Good afternoon!
2 events to update you on today, firstly the West London Cycling Association 25 Mile TT on Sunday, and then a circuit race in Portsmouth on Wednesday.
The TT was on the H25/2 course, not a very fast course, but aided by a 1 mile downhill slope at the start. My main aim was to beat my previous PB of 56:48, but knew this should be easy and aimed at going under 55 minutes, as a slightly stretch target. Conditions were extrememly good with the sun shining and only a slight breeze in the air, I started strongly and kept my average speed up above 30mph for the first 4 miles, then I hit the tricky section of the course on badly surfaced roads, I slowed up dramatically, and the average speed was dropping. Nonetheless I reached the turn in good time and had my 2-minute man in sight, I caught him about 2 miles after the turn and powered on down the course. The last 5 miles heads back onto the dual-carriageway section of the course, and I always aim to make up time on this part, which is exactly what happened this time. The last 5 miles my speed didn't drop under 30mph, and as I powered for the home I knew I was on for a good time. After pedalling very slowly back to HQ I found out that I had crossed the line in 54:21, a huge personal best for me and a great success. I ended up coming 5th place out of 80 riders in the event, even putting 2 minutes into Olympic Champion Rower James Cracknell!! Very happy with my performance on Sunday, and hoping to take yet more time off that when I venture to Wales in a couple of weeks.
Check out the results here
Wednesday evening saw me re-visit the scene of last weeks victory, Portsmouth. With 3 Zappi riders in the category 3/4 race, Chris, Mike and I were hoping to make something happen in this race by working together. Our tactic was to attack from the start-line, all three of us, which is exactly what we did... only to be told to slow down and wait for the others because it was 'unfair' to attack from the gun. Right. So we tried again, the next 5 minutes saw futile attacks from the 3 of us all coming to nothing as we were immediately chased down by the bunch. But after 5 minutes I attacked hard, immediately pulled out a large gap over the bunch. I was joined by Joe Holloway of VC10 and we worked well together for 3 laps before Joe dropped off, unable to keep the pace high. I was on my own for the next 2 laps before a rider from Hargroves Cycles joined me, he also lasted about 3 laps and soon I was all alone, on the limit, with about half a lap of a lead. The next 20 minutes went by so slowly and I was eeking out a slightly larger advantage every lap, but painfully slowly, and with about two thirds of a laps advantage I began to suffer on the headwind section along the back of the circuit. Nevertheless I kept my speed high and slowly got the bunch into my sights. Mike and Chris had been working hard to stall the chase and not let any attempted breaks get away, doing a sterling job between the two of them, even if Mike ended up being man-marked by a larger than life rider from Southampton Road Club. With the bunch now well within my sights I just kept my rhythm and edged slowly towards the group, with about 50 metres of a gap left, Chris dropped out the back and helped pace me back up to the bunch. We rejoined the bunch and shook hands, knowing that unless I crashed or punctured, I had won the race. I had lapped the peloton on my own after 20 minutes of using every bit of my timetrialling ability! I was so happy, but knew now that the team could get much more out of this, I sat in an recovered for 10 minutes before moving up to the front to try and talk to Mike and Chris about what to do next, Chris soon shot off the front with 3 other guys, whilst me and Mike stalled the bunch by sitting slowly on the front, Chris's group soon had a healthy advantage, and once we knew they would stay away, I sat on the front with Mike in my wheel, setting up for the bunch sprint. with 2 laps to go I wound the pace up high to well over 30mph with Mike sitting comfortably in second wheel, and as we got the bell on the final lap I kicked hard and gave everything I had to this lead out, with a third of a lap left, one guy came past us and Mike surged for the line, taking second in the sprint and 7th overall. Meanwhile up ahead, turns out that Chris had managed to outsprint his 3 breakaway companions to take 2nd place too. A brilliant night and one that I won't forget for a long time. We got a lot of recognition after the race from other riders who had clearly been impressed by how we bossed the race and came away with fantastic results. By winning the race I have also earned my 2nd category racing licence, so next week I will be racing with the elites! Proper racing, hard racing, fun racing!! The results are here
What made this weeks win so much more satisfying than last week was that it was far more emphatic, and the team had worked together to earn it. We got a taste of what can happen when we work together, definately good signs for a strong team in 2012!!
Next up, Neil Gardner Memorial Road Race on Sunday.
Ciao!
Friday, 5 August 2011
Thursday, 28 July 2011
3 events - 2 wins and a 2nd place
I have been doing a lot of riding this week, including racing on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, amongst some longer rides in the mornings!
Tuesday evening was the annual Bicester Millenium CC 9-up Team Time Trial, held at Weston on the Green airfield. This event is always well attended by the local clubs and is fiercely competitive! We went in to the event as somewhat of a dark horse, the team consisted of a team of road-men who had very little TT experience, apart from myself and a couple of others. We were all on our road bikes, which set us at a slight disadvantage to those boys in full TT kit, however this can be cancelled by good teamwork, and a steady pace that all riders can maintain.
We started the event fast, I led the team out and got us up to speed with Sam Parker following my wheel and setting a high pace for the first half a lap. The whole team looked good and for the first 2 laps we stayed together and worked like a well oiled machine, everyone was digging deep on the front. It was clear that some riders were tiring in lap 3 as a couple of riders dropped out having done their bit to great effect! Our lap splits were looking good and we were on for a fast time, as we rounded the final bend I hit the front and emptied my legs. We had finished with 6 riders and in a time of 21.53, a fantastic time with an average speed of 27.5mph. We had somehow managed to sneak into 2nd place behind VC10 who won with a time about 20 seconds faster then us, in full TT kit. Our whole team was ecstatic with our performance, a great team effort.
