After a fantastic start to the season, putting in some good performances, there was always going to be some bad luck along the way.
At the Milbrook Classic for Men on Monday 7th May, I was feeling fantastic... and punctured with 3k to go. Bugger.
At the Bath Cycle Races Round 2, I got dropped because despite knowing the course didn't suit me... I went anyway... and only lasted 10 minutes. I don't like corners, bugger. My team-mate Alec won it though, so it's not all bad!
The Tour of the Milburys was my first stage race of the year and went slightly better, but still not great. Stage 1 was a 4 mile prologue time trial, mostly it was gently uphill with a few false flats. I opted for my time trial bike, but used deep section wheels rather than my disc wheel which is heavy and very flexy. This turned out to be a good choice as I spent a lot of time on the TT bars, but also the lighter wheel aided the climbing sections. I ended up covering the course in 11:03, my target was 11 minutes so I was happy. It turned out to be a great time on the day and I was joint second place with Mike Simpson from GS Henley, while my team-mate Alec had a stormer to take the win in 10:39, putting him in the yellow jersey going into stage 2.
Stage 2 was based on a tough 8 mile circuit with some rolling sections and one very slow long drag. The team were looking to protect Alec, and I agreed to sacrifice my own GC placing to help him out. We let a lone rider, Ed Clemens (VC10) go up the road early on, and he pulled out a 2 minute advantage, and on his own we knew that it was no danger, and it helped us as he swallowed up the time bonuses on offer at the finish line. Eventually I got away while maring a rider from High Wycombe CCRT, we bridged across to Ed and stayed away for a few miles, in which time I took the sprint for a time bonus. By the time we got reeled back there was about 25 miles gone, more futile attacks came and went but nothing stuck until Danny Axford launched a fierce attack with just under 3 laps to go, we missed this move and by the time we hit the front they had about 20s advantage. Rob and I were chasing on the front, but due to his earlier efforts marking on the front, Rob couldn't keep the chase up, which left me chasing on the front more or less on my own, I held the gap for a few miles but eventually the break got away and put over a minute into the bunch. I kept chasing hard but was tiring rapidly, Alec came to help at the front as things were starting to get desperate, we both pushed ourselves above and beyond the limit of our legs, and consequently we both got shelled out of the peloton. We rolled in over 3 minutes down on the bunch, losing our GC placings having gambled on trying to maintain the lead. It was dissapointing, but I always prefer to ride aggressively and go for victory rather than sitting in, racing negatively and settling for a top 10 in these small Regional A races. My legs were performing, but the tactics didn't come off this time, we tried out hardest though!
I tried to race again on Sunday, even though I woke up with a stinking cold, coughing and dribbling from my nose. Bad idea. I lasted 10 miles hanging on the back, before I headed straight on at one of the left hand bends, straight past the marshalls and back to my car. I don't want to make my cold worse in the lead up to the National 10 next Sunday. I have since been resting and recovering... Not 100% yet but I am hoping it won't affect me too much for the national.
Until Sunday! Ciao.
Tuesday, 15 May 2012
Saturday, 5 May 2012
Last few races!
It seems again that I have been neglecting this blog of late, I haven't stopped racing, just stopped writing about them! Firstly, after my win in the Noel Jones I stupidly continued training through without a rest day... Hence I was knackered for a week afterwards! I raced Portsmouth again that Wednesday, really tired legs meant I clung on to the end and mustered a small sprint at the end, ended up in 12th place which I was happy with considering the state of my body!
AW Cycles 10 Mile TT... this was horrific, conditions changed so badly for the last 40 riders, I was in the last 40 riders. Long story short... it hailed, wind speed doubled... I was frozen... and I ended up 10th, not the result I wanted but hey ho, that is the fickle nature of the time trial!!
