RIYADH, 27 February 2004 — Young South African star Christiaan Beyers made the long journey from Dhahran with one objective; to better the long-standing record of Stuart Heade in the SHB-Riyadh Wheelers Zahid Tractor 40 km time trial.
Beyers had prepared well, and given the right weather conditions, he felt he would be up to the task. The day dawned fine and clear, bringing with it a buzz of excitement as Beyers and his companion, multiwinner Khalid Ali, warmed up before the start.
In cycling circles the 40km TT is the 'Blue Riband' of time trialing, and it's the ultimate ambition of most riders to better the 1-hour barrier.
In the field of 36 starters, only 5 had previously reached this goal, Beyers, Ali, Alan Wood, Rob Patrick and Mike Tunstall, but on this day only the top two would repeat the feat. Commented Tunstall after the finish, "I didn't think it was that fast today, I was struggling most of the way and couldn't get a big gear going."
This feeling was echoed by most of the field with very few PB's being recorded, which made Beyers achievement even more impressive. In the race for the category placings, the Seniors had the closest battle, with Jim Bridge just getting the better of Peter Waddell.
Cat B and the Masters champion L. Pentlebury is making a habit of winning both categories ahead of K. Malone, and with Patrick able to put some distance between himself and rival George Morete as he secured the Veterans award. Alex Carinan, a very talented runner who is looking at branching out into cycling and triathlon this year finished a creditable 14th.
For some members this is their last event before they travel to New Zealand for one of the world's premier Ironman events, so good luck go to Kathy Malone, Reiner and Freda Gocian, Jim Bridge, Nancy Desanghere and Chris Arrowsmith.
RESULTS (Previous record 55m10s): 1st C. Beyers 54m46s; 2nd K. Ali 57m01s; 3rd A. Wood 1h0m28s; 4th R. Patrick 1h2m25s; 5th J. Sunga 1h2m55s; 6th R. Ervin 1h4m06s; 7th G. Morete 1h4m11s; 8th M. Tunstall 1h4m17s; 9th M. Hughs 1h5m20s; 10th R. Platil 1h5m42s; 11th P. Green 1h6m59s; 12th E. Seneres 1h7m06s.