Wednesday evening saw me travel down with Mike 'the climber' Betts and James 'I did not touch that child' Jones. We arrived early and watched the youths racing, it was inspiring to watch two 7-8 year olds riding a very tactical race on their tiny little bikes, after 3 track stands, 2 mini attacks which were brought back by the fast moving 1 man peloton, it came down to the bunch sprint and as they rounded the final bend, one guy took off and took the win, the 2nd place rider didn't even feel it necessary to cross the line! Seriously great to see boys enjoying racing from such a young age!
I was racing the cat 3/4 race, it started slowly with nobody wanting to show their cards too early but after a couple of laps people started attacking, I followed a few breaks and chased them down, not wanting anyone to get away too early. More futile attacks went off the front in the first half an hour, including 4 attacks from me, once gaining about a 3rd of a lap before realising I was getting closed down. Finally with 15 minutes left, I edged off the front of the group to counter attack a break that had just been brought back, I bridged across to the one guy who had attacked 2 laps earlier. We worked well together and soon pulled out a gap of half a lap, and held it consistently by working hard, although I could see that my couterpart was beginning to get tired as the speeds dropped dramatically when he hit the front, nevertheless he gave me a rest and helped us stay away from the bunch. When we got the signal for 3 laps to go, it was clear that we had it in the bag, and as we passed the bell on the final lap I sprinted away from the other rider and took the win by about 50 metres, with the bunch following about 300 metres behind. I crossed the line with my arms aloft and pointed to my Zappi's jersey. I was over the moon with my performance, 10 points in the bag and now only 8 points away from that elusive 2nd cat licence!
Thursday evening was the Didcot Phoenix 2-up time trial and I turned up without a partner, but eventually ended up riding with Mark Cox of Fairly United CT. The course was H10/15, not a fast course by any means. We started steadily down a bumpy road and once we hit the good surface we unloaded our legs, pushing round the 10 mile course fast and working well together, we eventually crossed the line in a time of 21.34, taking the win by some 40 seconds. Another win to top off a succesful week of racing!!
A great week, and I'm very happy with how I rode in my races. This Sunday brings an open 25 mile TT in Marlow, and next week I head back to portsmouth to try and wrap up my 2nd cat licence and/or help Mike Betts get his licence too!!
Ciao!
Tuesday evening was the annual Bicester Millenium CC 9-up Team Time Trial, held at Weston on the Green airfield. This event is always well attended by the local clubs and is fiercely competitive! We went in to the event as somewhat of a dark horse, the team consisted of a team of road-men who had very little TT experience, apart from myself and a couple of others. We were all on our road bikes, which set us at a slight disadvantage to those boys in full TT kit, however this can be cancelled by good teamwork, and a steady pace that all riders can maintain.
We started the event fast, I led the team out and got us up to speed with Sam Parker following my wheel and setting a high pace for the first half a lap. The whole team looked good and for the first 2 laps we stayed together and worked like a well oiled machine, everyone was digging deep on the front. It was clear that some riders were tiring in lap 3 as a couple of riders dropped out having done their bit to great effect! Our lap splits were looking good and we were on for a fast time, as we rounded the final bend I hit the front and emptied my legs. We had finished with 6 riders and in a time of 21.53, a fantastic time with an average speed of 27.5mph. We had somehow managed to sneak into 2nd place behind VC10 who won with a time about 20 seconds faster then us, in full TT kit. Our whole team was ecstatic with our performance, a great team effort.
Wednesday evening saw me travel down with Mike 'the climber' Betts and James 'I did not touch that child' Jones. We arrived early and watched the youths racing, it was inspiring to watch two 7-8 year olds riding a very tactical race on their tiny little bikes, after 3 track stands, 2 mini attacks which were brought back by the fast moving 1 man peloton, it came down to the bunch sprint and as they rounded the final bend, one guy took off and took the win, the 2nd place rider didn't even feel it necessary to cross the line! Seriously great to see boys enjoying racing from such a young age!
I was racing the cat 3/4 race, it started slowly with nobody wanting to show their cards too early but after a couple of laps people started attacking, I followed a few breaks and chased them down, not wanting anyone to get away too early. More futile attacks went off the front in the first half an hour, including 4 attacks from me, once gaining about a 3rd of a lap before realising I was getting closed down. Finally with 15 minutes left, I edged off the front of the group to counter attack a break that had just been brought back, I bridged across to the one guy who had attacked 2 laps earlier. We worked well together and soon pulled out a gap of half a lap, and held it consistently by working hard, although I could see that my couterpart was beginning to get tired as the speeds dropped dramatically when he hit the front, nevertheless he gave me a rest and helped us stay away from the bunch. When we got the signal for 3 laps to go, it was clear that we had it in the bag, and as we passed the bell on the final lap I sprinted away from the other rider and took the win by about 50 metres, with the bunch following about 300 metres behind. I crossed the line with my arms aloft and pointed to my Zappi's jersey. I was over the moon with my performance, 10 points in the bag and now only 8 points away from that elusive 2nd cat licence!
