Winter brings - new team mates, curry, lager and turbo training....

Now winter is well and truly here the various members of Team Salesengine are hibernating away on their turbo trainers and putting in the graft miles on the road ready for 2012.

Since the racing stopped we've added three new riders to our roster in the form of Hugo and Stuart Hocknell and Roy Robinson.

Hugo comes into the team as the man with the fastest PB in his palmares, so it would seem that Rik and Sam won't be having things all their own way next season.

Roy and Stuart may not be quite as fast as Hugo, but the team is about people enjoying their racing regardless of the level they do it at, and it'll be great to see how the new boys do in the New Year. As long as the season can bring PB's then all will be happy.

Meanwhile, December the 9th was the latest team curry in Potton. Whilst we didn't quite manage a full-house due to work commitments for some and Christmas parties for others we did get a good turn-out and had a good laugh.

With the inaugural Team Salesengine 10 now only four months away (April 7th at 14:00!) on the rapid new Brogborough F1510 course ideas were flowing as fast as the lager as to how to make the event a bit different from the norm and enjoyable for all who enter. Pleased to say the idea of starting at the bottom of the hill and making the riders finish at the top was rejected....

Some of the braver ( or more foolish?) riders in the team are now only 2 months from being on the startline of their first event of 2012...so happy training to all.

Lifetime PB for Dave Wentworth in the Leo 30

Nobody who entered the Leo 30 on the 1st October would have predicted the 29 degree temperatures for the event we suspect! The great weather also brought with it very light winds, and Dave Wentworth took full advantage of this to record a fantastic lifetime PB of 1:11:47, and improvement of 1:15 on his previous best.

After suffering somewhat in the early season Dave has really found his form at the end of the year, and looks to be going into winter training in great shape!

Sam takes 9th place in final round of the N&DCA

A dry but blustery day greeted Sam Hayes, Paul King and Steve Robinson for the final round of this years Northampton & District series, a 15 mile course from Bedford to Shefford and back.

Sam stormed the course in 36:42 to take is highest placing of the series with 9th. Paul King was victorious in his battle with Steve Robinson, finishing in a superb 38:49 to beat Steve by 41 seconds.

In the overall standings for the season Sam finished in 11th with Steve in 20th place. Steve also took 13th place in the short distance championship.

Team are flying on the new F15/10

As the season is almost done a few members of Team Salesengine went across to Bedford to try the new ski-slope F15 course on Saturday. As has been the case pretty much all year it was of course windy which meant the times weren't quite as quick as people hoped, but the strong results show the potential for the course on a calm day.

First home from the Team was Rik Palmer who finished 18th with 23:13. Ride of the day arguably goes to Dave Wentworth who was only just behind with 23:45 and 25th place. David Ledgerton recorded 26:47 and Chris Parkes unfortunately punctured.

Sam Hayes and Steve Robinson tackled the course on the tandem and set a new PB of 21:31 to take 2nd place in the tandem event. As this was only their 2nd race it suggests the target of the 30mph 10 next year is achievable. Just needs a good winter!

David Ledergton competes in the British Time Trial Championship

A testing course in Northamptonshire was the venue for this years British Time Trial Championships. Whilst Alex Dowesett of Team Sky was busy winning the mens event from his team mate Steve Cummings, Team Salesengine's own David Ledgerton was doing battle with the course and the riders in his age group.

Although he didn't find the course totally to his liking David rode well to record 1:00:32 for the hilly 20 mile course to take 19th place in his age group.

Rik 7th and Dave 19th in Norlond 10

The first weekend of September saw Rik Palmer and Dave Wentworth in action at the Norlond 10.

Rik was in fine form to storm round in 23:20 to take 7th place and score the highest solo placing for the team in an open this year. Dave Wentworth wasn't far behind with 24:33 to take 19th spot.

Four on tour in Hull

This season it would seem that if if an event has a Team Sales Engine rider in it then there is a high chance it will be glowing a gale!

Four of the team made the ludicrous 6 hour round trip this weekend to ride the Tem Swift 10 on the hallowed V718 just outside Hull. The course has always been talked of as one of the quickest in the country, and from the results of the day there is no doubt it is rapid.

