The Wiggins of Wycombe (From Bucks Free Press)

Topham in line for British title

9:21am Wednesday 12th September 2012 in Sport By Alan Feldberg

HIGH Wycombe cyclist Adam Topham is on the verge of being crowned the best all-round cyclist in Britain.

Only a miraculous performance from one of his closest rivals later this month will deny him the title of British Best All-Rounder after he put together a series of stunning rides over 50 miles, 100 miles and 12 hours during the course of the season.

Topham has set personal bests and clubs records over each distance this year to lead the BBAR time trial competition, a season-long, UK-wide event based on the best average speeds over those distances.

At 50 miles he produced a staggering 1.38.16 in Shaftsbury, in the Hounslow 100 he recorded 3.37.51 seconds and to cap off his average he covered 306 miles in the 12-hour test for an average speed of 25mph.

Incredibly, his distance beat the previous national record by five miles and set his average speed over the three disciplines at more than 27mph.

However, despite that he still needed a slice of luck to take control of the BBAR.

His closest rival Andy Wilkinson was poised to take over the lead last weekend, but his last chance evaporated when the BDCA 100-mile event in Derby was cancelled because of an accident.

Meanwhile, High Wycombe Cycling Club team-mate Jonathan Shubert has also been in fine form with a 50-mile time of 1.42.20, a 100-mile time of 3.50.43 and a 12-hour distance of 294 miles.

That earned him an average speed of 26.6mph, placing him fourth in the BBAR this year and second best in Wycombe’s history behind Topham.