Thursday evening was the Didcot Phoenix 2-up time trial and I turned up without a partner, but eventually ended up riding with Mark Cox of Fairly United CT. The course was H10/15, not a fast course by any means. We started steadily down a bumpy road and once we hit the good surface we unloaded our legs, pushing round the 10 mile course fast and working well together, we eventually crossed the line in a time of 21.34, taking the win by some 40 seconds. Another win to top off a succesful week of racing!!
A great week, and I'm very happy with how I rode in my races. This Sunday brings an open 25 mile TT in Marlow, and next week I head back to portsmouth to try and wrap up my 2nd cat licence and/or help Mike Betts get his licence too!!
Ciao!
Sunday, 24 July 2011
23rd/24th July
Hey all,
This weekend I had two events planned, the Oxonion CC 10 Mile Time Trial on H10/17R, and the Bath RC Junior Road Race.
The time trial on the Saturday was planned as a potential qualifying ride for the Junior Best British All Rounder competition, this competition takes into account the two fastest 10 and 25 mile time trials in open events during the course of the season, the winner is the rider who has the highest calculated average speed. The H10/17R is one of the faster local courses, but the wind was strong so there were to be no super fast times. Having seen the conditions I set my sights on a sub 22 minute ride, which would be tough given the conditions, but not out of reach. I got to the start line just as my number was called, then with 30 seconds to go... my chain came off, I just managed to slip it back on with about 5 seconds to go, and set off on my way! A blistering tailwind on the way out meant my average speed was sky high, I reached the turn in about 12 minutes, with an average speed of just under 30mph. The shorter return leg was painful and slow, not helped by me feeling a sudden stomach ache for the last 10 minutes of the ride. It was a block headwind back, and my average speed was down to 25-26mph. I finished in a time of 21:48 with an average speed of 27.5mph, taking 9th place out of 80 finishers. The event was won by Tejvan Pettinger in a time of 20:14, a storming ride in hard conditions. Pleased with my performance, another top 10 in an open event, very happy!!
Sunday was the big race of the weekend, the Bath RC Junior Road Race, part of the 2011 Junior National Series. A 71 mile road race around the Stewkeley circuit, which consisted of a long drag up to the finish and a couple of other draggy climbs on the circuit. It was a glorious day which meant no arm warmers for the first time in a long while! The race consisted of some of the top junior riders in the country including Oli Rossi, Ali Slater, and national champion Dan Pearson. We started fast, and for the first lap I was feeling fatigued and weak, however by the end of the first lap I felt fully warmed up and strong! A large break went up the road on lap 1 consisting of about 10 riders, they soon established over a minute on the peloton and the chasing pack were making no inroads into the time gap. I made my way towards the front of the group and started working on the front with 5 other riders to try and close the gap, other riders chasing the break included Dan Pearson the national champion, and Brennan Townshend, 2nd placed rider in the Ras de Cymru. We chased hard for about 10 miles and eventually reeled in the breakaway halfway through lap 3. More riders soon attacked, and I settled back into the bunch whilst the race continued at high speed. At the start of the last lap there were 6 riders up the road with a substantial gap, and two chasers inbetween the bunch and the break. I shot off the front in an attempt to bridge the gap to the two chasers. I quickly pulled out about 300 metres on the bunch as nobody chased, but I couldn't reach the two chasers on my own and after about 10 minutes on my own I sat up and waited for the bunch. The rest of the race was ferociously fast, and I stayed near the front for the last lap, I soon found I was on the limit for the last lap and paid dearly in the uphill sprint for the line. I rolled over the line at the rear of the peloton. We finished the 71 mile race in 2h50m, with an average speed of 25.5mph. I was pleased with how I rode, and pleased with my effort to bridge the gap.
My legs are feeling super strong now ever since the Ras de Cymru, and hopefully my 2nd category licence will come within a few races.
Next weekend I have a 25 mile TT on H25/2 course in Marlow, aiming for an improvement of my pb of 56:48.
Ciao!
This weekend I had two events planned, the Oxonion CC 10 Mile Time Trial on H10/17R, and the Bath RC Junior Road Race.
The time trial on the Saturday was planned as a potential qualifying ride for the Junior Best British All Rounder competition, this competition takes into account the two fastest 10 and 25 mile time trials in open events during the course of the season, the winner is the rider who has the highest calculated average speed. The H10/17R is one of the faster local courses, but the wind was strong so there were to be no super fast times. Having seen the conditions I set my sights on a sub 22 minute ride, which would be tough given the conditions, but not out of reach. I got to the start line just as my number was called, then with 30 seconds to go... my chain came off, I just managed to slip it back on with about 5 seconds to go, and set off on my way! A blistering tailwind on the way out meant my average speed was sky high, I reached the turn in about 12 minutes, with an average speed of just under 30mph. The shorter return leg was painful and slow, not helped by me feeling a sudden stomach ache for the last 10 minutes of the ride. It was a block headwind back, and my average speed was down to 25-26mph. I finished in a time of 21:48 with an average speed of 27.5mph, taking 9th place out of 80 finishers. The event was won by Tejvan Pettinger in a time of 20:14, a storming ride in hard conditions. Pleased with my performance, another top 10 in an open event, very happy!!
