RIYADH, 1 February — The second half of the Riyadh Wheelers season got into action with the TNT/Coca-Cola-sponsored hilly Time Trial held at Dirab.
This was a good opportunity for the 31 riders to test out their fitness after the long break, when hard training probably wasn’t a priority.
The course for this race winds it’s way through picturesque valleys before turning onto the main highway and the final accent of the Dirab escarpment, and although this suits the climbers a rider must be able to also time trial well.
This is where this years winner, Rob Patrick admits to have won the race, as he narrowly defeated Colin Small into second place.
"I knew Colin was a better climber than me so I had to make up all my time on the flat sections," said Patrick.
Small held off the strong challenge from Saudi rider Abdulaziz Shahrani and rising Filipino star Jaime Sunga, both who are acknowledged climbers. Surprise fifth place went to the biggest rider in the field, Mark Nelson who rode with pure strength, and when asked where his good form came from, Nelson replied, "I’ve just come back from my home in Melbourne, Australia, where I was able to get in some good training sessions with the local club. There are no easy rides down there!".
The battle for the masters title continued with Paul McParland and Alex Mackay only separated by seconds once again, although McParland was nursing an Achilles tendon injury.
Vincent Babilonia and Phil Green put in their best performance to date to finish well up the list and K. Allan managed to turn the tables on K. Malone to take the Cat B race. Chairman Mark Nelson warmly thanked TNT, Zahid Tractor, Coca Cola and Rudi Project for their generous support, all of which goes toward making the Riyadh Wheelers the successful club.
Results:
1st R. Patrick 24m49s; 2nd C. Small 25m29s; 3rd A. Shahrani 26m09s; 4th J. Sunga 26m47s; 5th M. Nelson 27m00s; 6th H. Rom 27m32s; 7th A. Mackay 27m48s; 8th P. McParland 27m54s; eq 9th E. Seneres, V. Babilonia 28m31s; 11th G. Morete 28m43s; 12th M. Escott 29m09s.
