margam Madness - the best UK lap ever?" on xcracer.com.

Praise indeed. There's little worth adding to this, other than that the event ought to be rebranded Margam Magic - the only madness would be not to come!

High5 flag under attack from my bar-end.

Photo: Kevin Thomas.

Hang on, I hear you cry, you can't just stop there. What about all that added wholegrain goodness? Well, OK, there were four new chunks of trail, and each and every one of them was a gem in its own right:

• A twisty trail-centre descent, part high-speed pumpy berms and part loose flat corners, which I never got to flow properly but enjoyed trying (skidz are for kidz)
• A steep gravel climb with super-tight switchbacks, which really would've hurt fifth time round on the singlespeed
• A scary-bastard black-rated descent. "The steep rooty drop at the top is the worst bit... Wouldn't fancy it on an XC bike" was the locals' verdict at registration. Well, it wouldn't be Margam if I didn't soil myself at some point - and this was it. Lap after lap. Taking the chicken run just wouldn't have been right. The problem with the drop was that you had to turn on the way down to avoid flying off the edge of a cliff. First time around, I was put right off by a photographer doing a very good impression of a dead cyclist, but it went better after that. The rest of the descent was rooty and steep with some really tight turns, which was all very doable in the dry but will at some point prove a right 'mare in the wet... Can't wait!
• A vertiginous rocky climb with more switchbacks and these loose slabs that clunked satisfyingly as you seesawed over them, the whole time trying not to even think about looking down

I came into the event poorly prepared due to bruised ribs from a KOM-chasing mishap but felt surprisingly strong on the day. After two hours I was in a fairly comfortable fourth in category, once again tracking former European 24-hour champ Huw Thomas, when I slipped off a rock and lost the air from my rear tyre. By the time I'd sorted that, my pacemaker was long gone and I was down to fifth. I found it hard to get going again after that, so just sat back and enjoyed the ride, eventually finishing sixth. I suppose I should have tried to claw my way back to fourth, but it was such a lovely day and such a great course, I just wasn't bothered...

In turns steep, rooty, narrow, loose, twisty, pumpy, jumpy, rocky - the course ticked every box and has totally restored my mojo. Gareth, can we do it twice a year?

Climbing again. I was so fast on the descents the photographers missed me.

Another great photo from Kevin Thomas.

 

4hr Solo Old Gits Top 10

1

03:17:10

Anthony White, XCRacer/Scimitar

01:16:43

00:00:06

00:40:03

00:40:17

00:40:01

2

03:28:39

Jon Roberts

00:38:56

00:42:23

00:41:42

00:43:02

00:42:36

3

03:34:55

Lloyd Bettles, Clee Cycles/KCNC

00:41:15

00:40:54

00:42:18

00:44:27

00:46:01

4

03:50:56

Chris Cooknell, Bikecity T3

00:44:24

00:46:23

00:47:11

00:45:52

00:47:06

5

03:51:48

Jason Thompkins, MAESTEG C.C

00:43:15

00:46:28

00:47:27

00:47:58

00:46:40

6

03:54:08

Chris Schroder, Sarn Helen

00:43:25

00:44:36

00:48:38

00:48:14

00:49:15

7

03:56:45

Sean Scott, Specialized Concept Store

00:45:44

00:47:29

00:47:39

00:49:01

00:46:52

8

03:12:06

Anthony Cowling, AC Cowling Repairs

00:45:46

00:47:13

00:48:29

00:50:38

9

03:12:34

Chris Blackmore

00:46:25

00:48:36

00:47:42

00:49:51

10

03:20:58

Steve Whitehouse, Kernow Riders

00:50:45

00:48:50

00:49:49

00:51:34

8hr Solo Male Winner

1

07:22:08

George Budd, Salsa Factory Racing

00:36:38

00:37:42

00:38:35

00:39:30

00:38:25

00:39:44

00:41:56

00:41:23

00:42:58

00:42:38

00:42:39

4hr Solo Male Winner

1

03:15:30

Phil Morris, XCRacer.com/ Scimitar

00:36:37

00:38:05

00:39:08

00:40:33

00:41:07

Red Kite Little Devil 65km: Mostly, but not entirely, soaking wet

Star date: 6 April 2014
Location: Llanwrtyd Wells
Event: Red Kite Little Devil
Weapon of choice: Carbon hardtail 29er