The Gerry Hughes road race in Worcestershire came around far too quickly and I was still not back at 100% for the race, nevertheless with 3 other team-mates in the race I was hoping to help pull something out of the bag for the boys! It was a flat course, with a couple of rolling sections but nothing too hard, the wind however made it a brutal race! The finish was going to be a block headwind sprint for the line! Things kicked off immediately, and my team-mate Alec got in the first break that soon pulled out a healthy gap. Commence the rest of us marshalling the bunch and chasing down all of the attempts to get across... Freddie, John and myself were doing a great job in this department... until I accidently dropped the bunch whilst chasing down a break. A large group of 15 got away, including me, and everyone was working hard to pull away from the bunch, we quickly pulled back the early break and Alec unfortunately was spent so could not stay at the head of the race, leaving me alone with lots of team-mates in the break. My legs were still feeling heavy but I was trying to break off the front, knowing I lack a huge sprint at the moment, however I couldn't get away, and ended up taking 7th place. A good result considering my legs and the team worked really well together, good signs!
Another local club TT came and went... 2nd place after a 75 mile morning ride, great training and another top 3!
I took a couple of easy days and by the time I got to Portsmouth for the penultimate round of the series I was feeling a lot better. Rested and ready to smash it! It was super windy so I opted for normal wheels rather than deep sections, I was also racing for the first time on my new Giant TCR Advanced II! A beautiful machine kindly supplied by Avon Valley Cyclery in Bath! It handled fatastically in the wind this week. The race started fast with a group of 11 taking a lap on the bunch within 8 minutes of the start, I was in this group and felt pretty comfortable taking the lap. There was soon another attack from Simon Brooks (VC St Raphael), I followed him off the front and we soon pulled out a third of a lap, working hard for 5 minutes before Jon Dibben (Hargroves) bridged across and the three of us pulled out to half a lap ahead. We were held by a chasing bunch for 30 agonisingly painful minutes, before thanks to a few hard pushes from Dibben and myself, we finally took a second lap. Dibben attacked again with 7 laps to go, Brooks went with him and I was boxed in on the inside, so missed the move. I chased hard right to the end but ended up half a lap down on the 2 guys, who had taken a third lap on the main field by the end. So a strong 3rd place, my best result in a National B race ever and enough to move me up to 3rd place overall in the series with one race remaining.
Next up was the Reading CC Road Race, a VERY wet and VERY windy affair... 50mph gusts and standing water throughout the course surely meant a very attritional race was on the cards! I was feeling really good and attacked on the second time down the crosswind section, Nick Baker (Zappi's) and I pulled out a minute very quickly on this section and were flying round the course, well out of sight of the peloton, which was losing riders by the minute! Unforunately Nick punctured after about 8 miles off the front, and with no service he didn't get a spare wheel until he passed his roadside support, by which time the bunch had swallowed him back up. Nevertheless I carried on and went round another lap by myself, cresting the climb to take the only sprint prime of the day, and with another 25 miles to go in the race, the bunch had closed the gap to 45 seconds, I made the decision to sit up and wait, a slightly negative decision but I didn't fancy my chances against the bunch for 25 miles. I was still feeling good though and ready to go again on the final lap, however I didn't get the chance, 30 seconds after I rejoined the bunch.. I punctured. No service. Game over. Bollocks. A great shame as I reckon I could have pulled a result out, nevertheless the team did not dissapoint as Alec took off with 20 miles to go and put a staggering 6 minutes into the bunch by himself, and taking a fine win in a tough race!!
The final round of the Ray Martin Memorial League at Portsmouth was a dissapointment for me, nobody took a lap and the bunch were marking the strong riders out of the race... My legs weren't 100% so I didn't get in any significant breaks, and ended up drifting back during the bunch sprint and coming in 14th place. I did manage to hold on to 3rd place in the overall league, taking home £75 for my troubles. Pretty happy with how the 5 race series went, I love the track at Portsmouth and will be back soon for sure!