Sam Hayes was the first rider from the team to race in the morning, overcoming the 20 mph winds to come back with a storming 22:22. Rik Palmer was up next and returned with a fantastic 23:02, followed by Steve Robinson who clocked his 2nd fastest 10 in the last 10 years with 23:35 and finally Paul King with 24:31.

Given the strength of the wind on the day it suggests that all four riders can re-set their PB's on the right day, so no doubt there will be more trips to Hull in 2012.

Rik, David and Chris racing at Cambourne

Rik Palmer, Chris Hartley and David Ledgerton were in action at the Chronos RT 10 on the F2 on Saturday. Conditions were good but not outstanding and Rik managed to clock his second fastest time of the year with 23:13. David and Chris both clocked a 25 something, but that is all the info we have at the moment.

PB for Steve at Blenheim Palace

Sunday morning saw Steve Robinson competing in his favourite event of the season around the grounds of Blenheim Palace.

The lumpy and completely traffic free course presents a pretty unique challenge as there are fast descents on narrow roads with a high number of riders on the circuit placing an emphasis on bike handling as well as pure speed.

On the day Steve took advantage of the good conditions to take 21 seconds off his previous best time to record 33:43 for the 12.3 miles to finish 62nd out of the 165 competitors.

Victoria CC series - Salesengine have 3 in the top 10!

After three of the four rounds of the Victoria CC10.2 series on the E1 Team Salesengine have more riders in the top ten than any other team.

With one round to go Rik Palmer is in 5th place, Paul King is 7th and Steve Robinson is 9th.

All three will miss the final round at the end of August due to being in action at the Team Swift Charity event in Hull, but should all still be able to finish in the top fifteen overall. After the team win in the second round of the series it has been one of the best events for the team this year.

July results - so many top rides!

It's been a crazy month with members of the team racing all over the South East racking up some strong results. The wind has still been consistently strong so those PB days haven't quite arrived, but the palcings have been good.

On the 9th July Rik Palmer and Dave Wentworth competed in the Beds Road CC 10 on the F1. It wasn't the best of days but Rik grabbed a superb 19th place with 23:29 closely followed by Dave who recorded 24:00 to get into the top 30.

At the Verulam CC 25 Chris Hartley was in action and rode well to record 1:04:16 on a tough day.

Rik and Dave returned to the F1 for the Hitchin Nomads CC 10. Rik went slightly quicker than earlier in the month with 23:25 for 20th place while Dave slipped back slightly to 24:19 to finish 33rd.

At the end of the month we had five riders in action at the third round of the Victoria CC 10.2 on the E1. On the best day of the three so far Rik Palmer was again the teams quickest rider with 24:48 for 20th place. Ride of the day goes to Paul King who was just 12 seconds behind Rik to take 22nd spot. Steve Robinson was next with 25:38, David Ledgerton clocked 26:57 and Chris Parkes enjoyed his first outing on the tough course with 27:41.

Chris Hartley & Rik Palmer in action at the Whitewebbs CC

Chris and Rik both turned up to the F20/10 outside Hertford with high hopes of 10 mile PB's.

As it turned out the event wasn't quite as fast as hoped but Rik still managed to clock the fastest 10 time of any Team Salesengine rider this year with 22:05 and Chris clocked his 3rd fastest 10 ever with 23:33.

Top rides from both lads!

Dave Wentworth posts 3rd fastest 25 ever, Paul King just misses a PB

Dave Wentworth continued his battle for his 25 PB at the Icknield RC 25. A good, but not perfect, morning on the F1 greeted Dave and he stormed round the Tempsford F1 course in 59:06 to clock his 3rd fastest time ever at the distance.

Meanwhile Paul King had driven a total of in excess of 400 miles to try for his 10 mile PB on the Levens course in the Lakes District. War and dry conditions promised a good performance and PK managed a rapid 23:16, which was just 18 seconds off his lifetime best.

Sales Engine take a team win at the Victoria CC

Team Sales Engine pulled off their first team win of the year at the second round of the Victoria CC 10.2 mile series on the E1.

Rik Palmer led the team home with 24:50 and was closely followed by Paul King with 25:30 and Steve Robinson with 25:35.

Chris Parkes makes his debut, Sam bags a win!

What a weekend! Strong winds, torrential rain, hail and sunshine, it seems the team were out racing through all of it!