Greatest strength: Kept on going
Greatest weakness: Legs
Result: 4th (or last, depending on how you look at it)

I have something to declare. Yes, I've sold out and become a corporate whore. Sadly I haven't (yet) been signed up as the new face of Calvin Klein or taken delivery of a lifetime's supply of Carlsberg and a free Lamborghini for the school run, but I have been given some free stuff in return for writing about it here in my world-famous blog.

I'm aware there is an ethical issue here. However, free stuff is free stuff, and free stuff is cool, so sod the journalistic/artistic integrity, gratuitous product placement here we come. Or maybe not. Oh, make up your own minds.

Anyway, one freebie was a selection of gloves and socks from SealSkinz, purveyors of the finest waterproof cycling accessories. Sounds perfect, given the winter we've just had. Only the parcel arrived during an unusually balmy spell in March. "Shame they didn't come earlier in the year before spring arrived," I said.

Fate was listening. Fate was tempted. Fate also clearly has something in for Red Kite Events. Just what did Neil Delafield do in a former life to make the weather gods so angry? Every MTB event he's run this year has been a wash-out.

Yes, two days before the Red Kite Events Little Devil (free entry if you blog, Chris, no strings, just tell it how it is), spring buggered off back to the Mediterranean (how did we ever cope without spellcheckers?) and Wales became, well, more Welsh. It chucked it down until every single bloody dried-out puddle had been refilled and most of the trails had turned into streams, and then it rained or drizzled throughout the event itself.

Perfect opportunity, then, to try out some quality SealSkinz products!

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.

Photo: Carol Corbett at CAC Photography.

Neil Delafield is lucky they came up with Care in the Community, because there was a very respectable turnout of utter nutters despite the monsoon conditions - including three riders I had down as being at a similar level to me. The four of us pulled clear right from the start, and it was shaping up to be a great battle.

Before heading south to the Crychan Forest on a variation on the Frozen Devil course ridden in not dissimilar conditions back in January (see here), we were sent on a detour north into the Irfon Forest up the Climb from Hell. Eventual 1-2-3 Jon Roberts, Gareth Jones and Carwyn Davies, along with little old me, went piling up it at speed: I guess we all fancy ourselves as strong climbers. However, I felt awful. As tarmac gave way to farm track and then bedrock and ever looser stone, getting steeper all the time, I struggled to hang on to the others, and as we headed down again I lost them completely.

To be dropped so early - and on a climb - hurt. A lot. We're talking three very strong riders, but I'd beaten all of them at some point in the previous six months, so I thought we'd be more evenly matched. Was I just kidding myself? I was still recovering from losing my duathlon virginity the previous weekend, but even so. Or perhaps they were just flying - after all, the four of us beat the event photographer to the descent down the other side...

And what a fantastic descent it was. Slippery bedrock, loose corners, a totally committing steep drop - and that's just in the dry. In the wet it was a real handful, and I was delighted to make it down in one piece. Fabulous, darlings. And the good news for thrill-seekers is that it'll be back, with luck in drier conditions, as part of the sure-to-be-splendid and certainly competitively priced Red Kite Events gravity enduro on 26/27 April.