Final race for this blog is the Andy Morrison Memorial Road Race, this was in Cranfield, Bedfordshire. The circuit was a 2.5 mile triangle with a descent, a drag (headwind) and a flat (tailwind). A rider from London Dynamo attacked early and stayed away by himself all race (WHAT..?) although he did get caught by one guy who had attacked with 5 laps to go. All told there were 3 riders out front at the end, but despite my best efforts to get out of the bunch, I wasn't one of them. I had attacked a lot and always pulled a decent gap, but the bunch seemed to love chasing me down today, and also enjoyed sitting on my wheel in a break doing no work... nevermind! With 1.5 laps to go Ed Clemens (VC10) attacked, and I went after him, with some nob from Team Corley Cycles stuck to my wheel offering no help with the workload. I have very little time for people that don't do their turns on the front. We caught Ed after one lap, by which point there was just over 1km to go, sadly the bunch had caught us again too, so it was a sprint! I settled into bunch in the top 5 riders, I'm not known for having a huge kick in a sprint so I went for a long one, starting my sprint with about 5-600m to go, I pushed my speed up over 35mph leading out the whole bunch, but knowing if I held the pace high I could hold them off. One guy came past so I ended up crossing the line in 5th. Happy with that after a tough attacking race, I just wish more people were willing to help in a breakaway!!
I now have 98 points on my licence, so just under halfway to moving up to 1st category... I aim to be there by the end of July, which is definitely do-able if I hold my current form!
I will try to stay on top of my race reports from now on as I know it is pretty dull reading about 10 on the trot! Thanks for reading though!
Ciao.
AW Cycles 10 Mile TT... this was horrific, conditions changed so badly for the last 40 riders, I was in the last 40 riders. Long story short... it hailed, wind speed doubled... I was frozen... and I ended up 10th, not the result I wanted but hey ho, that is the fickle nature of the time trial!!
The Gerry Hughes road race in Worcestershire came around far too quickly and I was still not back at 100% for the race, nevertheless with 3 other team-mates in the race I was hoping to help pull something out of the bag for the boys! It was a flat course, with a couple of rolling sections but nothing too hard, the wind however made it a brutal race! The finish was going to be a block headwind sprint for the line! Things kicked off immediately, and my team-mate Alec got in the first break that soon pulled out a healthy gap. Commence the rest of us marshalling the bunch and chasing down all of the attempts to get across... Freddie, John and myself were doing a great job in this department... until I accidently dropped the bunch whilst chasing down a break. A large group of 15 got away, including me, and everyone was working hard to pull away from the bunch, we quickly pulled back the early break and Alec unfortunately was spent so could not stay at the head of the race, leaving me alone with lots of team-mates in the break. My legs were still feeling heavy but I was trying to break off the front, knowing I lack a huge sprint at the moment, however I couldn't get away, and ended up taking 7th place. A good result considering my legs and the team worked really well together, good signs!
Another local club TT came and went... 2nd place after a 75 mile morning ride, great training and another top 3!
I took a couple of easy days and by the time I got to Portsmouth for the penultimate round of the series I was feeling a lot better. Rested and ready to smash it! It was super windy so I opted for normal wheels rather than deep sections, I was also racing for the first time on my new Giant TCR Advanced II! A beautiful machine kindly supplied by Avon Valley Cyclery in Bath! It handled fatastically in the wind this week. The race started fast with a group of 11 taking a lap on the bunch within 8 minutes of the start, I was in this group and felt pretty comfortable taking the lap. There was soon another attack from Simon Brooks (VC St Raphael), I followed him off the front and we soon pulled out a third of a lap, working hard for 5 minutes before Jon Dibben (Hargroves) bridged across and the three of us pulled out to half a lap ahead. We were held by a chasing bunch for 30 agonisingly painful minutes, before thanks to a few hard pushes from Dibben and myself, we finally took a second lap. Dibben attacked again with 7 laps to go, Brooks went with him and I was boxed in on the inside, so missed the move. I chased hard right to the end but ended up half a lap down on the 2 guys, who had taken a third lap on the main field by the end. So a strong 3rd place, my best result in a National B race ever and enough to move me up to 3rd place overall in the series with one race remaining.