Chris Parkes made his debut for the team on Saturday in the Northampton & District 15 on the N1. Although he may not have been completely satisfied with his time of 41:59 it was a great start given the conditions, and he will no doubt be flying by August.

Sam Hayes was quickest of the team with 36:11 to take 19th place followed by Steve Robinson who clocked 37:30 to pip Rik Palmer by 5 seconds. They took 26th and 27th place.

This all meant that Sam has consolidated his 4th place in the overall for series and Steve has climbed up to 9th.

On the Sunday morning Sam then competed in the Beds Road Spoco 10, which he won in 23:59 to put him 30 seconds clear of the rest of the field. Top form Sam, well done!

Meanwhile, across in Cambridgeshire, Dave Wentworth and Chris Hartley were doing battle with the conditions on the (occasionally rapid, but mostly windy it seems) E2/25.

Chris was the quickest with a storming 1:00:57 (his 4th fastest 25 ever) whilst Dave was copping the full force of the wind and rain to record a soaked 1:02:30. Top times from both given that it was a long way from a good day out there.

Sure this wind will die down soon chaps :-)

Chris Hartley back on form

3 members of the team were in action on Saturday afternoon at the ECCA event on the E2. Once more it was a stupidly windy day, but it seems nobody told Chris Hartley this as he managed to blast round the course in 23:21 to get within 2 seconds of his lifetime best. A simply stunning ride given the conditions, and a sign that a PB is just a good day away.

Dave Wentworth was also in action, and managed to continue his run of strong form to lead the team home and pip Chris by a single second with 23:20.

Frustrated rider of the day award goes to Rik Palmer who was on for a short 21 minute ride which would have put him right up there in the results, only for a puncture to scupper him with a mile to go. Despite crusing in on a flat tyre he still recorded 23:23 to put all of the team within 3 seconds of each other!

Rik Palmer in full flight

More photos courtesy of Dave Jones taken at the Victoria CC 10.2 on the E1.

Victoria CC 10.2 - Rik and Paul come out on top

Saturday morning saw the resumption of the friendly rivallry between Rik Palmer and Sam Hayes and Paul King and Steve Robinson.

This time it was Rik Palmer who gained the upper hand with a superb 24:57 in the windy conditions to just pip Sam who clocked 25:03.

Paul King pulled out one of his best riders ever (his words!) to record 25:31 and put 15 seconds into Steve who stopped the clock at 25:46. They're now 2-all in their battle for the season, but Paul appears to have the momentum for now. Steve has sloped off to up his training in preparation for the next round of the Northampton and District association event on the 4th June.

Thanks to Dave Jones for the pictures!

Weekend round-up - Top rides from Chris, Dave and Rik

It was a rediculously windy weekend, but it didn't stop a load of the team from travelling round the country clocking up some reallu useful performances.

Chris Hartley travelled all the way to Hull to have a go on the infamously fast V718. The strong wind meant a PB was unlikely, but Chris showed that he is getting his form back with a strong 24:09 which is his fastest of the year and less than a minute away from his best ever. More to come this year you feel...

Dave Wentworth should have been tackling his first fifty in decades, but roadworks on the course meant it was shortened to a 25. Despite the wind Dave still blasted round inside the hour, clocking a fantastic 59:45.

Rik Palmer was the third team member in action, tackling a lumpy 25 on the country lanes of Cambridgeshire around Gamlingay and Wrestlingworth. Rik rodfe well and lopped a full 556 seconds off his course PB to finish with 1:02:10 and take 24th place in a highly competitive field.

Sam leads the team home at the N&DCA

Another weekend, another windy day, and another cracking ride from Sam Hayes!

Saturday afternoon saw four members of the team competing on a flat, rural course at Lamport in Northamptonshire.

Quickest home was Sam Hayes with 24:49 to narrowly edge out Rik Palmer with 25:09. This was good enough for 19th and 21st place. Paul King abnd Steve Robinson continued their close battle with Paul this time taking the honours with 26:18 and 29th place closely followed by Steve in 26:34 for 33rd.

Paul King takes first PB of the season

On a windy day in Oxfordshire Paul King managed a superb ride in the North Hampshire RC 50 to record a new lifetime PB of 2:10:00.

