Update

I've had a few races since my last blog, with varying degrees of success. I won't bore you with long drawn out reports from each race but here is a short summary from each!!

Wednesday 28th March - Newbury RC 10 Mile TT
Won this event on course H10/3A in a time of 21:24, very ver pleased with this as put serious time into some strong riders and took the win by 40 seconds from Pete Weir (Banjo Cycles), with Ian Greenstreet (Newbury RC) a further 10 seconds back.

Sunday 1st April - Ham Hill Road Race
Got in the first break of the day that only managed to stay away for 15 miles, team-mate Alec Baskaya got into the main break of the day to take a well earned 8th, meanwhile I finished in the bunch. Legs felt good for this race, just didn't go with the right break! Such is life!

Wednesday 4th April - Ray Martin Memorial League Round 1
Portsmouth is usually a happy hunting ground for me as it suits me attacking, powerful style of riding. Today I attacked far too much for my own good, but nothing I forged managed to stick. A group of 4 managed to take a lap on the bunch so the sprint was for 5th place. Due mainly to good positioning and timing I managed to take 8th in the race so a few more points towards the cat 1 licence!

Friday 6th April - Castle Combe Easter Classic
Our first race with all the team present in 2012 kit was a great occasion and a great race. Okay so none of us placed in the points, but we made our presence felt with Alec and myself prominent in various breaks, while Fred and Rob stuck it near the front for the whole race. 45 miles with an average speed over 27 mph, so a fairly rapid race!! Good to race as a team and looking forward to getting some results with the boys!

Sunday 8th April - RTTC Rudy Project Round 2
One of my main aims for the year is to win the Espoir (Under 23) category in the Rudy Project Time Trial Series. So I may have been the only Espoir on the startsheet for this particular event... But I am confident I could have given any under-23 a run for their money on Sunday. The course was a technical one with various sharp bends, long drags, and wet roads to make it more interesting. I paced my ride badly, riding the last 5 miles with little energy left in the tank, but still managed a respectable 45:19 for the 20 mile course, taking 4th overall, 3m40s down on multiple national champion, Michael Hutchinson (In-Gear Quickvit RT). Very happy with that, and I am now sitting joint 1st in the standings for the espoir series... A lead I don't intend to relinquish to anybody!

Wednesday 11th April - Ray Martin Memorial League Round 2
Once again I arrived at Portmsouth keen to impress, and gain a few more points towards my first cat licence. The 20 minute hailstorm put a slight 'dampener' on things, but nevertheless it was mainly dry by the start of the race. We started fast as is often the case at Mountbatten, and before long I found myself in an early break with Justin Hoy (Felt) and a strong rider from Primera-Specialized. We pulled out around 15 seconds on the bunch and held it for about 10 minutes, before the hard-working pack reeled us back in. More attacks came and went but the decisive move came after around 25 minutes when I, along with 4 others gapped the peloton, soon to be joined by 4 more riders, creating a 9-strong break that worked hard for 20 minutes to eventually lap the field and rejoin the bunch. My tactic was get in, get out, meaning I attacked again as soon as we passed the bunch. This caused a large split of about half the field, however as 5-laps to go was signalled it all came back together for the sprint. I was way too far back with 2 to go, but made good ground and ended up sprinting in about 8th, but some riders in front of me were lapped so I think I was about 5th/6th in the race. Great to get into the winning break and really good to feel some form in my legs. More points, more recognition and most importantly GREAT FUN!

Next race is the Noel Jones Memorial RR on Sunday with the boys from the team, I may also do a local TT tomorrow evening if my legs hold up after the morning ride!

Ciao.