Next up was the Reading CC Road Race, a VERY wet and VERY windy affair... 50mph gusts and standing water throughout the course surely meant a very attritional race was on the cards! I was feeling really good and attacked on the second time down the crosswind section, Nick Baker (Zappi's) and I pulled out a minute very quickly on this section and were flying round the course, well out of sight of the peloton, which was losing riders by the minute! Unforunately Nick punctured after about 8 miles off the front, and with no service he didn't get a spare wheel until he passed his roadside support, by which time the bunch had swallowed him back up. Nevertheless I carried on and went round another lap by myself, cresting the climb to take the only sprint prime of the day, and with another 25 miles to go in the race, the bunch had closed the gap to 45 seconds, I made the decision to sit up and wait, a slightly negative decision but I didn't fancy my chances against the bunch for 25 miles. I was still feeling good though and ready to go again on the final lap, however I didn't get the chance, 30 seconds after I rejoined the bunch.. I punctured. No service. Game over. Bollocks. A great shame as I reckon I could have pulled a result out, nevertheless the team did not dissapoint as Alec took off with 20 miles to go and put a staggering 6 minutes into the bunch by himself, and taking a fine win in a tough race!!
The final round of the Ray Martin Memorial League at Portsmouth was a dissapointment for me, nobody took a lap and the bunch were marking the strong riders out of the race... My legs weren't 100% so I didn't get in any significant breaks, and ended up drifting back during the bunch sprint and coming in 14th place. I did manage to hold on to 3rd place in the overall league, taking home £75 for my troubles. Pretty happy with how the 5 race series went, I love the track at Portsmouth and will be back soon for sure!
Final race for this blog is the Andy Morrison Memorial Road Race, this was in Cranfield, Bedfordshire. The circuit was a 2.5 mile triangle with a descent, a drag (headwind) and a flat (tailwind). A rider from London Dynamo attacked early and stayed away by himself all race (WHAT..?) although he did get caught by one guy who had attacked with 5 laps to go. All told there were 3 riders out front at the end, but despite my best efforts to get out of the bunch, I wasn't one of them. I had attacked a lot and always pulled a decent gap, but the bunch seemed to love chasing me down today, and also enjoyed sitting on my wheel in a break doing no work... nevermind! With 1.5 laps to go Ed Clemens (VC10) attacked, and I went after him, with some nob from Team Corley Cycles stuck to my wheel offering no help with the workload. I have very little time for people that don't do their turns on the front. We caught Ed after one lap, by which point there was just over 1km to go, sadly the bunch had caught us again too, so it was a sprint! I settled into bunch in the top 5 riders, I'm not known for having a huge kick in a sprint so I went for a long one, starting my sprint with about 5-600m to go, I pushed my speed up over 35mph leading out the whole bunch, but knowing if I held the pace high I could hold them off. One guy came past so I ended up crossing the line in 5th. Happy with that after a tough attacking race, I just wish more people were willing to help in a breakaway!!
I now have 98 points on my licence, so just under halfway to moving up to 1st category... I aim to be there by the end of July, which is definitely do-able if I hold my current form!
I will try to stay on top of my race reports from now on as I know it is pretty dull reading about 10 on the trot! Thanks for reading though!
Ciao.
Sunday, 15 April 2012
Noel Jones Memorial Road Race - April 15th
When my alarm clock starts buzzing at 5am on a Sunday morning, when most normal 19 year olds are just getting in from a night out, it can only mean one thing... Race day! I travelled over to Wales with my team-mate Rob, and although it was a clear blue morning the temperature was a chilly 3 degrees when we arrived. We signed on, changed, and rode a lap of the circuit to warm up... Despite having ridden the circuit last year, it was a lot more rolling than I thought with a fair few draggy sections before the final 1 kilometre climb to the finish, a perfect breakaway course. Riding for the team today was Rob, Matt and me, joined by John and Mark from the club.
The race started steadily with nobody willing to start the work on the front, and taking advantage of this, 2 riders soon made an early move and went up the road, Scott Easter (Felt-Colbornes) and Charles Coleman (Cadence-Cannondale) quickly gained a sizeable gap, and once they were joined by a third rider from NFTO Racing they pushed hard to pull out over a minute on the bunch. Rob countered this move by jumping away with a couple of guys, and I moved across to him soon after, we didn't stay out for long but it signalled early, our intent for the race.
The race started steadily with nobody willing to start the work on the front, and taking advantage of this, 2 riders soon made an early move and went up the road, Scott Easter (Felt-Colbornes) and Charles Coleman (Cadence-Cannondale) quickly gained a sizeable gap, and once they were joined by a third rider from NFTO Racing they pushed hard to pull out over a minute on the bunch. Rob countered this move by jumping away with a couple of guys, and I moved across to him soon after, we didn't stay out for long but it signalled early, our intent for the race.
