The Race Reports Thread 2010

Toks

jibberjim wrote:

Toks wrote:

On the last lap I round him and a few others whilst emptying my anaerobic tank on the final surge up the drag. My first race of the season is thankfully over, fifteenth place I reckon.

Good to see you back! Well hear your reports, I still need to get back to palace (as well as Hog Hill) to see if I can actually with a bunch.

Cheers, I need to ride a lot more economically. It usually takes about 6-10 races but I'll get there. Well done to Maryka. That was a great win in a strong field

Crystal Palace Women's Circuits 5
1 11 Maryka Sennema Kingston Whlrs 2
2 1 Emma Patterson London Dynamo 2
3 5 Emily Bagnall Kingston Whlrs 3 @ 6 secs
4 8 Natalie Geswick Twickenham CC 2
5 14 Charlotte Easton Cyclefit E @ 11 secs
6 6 Natasha Perry Rapha Condor 4 @ 17 secs
7 7 Leona Kadir Sigma RT 2
8 12 Claire Beaumont Rapha Condor 2 @ 35 secs
9 9 Louise Mahe Mule Bar Girls 2
10 Rachel Przybylski Rapha Condor 2
11 13 Sabine Homrighausen Kingston Whlrs 4 @ 50 secs
12 15 Karen Price Dulwich Paragon 2
13 2 Emily Barnes Palmer Pk Velo YA
14 3 Hannah Bowers Mule Bar Girls 3

maryka

Toks wrote:

Well done to Maryka. That was a great win in a strong field

Thanks! It as a tough race last night but a nice win, and great to get a "clean" one without a line of guys to pick through.

I've put a report here on my blog, http://smaryka.blogspot.com/2010/05/cry ... ace-5.html Having done the commissaire's course recently, I've put my name in to be asst. comm every other week at Palace, so it'll be two weeks before I'm back to give the race another go from the other side.

Great to see so many ladies out this year so far, and good strong fields too!

Dess1e

Unlucky last night Toks, getting caught with less than 100 metres to go is heartbreaking after being in a break for the last 7 or 8 laps.

I didn't think we would catch that break at Hillingdon, given the negativity in the bunch. I hope you held on for a catagory placing?

Toks

Dess1e wrote:

Unlucky last night Toks, getting caught with less than 100 metres to go is heartbreaking after being in a break for the last 7 or 8 laps.

I didn't think we would catch that break at Hillingdon, given the negativity in the bunch. I hope you held on for a catagory placing?

Cheers Des, you're various digs didn't go unnoticed I almost joined you on one of them...I bided my time nicely for the first thirty minutes and after an initiall jump to ensure the legs had recovered from my Palace adventure I gave it 40 secs of my best on the back straight. A quick glance back revealed I'd been given a freedom pass so when the Finchley guy and the other bloke got to me on the drag up to finish - breakaway protocal ensued.

Dominic (Rapha Condor) did well to bridge across a few laps later but his contribution then after was limited. You guys were out of sight until the last few laps and faffing around and non committed pulls from Dominic and the Finchley guy meant the inevitable happened. 100metres form the finish line AArrgghhhh!!!Next time the bunch is in view on the loop as we exit it on the mini climb I'll remember to drill it hard across the back and that should be enough. It felt good to be racing with the VETS and most importantly for Hillingdon everyone rode quite safely. See ya soon

LJAR

Did my first race today: Ford CC Dunton Go-Race. I was in the top ten at the last corner and then realized I wast confident enough to contest the sprint.

I didn't get dropped though! (goal achieved).

jibberjim

LJAR wrote:

Did my first race today: Ford CC Dunton Go-Race. I was in the top ten at the last corner and then realized I wast confident enough to contest the sprint.

I didn't get dropped though! (goal achieved).

At the very front of the sprint is often the safest place to be! It's the nutters who think cutting dangerously through 10 people to move up from 45 to 35th who are the big problem, at least out front the crazy moves have a little more space.

I got dropped on the 2nd lap of my first, so well done!

Pross

Welsh Road Race Champs 23/05

The Welsh Road Race champs took place today covering around 80 miles based on a 5 mile loop of the old Raglan to Abergavenny road and returning on the A40.

The race was flat out from the start with a small break goiing clear after a third of a lap. This was quickly brought back and by the start of the second lap everything was back together briefly before Graham Edwards of Abergavenny RC clipped off the front to be joined by Anthony Malarczyk of Team AC/DC, Gareth McGuiness of Energy Cycles, Ian Sutcliffe of Abergavenny RC and three others.

