Thursday Night Spin Sessions

Do you find it difficult to motivate yourself on the turbo trainer at home?

If so, Didcot Phoenix have the answer.

Our indoor turbo training sessions are now in full swing, so please come along on a Thursday evening to Brightwell-cum-Sutwell village hall

For more details please see the Club Nights page.

DPCC Awards Dinner

The date has now been set for the 2010 DPCC Annual Dinner and Prize Giving. Please put Jan 30th 2010 into your diary now!

If you are a trophy holder, please return your award on a Club Night to allow the Trophy Officer to prepare for the Awards evening.

Ben Owen memorial TT

Didcot Phoenix CC successfully defended their title as fastest team in the area. In the recently held Ben Owen Memorial interclub 10 mile time trial. Phoenix won by just 5 seconds in what turned out to be a very tightly fought race. Teams of five riders, with four to count, race over the 10 mile course and it is the fastest combined time of four that wins. Held on the fast A420 Southmoor-Tubney Wood course, conditions were good with a tail wind out to the turn and a head wind on the shorter return leg.

In the end it was Didcot Phoenix (A) with a combined time of 1:26:43 hours/minutes that just got the better of Oxford University 1:26:48. Taking up the bronze position on the podium was Newbury RC (A) in 1:28:36. With the fastest rider coming from the Newbury team, Ian Greenstreet completed the 10 mile course in 21:07, just 3 seconds ahead of Jesse Elzinga (Oxford Uni) 21:10 and in third place on the night just 3 seconds back again was Henry Martin (Oxford Uni) 21:13.

Fastest Phoenix rider was Paul Lloyd 21:23, with clubmates Phil Brown 5th overall in 21:26 and Mark Cox, suffering with the after affects of a cold in 7th with 21:45.

Finishing team order: Didcot Phoenix CC (A) 1:26:43, Oxford Uni (A) 1:26:48, Newbury RC (A) 1:28:36, Fairly United RT 1:32:08, Didcot Phoenix CC (B) 1:34:23, Oxford City RC 1:35:21, Newbury RC (B) 1:35:29, Oxonian CC 1:37:20.

Individual placing: I.Greenstreet (Newbury) 21:07, J.Elzinga (Oxford Uni) 21:10, H.Martin (Oxford Uni) 21:13, P.Lloyd (Didcot) 21:23, P.Brown (Didcot) 21:26, A.Blackie (Oxford Uni) 21:36, M.Cox (Didcot) 21:45, N.Druce (Didcot) 22:09, I.Reece (Newbury) 22:12, C.Edgington (Fairly United) 22:23, A.Adey (Oxford City) 22:23, M.Sigrist (Newbury) 22:37, I.Lakey (Newbury) 22:40, P.Granger (Fairly United) 22:49, J.Marcini (Oxford Uni) 22:49, P.Oliver (Fairly United) 22:50.

DPCC 10 mile TT

Didcot Phoenix CC held their 10 mile Time Trial Championships last Thursday, the race was held on the fast Southmoor course on the A420. Riders had to face a stiff north easterly headwind on the longer outward leg, which virtually wiped out the advantage gained on the shorter return downwind leg.
Fastest Phoenix rider and club champion on the day was Mark Cox in 21:37 minutes. A short time back was Phil Brown who picked up the silver in 21:50 and Paul Lloyd with a 22:03 took the bronze on the championship podium. Fastest rider on the day was local sponsored John Wager (Felt Racing) in 21:12 mins.

Other Didcot Phoenix 10 mile TT Championship Times: N.Druce 22:20, A.Whitfield 23:13, S.Maciak 23:20, A.Huckin 23:20, M.Scanlan 23:32, S.Wright 23:46, I.Middleton 23:47, M.Cooper 24:11, P.Warwick 24:13, N.Ashcroft 24:18, H.Lattimer 24:55, R.Smith 24:58, M.Fountain 25:12, P.Edwards 25:27, J.Seddon 25:28, P.Waugh 25:55, A.Peden 25:59, S.Gibbs 26:05, S.Lavender 26:48, Laura Wells 26:50, D.Chittenden (Mid Oxon) 27:14, Tanja Brenner (Mid Oxon) 28:44.

Further from home and in the Sotonia CC 10 mile Open Time Trial held on the fast Andover A303 course veteran Phoenix rider Stan Maciak took 9th position in 22:32 mins, with clubmate Ian Middleton one place back in 10th with a 22:46. Maciak and Middleton also rode in the Westerly 25 mile TT on the A404 Handy Cross - Maidenhead - Twyford course, with a similar result, but this time only 5 seconds separated them Maciak just taking the lead and 23rd overall with a 58:40 minutes and Middleton 58:45.