Early chase group containing both Rob and I.
The next couple of laps passed without much entertainment, but the bunch were so un-interested that the break had pulled out a gap to 2 minutes, Rob and I were both trying our luck off the front, but none of the strong riders wanted to come out to play. With just over 2 laps to go, the break had pushed the gap up to 2 and a half minutes, and I started to worry so I rolled back to the bunch and grabbed Matt and John who started working with me on the front to bring down the gap, little did we know Rob had just jumped off the front with 2 others... whoops, we brought back our own team-mate, sorry Rob! The gap came down to 2 minutes, and when 2 riders drifted off the front, I bridged across on the finish hill and we got a gap on the bunch.
Bridging the gap
We were soon joined by a couple of other riders, forming a strong 5-man break and as we started working smoothly together, we got a time gap of 1m50s, then 1m20s, then 50s and by the time we went up the finish hill for the penultimate time, there was just one rider left up the road at 20 seconds.
Penultimate lap
We caught the final rider, Scott Easter with 8 miles to go and he joined our group. The 6 of us continued to chaingang for another 4 miles before Daniel Davies (Wallis CHH RT) and I attacked the group with 4 miles to go... This was a futile attack as we couldn't gain a big enough gap. By this time we had over a minute on the peloton, and it was clear that people were thinking about the finish by missing turns on the front. Davies went on the attack again with 2 miles to go, pulling out a decent gap, and he held it to the bottom of the hill, but couldn't maintain it to the finish. Karl Hine (Cadence Cannondale) made his move with 500m to go by passing everyone on the outside, I stayed on his wheel as we surged ahead of our breakaway companions.
I bided my time until 100m to go, when I attacked Karl on the right hand-side and pulled out a good few bike lengths to cross the line first and take the win! My first Road Race win of the year, and I was over the moon!
Rob had to settle for around 15th after riding a very strong race, Matt paid the price of not drinking with bad cramps and had to pull out, and John finished in the main bunch.
Presentation with Team Sky Neo-Pro Luke Rowe
Video Highlights - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4aOtB8xuEM
It felt fantastic to take the win in a tough race on a fantastic course, my first ever win in a road race on the open roads, and yet another win for Dream Cycling. I've now got about 60 points and I'm moving in the right direction in terms of tactics, strength, and points towards my 1st category licence! Now looking forward to getting more out of my good form at the moment when I head to Portsmouth on Wednesday!
Ciao!
Wednesday, 11 April 2012
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.
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.
Sunday, 25 March 2012
Bill Jinks Memorial Road Race
Today was a glorious 20 degree day in Coventry, the setting for the Bill Jinks Memorial, a 2/3/4 category race with a pretty strong field of riders due to the ever increasing popularity of the sport. It was to be raced around a fairly short course at 6.4 miles, with 2 short hills thrown in for good measure, one being on the run in to the finish line. It looked to be a perfect breakaway course, with a rolling profile and lots of corners, so my plan was to attack hard early on in the race.
We rolled out for the neutral section with riders jostling for position early on, I placed myself in the top 20 riders ready for the early attacks. Immediately 2 guys went up the road with a small gap, however as is often the way, the first attack was brought back fairly quickly. Next up I attacked out of a corner and moved away from the peloton fairly quickly, my first thoughts were "crap... nobody is coming...", however after about 2 miles on my own I looked back to see Adrian Bird (Rapid Performance Coaching RT) moving up, so I sat up took a drink and when he latched on, we went full gas to increase our gap! We worked well together for 1 lap, and soon saw 2 other riders bridging across, as they reached us it became clear that Bird was struggling, and he dropped back to the bunch. So I began working with my new companions Matthew Bonehill (Stafford CC) and James Ratcliffe (Fred Williams RT).
We pushed really hard for over a lap and pushed the gap up to 40 seconds, before settling into a rhythm together. As the race went on, the gap was held at 40 seconds for 3 laps, but with 5 laps to go it was clear that the chase had sped up behind us, and after 35 miles we were swept up by the bunch. This was when the decisive move came from Tom Black (Cycle Premier RT), taking advantage of the tired legs in the bunch he countered with a huge attack on the hill to the finish line, pulled out a sizeable gap, and was never seen again as the bunch messed around behind.