The break quickly opened up a gap of over a minute heading towards the roundabout at Abergavenny but the gap started to come down into the headwind on the A40 and was closed to about 45 seconds. On the old road the tailwind helped the breakaways open the gap back out and again it went over a minute. Back in the bunch several riders managed to get off the front but were soon pegged back as two of the three most represented clubs had riders up the road. Eventually Brendan Sullivan of Cardiff Ajax opened a gap as the race neared Abergavenny for the third time. As Sullivan hit the A40 for the third time he was joined by Dale Appleby of Team Raleigh who had been showing signs of frustration as every move he had made was quickly marked by the bunch that had him down as the danger man. The two worked hard together up the dual carriageway and closed in on the break although it seemed in vain as the bunch again closed to less than 40 seconds and it looked like coming back together.

At the start of the fourth lap the chasers had made contact with the break and their impetus helped stretch the lead yet again to over a minute. Edwards was the first casualty from the break as he made an impromtu detour having hit a dropped water bottle and was unable to regain the group and approaching Abergavenny for the fourth time three others were shelled out as the break built the lead up towards two minutes. Meanwhile, back in the main bunch a crash had occurred at the fastest part of the course as 3 riders went down in a collision with one of the NEG escort bikes. The riders involved all went to hospital with Lowri Bunn (Abergavenny RC) being discharged with cuts and Martin Heritage-Owen of Bush RT (who was the reluctant wearer of the number 13!) and Gareth Pugh (Cwmcarn Paragon) staying in overnight as they recover from a cruched vertebrae / fractured sit bone and broken / dislocated shoulder respectively.

At the front of the race the lead was still opening slightly as the main bunch failed to maintain a concerted chase and the bulk of the work was done by Team Forza. Ben Simmons of Team Wiggle broke off the front of the main group and made slight inroads into the breaks lead as the attacks started in the front group but it was too little, too late and the 5 leaders fought out the uphill sprint past Raglan Castle with Appleby taking the win from McGuiness and Sullivan with Sutcliffe taking fourth from Malarczyk who cramped at the finish. Simmons just held off the bunch for sixth place and Hugh Wilson of Team Qoroz leading in the bunch ahead of Tim Rose of Abergavenny RC.

Full results:-

1 Dale Appleby - Team Raleigh
2 Gareth McGuiness - Energy Cycles
3 Brendan Sullivan - Cardiff Ajax
4 Ian Sutcliffe - Abergavenny RC
5 Anthony Malarczyk - AC/DC
6 Ben Simmons - Wiggle
7 Hugh Wilson - Team Qoroz
8 Tim Rose - Abergavenny RC
9 Tom Smith
10 Barry Marples
11 Dave Bees - Forza
12 Gruffud Lewis - Ystwyth
13 John Fitzpatrick - Abergavenny RC
14 James Norman - Cardiff JIF
15 Luke Dix - cardiff JIF
16 Conan Mayman - Raleigh
17 John Williams - Cwmcarn
18 Mike O'Neil - Forza
19 Paul Tucker - Team VR
20 Courtney Rowe - Cardiff JIF
21 ??????? - Forza
22 Roger Dunbar - Cardiff JIF
23 Gareth Rees - Newport Pheonix
24 John Holt -
25 Del Delaronde - Cardiff JIF
26 Dave Crowley - Port Talbot
27 Russ White - Forza
28 Jonny Webb - Abergavenny RC
29 Rowan Marshal - Bynea
30 Guy Stevens - Abergavenny RC
31 Matt Haase - VC St Raphael
32 Gerry Bowditch - CC Abergavenny
33 Eifion Weinzweig -
34 Richie Harris - Cwmcarn Paragon
35 Matt Ackland - Forza
36 Gareth Sheppard - Cardiff JIF
37 Graham Howell - Forza
38 Angharad Mason - Cardiff JIF
39 Rob Bignell - Abergavenny RC
40 Steve Kidd - Cardiff JIF
41 Rob Powell - Team VR
42 Dave Trigg - Cardiff JIF
43 Arwel Davies - Bynea
44 Luigi Baccerini - Energy Cycles
45 James Lewis - Port Talbot
46 Alex Bland - Forza
47 John Aspell - Forza
48 Mark Williams - Cardiff JIF
49 ??????????? - Forza
50 Rich Raymond - Cwmcarn
51 Gareth Jenkins - Cwmcarn
52 Stu Meek - Cardiff JIF
53 Steve Edwards - Cardiff JIF
54 James Hansell - Cardiff JIF
55 Hefin Price - Port Talbot
56 Ian Bendall - Forza
57 Graham Edwards - Abergavenny RC
58 Rich Bowen - Abergavenny RC
59 Darren Stone - Cardiff JIF
60 Matt Beckett - Cardiff JIF
61 Alex Greenfield - Horizon Fitness

Hopefully Gareth and Martin will recover quickly.

Bronzie

Pross wrote:

Team AC/DC

quality team name :P

Pross

It is isn't it - not sure if it's a team of rock stars or people with gender issues!

