Michael Hutchinson is in great form pre-Worlds (Photo: Larry Hickmott – www.velouk.net)
New Irish National Time Trial (TT) Champion Michael Hutchinson is ramping up very nicely for his first appearance for Ireland at next month’s World Championships, having clocked a record time of 17:45 in a 10mile test in Britain at the weekend.
Hutchinson (In Gear Quickvit RT) clocked the time at the Team Swift 10 on Sunday in East Yorkshire. He was 12 seconds quicker than his previous personal best of 17:57, which was the old British record and was set in 2010.
While the Northern Irish rider has since declared for Ireland, his quicker time on Sunday looks set to be accepted as a new official Irish record and as the new British record.
In order for Hutchinson’s time to become the Irish record he needs to submit it to Cycling Ireland for formal ratification. The association accepts for consideration times by Irish riders posted overseas.
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The time will also become a British record because TT records there are ratified by ‘Cycling Time Trials’, the national governing body of time trials in England and Wales. It operates on an all-comers basis meaning times by foreign riders on British roads are eligible for the record books.
Hutchinson is a dual Irish and British passport holder by virtue of being from Northern Ireland. He was born in Belfast and lived there until his early 20s.
He then moved to Britain for college and while his parents still live in Co Down, he has long settled in the Britain and is currently based in London. He has always raced there under a British licence.
However, last year he switched to an Irish coded licence meaning he could ride the Irish national championships – as he did last year before this year’s win – and is also now eligible to ride for Ireland.
Now aged 38-years, he has been selected to ride the TT at the World Championships in Valkenburg next month, where he will have three-time Olympian David McCann for the company as the only other Irish man in the test.
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