Sunday was the big race of the weekend, the Bath RC Junior Road Race, part of the 2011 Junior National Series. A 71 mile road race around the Stewkeley circuit, which consisted of a long drag up to the finish and a couple of other draggy climbs on the circuit. It was a glorious day which meant no arm warmers for the first time in a long while! The race consisted of some of the top junior riders in the country including Oli Rossi, Ali Slater, and national champion Dan Pearson. We started fast, and for the first lap I was feeling fatigued and weak, however by the end of the first lap I felt fully warmed up and strong! A large break went up the road on lap 1 consisting of about 10 riders, they soon established over a minute on the peloton and the chasing pack were making no inroads into the time gap. I made my way towards the front of the group and started working on the front with 5 other riders to try and close the gap, other riders chasing the break included Dan Pearson the national champion, and Brennan Townshend, 2nd placed rider in the Ras de Cymru. We chased hard for about 10 miles and eventually reeled in the breakaway halfway through lap 3. More riders soon attacked, and I settled back into the bunch whilst the race continued at high speed. At the start of the last lap there were 6 riders up the road with a substantial gap, and two chasers inbetween the bunch and the break. I shot off the front in an attempt to bridge the gap to the two chasers. I quickly pulled out about 300 metres on the bunch as nobody chased, but I couldn't reach the two chasers on my own and after about 10 minutes on my own I sat up and waited for the bunch. The rest of the race was ferociously fast, and I stayed near the front for the last lap, I soon found I was on the limit for the last lap and paid dearly in the uphill sprint for the line. I rolled over the line at the rear of the peloton. We finished the 71 mile race in 2h50m, with an average speed of 25.5mph. I was pleased with how I rode, and pleased with my effort to bridge the gap.
My legs are feeling super strong now ever since the Ras de Cymru, and hopefully my 2nd category licence will come within a few races.
Next weekend I have a 25 mile TT on H25/2 course in Marlow, aiming for an improvement of my pb of 56:48.
Ciao!
Thursday, 21 July 2011
Update including Ras stages 3-6
Hey all,
Sorry not to have updated sooner, but I haven't had time to sit and write this for a while!!
Stage 3 of the Ras de Cymru was a tough 20 mile circuit that we covered 3 times, including one brutal climb that kicked to 20% at the top. The weather was awful with rain for the first 50 miles of the race, which made the long fast descent a bit tricky. The race started fast and I tried to stay up near the front and managed to stay with the main group after the first ascent of the hill. A 4 man breakaway soon went up the road and quickly established a solid lead over the main field, despite the hard work being done by the strong teams at the front. Second time up the climb I got distanced by about 200 metres at the top and had to use everything I had to get back on and work my way through the cars to the back of the peleton, luckily when descending on your own you can afford to take more risks and they paid off as I reached the rear of the bunch just as it flattened out, we then went full gas for the next 3-4 miles and I was really blowing, and knew I needed to recover before the final time up the climb... I couldn't, I got shot out the back and soon found myself in a 7-man chaingang of riders, we pushed so hard and in the last half hour of the race, I dug deeper than ever before and we managed to limit our losses to the fast moving bunch to under 1m30, a bloody good effort considering how 'on the limit' we all were! The stage was won by the breakaway, and Alex Peters of Eastern Region took the win, Mike and Henry managed to finish at the back of the main bunch so moved up to 42 and 47 respectively on the GC, I however had dropped to 54th, and the team were in 15th after stage 3. We hoped to make up some time with a good Team Time Trial in the afternoon.
The TTT was awful... We finished 2 minutes down on the winners, and all dropped places in the GC.
Stage 5 was the place to make up time on a tough hilly place to place course, it started with a long drag that never seemed to end, and at one point I found myself in a front group of about 20 riders and we had opened up a gap, however the chasing group caught us on the flat and the race came back together. The high pace though meant that riders were being shot out the back the whole way up the long climb. I felt good and fairly comfortable in the front group. A large break soon went up the road and pulled out around 2 minutes, the bunch contained defending champion Mike Smith of Team Corley. Adeo Cadence worked hard pulling the bunch along at a fast rate to look after the interests of Tavis Walker, however the break maintained their gap over the rest of the course, even though along a 10 mile stretch of flat dual carriageway, the bunch didn't slow much below 30mph for the whole stretch of road. We soon jumped off the DC and before long we were on the final run in and at the foot of the sharp climb to the finish, I was near the front and when Liam Stones of Corley Cycles attacked, I followed his wheel, but he was too strong and halfway up the climb I slipped backwards, and managed to finish just at the back of the front group. A succesful day in the saddle with Mike and Henry working hard to stay in the front group too, we jumped several teams in the Team GC and moved to 11th, we were all ecstatic. We all moved up in the GC too, I moved to 43rd and Henry/Mike were joint 38th on the exact same time after 5 stages!
Finally we had reached the last day of the race, stage 6 was a flattish course for most of the day with a long 4 mile climb to the finish. Nothing much happened in the run up to the foot of the mountain, although Nick Hinze had a breakthrough and found himself attacking off the front at one point, great to see him up there having suffered in the previous days. We hit the climb at pace and the sharp kick at the bottom split the group right up, I tried to stay in the wheel of Mike Betts, but he proved too strong and halfway up I cracked... ended up rolling in 55th on the day, with Nick Hinze doing a storming ride to finish ahead of me. We ended up consolidating 11th place on team GC, a great success. I finished 41st, Henry P 36th and Mike 32nd. Nick managed to move up to 79th, a respectable placing having worked his ass off for 5 days! Chapeau everyone. The stage was won by Mike Smith, who in turn took the General Classification for the 2nd year running!! Well done Mike. Brennan Townshend ended up 2nd, a great race from a young rider, definately a name to look for in the future. Third place went to Gruff Lewis. Adeo Cadence took the team standings, deservedly so, having ridden at the front for most of the 5 days.