It was then a long slog over to the Crychan via a fair chunk of road, a lot of water and two big offroad climbs. It was worth it, though, for the next descent alone, a rooty cracker with a tricky drop onto the road at the end (not unlike the one Catrin demonstrated in my previous blog). I made a right hash of this descent, my balance was all wrong, my line choice terrible, my eyes struggling to see - yet Strava tells me I did it quicker than ever before. Strava also tells me I climbed up to the Crychan in exactly the same time as in the Frozen Devil, and that I got a PB on the next big descent. So while I felt like I had all the coordination and strength of a newborn foal, the data suggest I was pretty much on normal form. Looks like it was all in the mind, and my mind can be a pretty scary place.

Said next descent is one of my favourites, part steep rocky enduro trail and part rooty woodland singletrack. Again, though, I was all over the place, and right at the bottom I contrived to topple over for no apparent reason, a hitherto uncharted soft part of my knee landing right on something pointy. It hurt a lot. It still hurts two weeks on. Suffice to say this did not help my positivity.

Doggy style after too much energy drink?

Photo: Carol Corbett at CAC Photography.

At that point I kind of went into a trance. I was wet, alone and feeling sorry for myself, and my heart really wasn't in it. But for some reason I carried on. For the two hours between the two feed stations (nice welshcakes btw), I didn't see a single soul. Perhaps loneliness is the lot of the racer, even when there are others around you. While there is a clear sense of community among racers, we're also competing, and like Top Gear we'll always leave a man behind. Sometimes I wish I were more normal, riding with a group, taking it easy up the climbs, stopping for a snack and a chat before piling down the next descent, then regrouping for more of the same. In truly horrid conditions, it really is much the better way. And - apart from the weather - that is exactly what I hope to find at the sure-to-be-splendid and certainly competitively priced Red Kite Events gravity enduro on 26/27 April.

The rest of the course is a bit of a blur to be honest, some familiar sections, some unfamiliar sections, up then down, up then down. Nothing of note occurred until the very end when my front wheel suddenly plunged into a boggy hole and sent me over the bars face down into some suspicious-tasting mud. Oddly, this lifted my mood somewhat.

So how did the SealSkinz quality products perform? Did my hands and feet stay nice and dry? (The rest of me certainly didn't - nor did my bike's internals, with the bearings in both hubs and bottom bracket ending up full of muddy water). At this point, I'll just say that the gloves were amazing but the socks were overwhelmed by the conditions. I plan to do some more testing and will report back in due course. Betcha can't wait.

And what about the course? Well, it was always going to be tough, and the conditions made it brutal. There were three nasty climbs and two big descents in the first 10 miles, which was pretty intense. The course yoyoed more kindly after that, and thankfully the final 10 miles were again relatively easy, with a lot of fireroad. Everything was rideable despite the rain, and the descents were a real test of concentration and nerve but still a blast. I love the Crychan. Red Kite Events head honcho Neil Delafield wants to be known for tough events - and on this evidence I'd say he was getting it right.

It wasn't the course or even the weather that stopped me from enjoying myself. It was more a lack of mental strength that was my downfall.

The next Red Kite Events event is the sure-to-be-splendid and certainly competitively priced Red Kite Events gravity enduro on 26/27 April. A gravity enduro is essentially a pootle round the forest with a handful of timed fast-as-you-dare descents. This format definitely doesn't play to my strengths, but it'll be fun to try - it could be just the tonic I need.

Welsh XC Series Round 2: Sabotaged!

Star date: 12 April 2014
Location: Builth Wells
Event: Welsh XC Series Round 2
Weapon of choice: Rigid 26" singlespeed
Greatest achievement: Working my way back from last place
Greatest weakness: Letting some oaf slash my tyre!

Result: 12th vet (1st singlespeed)

"So where are you racing today, darling husband?"
"Builth Wells, my dear woman."
"Fabulous wild countryside down that way."
"Well yes, but actually we'll be lapping the carpark at the Royal Welsh Showground."
"Oh."

The view from the arena of row after row of animal pens was rather how I imagine Auschwitz to have looked. (Little bit of politics there. Perhaps I should get sponsorship from the ALF. Then again, I suspect my return to vegetarianism is behind this year's lacklustre results. So watch out, sheepies.)

