LOCAL cyclists have been paying tribute to a member of the North Hampshire Road Club who died following a collision with a van during a club time trial event on the A31 at Bentley on Wednesday last week.

It is a tragedy that has galvanised the cycling community into defending their sport. Many clubs use the A31 for time trialling – a race against the clock – and have done, according to Alton Cycling Club (ACC), for as long as members can remember. Yet this is the first known fatality of a rider involved in a club time trial on this stretch of road.

Lee Martin, 48, was cycling along the Farnham-bound carriageway of the A31, just north of the Bentley slip road, when he was in collision with a white Ford Transit van travelling in the same direction. He was taken to hospital but died later from his injuries.

Police have bailed a 29-year-old man from Alton, who was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. He is on bail to December 18, pending further enquiries.

Both sections of the A31 near Bentley were closed while emergency services responded to the incident, and the Surrey-bound carriageway remained closed until the early hours of Thursday for close examination of the accident scene.

A father-of-two from Basingstoke, Lee Martin’s family are in a state of shock. They said: “Lee’s sudden death has been a terrible shock and we are all devastated. He will be sorely missed by his family, including his wife, Jo, and two daughters. He was a protective and loyal husband, father, son and brother.

“Big Lee will be missed by many friends and family members, but he will never be forgotten.”

Described as a “popular member” of the North Hampshire Road Club (NHRC), fellow members recall how Lee first turned up at the club for a Sunday morning ride and “had to be pushed most of the way round, being fed energy bars and gels.”

He was “distinctly overweight, a smoker, and enjoyed getting stuck into a drinking session – just about everything you don’t need as a competitive cyclist” – but he came back the following week for more.

Admired for his tenacity, Lee upped his training, throwing himself into club activities and improving his fitness until he became “the guy to beat.”

He recently completed the Prudential London 100 in an impressive five hours, and having been through the learning and development process, had also turned his hand to mentoring and encouraging new riders.

NHRC press secretary Barry Tooke wrote: “Lee was a top bloke; a really powerful rider, and a good-natured mickey-taker. The world is a poorer place without him, he’ll be remembered well.”

This week’s club time trial was cancelled to allow members to walk to the bridge near the scene of the collision and to pay tribute to Lee.

Commenting on the safety issues following this tragedy, both NHRC and ACC still believe the A31 is safe for time trialling. All club time trials are risk assessed by Cycling Time Trials (CTT), the controlling body that supervises individual and team time trials in England and Wales.

For ACC the season runs from April to September, with Thursday evening trials from 7pm to avoid the rush hour and remain in good light, with around 20 riders setting off at one-minute intervals to ride the 10 miles from the layby on the Farnham side of Bentley bridge, south to the Holy-bourne roundabout, and back to just past The Bull.

NHRC members do a similar thing on Wednesday evenings as, according to ACC chairman, Mike Hayward, do a number of other clubs from as far afield as Newbury, Reading, Farnham and West London, with an estimated 3,000 riders a year using the road for 10 to 100-mile trials.

It is, said Dr Hayward, a practice that has enabled Britain to produce cyclists like Olympic gold medalist, Sir Bradley Wiggins.

While ACC’s time trial went ahead last Thursday, following consultation with the police, it began with a minute’s silence in memory of Lee, and expressions of deep sympathy for his bereaved family and friends.

ACC is in accord with NHRC in believing that the A31 is a relatively safe road for cyclists, being wide and fairly straight, affording good visibility for motorists and plenty of space to pass. For trialling, cyclists wear high visibility safety gear and are encouraged to use flashing rear lights; and there are warning signs and marshals en route.

Mr Tooke said: “The accident involving Lee was totally random and could have happened to anyone. The section where the accident happened was not even mentioned in the CTT risk assessment, as it was considered below low risk – conditions on the night of the accident were ideal and visibility was excellent.”

l An appeal has been launched by Hampshire Constabulary’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit for any information regarding the accident – call Eastleigh police station on 101 quoting Operation Realm.