With 2 laps to go I launched another attack and got away again, once again James Ratcliffe was there along with 2 others we worked to bridge up to Black, but we could only stay away for 1 5 miles before heading back into the bunch. At this point my legs were really starting to hurt and after one more futile attempt to get away I was resigned to finishing in the bunch, as 3 other guys clipped off the front to stay away. I didn't really have the legs for a full-on sprint so just stayed in the bunch and held my pace to the line, riders blew all around my in the last 500m and I ended up around 20-25th as we crossed the line.
Very happy with how my legs felt today, but with only 3 riders against a chasing bunch it was always going to be tough to stay out for 60 miles. Nevertheless it is encouraging to see the legs performing well early season. Hopefully there is much more to come! Next weekend is the Ham Hill RR.
Ciao.
We rolled out for the neutral section with riders jostling for position early on, I placed myself in the top 20 riders ready for the early attacks. Immediately 2 guys went up the road with a small gap, however as is often the way, the first attack was brought back fairly quickly. Next up I attacked out of a corner and moved away from the peloton fairly quickly, my first thoughts were "crap... nobody is coming...", however after about 2 miles on my own I looked back to see Adrian Bird (Rapid Performance Coaching RT) moving up, so I sat up took a drink and when he latched on, we went full gas to increase our gap! We worked well together for 1 lap, and soon saw 2 other riders bridging across, as they reached us it became clear that Bird was struggling, and he dropped back to the bunch. So I began working with my new companions Matthew Bonehill (Stafford CC) and James Ratcliffe (Fred Williams RT).
Breakaway
Large gap to the bunch.
We pushed really hard for over a lap and pushed the gap up to 40 seconds, before settling into a rhythm together. As the race went on, the gap was held at 40 seconds for 3 laps, but with 5 laps to go it was clear that the chase had sped up behind us, and after 35 miles we were swept up by the bunch. This was when the decisive move came from Tom Black (Cycle Premier RT), taking advantage of the tired legs in the bunch he countered with a huge attack on the hill to the finish line, pulled out a sizeable gap, and was never seen again as the bunch messed around behind.
With 2 laps to go I launched another attack and got away again, once again James Ratcliffe was there along with 2 others we worked to bridge up to Black, but we could only stay away for 1 5 miles before heading back into the bunch. At this point my legs were really starting to hurt and after one more futile attempt to get away I was resigned to finishing in the bunch, as 3 other guys clipped off the front to stay away. I didn't really have the legs for a full-on sprint so just stayed in the bunch and held my pace to the line, riders blew all around my in the last 500m and I ended up around 20-25th as we crossed the line.
Very happy with how my legs felt today, but with only 3 riders against a chasing bunch it was always going to be tough to stay out for 60 miles. Nevertheless it is encouraging to see the legs performing well early season. Hopefully there is much more to come! Next weekend is the Ham Hill RR.
Ciao.
Sunday, 18 March 2012
Weekend of 17th/18th March
Another double header this weekend with a 2/3 crit at Milton Keynes Bowl followed by an E/1/2/3 Road Race in Worcestershire.
To be honest... there's not a lot to tell about either race. Saturday was frustrating as I was chased down every single time I broke away, then a counter attack of 10 riders stuck and I spent half an hour chasing with the help of one other rider, typical 2nd cat negative riding from the bunch! I ended up pulling out as it became clear that the group were gone for good.
Sunday... Similar story, got in an early move but missed the decisive break! It was a large group that got away and once out of sight we never had a chance of bringing it back, despite a huge effort from Felt-Colbornes on the front. I clipped off the front a couple of times to try and distance the bunch, once on my own and once with a small group, but it never lasted more than a few minutes.
A sub-standard weekend for me... Pretty dissapointing, but the racing will always be hard in E123 races, and it won't always work out the way you like! There is always next week though!
Ciao!
To be honest... there's not a lot to tell about either race. Saturday was frustrating as I was chased down every single time I broke away, then a counter attack of 10 riders stuck and I spent half an hour chasing with the help of one other rider, typical 2nd cat negative riding from the bunch! I ended up pulling out as it became clear that the group were gone for good.