Didn't sound too promising, did it? In fairness, though, it's not any old carpark, being built on different levels staggered up a hill. It's hosted many a cyclocross race in the past, and the course today was very like cyclocross with the odd bit of added gnarl. Lots of short sharp drops and short sharp climbs, a few sections of rooty singletrack much like Round 1, some narrow off-camber stuff, lots of grass and a fair bit of carpark.

Still not really selling it, am I? All I can say is that it was actually really good fun. Nothing very scary but a fair amount of concentration required. The whole MTB festival thing with events all weekend also meant lots of spectators, and the marshals were mainly of the enthusiastic rather than the sullen community service variety, so the compact course meant a pretty steady stream of encouragement, which always helps. Note, however, that the 29 Gears Seal of Approval is weather-dependent - in last weekend's monsoon conditions it would've been another running course and I would've hated it.

There were two slightly tricky bits. One was a small rock garden on the return to the arena which almost - almost - had me over the bars on lap 3 when a photographer flashed me at a bad time.

Oops, managed to snap the U-rated chicken line by mistake. The PG-rated line through the rock garden was on the right. I guess the X-rated line would've been straight over the top, naked.

The other was a long steep drop down a rough grassy bank of the kind that would've freaked me out last year. OK, I admit it, it still freaked me out, but not until halfway down, which is progress. Thing is, drops are all about what happens when you get to the bottom. We all like a nicely rounded bottom, but more common is a mucky wheel-grabbing hole.

I will now hand over to my glamorous assistant Catrin, who will first ably demonstrate how NOT to roll a drop with a tricky run-out:

Lesson learnt:

Ideally you'd lift the front wheel just before hitting the bottom, what is known in biking circles as a "manual" and to the rest of the world as a "wheelie". Easier said than done, though. Teenage boys spend a lot of time manualling, but sadly when you get to my age it's much harder to get it up.

Fortunately the run-out in Builth wasn't too bad, but it was a far bigger drop than Catrin's so it was hard not to pick up speed and hit the bottom hard. The last time I landed so hard I really should've snapped the forks or the bars or something. Kudos to the bike - tough as old nails (excluding sabotage, see below). Yes, I was back on the singlespeed. And I really enjoyed riding it again! The simplicity is so refreshing: get on, pedal like crazy, finish. I did miss gears on the odd flat section, but grinding up the hills felt soooo good. (Yes, I know. Actually, I think "special" is the word you're looking for.)

Sadly my race was over almost before it started. Within 200 yards and one minute of the start, we all hit the first singletrack at the same time, and in all the pushing and shoving some bugger put a stud or a pedal or a screwdriver or what have you through the sidewall of my rear tyre, which rapidly deflated, squirting white gunk everywhere. To my surprise, it did eventually seal itself and after a couple of minutes I was off again - but by then everyone else was long gone.

Wary of the seal not holding, I went pretty gingerly over the rocky sections for the whole race, costing me more time. I also got held up behind various backmarkers on the singletrack sections, and it was a seriously competitive field in the first place. Lots of excuses there! Anyway, I eventually picked my way past an assortment of masters (bastards in their 30s with hair), vets (fellow 40-something mid-life criseans) and grand vets (think Werther's Originals) to finish 12th vet (or 7th master). The big question, though, is: Was it an accident or was it foul play? Did someone feel so threatened by my lo-tech machismo that they decided to take drastic action? We shall never know...

So, yeah, ideally there could have been some more technical sections and a proper hill, but I really enjoyed myself despite the nightmare start and another disappointing result. Next round is at Fforest Fields, not my favourite course but finally some proper mountain biking and definitely one for the climbers. It's also the Welsh champs, so I really hope the stars finally align. If I get another flat I might just give up XC!!!

Before that, though, are Margam Madness (my favourite race with added World Cup sections this year), the Red Kite Gravity Enduro (bound to be great descents) and the Dyfi Enduro (scores to settle). Phew. It's like busses out there.

