About this design
In terms of the number of events time trials dominate the UK racing scene. This is likely to be a result of the National Cycling Union - now British Cycling - being submissive in the late 19th century. They agreed to ban mass start cycle racing in the face of a threat of formal legislation to do the same. This ban was only lifted in the 1960's but the legacy of requiring Police permission to hold a mass start road race on public roads persists. The Road Time Trials Council, founded in the early 20th century provided a competitive racing outlet but was a secret society. Crucially no Police permission is/was required for time trials, in my view this is the reason why there are so many more of them than there are mass start races. For more on this go to Dave Moulton's blog on the subject. Time trials typically start at the crack of dawn, people with normal habits would hardly know such races are being run. The picture - courtesy of Phil O'Connor's 21 Years of Cycling Photography- perfectly captures a typical time trialing scene: on the road alone on a misty, likely cool. morning, deprived of sleep. Even 10 miles can seem like a very long way while you are engaged in such an effort.