IT was worth waiting for the Southend Wheelers Easter Egg Cup 20-mile time trial for professional rider Simon Alexander.

The Tilbury cyclist overcame gear selection problems and won the event in 20.02 minutes despite only having three gears available.

The race had been scheduled for Easter but was postponed due to the storms that battered the country in April.

It was still blustery when the Richardsons-Trek rider and more than 30 other riders from Essex and Kent clubs contested the course on the A128 at Bulphan.

Southend Wheelers’ Chris Smith was Alexander’s closest challenger, clocking 23:40 on his way to lift the club’s Easter Egg Cup.

The close-fought Veteran class saw Barry Simpson establishing a personal best (PB) of 24:05 just four seconds ahead of Peter Stiff, with Martin Sutton just 35 seconds shy of Stiff’s time.

Rising track star, Katie-Ann Elliston also set a PB of 27:07 and was the club’s fastest Female and Juvenile class rider.

One of the highlights of the event was the sight of Russell Whitford, riding a mountain bike, setting a blisteringly quick 26.53.

Unsurprisingly, Whitford now leads the club’s Fat Tyre category and beat Jamie Maidment’s previous best of 28.53 over the same distance.

A strong representation from East Essex Triathlon Club saw some excellent performances posted by their eight-strong contingent.

Ian George’s 24.36 gave him the bragging rights among his club-mates, while Sinead Clark’s 26.38 drew praise and admiration from the entire field.

For more information on Southend Wheeler go to www.southendwheelers.org.