1	Anthony White, Xcracer.com/scimitar	01:01:43	00:08:51	00:10:39	00:10:22	00:10:44	00:10:23	00:10:44
2	Christopher Kay, Fibrax Wrexham	01:03:22	00:09:11	00:10:29	00:10:52	00:10:42	00:11:15	00:10:53
3	Lee  Hayward, Southfork Racin	01:04:35	00:09:08	00:11:01	00:10:56	00:11:08	00:11:05	00:11:17
4	Mark Spratt, Cyclopaedia	01:05:12	00:09:10	00:11:00	00:10:53	00:11:07	00:11:28	00:11:34
5	Nicholas Popham, Naked Bikes	01:06:00	00:08:56	00:11:08	00:11:29	00:11:25	00:11:36	00:11:26
6	Darren Compton, Ride 24/7	01:06:56	00:09:56	00:11:13	00:11:36	00:11:33	00:11:12	00:11:26
7	Stuart Skidmore, Worcester Cycle	01:07:25	00:09:24	00:11:35	00:11:29	00:11:45	00:11:40	00:11:32
8	David Watt, Team Elite	01:08:14	00:09:39	00:11:04	00:11:39	00:11:40	00:11:49	00:12:23
9	Matt Worrallo, Racecouk.com	01:08:37	00:09:49	00:11:24	00:11:42	00:11:46	00:12:01	00:11:55
10	Jon Roberts	01:09:21	00:09:53	00:11:22	00:11:49	00:12:05	00:12:05	00:12:07
11	Richard Bowen, Gateway Racing	01:11:06	00:09:34	00:11:11	00:11:20	00:11:46	00:12:27	00:14:48
12	Chris Schroder, Sarn Helen	01:12:15	00:11:40	00:11:38	00:11:55	00:12:12	00:12:07	00:12:43
13	Simon James, Cycle Tec	01:17:02	00:10:28	00:12:36	00:13:03	00:13:09	00:13:41	00:14:05
14	Andy Gibbs, Cwmcarn Paragon	01:18:38	00:10:34	00:12:36	00:14:41	00:13:48	00:13:35	00:13:24
15	Jon Howes	01:22:52	00:11:30	00:13:45	00:14:17	00:14:23	00:14:08	00:14:49
16	Ben Beachell, Rhos On Sea	01:24:44	00:11:57	00:13:49	00:14:09	00:14:33	00:15:01	00:15:15

Tregaron Duathlon: And now for something completely different

Star date: 30 March 2014
Event: Tregaron Duathlon
Location: Tregaron, duh
Weapon of choice: Knackered trainers and a friend's cyclocross bike
Greatest achievement: Not giving up halfway and having an ice cream
Greatest weakness: Transitions
Result: 1st vet, woo-hoo

I entered this event because I've always wanted to do a duathlon, it was very local, and, if I'm honest, I fancied my chances of adding to my medal collection. A duathlon ought to be right up my street, combining two things I love (no, not sex and drugs), and the 3-15-2 format sounded like a walk in the park for an endurance junkie like me. Three mile run? Did that at my last "bike race". Fifteen mile ride? Eat 'em for breakfast. Two mile run? Been further for a bus. The only snag was that it meant running and cycling on tarmac, whereas I'm more of a muddy woods kinda guy. Running on roads does my body in; riding on roads does my head in.

Still, I enjoyed the first run. Essentially we legged it up a very big hill with a nice view and then plummeted back down again. The pace was rather full-on but I was on fresh legs and it was over in a flash. So far, so good.

 

Photo: Meilyr Wyn Hughes at Lluniau MWH Photography

The ride, however, went on forever. A flattish circumnavigation of Cors Caron (the biggest raised bog in Europe, fact fans), it was the longest 15 miles I've ever ridden.