All 4 Zappi riders left the race feeling happy with how we'd done, and raring to get back next year stronger and faster, ready to contend the GC and stage wins!
When I got back from the Ras I rested for a couple of days then did a 10 mile TT on the Wednesday, not a good idea. The position was all wrong on my new Cervelo P3, horridly uncomfortable... This coupled with my legs still feeling heavy meant I was over a minute down on my course best on the F11/10, only managing 21.38. Not a bad time, but I was bitterly dissapointed as I was hoping to get close to 19 minutes. Nevermind.
Yesterday I raced at Portsmouth, broke away multiple times, never stayed away, felt super strong and ended up taking 6th in the sprint. Today was a very wet 11.4 mile hilly time trial and I did no warm up, just sat in the car until my number was called! Managed to take the win by 1 second... not too bad!!
Next up is the H10/17R 10 mile TT on Saturday, followed by the Bath RC Junior Road Race as part of the national series on Sunday.
Until next time.
Ciao.
Sorry not to have updated sooner, but I haven't had time to sit and write this for a while!!
Stage 3 of the Ras de Cymru was a tough 20 mile circuit that we covered 3 times, including one brutal climb that kicked to 20% at the top. The weather was awful with rain for the first 50 miles of the race, which made the long fast descent a bit tricky. The race started fast and I tried to stay up near the front and managed to stay with the main group after the first ascent of the hill. A 4 man breakaway soon went up the road and quickly established a solid lead over the main field, despite the hard work being done by the strong teams at the front. Second time up the climb I got distanced by about 200 metres at the top and had to use everything I had to get back on and work my way through the cars to the back of the peleton, luckily when descending on your own you can afford to take more risks and they paid off as I reached the rear of the bunch just as it flattened out, we then went full gas for the next 3-4 miles and I was really blowing, and knew I needed to recover before the final time up the climb... I couldn't, I got shot out the back and soon found myself in a 7-man chaingang of riders, we pushed so hard and in the last half hour of the race, I dug deeper than ever before and we managed to limit our losses to the fast moving bunch to under 1m30, a bloody good effort considering how 'on the limit' we all were! The stage was won by the breakaway, and Alex Peters of Eastern Region took the win, Mike and Henry managed to finish at the back of the main bunch so moved up to 42 and 47 respectively on the GC, I however had dropped to 54th, and the team were in 15th after stage 3. We hoped to make up some time with a good Team Time Trial in the afternoon.
The TTT was awful... We finished 2 minutes down on the winners, and all dropped places in the GC.
Stage 5 was the place to make up time on a tough hilly place to place course, it started with a long drag that never seemed to end, and at one point I found myself in a front group of about 20 riders and we had opened up a gap, however the chasing group caught us on the flat and the race came back together. The high pace though meant that riders were being shot out the back the whole way up the long climb. I felt good and fairly comfortable in the front group. A large break soon went up the road and pulled out around 2 minutes, the bunch contained defending champion Mike Smith of Team Corley. Adeo Cadence worked hard pulling the bunch along at a fast rate to look after the interests of Tavis Walker, however the break maintained their gap over the rest of the course, even though along a 10 mile stretch of flat dual carriageway, the bunch didn't slow much below 30mph for the whole stretch of road. We soon jumped off the DC and before long we were on the final run in and at the foot of the sharp climb to the finish, I was near the front and when Liam Stones of Corley Cycles attacked, I followed his wheel, but he was too strong and halfway up the climb I slipped backwards, and managed to finish just at the back of the front group. A succesful day in the saddle with Mike and Henry working hard to stay in the front group too, we jumped several teams in the Team GC and moved to 11th, we were all ecstatic. We all moved up in the GC too, I moved to 43rd and Henry/Mike were joint 38th on the exact same time after 5 stages!
Finally we had reached the last day of the race, stage 6 was a flattish course for most of the day with a long 4 mile climb to the finish. Nothing much happened in the run up to the foot of the mountain, although Nick Hinze had a breakthrough and found himself attacking off the front at one point, great to see him up there having suffered in the previous days. We hit the climb at pace and the sharp kick at the bottom split the group right up, I tried to stay in the wheel of Mike Betts, but he proved too strong and halfway up I cracked... ended up rolling in 55th on the day, with Nick Hinze doing a storming ride to finish ahead of me. We ended up consolidating 11th place on team GC, a great success. I finished 41st, Henry P 36th and Mike 32nd. Nick managed to move up to 79th, a respectable placing having worked his ass off for 5 days! Chapeau everyone. The stage was won by Mike Smith, who in turn took the General Classification for the 2nd year running!! Well done Mike. Brennan Townshend ended up 2nd, a great race from a young rider, definately a name to look for in the future. Third place went to Gruff Lewis. Adeo Cadence took the team standings, deservedly so, having ridden at the front for most of the 5 days.
All 4 Zappi riders left the race feeling happy with how we'd done, and raring to get back next year stronger and faster, ready to contend the GC and stage wins!
When I got back from the Ras I rested for a couple of days then did a 10 mile TT on the Wednesday, not a good idea. The position was all wrong on my new Cervelo P3, horridly uncomfortable... This coupled with my legs still feeling heavy meant I was over a minute down on my course best on the F11/10, only managing 21.38. Not a bad time, but I was bitterly dissapointed as I was hoping to get close to 19 minutes. Nevermind.
