The Knutsford Great Race takes place only every 10 years, and is exclusively for penny farthing bicycles. Individuals, and tag-teams, cycle round a 900 metre loop in the centre of town over three hours, the winners being the ones who complete the most laps.
Over 100 competitors started this year's race, with some entrants coming from Europe, USA, Canada and New Zealand, as well as those closer to home. Some ride antique Victorian penny farthings, whilst others ride reproduction and modern ones with carbon-fibre wheels. Some choose to compete in old fashioned clothing, and there is a variety of standards, from experts to novices.
The race was originally scheduled to be run in 2020, ten years after the previous race, but was postponed to this year.
Most of this video was filmed around an hour, to an hour and 10 minutes into the race. Hopefully I've captured most competitors, except some of those who are taking part as tag-teams.
The final clip features riders number 52 and 54, Richard Thoday, and Roger Davies, who were, at the time I recorded this, neck-a-neck with each other, and in the lead by two clear laps over the rest of the field. Roger Davies went on to win, completing 77 laps in the three hours, finishing with a gap of just over 3 minutes to Richard Thoday. Both riders were 7 laps ahead of their nearest rivals. Melissa Eisdell, rider 44, was the leading female finisher, completing 61 laps. The tag-team winners were Essex Original Riders, wearing race number 78, completing 72 laps.
9 сен 2023