Sunday... Similar story, got in an early move but missed the decisive break! It was a large group that got away and once out of sight we never had a chance of bringing it back, despite a huge effort from Felt-Colbornes on the front. I clipped off the front a couple of times to try and distance the bunch, once on my own and once with a small group, but it never lasted more than a few minutes.
A sub-standard weekend for me... Pretty dissapointing, but the racing will always be hard in E123 races, and it won't always work out the way you like! There is always next week though!
Ciao!
Sunday, 11 March 2012
Weekend of 10th/11th March
This weekend was to be a double header for me with a race on both Saturday and Sunday, I had an easy back end of the week so was hoping to be going well for the weekend.
Saturday was the Roy Thame Cup in Buckinghamshire, this race is considered one of the early season classics in the UK and always attracts a high quality field, and this year was no different. There were full teams from 100% ME, Team UK-Youth, Rapha Condor Sharp, Metaltek-Scott, and plenty more to go with them, this was bound to mean a very controlled race. The course was gently rolling with no big climbs to tackle, however the road surface was atrocious with huge potholes and broken surfaces everywhere on the course, this was to make the race very tricky and technical, like a proper classic race such as Flanders or Roubaix.
It was a warm day in Bucks and as the riders took to the start line it became apparent that everyone was psyched up for this, and so it was proven when the first 11 mile lap was completed with an average speed just under 29mph. Attacks were coming thick and fast but with the pace so high it was nigh on impossible to get a meaningful gap on the bunch. About halfway through the race the decisive move got away as the pace gradually slowed in the bunch. 4 riders soon pulled out 2 minutes on the bunch. It was obvious that UK Youth missed the break as they sat 5 riders on the front for over a lap trying to bring back the break, but it wasn't happening for them so they stopped giving chase on the penultimate lap. Throughout this I was staying out of trouble in the bunch feeling fairly comfortable and trying to avoid holes, it was however difficult to move towards the front due to the high pace set on the front so I stayed hidden in the pack. On the last lap I moved up through the pack slowly and with around 5k to go I was in the top 20 trying to jostle for position, a second group got away at this point as Steve Golla (High Wycombe) attacked and took a group with him, they pulled out a small gap and just managed to hold this to the finish. All this meant we were sprinting for about 15th place in the bunch, nevertheless it was going fast down the final straight towards the line and with 1k to go I jumped on the wheel of a Metaltek rider who moved to the front... Not my smartest move as when he pulled off I had nowehere to go so had to move over and try to rejoin the motoring 100% ME train down the right-hand side. I had no time to rectify my position and ended up finishing in the middle of the pack. Phil Lavery (Node-4 Giordana) took the 3-up sprint from the break, with Richard Lang (Rapha) and Tom Moses (100% ME) completing the podium.
We finished the 69 mile course with a 27mph average speed, pretty quick considering the road surface too! I generally felt very good, just need to work on positioning towards the end, and perhaps be more confident with my attacks!
Omega Portsmouth Circuits
I had an early Saturday night and rested up so I was fit and ready to race again on Sunday at Mountbatten centre, Portsmouth. It was even sunnier than Saturday, and my legs were not feeling too bad considering the battering the day before! I had a nice long 30 minute warm up to get the legs nicely loose before the smash-fest began.
The race started fast and attacks came thick and fast, my first meaningful attack saw me escape the peloton with my training partner Nick Baker (Zappi's CC), we pulled out about half a lap on the bunch and held it for around 8 laps, but with just 2 people we were always going to struggle for firepower.
More attacks came and went but it was apparent that due to the high pace, a break would always struggle to stay away, that didn't stop people trying though! Another attack went and I latched on to it, 2 riders from VC St. Raphael and a Mid Devon CC rider rode off and I was there with them.
We quickly increased our advantage to over half a lap and worked really well together, one guy dropped off after a while but 3 of us continued to push on, and for a while I though we might take a lap on the peloton, however with the bunch chasing hard for the duration of our break, we were always going to be reeled in.
