The conditions could not have been more difficult for the Riyadh Wheelers out-and-back 27km Hilly Time Trial.

A technical descent to the turn was aided by a strong tail wind which saw speeds of 70kph recorded by some of the riders. This conspired in many riders missing the turn point due to the speed and losing time as a result.

The return leg was a different story, however, with riders struggling to maintain 20kph into the fierce northerly wind and many complaining they did not have low enough gears for these tough conditions. The choice of machine and wheels also played into the equation with those opting for full TT bikes with deep rim and disc wheels being at a disadvantage as the bikes became almost impossible to control.

It was no surprise therefore that the top of the leaderboard was dominated by experienced tri-athletes who revel in these hard conditions, but even they could not defeat winner Thierry Mathy who recorded another incredible performance.

Training hard for an International Tri event in the UAE, Kris Ahlin, Bruno Syfrig, Stuart Elliott and Stu Gillespie completed the first 5 places ahead of Jiri Kuba and Geron Guanlao who were unfortunate to lose time with dropped chains.

Other good performances came from Dave Wright and Ahmed Al Qumishi on a day which most riders would prefer to forget.

Veronique Mathy went unopposed in the Cat B race and with just 4 events to go the season is building nicely towards the ITEA 100km event.

Generous prizes, plus support from Carrefour Tala Mall should attract riders from around the Kingdom.

Results:

1 T.Mathy 44:47, 2 K.Ahlin 47:43, 3 B.Syfrig 47:56, 4 S.Elliott 49:50, 5 S.Gillespie 51:03, 6 J.Kuba 51:13, 7 G.Guanlao 51:19, 8 B.Psaila 51:40, 9 S.Jenkins 52:27, 10 M.Jersby 52:33, 11 D.Wright 53:18, 12 R.Patrick 53:57, 13 G.Morete 53:57, 14 A.Maniago 54:37, 15 S.Waight 55:20, 16 A.Al Qumishi 55:28, 17 A.Wilson 57:23, 18 G.Lawrie 57:30, 19 J.Adams 57:54, 20 P.McParland 58:10, 21 K.Walsh 58:25, 22 J.Block 59:15, 23 M.Garth 59:19, 24 J.Sunga 59:22, 25 R.Silvan 59:53, 26 A.Ibrahim 1:00:16, 27 B.Detomal 1:00:39, 28 M.Al Qumishi 1:01:33, 29 R.Chan 1:01:49, 30 R.Delos Santos 1:02:08, 31 A.Elioneri 1:02:36, 32 M.Hossain 1:03:09, 33 J.Altavas 1:04:19, 34 M.Webb 1:06:04, 35 F.Gregorio 1:06:59, 36 L.Duffy 1:07:01, 37 D.Pottinger 1:09:56, 38 R.Bitong 1:10:15, 39 S. Stortoni 1:11:16, 40 G.Morris 1:11:37, W-1 V. Mathy 1:12:53, 41 A.Garcia 1:15:07, 42 F.Hizam 1:15:50, 43 M.Day 1:16:25, 44 T.Eleosida 1:17:03, 45 J.Reyes 1:18:07, 46 D.Petkovski 1:22:04, 47 D.Conception 1:36:53, 48 D.Dela 1:42:41, 49 R.Pedrosa 1:44:07, 50 F.Rico 1:48:53. DNF J.Espergoza,M.Flores,R.Flores.

Categories: Open Stuart Elliott, Veteran Thierry Mathy, Master Steve Jenkins, Senior Bruno Syfrig, Cat B Vero Mathy.