This was a 25 second updating of Paul's previous best, which was set on a much better day, surely proof that he has the form of of his life and will be further updating PB's as the season goes on.

Photos from Cambridge CC 10 - Thanks to Dave Jones

What a weekend! The team couldn't be any closer!

An extremely windy Cambridge CC event at Cambourne was the location for the first major coming together of almost all of the team this year.

Sam Hayes took top honours with a superb 22:36 for 21st place. The battle for second fastest from the team was unbeleivably close with Dave Wentworth just edging it with 23:59 from Steve Robinson's 24:00 and Paul King on 24:03.

Chris Hartley also continued his resurgence with a fine 25:22, showing that he has put his troubled winter behind him and the form is coming.

The next big clash will be at the Northampton & District CC event in Mid May when Sam, Rik, Paul and Steve will all be in action.

Sam takes 14th in opening round of N&DCA and goes under the next day..

Saturday the 16th April was the opening round of the Northampton & District series, and although not feeling like he was on best form Sam Hayes still managed to take 14th place and gain a very handy 89 points for the season long competition. Sam clocked 48:22 on the 20 mile hilly country lane course.

Steve Robinson suffered his first bad ride of the season in the same event to finish in 53:55 for a very disappointing 47th place, his lowest placing in an N&DCA event.

Despite his hard ride on Saturday Sam then went on to race again on the F1 25 mile course on Sunday. His finishing time of 59:05 may not have been as good as he hoped, but shows that even on his bad days he can still post decent times!

Rik starts season on form

In his opening race of the season Rik Palmer stormed round the E91/10 in 24:34 to take 13th place in a competitive field. It's a cracking start to the year and signs that a good winters training will pay dividends.

57minute 25 for Sam, 13th place for Steve

This weekend saw 2 members of the team out battling in Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire. On Saturday afternoon Sam Hayes opened his 25 mile account for the season with a rapid 57:14 on the E2. Although not as quick as he had hoped thanks to a rising tailwind it still ranks as the fastest ever 25 by a Team Salesengine rider, and its only a matter of time before both Sam and Rik Palmer slice more time off it. On Sunday morning Steve Robinson competed in an Interclub 10 representing his second claim club Hitchin Nomads. On a calm morning Steve clocked 24:36 on the lightly trafficked single carriageway course to take 24 seconds off his PB and take 13th place overall.

3rd place team at the Icknield hilly

The early season form of continues to look promising with Team Salesengine taking 3rd placed team in the Icknield hilly 30k.

Sam Hayes led the team home with a storming 46:32 to take 13th place in the high quality field. Steve Robinson finished in a course PB of 50:24 to take 24th place and Paul King was hard on his heels with 52:03 for 33rd.

The same three are in action again in 2 weeks time at the first round of the Northants & District series, with Sam on the E2 before that looking to further hone his speed.

Paul & Steve take 2nd place

In their first ride of the season Paul King and Steve Robinson took 1:52 off their course PB in the Hitchin Nomads 2-up 25 to record 1:04:46 and take second place.

It was a mild morning with a cross tailwind on the key part of the course which meant fast times all round. But the amount of time the pair took off their previous best shows that they are going into the season with really promising form.

Next up for Steve & Paul is the Icknield hilly in 2 weeks time, which will also see Sam Hayes in action as well.

Sam in full flight

You can see from the look on Sam's face that when they call it "The North Road hardriders" they aren't joking!

Welcome to the team - Sam Hayes

So the blog has been off air for a little while now during the off-season.

It's been a good winter with everyone knuckling down and getting the work done to come into 2011 flying.

The big news of the winter is that we have managed to coax another rider to join us, so welcome on board Mr Sam Hayes!

Sam has been one of the areas most rapid testers for a few years now, and his presence in the team should keep Rik Palmer focused for the year!

With Sam and Rik both looking to complete the Northants & District series we now have the strength in depth to challenge for the overall and a few team prizes along the way, happy days!

Sam has already opened his racing account for us this year with a cracking 50:28 in the shortened version of the North Road Hardriders 25 circuit. The field list reads like a who's who of time trialling and Sam finished well up the field in around 25th place. Awesome first ride, with the promise of a lot more to come. Nice one Sam.