With high winds forcing the last-minute cancellation of the Jock Wadley Memorial race, interest re-focused on the Ike Saul race in Cambridgeshire.
The 65-mile race for second, third and fourth category riders was won by Jamie Wimborne of Team OnForm, with Ben Beynon in second place and team-mates from Norfolk-based Strada Sport in fourth (Seb Herrod) and eighth (Tiago Fougo).
The race started in difficult conditions 'chucking it down' said Aaron Freeman who is now with junior development team CPS.
In these conditions an early break slipped off the front and was never caught.
The rain stopped but the wind remained and several individuals made bridging moves with mixed results.
Riders in the Horsepower 200 kilometre Audax faced the toughest conditions on the leg between the main checkpoints at Snetterton and Newmarket – place-names that are the origin of the event title.
Ian Reid of Lowestoft club VC Baracchi reported: 'It became a struggle simply to keep the bike upright let alone make forward progress.'
For Reid the event was a first qualifying ride for entry to the 1200km Paris-Brest-Paris Audax that is his main target for 2019.
He completed the Horsepower 200 in eight hours riding time – plus another hour at the control cafes. But it is not necessary to go this fast. Lowestoft Audaxer John Thompson took 12 hours and was well within the time limit.
Unsurprisingly one-third of the field elected not to face the timekeeper in the 22 mile Mad March Hilly time trial near Sudbury – rain, biting cold temperatures and gusting winds tested the skills and determination of those that did.
Winners were Mandy Bunn, now with Southend-based new team Datalynx Parenesis Cycling (1:02:56) and coach and former pro Lloyd Chapman (50:32). The latter leading his Plomesgate CC team to the team prize. However, second and third places went to CC Sudbury members, with John Bradbury moving up from eighth in the CC Breckland 10 to second on these Stour Valley hills, finishing in 51:50 with last year's winner Leon West third in 52:03.
Completing Plomesgate's winning team were Steve Cave (54:25) and Trevor Caley (48:24).
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