Norwich rider Chris Nudds was best veteran on age standard in the Ely & District Hardriders – by a large margin.

His time of 1:05:16 for the 25.2 miles of hell beat the standard for his 64 years by +5.40. It was more than a minute better than next best veteran, 49-year-old Keith Moseley from the West Midlands, who was one of a number of stars who had travelled a long way to sample this semi-classic event based at Little Downham and using roads across the black fens and the Isle of Ely.

'It was the usual muddy back roads, subsidence, broken, rutted and potholed surfaces, huge patches of diesel, and a flood to contend with and on this occasion add rain, sleet and blustery winds which not only made handling difficult but also reduced the temperature of plus-two to minus-one with the chill factor,' said Nudds.

Another outstanding ride came from Hingham man Danny Watkins (Anglia Velo) who took 12th overall with 1:06:25 and told the Time Trial Forum: 'It's amazing how much fighting against strong side winds and the cracks in the road can sap your power.'

The event drew together a great cross-section of the cycling world.

Club riders like King's Lynn CC's Gavin Costick (1:28:10) rubbed shoulders with the likes of Chris Hopkinson (Army CU, 1:05:04) riding one of his last time trials before tackling, solo, the Race Across America, winner Joel Lewis (Abbis Colbert) an ambitious Kettering junior who recorded 59:01, Charles Pitt-Ford, who took third place in 1:00:30 as a novice time-trialist but a serious Cambridge University oarsman, and Elanor Cadzow, top lady in 1:16:11 and a Welwyn clubmate of Olympic gold medallist Laura Trott.

• The course for the final round of the Five-by-Three mountain bike series at Fritton Lake featured a new root-strewn section to test riders' skill,s plus an excursion along the side of the lake itself. Chris Hunter won the Senior event from Seb Herrod and David Frisby, Henry Periam took the Under-16s from Rob Lines and Sophie Wright and the top three in the Under-12s were Josun Cole, Fynn Hunter and Seth Houlgate.

• The annual meeting of the Veteran Time Trials Association has voted to adjust the newly-introduced (2012) age-standard tables slightly in favour of older riders and to award Standard Medals, now to be called Individual Performance Awards, on an entirely new and separate set of tables

• Richard Dunnett is giving a slide show of his round-the-world race experience tonight. It is at the CTC Norfolk Clubroom at the rear of Mile Cross Methodist Church, Aylsham Road, Norwich, starting at 8pm.

• On Sunday the Velo Club Norwich has 100km and 50km Reliability Trials based at Horsford Church Rooms. For the longer ride to Mundesley and Sheringham, groups will leave at 8.30am, 9am and 9.30am while those following the shorter route leave at 10am or 10.30am.

RESULTS

Ely & District Hardriders: 1 Joel Lewis (Abbis-Colbert Cycles RT) 59:01, 2 I Turner (St Neots CC) 59:48, 3 C Pitt-Ford (Cambridge University CC) 1-00:30, 4 K Woolf (Prestige Velo) 1-00:56, 5 P Tedbury (CUCC) 1-01:23, 6 S Cousins (St Ives CC) 1-01:55, 7 K Moseley Stourbridge Velo) 1-03:17, 2nd Vet on Std, +4:28) 7 C Hopkinson (Army CU) 1-05:04, 8 L Hattersley (St Ives CC) 1-05:15, 9 C Nudds (CC Breckland) 1-05:16 (1st Vet on Std +5:40), 10 N Jackson (Cambridge CC) 1-05:26, 11 T Rae (Kingston Whs) 1-05:36, 12 D Watkins (Anglia Velo) 1-06:25, 20 Elanor Cadzow (Welwyn Whs) 1-16:11 (1st Lady).