British professional cyclists Mark Cavendish, Ben Swift and Fred Wright were not the only ones racing for a National Championship title 16-18 October in Lincoln, 846 amateur sportive riders were competing in the UK National Championship Sportive on many of the same roads as the pros.
Although the amateurs were not competing for a coveted Union Jack national championship jersey, they raced for personal glory, pride and, of course, bragging rights on local club rides. The National Championship Sportive used the traditional Lincoln Gran Prix course, included challenging hills in the Lincolnshire Wolds and the steep finishing cobbled climb of Michaelgate – with cheering spectators, cowbells and a crash or two as seen in the video below.
The main 90 mile Gran Fondo was won by Jonathan Smith with a time of 3:53:47 at an average speed of 23.19mph. Completing the podium was Richard Carrington in second place at 3:54:06 and Dave Fisher in third at 3:54:58. Finishing fourth and fifth respectively were Martyn Sargeant at 3:56:02 and Chris Craig at 4:02:39.
Matt Barbet crushed the competition on the 60 mile Medio Fondo course, finishing in 3:08:46, almost 8 minutes ahead of Will Campbell (3:16:15). Steve Redford (3:21:03) rolled across the finish line in third, followed by John Kavanagh (3:21:14) and Matthew Litchfield (3:22:17).
PHOTOS: The Lincolnite
GRAN FONDO DAILY NEWS 