AFTER a disappointing race at the National Marathon Champs at Margam Park, where he finished third, Pete Turnbull was back to winning ways at the Bristol Bike Fest.
After a weekend of sweltering heat at Margam Park, the course at Ashton Court just outside Bristol was almost a wash out.
Heavy rain all weekend left the course with a thick layer of mud when the six hour race started on Sunday morning, which suited the Abergavenny RC rider who always performs well in wet conditions.
Turnbull had originally entered the pairs race with fellow Abergavenny RC rider George Rose, but illness forced Rose to withdraw the day before leaving Turnbull no option but to ride solo.
The 9.2 km course at Ashton Court is one of the most technical race loops in the country, with roots and rocks making the winding single-track all the more treacherous for the riders. For the first three hours, Turnbull recorded 33 minute laps but as the course dried out the mud became particularly sticky and the latter part of the course proved to be ever more difficult to ride.
Lap times slowed to 36-37 minutes, but by this time the Abergavenny rider was already a lap ahead in the vets race and over 10 minutes ahead of all the solo riders in the open category. By the end of the race, Turnbull had completed 10 laps, two laps ahead of his nearest rivals in the vets race, and had beat all the younger riders by over 12 minutes.