Yesterday I raced at Portsmouth, broke away multiple times, never stayed away, felt super strong and ended up taking 6th in the sprint. Today was a very wet 11.4 mile hilly time trial and I did no warm up, just sat in the car until my number was called! Managed to take the win by 1 second... not too bad!!
Next up is the H10/17R 10 mile TT on Saturday, followed by the Bath RC Junior Road Race as part of the national series on Sunday.
Until next time.
Ciao.
Thursday, 7 July 2011
Ras de Cymru - Stages 1 & 2
Good evening bloggers!!
This week has finally brough about the much anticipated Ras de Cymru 2011, promoted by Cadence Cycle Racing. I was coming into the race on the back of some good form, having smashed my 10 mile TT pb with 20:36, winning the sprint at the MK Bowl, and riding hard and fast in the Stratford CC Road Race. I felt strong and was aiming to finish in the top half of overall GC, with it being my first stage race.
The Zappi's team consisted of Mike Betts, Henry Peacock, Nick Hinze, and me Henry Latimer. We arrived into a wet, overcast Wales early on Wednesday morning for the race briefing before the prologue TT in the afternoon feeling motivated, strong and raring to go!! The prologue was a hilly 6.9k course with a 1km climb to the finish. The early pace was set by Tavis Walker of Adeo Cadence RT with a rapid time of 11:31, which we later found out would stand as the winning time for the day, conditions began to worsen as the Zappi's start times were looming and the rain began to come down, nevertheless we all recorded respectable times, Nick Hinze coming in 83rd of 102, in a time of 13:29, Mike Betts taking 80th in 13:25, Henry Peacock snuck inside the top 50 with a time of 13:00, and I came 42nd in 12:54. Personally very happy with my start to the Ras, and hoping to come good as the race went on. Tavis Walker managed to gain 19 seconds on defending champion Mike Smith of Corley Cycles to take the yellow jersey going in to stage two.
Stage 2 was to be a 51 mile hilly road stage, starting in warm but overcast conditions, the race saw an early break of 5 gain 2 minutes on the main field, and despite the hardworking Adeo Cadence Road Team pulling the bunch along at over 30mph, the main field gained little time on the break and those 5 riders managed to stay away with Steve Calland of South Downs Bikes taking the win on the final climb to the finish by 5 seconds of Jamie Howard (Team South West), who in turn took the yellow jersey from Tavis Walker who rolled in with the main field, leaving him 1:39 off the pace in the General Classification. As for my ride, I felt strong in the race but stayed well hidden in the bunch, the race started quickly with the first 3 laps avergaing over 26mph, once it was clear the break had gone for good, the race became less frantic but the pace remained high, I rolled in with the main bunch over 2 minutes down on the stage winner, with Mike Betts riding a strong race finishing at the front of the main field, and Henry Peacock alongside me in the bunch. Nick Hinze had unfortunately lost contact with the race due to the frantic early pace setting by Adeo Cadence, and rolled in having ridden a 50 mile TT on his own, he managed to limit his losses by riding strongly and only losing 25 minutes on the main bunch. The results of todays stage mean that I am now sitting in 39th on GC, with Henry P in 45th, Mike in 62nd and Nick in 95th. The team have also moved up to 17th out of 27 on the team classification, which is currently being led by Team South West, closely followed by Corley Cycles.
Tomorrow sees us race another hilly road stage in the morning with a brutal climb in the middle, followed by a TTT in the afternoon, so it's time for bed now to rest up ready for a tough day tomorrow!!
Follow the results on the Cadence Cycle Racing website.
Ciao.
This week has finally brough about the much anticipated Ras de Cymru 2011, promoted by Cadence Cycle Racing. I was coming into the race on the back of some good form, having smashed my 10 mile TT pb with 20:36, winning the sprint at the MK Bowl, and riding hard and fast in the Stratford CC Road Race. I felt strong and was aiming to finish in the top half of overall GC, with it being my first stage race.
The Zappi's team consisted of Mike Betts, Henry Peacock, Nick Hinze, and me Henry Latimer. We arrived into a wet, overcast Wales early on Wednesday morning for the race briefing before the prologue TT in the afternoon feeling motivated, strong and raring to go!! The prologue was a hilly 6.9k course with a 1km climb to the finish. The early pace was set by Tavis Walker of Adeo Cadence RT with a rapid time of 11:31, which we later found out would stand as the winning time for the day, conditions began to worsen as the Zappi's start times were looming and the rain began to come down, nevertheless we all recorded respectable times, Nick Hinze coming in 83rd of 102, in a time of 13:29, Mike Betts taking 80th in 13:25, Henry Peacock snuck inside the top 50 with a time of 13:00, and I came 42nd in 12:54. Personally very happy with my start to the Ras, and hoping to come good as the race went on. Tavis Walker managed to gain 19 seconds on defending champion Mike Smith of Corley Cycles to take the yellow jersey going in to stage two.