Mick Fountain was also in action on the Hounslow & District 100 mile TT and managed a 4:51:16 hours.

DPCC 25 mile TT

Didcot Phoenix CC landed top positions in the team event in the Phoenix run 25 miles Time Trial Open Event on the Cumnor - Faringdon course on the A420. Sunday's event was dry, but a fair cross wind saw times a little slower than normal. The overall result saw Phoenix teams take Gold, Silver and Bronze. The winning team was made up of Nick Druce in a time of 59:08 minutes (fastest Phoenix rider on the day and the only one to get under the hour), Stan Maciak 1:00:27 and Mark Scanlan 1:01:03. Fastest Phoenix junior was Henry Latimer 1:09:23 and fastest woman Laura Wells 1:11:30.

The event was won by Jesse Elzinga (Oxford University CC) in a time of 55:13 mins.

Didcot Phoenix placings: N.Druce 59:08, S.Maciak 1:00:27, M.Scanlan 1:01:03, A.Allcock 1:02:21, I.Middleton 1:02:35, S.Wright 1:03:32, G.Mook, 1:04:06, M.Fountain 1:05:39, P.Richardson 1:05:43, M.Cooper 1:06:40, H.Latimer, 1:09:23, L.Wells (W) 1:11:30, G.Henderson (W) 1:12:57. M.Webber 1:17:04 (includes late start penalty and stop at newly installed traffic lights for road works).

On the club racing scene and the 10 mile time trial on the Eynsham course, Mark Cox and Paul Lloyd battled it out for first and second place with only seconds separating them at the finish. In the end Cox's time of 23:15 minutes held Lloyd to second place with 23:36 and Angus Whitfield taking third place on the podium with 25:08.

Other Didcot Phoenix times: A.Huckin 25:45, J.Seddon 26:35, P.Waugh 26:47, P.Warwick 26:54, A.Peten 27:01, S.Gibbs 28:38, D.Cox 28:48, S.Lavender 29:12, H.Latimer 29:34, I.Grose 30:01, P.Scanlan 30:02, D.Collett 30:24, T.Smith 31:14.

Reading win rollers

Reading CC proved to be in a class of their own at the recent Interclub Roller Competition staged by Didcot Phoenix CC at their clubhouse in Brightwell-cum-Sotwell. They took on cycling clubs from the area and in a highly professional display of discipline showed how it should be done. This year local clubs included Oxford City RC, Oxonian CC, Reading CC and host club Didcot Phoenix CC.

This year the format for the competition has changed from previous years, with each team of 5 riders racing in a relay on static rollers (rolling road) for a period of 20 minutes. Setting the standard Phoenix, changing riders every two minutes, posted a respectable distance for the time of 12.37 miles. Then came the turn of Reading - with a rapid changeover times of only 30 seconds per rider, the room became a blur, as the riders took turns to spin at speeds of a little over 60 mph. Their total distance for the time was a staggering 15.60 miles, an average of over 45 miles per hour. After this performance other teams were left to pick up the pieces. In second place Oxonian and third went to Didcot Phoenix.

FULL RESULT WITH DISTANCES COVERED:
Reading CC 15.60 miles
Oxonian CC 12.67 miles
Didcot Phoenix CC 12.37 miles
Oxford City CC 11.20 miles

Club night programme

Blow away those "Credit Crunch" blues and spin your way to the new season with our resident Health & Fitness Guru, Laura Wells.

Starting on Thursday 22nd January, Laura will be holding spin classes at the Millennium Pavilion, Brightwell Cum Sotwell. The sessions will last for approximately 60 minutes and will start at 19:30 hrs prompt. All you need is a turbo trainer, bike, towel and drink. The classes will run until Thursday 26th March.

Full club night programme can be found here.

End of year TT 2008 - Stan's the man!

Didcot Phoenix CC had a marvellous turn out for the end of the year 10 mile Time Trial held on the Wallingford by-pass course.

Home rider Stan Maciak's time of 25:23 mins (4:42 H/cap) gave him third position overall, but with the age related handicap applied it secured him top honours and the trophy. Maciak, a veteran, only took up time trials fairly recently, his 2008 season saw him going from strength to strength. Competing in many time trials at distances of 10 to 100 miles and even completing the gruelling 12 hours mid-season.

Fastest rider on time for the winter trophy competition was top Didcot Phoenix cyclo-cross rider Paul Lloyd in 24:58 mins (6:31), with Llewellyn Kinch (GWR) in 25:20. The best dressed rider prize went to Steve Avery of Oxford City RC, who ploughed round the course dressed as Bugs Bunny, complete with streamlined ears!

