Luckless Cox left in limbo

Looking to book his place by making the top 10 at the RTTC National 10-Mile Championship in Bournemouth last weekend, the time-trial specialist produced a promising ride only for a timing gear failure to leave him and many others in agonising suspense.

Results remain unavailable more than three days later, with no guarantee organisers can salvage accurate data.

Last month’s qualifying bid at the National 25 also fell to a factor beyond his control – a traffic tailback that affected only a handful of cyclists – and so the frustration of a rider who has trained so hard towards Birmingham 2022 is understandable.

‘It’s the second time in a row that it’s gone the wrong way, which is really annoying,’ he said.

‘I can’t really do much about it. There’s nothing I have done that has caused the problem, which is good.’

Indeed, Cox is in excellent shape and currently holds the Guernsey record for 10 miles, having ridden 19min. 41.3sec. on local soil in June.

The record was previously shared by former professional James McLaughlin and Cox’s similarly swift rival, Seb Tremlett.

Tremlett, who also competed in Bournemouth, had already secured his own Commonwealths place by finishing seventh at the National 25.

‘To my mind, I think the best thing they can do is re-run the event,’ Cox added over fears that it would be difficult to provide results without guesswork.

‘It’s a whole season’s worth of training and I have not got a time for it.’

Event organisers are hoping to release an update over the next day or two.