Another good race and my strongest performance of the season so far, feeling better with every race and hopefully coming into form for some early season results!! Next weekend is another double header with MK Bowl crit on Saturday and Evesham Vale Road Race on Sunday.
Ciao!
Saturday was the Roy Thame Cup in Buckinghamshire, this race is considered one of the early season classics in the UK and always attracts a high quality field, and this year was no different. There were full teams from 100% ME, Team UK-Youth, Rapha Condor Sharp, Metaltek-Scott, and plenty more to go with them, this was bound to mean a very controlled race. The course was gently rolling with no big climbs to tackle, however the road surface was atrocious with huge potholes and broken surfaces everywhere on the course, this was to make the race very tricky and technical, like a proper classic race such as Flanders or Roubaix.
It was a warm day in Bucks and as the riders took to the start line it became apparent that everyone was psyched up for this, and so it was proven when the first 11 mile lap was completed with an average speed just under 29mph. Attacks were coming thick and fast but with the pace so high it was nigh on impossible to get a meaningful gap on the bunch. About halfway through the race the decisive move got away as the pace gradually slowed in the bunch. 4 riders soon pulled out 2 minutes on the bunch. It was obvious that UK Youth missed the break as they sat 5 riders on the front for over a lap trying to bring back the break, but it wasn't happening for them so they stopped giving chase on the penultimate lap. Throughout this I was staying out of trouble in the bunch feeling fairly comfortable and trying to avoid holes, it was however difficult to move towards the front due to the high pace set on the front so I stayed hidden in the pack. On the last lap I moved up through the pack slowly and with around 5k to go I was in the top 20 trying to jostle for position, a second group got away at this point as Steve Golla (High Wycombe) attacked and took a group with him, they pulled out a small gap and just managed to hold this to the finish. All this meant we were sprinting for about 15th place in the bunch, nevertheless it was going fast down the final straight towards the line and with 1k to go I jumped on the wheel of a Metaltek rider who moved to the front... Not my smartest move as when he pulled off I had nowehere to go so had to move over and try to rejoin the motoring 100% ME train down the right-hand side. I had no time to rectify my position and ended up finishing in the middle of the pack. Phil Lavery (Node-4 Giordana) took the 3-up sprint from the break, with Richard Lang (Rapha) and Tom Moses (100% ME) completing the podium.
We finished the 69 mile course with a 27mph average speed, pretty quick considering the road surface too! I generally felt very good, just need to work on positioning towards the end, and perhaps be more confident with my attacks!
Omega Portsmouth Circuits
I had an early Saturday night and rested up so I was fit and ready to race again on Sunday at Mountbatten centre, Portsmouth. It was even sunnier than Saturday, and my legs were not feeling too bad considering the battering the day before! I had a nice long 30 minute warm up to get the legs nicely loose before the smash-fest began.
The race started fast and attacks came thick and fast, my first meaningful attack saw me escape the peloton with my training partner Nick Baker (Zappi's CC), we pulled out about half a lap on the bunch and held it for around 8 laps, but with just 2 people we were always going to struggle for firepower.
Pulling away with Nick Baker (Zappi's CC)
More attacks came and went but it was apparent that due to the high pace, a break would always struggle to stay away, that didn't stop people trying though! Another attack went and I latched on to it, 2 riders from VC St. Raphael and a Mid Devon CC rider rode off and I was there with them.
Driving the break along!!
3up break pushing on.
We stayed away for 20 minutes and this was to be the most succesful break of the race, except for the solo attack of Toby Neave, he attacked with 4 laps to go and caught the bunch by surprise. He quickly pulled out a third of a lap and held on for the finish, a well timed move to take the win. The bunch kick for 2nd place was led out at high pace and I was sat halfway back, as we rounded the back of the track for the final time I was quickly moving up through the pack and kicked hard, I think I managed a place just outside the top 10, so some minor points. Lewis Atkins (Twenty-3c Orbea) took the bunch sprint from Justin Hoy (Felt).Another good race and my strongest performance of the season so far, feeling better with every race and hopefully coming into form for some early season results!! Next weekend is another double header with MK Bowl crit on Saturday and Evesham Vale Road Race on Sunday.
Ciao!
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