Phil Brown Smashes Ton Record

Didcot Phoenix CC rider Phil Brown smashed his own 100 mile time trial Phoenix club record by over 5 minutes. The 100 mile open event run by the West London Time Trial Association was set on A419 Cirencester - Swindon course. His time of 4:05:22 was a huge improvement on his old time of 4:10:33 set only last year when he beat the old club record, that had stood since 1996, by 2 minutes.

On the same day, but further afield, the Phoenix trio of Mick Fountain, Stan Maciak and Tony Smith took top honours and the team prize in the CC Breckland 12 hour Open Time Trial. The event held in Cambridgeshire saw the trio record a combined distance over 668 miles. Maciak 248.25 miles, Fountain 240.81 and Smith 180.26. Maciak's bike suffered a puncture and he also sustained a minor crash, which cost him some time and distance.

On the club scene and closer to home, Mark Cox continued his winning form by taking the evening club 10 mile time trial held on the Brightwell - Cholsey hilly course. His time of 22:10 mins was a clear 25 seconds faster than Paul Lloyd (22:35) and Phil Brown in third with 22:56. In fifth place and well worth a mention was the fantastic ride done by Henry Latimer a junior (16), his time of 24:16 showed a clear 6 minutes improvement over 10 miles in his first season of racing.

Phil Brown breaks his PB for 25 Miles

Didcot Phoenix CC rider Phil Brown broke his long standing personal best for 25 miles over the weekend. His time of 54:34 minutes was 18 seconds faster than his previous PB, it also gave him 18th place in the Dursley RC Open Event held on the A419 Blunsdon - Cricklade course. His time was the fastest posted for the distance this season by a Phoenix rider. At the same race clubmate and veteran rider Stan Maciak (63), continued his storming season by smashing his PB for the distance by over 3 minutes to post a time of 57:13 mins.

Maciak's good form also gave him 14th place with a time of 23:39 mins in the Crabwood CC 10 mile Open Time Trial held on the fast A303 Andover course, clubmate Alan Allcock posted a time of 24:41. Steve Wright posted a 23:50 in the senior men's event on the same course.

Didcot's long distance campaigner Mick Fountain rode in the 50 mile Open event held by Reading CC on the A4 Woolhampton - Thatcham - Pangbourne Lane course and secured second placed veteran in a time of 2:13:40 hours.

On the club scene, and on the Wallingford bypass event, over 10 miles saw local rider Phil Brown storm over the course as fastest Phoenix rider in a time of 22:38 a clear minute ahead of second placed clubmate Alec Huckin 23:38 and taking bronze position Stan Maciak 23:59.

Other Didcot Phoenix CC times (unless stated): M.Scanlan 24:16, N.Ashcroft 24:38, M.Cooper 25:07, M.Hammersley 25:17, P.Richardson 25:30, H.Latimer 25:32, R.Smith 25:52, A.Peden 26:03, P.McPherson 26:04, M.Fountain 26:10, Laura Wells 26:54, N.Morris 26:56, M.Evans 26:59, S.Lavender 27:08, M.Chambers 27:21, J.Bradwell (Oxonian) 29:18, D.Collett 29:24.

Stories From The Club

Club stalwart (of training ride fame) Eddie Yarker has written a couple of fascinating cycling articles. The first one is his account of his Land's End to John O'Groats ride. A must for anybody wanting to attempt this arduous ride. The second one is a gentler tale of a cycling holiday in Jersey.

Roller competition photos

DPCC dinner and prize giving

Thanks to everybody for making the evening such a success! Click here for report and photos.

End of year TT photos

Click on a thumbnail to enlarge

Cyclo Cross

Photo: DPCC's Paul Lloyd in action.

October the 12th saw DPCC's cyclo cross event at the Newbury showground. We were blessed with very good weather and an attendence of 117 competitors. Full results here.

Ye olde news

Whilst idly picking through the bones of the old(e) DPCC website, your webmaster found an interesting story from a few years ago.

The story in question is of 1995 vintage and presumably the DPCC website existed as some kind of text based BBS type thing.... Anyway, it is Steve Luck's account of his Paris-Brest-Paris ride - re-created in all it's glory here. Not a ride for the faint of heart.

Martin Newall road race

Photo: DPCC's Archibald 'The Animal' Worthing gives Ernest Farthingthorpe a jolly good thrashing.

