PTW

"Sunny intervals and a gentle breeze" - Race Time Temp 21C

This could be the one! We have a bit of warmth and a forecast wind speed of just 7 mph (unusually from the north) so I reckon this is THE night of the season for those either coming into form or for those holding their form. Anyway, this the last of our 7pm starts and we start earlier next week (6.45pm) and earlier again on the following week (6.30pm).

The essentials;

1. We meet up at the Neath Canal Car Park in Resolven for signing on from about 18.00hrs and closing at 18.45hrs for a prompt 19.00hrs race start.

2. You have to be member of the PTW or a second-claim member of the PTW. There is no 'single race' fee - you have to join the club as a first-claim or second-claim member.

2021.21 by Alf Williams, on Flickr

Well, last night really was THE night of the year for almost all of you with many riders leaping forward on a night where the wind wasn't really doing much and what little wind there was apparently came from a northerly direction.

Emma 'first off first back' Davies set the tone of the evening by swiping 27 seconds off her SB whilst Stephen Morgan slashed 41 seconds off his SB. Julian Brock was riding his first event on the DC and laid down a marker that was pretty close to his 2020 SB. Ethan Morgan slashed 87 seconds off his SB and probably holds the world record for the start line to the first bend! Great ride Ethan. Rob Lucas sliced 23 seconds off his SB to get his first '25' of the season as did John Shehan who trimmed 9 seconds off his SB and seems to be on an upward spiral at the moment. Clinton Evans nipped 6 seconds off his SB to finish 6th whilst Dai Abbott coughed up a lung (well, that's how I always felt after my first TT of the season) to set down a marker for himself with a 25:22 on his first TT finish for quite a few years now (possibly a decade and a half). Well done Dai.

Hollie Labunsky always ramps it up as the season comes to a close and carved 37 seconds off her SB to get close to a '24'. I'll excuse John Deeley for letting the side down and missing out on a new SB as he's still in recovery mode after illness but, in any case, he was only 4 seconds away and snuck a win in the 'former tandem pairing who are now friendly rivals' category by beating Tony Howell by 2 seconds - no mean feat that as Tony the Tiger hacked an impressive 35 seconds off his SB. Jeff Rees snuck 6 seconds off his SB but both TK's refused him admission into the '23' club - sorry Jeff!!

One of the recent success stories in recent weeks has been Matt Jones and he stripped another 16 seconds off his PB from last week and a full minute off his opening ride on the DC from just two weeks ago. Stuart Evans stole a cheeky second off his SB to nip into the top half of the result board whilst Mike Broadbent did it again by chipping another 8 seconds off his SB to finish 8th. Quietly and without fuss, Brad Davies sliced 23 seconds off his SB to take the midfield win and finish in the top third of the result board.

The top five seeded riders all finished where they were supposed to... phew! John Aspell swiped well over a minute off his SB to record a 22:12 to finish 5th whilst Graham Rogerson is really showing his all-round ability by slashing 39 seconds off his SB and joining the '21' club on his way to finishing 4th. We had a close battle for silver and bronze with Rod Hicks carving 51 seconds off his SB to finish 3rd whilst Mike Hall slashed 52 seconds off his SB to finish 2nd and land a '20' - two great rides there guys! However, in first place we had a sensational ride by Phil Tucker who set a new PB for himself by a huge 28 seconds to stop the clock on 19:35 - wow! We don't get many 19's on PTW club events so it capped an excellent night of racing.

There were so many great rides last night that Alfie's 'man of the match' is a difficult one and I hope that Phil Tucker and John Aspell will forgive me for going right back to one of our early starters and awarding it to young Ethan Morgan for taking almost a minute-and-a-half off his SB (and possibly his PB). Well done Ethan!

Thanks to Dai "Dead Minute" Triggs for dispatching you towards your SB's and PB's - told you!! Thanks also to Whistling Will and to Gareth for watching your smiles/grimaces at the turn.

This race report was sponsored by the Oxford Thesaurus.