Stage 2 was to be a 51 mile hilly road stage, starting in warm but overcast conditions, the race saw an early break of 5 gain 2 minutes on the main field, and despite the hardworking Adeo Cadence Road Team pulling the bunch along at over 30mph, the main field gained little time on the break and those 5 riders managed to stay away with Steve Calland of South Downs Bikes taking the win on the final climb to the finish by 5 seconds of Jamie Howard (Team South West), who in turn took the yellow jersey from Tavis Walker who rolled in with the main field, leaving him 1:39 off the pace in the General Classification. As for my ride, I felt strong in the race but stayed well hidden in the bunch, the race started quickly with the first 3 laps avergaing over 26mph, once it was clear the break had gone for good, the race became less frantic but the pace remained high, I rolled in with the main bunch over 2 minutes down on the stage winner, with Mike Betts riding a strong race finishing at the front of the main field, and Henry Peacock alongside me in the bunch. Nick Hinze had unfortunately lost contact with the race due to the frantic early pace setting by Adeo Cadence, and rolled in having ridden a 50 mile TT on his own, he managed to limit his losses by riding strongly and only losing 25 minutes on the main bunch. The results of todays stage mean that I am now sitting in 39th on GC, with Henry P in 45th, Mike in 62nd and Nick in 95th. The team have also moved up to 17th out of 27 on the team classification, which is currently being led by Team South West, closely followed by Corley Cycles.
Tomorrow sees us race another hilly road stage in the morning with a brutal climb in the middle, followed by a TTT in the afternoon, so it's time for bed now to rest up ready for a tough day tomorrow!!
Follow the results on the Cadence Cycle Racing website.
Ciao.
Friday, 10 June 2011
RTTC Junior National 25 Mile Time Trial Championship
So last weekend was the big one, the National 25!! My favourite distance, I was in the form of my life, and feeling more motivated than ever before!! The event was held in Holsworthy, Devon, and we were staying in a Travelodge in Okehampton. I was travelling down with my team-mate Cameron Foster and his parents, we drove down early Saturday morning and arrived in Devon around Midday. A quick drive down one leg of the course and we were ready to go and reccy the course!!
Cameron and I got changed, sorted the bikes out, training wheels in and we were on the road! The course started in Holsworthy town centre, descended under a bridge and out of town before a sharp left hander onto the main road for the course. This section was to be closed off to traffic on Sunday, so could be taken quickly and safely!! Once on the main road there was a sharp climb right away, followed by various up and down sections along both the outward and return legs of the course. Not a flat section in sight... There were some very fast downhill sections with a couple of sweeping bends that you could carry your speed through. We finished our ride and both felt pretty good about the course, it suited us with its sporting profile. We were now ready for the big one!!
Cameron and I got changed, sorted the bikes out, training wheels in and we were on the road! The course started in Holsworthy town centre, descended under a bridge and out of town before a sharp left hander onto the main road for the course. This section was to be closed off to traffic on Sunday, so could be taken quickly and safely!! Once on the main road there was a sharp climb right away, followed by various up and down sections along both the outward and return legs of the course. Not a flat section in sight... There were some very fast downhill sections with a couple of sweeping bends that you could carry your speed through. We finished our ride and both felt pretty good about the course, it suited us with its sporting profile. We were now ready for the big one!!
Cameron & I riding the course!
We woke up Sunday morning feeling refreshed, strong, and up for it! We arrived at Race HQ nice and early to leave plenty of time, but before long we were changed and warming up! My warm up consisted of 20 minutes steady on the turbo with a couple of sprints to get the blood lactate up to threshold. Cam was off 4 minutes before me so we made our way to the town centre in good time, saw the closed roads, the start ramp, and the riders being sent on their way!! It looked amazing, like something out of the Tour de France!! Cameron was soon off and he sprinted off the ramp at top speed. Then a couple of minutes later I was up...
Ready on the ramp!!
I was set off down the ramp and was greeted by a cheer from the crowd, this got the blood pumping and I pelted down the closed road section and took the sharp left hander at speed!! Then it went up... I powered up the short climb to applause from the spectators at the top of the hill. I pelted along the rest of the course at completely inconsistent speeds, this reflected the profile of the course. I got to the turn in fairly good time and could see I was gaining on a few riders, I continued to power back towards the finish and despite my visor continually steaming up due to the rain in the air, I remained focussed and managed to push hard in the final few miles, catching 5 riders in the last 5 miles. The final push for the line, and then it was over, I pootled back to HQ and after sorting everything out I went in and the results were up... 11th. Damn. My aim was to break into the top 10, and I had missed out by around 30 seconds to Mike Barnes of ColourTech RT. Nevermind, a good result nonetheless! My time was 1:00:58, a good 4 minutes off my PB for a 25, but not a bad time for the course, Cameron completed the course in 1:02:44, another good time and a great showing from the Zappi's!!
The event was won by National 10 champion Ryan Mullen of Planet-X, a clean sweep for Mullen this year, at only 16 years of age, definately one to watch in the future!! Oli Rossi from PCA Ciclos Unos came second with Luke Grivell-Mellor topping off the podium for the Mid Shropshire Wheelers. The womens event was won by hot favourite Julia Shaw of Drag2Zero.com, but a fantastic ride by team-mate Chrissy Radon meant that the Zappi's were on the podium in 2nd place! Well done Chrissy!! Michael Hutchinson won the mens event, despite a mechanical whilst riding, a testimony to how powerful a rider he is!!
Here are a few pictures of my ride:
A great success in my opinion, for now I am more than happy with 11th place at nationals, and I am now focussing on getting good results in road races and bring down my 10 and 25 mile TT times!!
Since the Nat 25 I have done a couple of club time trials and came 2nd in both, form is still here, now to bring in some points in the bunch racing!!
Thanks for reading!!
Ciao.
Wednesday, 1 June 2011
Midweek Stuff.
Since my last blog I have done 1 local club time trial, and 2 midweek crits.