Results, report and photos here

Late season news

Mark Cox hits peak form to take top honours at Didcot Phoenix CC. Finishing the season as the leader of the clubs Castle Points Trophy event and leader of the club Scratch Race points league. On the open time trial scene he managed the bronze position in last weekends Maidenhead & District Hilly 29 mile time trial in a time of 1:12:16 hrs/mins/secs. The event was won by sponsored rider Wouter Sybrandy (Sigma Sport) 1:07:27.
On the club time trial scene, Cox stormed to victory in the penultimate race of the season on the 10 miles Fairmile - Wallingford course in a time of 21:53 mins. Second place went to Phil Brown 22:19 and third Steve Mead 23:05.
Other Didcot Phoenix times unless stated: S.Luck 23:38, S.Wright 24:15, J.Dothie 24:17, S.Maciak 24:59, R.Smith 25:08, G.Mook 25:12, D.Sommerlad (Oxonian) 25:19, M.Cooper 25:28, S.Avery (Oxford City RC) 25:31, P.McPherson 25:37, M.Fountain 25:38, N.Morris 26:05, D.Collett 27:43, G.Wright (High Wycombe) 27:45, M.Wright (High Wycombe) 28:33, D.Addison 28:35, L.Wells 29:26, P.Annells 32:38.
On the Open Time Trial scene Alan Allcock recorded a time of 21:05 mins in the Diamond Health & Fitness 10 miles race on the A420 Cirencester - Cricklade course. His time gave him equal 40th position, but more importantly he improved on the Phoenix club record for veterans held since 1996 by Richard Abbot (21:08). The event was won by scratch rider Richard Bradley (Shorter RochfordRT) 19:18 mins.

Matt smashes club 24hr record

DPCC Audax master Matt Chambers broke the club 24 hour record in the arduous D24/1 Mersey Roads RTTC Championship.
After suffering mid-day heatstroke that nearly destroyed his race, Matt battled on to overcome some very trying conditions. Distance covered was 321.7 miles, beating previous record holder Pete Annell's distance of 307.15 miles in 1989. A fantastic effort!

A guide to Audax

Heard lots about Audax riding? Not quite sure what it's all about? Matt Chambers has written an informative guide. DPCC hope to resurrect our own event 'The Barbury Bash' in 2009.

Stan does the ton!

Stan Maciak was top Didcot Phoenix CC rider in the North Middlesex and Herts 100 miles Open Time Trial on the Tempsford - Baldock - Henlow course. His time of 4:20:57 hours/mins/seconds was enough to give him top honors for a local rider and 18th place overall.
More remarkable was that his fastest time for a 10 mile TT is 25:08, multiplied by 10 would have given him a time of 4:18:20, a superb display of pace riding for the distance. Maciak had, the week before, completed a mountain stage of the Tour du France in an Etape du Tour event winning a gold standard.
Team mate Mark Scanlan was 19th in the N.Middx & Herts event with 4:21:09 and only 12 seconds behind Maciak. Scanlan had ridden on with severe back pain to complete the course. Third member of the Didcot team was Mick Fountain with a time of 4:49:54. The event was won by Colin Parkinson in a time of 3:54:13 hrs/mins/secs.

Phoenix misses the 9-up (just)

At the Bicester Millennium CC club 9 up TT over 10 miles held on the Weston-on- the-Green course, an event that Phoenix have had great success over the last three times the event has been held, winning with a different team each occasion. This year however, the 9-man team from Didcot Phoenix were narrowly beaten into second place with a time of 22:43 mins.
The winners, High Wycombe CC, had a time of 22:23, with Hemel Hempstead CC taking bronze with a 22:55. Other teams times: Oxonian 23:02, Oxford Tri 23:38, Bicester Millennium (men) 26:05, Oxford University CC 26:29 and Bicester (ladies) 26:33.
Didcot Phoenix team: Mark Cox, Paul Lloyd, Nick Druce, Steve Mead, Phil Brown, Nick Beale, Steve Wright and Steve Luck.

DPCC wins the Ben Owen

Didcot Phoenix club chairman Phil Brown leads the way to victory in the Ben Owen Memorial time trial. The winning team time was 1:27:55. Fastest on the night was Jesse Elzinga from Oxford University with an outstanding 20:32. Full results here.

Stonehenge summer solstice 2008 photos

No doubt some of you have been reading about the Stonehenge ride on the forum, which included a midnight start! See the pictures here. Will YOU be with us for the ride next year? Note - large pictures broadband recommended.

DPCC Forum

The forum is open to anybody with an interest in cycling - you do not have to be a member of the club. Register now - it would be nice to meet you! Any registration problems please contact admin.

More record breakers!

Mick Fountain rode in the Breckland CC Open 12 hour time trial and finished in 6th place, with a distance of 243.229 miles and with it a new club record. His distance means he not only updated the veteran club record, it also gave him a plus on veteran standard of 59 miles. The winner was Paul Smith (PCA Ciclos Uno) with a distance of 288.273 miles.

Meanwhile in Gloucestershire Phil Brown came 13th in the Western TTA Open 100 mile time trial on the Cricklade-Burford-Cirencester course. His time of 4:10:33 hours/mins/seconds was only 2 seconds faster but it gave him a new club record for the distance previously held by Richard Abbot (4:10:35) back in 1996.