I don't normally do road riding. I don't even own a road bike. I would've taken the singlespeed with the knobbliest tyres I could find just to be contrary and cool, but let's face it, I wanted a result. Luckily Si from Aberaeron's premier hire bike purveyor Pureride stepped up and lent me his cyclocross bike, which was close enough. Not having ridden a bike with drop handlebars since, ahem, 1993, I found it desperately uncomfortable. In terms of speed, though, it was a revelation. With its relatively skinny road tyres, that baby just danced up the hills - and then flew back down them, scaring me silly in the process.

Even so, faced with some of the tri-bar padded-leotard pointy-helmet time-trial bling some of the others arrived with, I was seriously underbiked. Several riders caught me around half way, being considerably and effortlessly faster on the flat. It must have been aerodynamics rather than strength, because when the route turned hillier I was quite a bit quicker than them. This resulted in one bizarre section where I kept having this strange purple alien thing straight out of Star Trek edge past me on the flat only to drop back so fast whenever we hit a hill that I had to look back and check he hadn't been beamed up by Scotty.

Anyway, the ride was truly horrible. It was a lovely sunny day, the roads were empty, the views magnificent. But with no gnarly downhill sections, not only do you not get any high-adrenaline thrills but you never get a breather - you're pedalling the whole time. It's like running on a treadmill - one long unremitting relentless masochistic mind-numbingly boring endless bloody slog.

 

Photo: Meilyr Wyn Hughes at Lluniau MWH Photography

And I was absolutely crap at the transitions. It's not rocket science: all you really have to do is change your shoes. Now I've been proudly tying my own shoelaces for 40 years now, so you'd think I'd be up to the challenge. However, the results reveal that I was 7th fastest on the first run, 8th fastest on both the ride and the second run - and 48th and 42nd fastest on the two transitions...

I finished the first run at the same time as triathlon specialist Heddwyn Evans. After getting my knickers in a knot during the first transition, it took me 13 miles to catch up with him on the bike. By then getting my knickers in almost as much of a knot during the second transition, I gave Heddwyn a 30-second head start on the final run, which was not good, because my legs were now two unresponsive blocks of cramp-infested jelly and I was stuck in first gear. Luckily I wasn't the only one; after about a mile I managed to lumber past a couple of guys who'd whizzed past me earlier on their fancy bikes, and I finally caught Heddwyn on the final run-in. Sadly, what should then have been an epic battle as we sprinted neck-and-neck to the finish fizzled out into a complete non-event as neither of us had the energy, and we stumbled over the line pretty much together.

Photo: Meilyr Wyn Hughes at Lluniau MWH Photography

It was a superbly organised and very friendly event. Thanks, perhaps, to some European back-of-beyond funding, it was excellent value for money too, with the already low £15 entry fee getting you a natty goody bag and T-shirt and even a timing chip that worked properly. Most of Tregaron seemed to be out marshalling, with a hi-viz presence not only at every junction but also every couple of miles just to cheer you on, and the course layout meant that we passed the not-insignificant crowd of rabid supporters and bemused onlookers no fewer than six times during the race. You don't get that at MTB events, which is a shame because it really does give you a lift every time someone calls your name or gives you a clap or a well done or even a get a move on you fat lazy bastard. Thank you all for your encouragement!

What's so amazing is that the event was organised by complete first-timers from Tregaron's new bike club Clwb Seiclo Caron, formed last year around the same time as my club Sarn Helen reformed down the road in Lampeter. We'd still struggle to organise the proverbial piss-up in a brewery, so hats off to the Tregaron boys for popping their cherry in such style. Apparently an MTB event is on the cards for the autumn - I'll be there.

