Steve & Sam pipped at the Victoria CC 10.2

Saturday morning brought perfect conditions for round 2 of the Victoria CC 10.2 mile TT near Saffron Walden.

Steve Robinson and Sam Hayes were aiming for victory in the 2-up competition while Rik Palmer was enjoying his ever improving form in the solo event.

This was the first time Steve & Sam had ridden as a team and the duo gelled almost perfectly right from the start, with Sam using his extra power on the climbs and Steve grimly hanging on then helping force the pace on the flats.  The pair averaged 26.1mph over the undulating course to stop the clock with 23:24, just 11 seconds behind the winners Nick White and David Bamford.

In the solo event Rik Palmer showed that he is getting back to his best with a superb time of 25:19, almost 2 minutes quicker than he was this time last year.  Its brilliant to see Rik enjoying his racing so much, and that super fast time now just needs the right day/right course.

Phil Silver does a 56 and takes a 5th place in the same week

Most riders who have taken 20 years out of a sport take at least a season to get back into the swing of things, but it seems it has taken Phil Silver just a few months.


On Thursday evening Phil entered his first 25 for a few decades and blasted round the F20/25 in 56:50, the third fastest time recorded by a Team Salesengine rider.


On Sunday morning Phil then backed up this ride with 5th place in the Spalding CC 25. A slower course meant the time was adrift of his midweek shenanigans, but a 58:54 is still a great time, and the placing shows how competitive Phil is becoming.

Team SalesEngine on the podium at Milton Keynes

Sunday 8th June saw 7 members of Team SalesEngine enjoying the privilege of racing a 10 mile team time trial on closed roads around an extremely tricky and twisting circuit in the centre of Milton Keynes.

The fast team of Hugo Hocknell, Stephen Mavin, Phil Silver and (guest TSE member for the day) Dave Mclean rode at a simply stunning pace to record 26:03 and grab third place overall.

A little further back was the veteran team of Simon Doyle, Chris Hartley and Steve Robinson. With Lyndon Lewis out through illness the three had to ride one man short but still clocked an excellent 29:51. The time looks even better when you consider that the afternoon before saw Chris riding a 25 mile time trial and Simon doing battle in a 10, so there was only one pair of fresh legs in the team!

Phil Silver shows his class at the Beds Road 10

In his comeback year, and only his second open event Phil Silver showed that his form his improving rapidly as he showed a clean pair of heels to his team mates and most of the rest of the field.

On a blustery day on the F15/10 at Brogborough Phil stormed the course in 22:30 to put him well up the field. It was a great time that proves that although form can be temporary class is permanent.

Second for Team SalesEngine was a rider making his debut in team colours. Simon Doyle is a long-term friend of the squad, and his decision to ride for us is cracking news. His time of 23:23 was a strong one, and just enough to edge out Ric Palmer (23:45) and Dave Wentworth (23:56).

Simon Doyle in full flight at the Beds road CC 10

Steve & Sam win the Eastern Counties tandem championship

The 2013 Eastern Counties championship proved to be bitter sweet for Steve Robinson and Sam Hayes as it saw the pair record their first sub 20 minute ride, but it was only good enough for third place overall.

This year they returned to the E2 determined to fight for the win. On the day the conditions were warm and calm, so a fast time looked on the cards. And do it proved with the duo storming the course in a new PB of 19:46, good enough to give them the overall win by a scant 4 seconds from Stuart Clark and Kevin Darragh.

Chris Hartley was the sole member of the team in the solo event. He showed his ever improving form with an excellent 23:50.