There were only three seconds between Steve Maile and Simon Pitchford at the top of the leaderboard at the end of the Place2Place yesterday. 

The morning started with oodles of sunshine at the top of Folksworth hill. Despite the brightness there was still a seasonal chill in the air and stiff wind which would hamper the riders all the way down into the Nene Valley at Oundle. 

The return might have been all up hill past the Olive Grove and out of Polebrook but there was definitely more pace about all competitors as they went through the finish line for the first time and out on to the local lap to Morborne. The trek across Folksworth and out to the transmitter were the biggest headwind of the race and it was there that a number of competitors lost time over their rivals. 

Once back up to Washingley crossroads it was all out for the last 3km before topping the climb for a second and final time. 

Despite the windy conditions there were a good number of riders under the hour for the 34km (or 21 miles), which is fantastic when you consider there is nearly 300 metres of elevation on the route. 

On behalf of all the riders, I would like to thank the marshalls who gave up their Sunday morning to ensure there was a race.