Bermudian blows away opposition

ANN BOWDITCH claimed Guernsey's first medal of the 2005 NatWest Island Games but it was not the colour she had hoped for. The golden girl at her home Games two years ago, Bowditch had to settle for bronze in yesterday's 25-mile time trial.

'It is a tough one to come in as champion and lose that, but it was a fair result and at least it is a medal,' said the rider.

The course took the competitors from the bottom of the picturesque Tingwall valley, north over the rolling countryside to the village of Voe and back.

The Guernsey contingent of three women and five men found it testing.

'It was a very tough course and it was a pretty tough day with the wind as well, although it was a lot warmer than I expected,' said Bowditch.

'It was very lumpy, very undulating - more so than I expected it to be. From the DVD we had seen, sent to us by the organisers, I expected it to be flatter, not that it made any difference to the result. It was pretty windy as well and the roads were rough.

Bowditch clocked 1hr 8min. 21sec. and was some way behind winner Lynn Patchett, of Bermuda.

The gold medallist completed the course in an outstanding time of 1-03-53.

'It was a very impressive performance. I knew she was a class act from when she came to Guernsey. She has set an excellent standard and it is something for the rest of us to aspire to,' Bowditch said.

Sonia Dean performed admirably in clocking 1-15-36.2 to finish 11th while Caroline Wickham had horrid misfortune on the first incline when her chain came off. She did well to recover and finished ninth in 1-13-24.6.

The Sarnian men did not manage to reach the podium and there were mixed emotions at the end.

Games debutant Tobyn Horton said he was 'fairly chuffed' with his showing of 1-06-13.6

'I am pretty happy with the time. I did a lot better than I thought,' he said.

'It was a hilly course so you had to get your pace right. If you push it too hard up the hills, you do not have anything left at the top, but then you don't want to take it too easy on the climbs either.

'You cannot train for it because the hills are completely different to what we have back home; it is a different terrain and a harsh road surface.

'The hills were not the steepest but they just drag on, especially on the way back after the turn because we were into a headwind. You just had to sit and push as hard as possible.'

Horton's confidence is growing now ahead of his other two events, the road race on Wednesday and Friday's criterium.

'So far it has been good and I am looking forward to Wednesday and Friday,' he said.

Jersey's Sam Firby claimed bronze in the men's event in which Graham Le Maitre led in the Sarnian contingent, placing 11th.