22Km Individual Time Trial

Got to love a day when you can get out for a good hard ride – and this past Friday was one of those. What’s great about a time trial is that it doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing – how hard they are riding, or (for most, anyway) how you place relative to them – it’s just you and the clock...the only person you have to better is yourself…

Before getting down to the results, I want to express my thanks to our sponsors for the event:
Vodafone provided food and shade for the riders, and Rayyan Water saw to it that there was plenty
of cool mineral water to keep everyone hydrated through the heat. Your support is greatly
appreciated by all, and we look forward to more events with both of you. Thanks also go out to the many volunteers who once again chipped in to make the event happen: the sweepers (Greg, Ed, Reg and others?) who helped clear the loose stones from the course; Kuberan and Joanne for help with check-in and registration; Ken for an outstanding job of getting the riders going at the proper intervals; Alexandra, Heather and Katelyn on the timing and records recording; and lastly, Suzette for getting the riders lined up in the proper order – not an easy task given the confusion and delays on the day.
And now, the results...
Friday morning was billed as an early start, but given the massive turnout, the start time was delayed by 45 minutes to accommodate the additional late registrations, and to work the bugs out of the timing system following the summer layoff. Conditions at 05:30 were fairly pleasant compared to the brutal heat of the last few months: temps were hovering around 30°C, the humidity was fairly low (~25%), and the strong winds that Ed had been forecasting all week long were instead replaced by a light (almost non-existent) breeze. The strong pre-race registration of 65 riders was pared down by a few no shows on race morning, but an additional 25 late registrations brought the total number of starters to a whopping 84 – by far the biggest turnout of any QCR event yet! Many of the regular "repeat offenders" were in attendance, but notably missing were the likes of Gavin, Jason, Ben K, “Crash” Bennett, and a few of the Filipino regulars (Tony, Lando and Ronny). In addition to the regulars, 29 new faces showed for the 2-lap format, and an additional 19 for the 1-lap format. Included in the field were 4 from the Qatar National squad – including brothers Ahmed and Khaled Bordyni, Abdulaziz Sayed (a repeat) and Mohammed Marzouq (16 yrs old and racing in the Weekend Warrior class). Also among the field (in the WW and MTB events) were a number of new Filipino faces – no doubt thanks to Donny and others in the community for getting the word out to them. Two additional young riders – Mu’aawiyah Ceres (13 yrs) and James Doherty (10 yrs) – made their debuts on the roads around Lusail, both doing a fantastic job in the WW class.

With numbers assigned, computer problems sorted and the riders more than ready, the first rider wasoff at 07:31. The large number of riders had many worried that it would be a long (and hot) morning, but fortunately Ed stepped up and suggested a shorter start interval of 30 seconds, which we implemented following the 1-lap riders. The shorter interval made lining up the riders a bit more hectic, but Suzette – in town for a visit – stepped up to the challenge and made sure everyone got to their proper start position. The original intent was to start the riders in reverse order such that the fastest would go last, but the large turnout put an end to this plan, and riders instead went off by category. Over the next 29 minutes, the MTB riders, followed by the Weekend Warriors were sent at 1-minute intervals. They were followed at 30-second intervals by the Ladies, Open, then Masters riders, with the last rider going off less than an hour after the first. Competition on the course was mixed, with most of the riders using this first race as a gauge to assess their fitness and training…or in the case of some  [in particular, those who may have recently been married, or otherwise spent the better part of the last month "carbo-loading" on a beach in Bali] their lack of training

For others, however, it was all business…Despite temps climbing to 37°C by race start, managed to post personal bests.