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Thomas Lee (Team Bottrill) delivered a stellar performance at the Sotonia Cycling Club Falling Leaves 10 on Saturday, clinching victory in the open category with a blazing 17:58, breaking the 18-minute barrier. This result propelled him to the top of the 2025 Short Distance British Best All-Rounder (BBAR) competition. Melanie Sneddon (TORQ Performance) also made headlines, setting a new women’s course record with a time of 21:18 as the fastest female rider.
Lee outpaced his Team Bottrill teammates Rob Francis and Jake Sargent, as well as Gabe Dellar (Primera-Teamjobs), who finished second in 18:15. Francis took third in 18:18, followed by Sargent in fourth with 18:36. Lee’s sub-18-minute ride was pivotal, surpassing the 18:20 he needed to match current BBAR leader James Jenkins (Hart Performance Coaching). With this performance, Lee is now the champion-elect in the Short Distance BBAR, which calculates average speed across 10, 25, 50, and 100-mile events.
The Team Bottrill trio—Sargent, Lee, and Francis—entered the weekend ranked second, third, and fourth, respectively, all chasing Jenkins, the 2024 runner-up. While Sargent and Francis fell short of the times needed to overtake Jenkins (17:57 and 17:33, respectively), Lee’s 17:58 has all but secured the title. Sargent and Francis still have a chance to improve their standings at the upcoming Welsh Championship 50 on the fast R50/1B course in Abergavenny on September 27.
Lee, who transitioned from middle-distance running to cycling, has had a remarkable breakout year. His notable results include fifth at the Circuit Champs, fourth at the 100-mile event, third at the 50-mile event, second at the 25-mile event, and the National 10 title. Reflecting on his win, Lee said:
“It is not exactly my local 10! I made the trip to Andover to try and improve my position in the short distance BBAR - which I think I've won now! This was good competition with Jake and Rob also looking at getting a fast 10 for the same reason, motivating me to push on for my first sub-18 min performance. I can't complain with the weather; blue skies in September and nice low wind, although it was a bit nippy. In the Short BBAR, James Jenkins set a really strong benchmark earlier in the season by early August, but I've just been chipping away at my personal bests since then so I just needed to get it right today to finish it off.”
In the women’s category, Melanie Sneddon (TORQ Performance) marked her first open time trial of the year with a commanding 21:18, securing both the win and a new women’s course record. She outpaced Kim Barfoot-Brace (Team Bottrill), who took second in 21:48, and Chris Murray (Army Cycling), who finished third in 21:56. Sneddon commented:
“This was my only open time trial of the year, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from the legs after focusing more on the track recently. The course was excellent, the conditions favourable, and I’m delighted to come away with both the win and the course record. My thanks to Sotonia for organising such a well-run event.”
Jacob Crossley (CGC) claimed the fastest open road bike time with 21:46, while Bexy Dew (Army Cycling) won the female road bike category in 24:08. In the tandem category, Ian Greenstreet (Newbury Velo) and Rachael Elliott (Newbury Velo) posted a provisional national age record of 19:39. Jymmy Trevor Trike (City RC (Hull)) led the tricycle category with a time of 23:23.
The Falling Leaves 10 was held on the P612/10 course, a dual carriageway out-and-back route starting south of Picket Twenty. Riders headed southeast on the A303 through Bransbury to Bullington Cross, where they turned to retrace the route, finishing at the A303 slip road. Favourable conditions, with blue skies and low wind, contributed to the fast times recorded.
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