At 2pm on Saturday it was Simon Stead flying the flag for Jersey, as he began first with a Le Mans style start half mile run to separate the chaos on the start line, then straight on the bike to do the first 10 mile lap. Next on the circuit was Ian Lelai (aka Skip Rat), followed by Andy Hull and then Colin Malzard, each doing the 10 mile lap before passing to the next team member.

The course picked its way through a quick section of single track before zooming down to be quickly replaced by the dreaded Land Rover climb. Then it snaked its way back towards the monument, with a quick burst of ever upwards single track, taking the monotony of the long hard packed climb to the back of riders minds. With all the height gained it was soon fun time as riders blasted down with grins fixed to their faces. The 2009 event looked like it could be a dry year however the weather gods kept sending a sprinkle of rain every so often just to keep the riders on their toes. A few days of down pours had previously rendered some sections boggy, this coupled with a quick shower on Friday night, plus regular downpours every eight hours or so meant the bike wash was kept busy throughout the weekend. This did not damper the enthusiasm of the Jersey CCC team, though it did make some sections a little more interesting as tree roots became slippery and the grass down hills seemed to be made of glass. All the same the tyres kept on turning swallowing up the miles, hoping for return of the sun at dawn. After dark passed and dawn broke on Sunday unfortunately the sun seemed to have taken a day off and the team pedalled through an overcast day but at least it was dry.

As the race neared the finish everyone quicken their pace to try and squeeze one more lap in. When 2pm Sunday arrived the floodgates opened and all riders pedalled furiously for the finish flag. It was all over for another year,but it was well worth the aches and pains and the stories to be told on the way home.

The Jersey CCC team of Colin Malzard, Ian Lelai (aka Skip Rat), Simon Stead and Andy Hull rode a total of 27 laps to come 9th out of a field 264 teams in the Men’s Sport Class.and 21st overall out of 650 teams taking part in the event, Scott UK won the Men’s Elite Class with Nick Craig as Captain. It was Scott UK’s 6th victory and they rode 34 laps and took the prize money.