I'm glad I went and I'm pleased with the result, but I'm afraid I haven't been converted to road riding and I don't ever want to run again. 3-15-2 sounded very doable, and indeed I did it, but in practice it was seriously hardcore. I have a new-found respect for triathletes - combining disciplines is really tough. I already have a love/hate relationship with running (I love running, running hates me) and predictably the event left me with calves you could play like a harp, and I'm still hobbling around with an urgently-in-need-of-a-hip-replacement waddle. In hindsight, a little pacing might have been a good idea: going at the first run full-pelt (including my fastest-ever recorded mile) was possibly not the best strategy. While I'm used to racing up to four hours on the mountain bike, and I regularly run more than five miles, this event was just so much more intense. Unless you're mental (which probably includes me), I'd say a duathlon, like a marathon, is probably best treated as a challenge rather than a race. Which, in fairness, is what most people there did.

You know, I can only think of one MTB event where I've ended up quite as knackered as this - the Devil's Challenge last year. And guess what I'm doing this coming Sunday?

				Run 1		Trans 1		Ride		Trans 2		Run 2		Overall
1	Dylan	Lewis	Sarn Helen	17:36.5	1	00:00:39.30	5	00:41:50.40	1	00:00:41.90	14	00:13:07.75	3	01:13:55.80
2	David	Cole		18:04.1	2	00:00:38.75	3	00:43:45.15	3	00:00:38.15	11	00:13:13.05	4	01:16:19.20
3	Shelley	Childs	Clwb Beicio Ystwyth	18:54.8	5	00:00:47.80	13	00:43:36.00	2	00:00:45.15	17	00:13:44.75	6	01:17:48.45
4	Gary Wyn	Davies		18:05.0	3	00:00:59.75	22	00:45:46.00	7	00:00:50.90	21	00:12:14.10	1	01:17:55.75
5	Llyr	Lewis		18:29.7	4	00:00:53.40	18	00:47:32.50	13	00:00:36.90	10	00:13:22.30	5	01:20:54.85
6	Chris	Schroeder	Sarn Helen	19:01.3	7	00:01:58.00	48	00:45:54.85	8	00:01:29.00	42	00:13:58.25	8	01:22:21.40
7	Heddwyn	Evans	Emlyn Fliers	18:58.8	6	00:01:11.35	27	00:46:35.40	9	00:01:03.40	28	00:14:34.85	9	01:22:23.80
8	Scott	Holder		20:50.1	14	00:00:57.35	20	00:44:27.05	5	00:00:50.50	20	00:15:55.20	21	01:23:00.25
9	Steffan	Owens	Clwb Seiclo Caron	21:05.6	16	00:01:16.30	31	00:43:48.90	4	00:01:19.70	37	00:15:36.80	19	01:23:07.25
10	Hywel Sion	Davies		20:31.9	11	00:01:43.00	45	00:45:11.85	6	00:01:25.90	41	00:14:54.15	12	01:23:46.80
11	Barry	Owen	Rhedwyr Emlyn	20:43.4	12	00:00:43.90	10	00:47:14.05	10	00:00:45.45	18	00:15:21.70	15	01:24:48.55
12	Simon	Hall	Sarn Helen	19:04.8	8	00:00:50.80	16	00:50:38.60	22	00:00:36.30	9	00:13:47.25	7	01:24:57.70
13	Toby	Hellman	Clwb Seiclo Caron	21:47.1	19	00:00:53.20	17	00:47:18.20	11	00:00:33.85	7	00:15:29.55	17	01:26:01.95
14	Carwyn	Hicks		21:14.9	17	00:00:43.80	9	00:48:58.95	16	00:00:30.00	4	00:14:34.90	10	01:26:02.50
15	Gareth	Davies		22:33.2	22	00:00:39.00	4	00:48:14.30	15	00:00:40.05	13	00:16:13.70	24	01:28:20.30
16	Andrew	Davies	Sarn Helen	21:02.5	15	00:00:59.40	21	00:50:34.20	21	00:00:52.70	23	00:15:36.60	18	01:29:05.35
17	Eric	Rees	Sarn Helen	22:18.9	21	00:00:48.60	15	00:50:27.50	20	00:00:44.40	16	00:15:15.80	13	01:29:35.25