Last Thursday was the Didcot Phoenix 10 mile club time trial, the weather wasn't great, fairly windy and rain was in the air. It did however stay dry for the race itself and the 18 riders who had braved the weather were pleasantly surprised that it turned out to be a fairly fast night. The course was a single carriageway course containing no less than 11 roundabouts... But by no means a slow course. I ended up winning the event in a time of 22.04, only 3 seconds off my pb, and this on a much slower course, so things are looking good for when I get back on a quick course!! My winning margin for Thursday... 53 seconds put into 2nd placed Alan Alcock of Didcot Phoenix who record 22.57.
I had a weekend off racing last weekend, playing cricket instead for my local team, not a bad weekend, scored 93 runs, nearly a century!!
Back to cycling, on Monday I went to Ludgershall for the cat 3/4 race. The track was covered in muck, flints and looked wet!! The race started fairly fast and I felt strong, always staying up near the front of the pack. After 30 minutes I discovere my front wheel had punctured, I quickly stopped to put in my spare and was back in after a lap out. The race was still fast but my legs felt good and going into the final lap I was well placed behind team-mate Chris Boote who was there to lead me out, then disaster, at the start of the final lap I felt my back wheel go down, a puncture, but I couldn't bring myself to stop when in such a good position. I was completely blowing and was deep into the red, I kept pushing on behind Chris, but could simply not compete in the sprint, we both finished outside the top 10, I rolled in 17th, still in the top half of the bunch, not bad on a flat tyre... Team-mate Andy Mckay took a brilliant 4th place in the sprint. Overall I was happy with my positioning and strength in the race, and felt good for a top-3 finish, but bad luck at the wrong time put paid to that. Ludgershall, not a track I will be returning to any time soon!!
Finally, this evening I travelled to the Eelmore for another 3/4 criterium race. Conditions were good and the race started fast, remained fast and finished fast. But once again I felt strong and followed a few attacks off the front, but nothing stayed away due to the ferocious pace of the race. I tested my sprint on the primes after 20 and 40 minutes respectively, taking 3rd in the first, and 5th in the second. Not bad and looking good for a top 10 finish if I could position myself correctly in the line up to the final bend before the sprint. It didn't work out that way, the bunch slowed on the straight before the final bend, it bunched up and i found myself boxed in. No chance, I still sprinted hard but nothing came of it and i rolled in around 20th place... Not a complete waste of time however as my team-mate Chris Boote remarked after the race... "I think I won" ... Turns out he was right!! 10 more points for Zappi's and we're moving up the Central Regional Rankings!! It must be my turn to bring in some points for the team, it's been too long that I have been 'riding well' with no reward.
More motivated than ever before.
Bring on the National 25.
Ciao,
Last Thursday was the Didcot Phoenix 10 mile club time trial, the weather wasn't great, fairly windy and rain was in the air. It did however stay dry for the race itself and the 18 riders who had braved the weather were pleasantly surprised that it turned out to be a fairly fast night. The course was a single carriageway course containing no less than 11 roundabouts... But by no means a slow course. I ended up winning the event in a time of 22.04, only 3 seconds off my pb, and this on a much slower course, so things are looking good for when I get back on a quick course!! My winning margin for Thursday... 53 seconds put into 2nd placed Alan Alcock of Didcot Phoenix who record 22.57.
I had a weekend off racing last weekend, playing cricket instead for my local team, not a bad weekend, scored 93 runs, nearly a century!!
Back to cycling, on Monday I went to Ludgershall for the cat 3/4 race. The track was covered in muck, flints and looked wet!! The race started fairly fast and I felt strong, always staying up near the front of the pack. After 30 minutes I discovere my front wheel had punctured, I quickly stopped to put in my spare and was back in after a lap out. The race was still fast but my legs felt good and going into the final lap I was well placed behind team-mate Chris Boote who was there to lead me out, then disaster, at the start of the final lap I felt my back wheel go down, a puncture, but I couldn't bring myself to stop when in such a good position. I was completely blowing and was deep into the red, I kept pushing on behind Chris, but could simply not compete in the sprint, we both finished outside the top 10, I rolled in 17th, still in the top half of the bunch, not bad on a flat tyre... Team-mate Andy Mckay took a brilliant 4th place in the sprint. Overall I was happy with my positioning and strength in the race, and felt good for a top-3 finish, but bad luck at the wrong time put paid to that. Ludgershall, not a track I will be returning to any time soon!!
Finally, this evening I travelled to the Eelmore for another 3/4 criterium race. Conditions were good and the race started fast, remained fast and finished fast. But once again I felt strong and followed a few attacks off the front, but nothing stayed away due to the ferocious pace of the race. I tested my sprint on the primes after 20 and 40 minutes respectively, taking 3rd in the first, and 5th in the second. Not bad and looking good for a top 10 finish if I could position myself correctly in the line up to the final bend before the sprint. It didn't work out that way, the bunch slowed on the straight before the final bend, it bunched up and i found myself boxed in. No chance, I still sprinted hard but nothing came of it and i rolled in around 20th place... Not a complete waste of time however as my team-mate Chris Boote remarked after the race... "I think I won" ... Turns out he was right!! 10 more points for Zappi's and we're moving up the Central Regional Rankings!! It must be my turn to bring in some points for the team, it's been too long that I have been 'riding well' with no reward.
More motivated than ever before.
Bring on the National 25.
Ciao,
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