I think it's Ashfield Cycles / Dudleys Construction who also sponsor his previous club, Cwmcarn Paragon. Seems to be a team of one!

gattocattivo

I did the 3rds/4ths race at Hog Hill this afternoon in the Rapha Condor Series - a big mistake. The weather was appalling: strong winds from the south-west and torrential rain which really got going about 15 minutes before we started. I already felt like I'd jumped into a muddy lake just from doing my warm up.

I just couldn't handle the conditions today. It wasn't being wet that was the problem, it was handling the bike. On the first lap the wind hit us on the descent and drove the rain into my face like a load of machine gun bullets. I wasn't wearing my sunglasses as I thought they'd become impossible to see through almost immediately, but this didn't help at all: I really couldn't see anything. I knew there was a right turn at the bottom of the hill but I couldn't see it and I was sure I was going to come off or take someone out if I didn't slow down. I had to brake repeatedly and went rapidly from the front of the bunch to about two-thirds of the way back.

The bottom circuit wasn't quite as bad and I worked my way forwards again on the climb, but when we hit the first sharp downhill bend on the second lap there was a gusting crosswind and I was struggling to stay on the track. The main descent was just as bad as the first time round and I'd already had enough by this point. I went off the back, not really through lack of strength but just complete inability to cope with the conditions. There were already a load of dropped riders behind me, probably all thinking the same as me: “why the f4ck am I doing this?”

I ground my way miserably on for a while, then sat up and waited for a couple of riders to catch me so that we could work together. The rain wasn’t as heavy now, but there was so much surface water that taking someone’s wheel meant you got a non-stop faceful of muddy, gritty water. We caught a few more and the leaders of the women’s race came past us (they were set off after the men). The two break away leaders of the men’s race lapped us on the hill after about 35 minutes and I realised the bunch would probably catch me on the descent. I didn’t fancy getting in anyone’s way and couldn’t see any point continuing so I just gave up then. That’s the 12th time I’ve raced at Hog Hill and easily the worst conditions I’ve come across.

gattocattivo

Just been looking through the photos from London Cyclesport. Judging from this one it looks like most people chose to keep their sunglasses on, some even wearing the darkest shades. Did I make a mistake in deciding not to wear mine? I was virtually blinded at times in the early laps, but I thought it would be even worse with glasses on as it would be like a windscreen in heavy rain without any wipers. Someone else said to me afterwards that he was wearing sunglasses, but every time he went up the hill they steamed up and he couldn't see anything, so maybe it's just swings and roundabouts.

More photos:
Near the back of the bunch on either the first or second lap and thoroughly p1ssed off
wet and alone shortly afterwards
With an Eagle for company

jibberjim

I think it is personal choice, I couldn't've worn sunglasses, as they always steam up when working hard in that weather, so are completely useless. I need glasses to see but I find my regular glasses steam up much less.

I don't think there was any easy choice in those conditions! You did well to even ride, I'm not sure I'd've started.

gattocattivo

My frame seems to have filled up with water: any advice welcome on this thread.

gattocattivo

Back in action again tonight: I tried the Dunton Series for the first time. This was a welcome change from Hog Hill: the hill is much less steep and the corners are much less technical. The weather was much better than Saturday, but there was a strong wind blowing from east-to-west which meant the approach to the finishing line was hard and slow.

For the first couple of laps I lurked near the back of the bunch while I got used to the steep banking on the bends at either end on the circuit. At both ends the banking switches, so you can't really avoid it: if you ride low round the first bit, you have to ride high round the next bit. I hadn't ridden on anything like that before, but by the end of the race I was happy to ride right at the top of it.

After about 15 minutes I thought I better work my way up to a better position in the bunch. I ended having a dig on the mini-climb and surging off the front. A couple of Southend riders joined me and tried to get a break going. One of them went really hard and I had to bury myself to get up to his wheel. A few more joined us and tried to get organised, but I didn't have much left and the bunch swallowed us up within a lap. I had another dig a bit later with similar results.

After that I took it easy towards the back of the bunch to make sure I didn’t wear myself out before the end. When the bell went I was near the back and realised I needed to do something. I was planning to attack on the climb again, but I got boxed in and couldn’t make much progress. I spent the whole of the last lap trying to work my way forwards, but it was tricky to find the gaps. Round the final bends I was on the inside (the left) and twice had to dodge riders going much slower (presumably lapped). On the finishing straight I tried to go hard on the extreme left hand side, but again got boxed in. I’d put it in top gear, but if anything the pace seemed to slow down as the leaders were being blasted by the wind, and I was overgeared for the sprint.

Don’t have the official results yet, but I’d guess I was about 20th out of about 50 or something like that (with probably about 40 riders left for the bunch finish). We did about 24 miles at 23mph average speed. I definitely want to race there again: next time I’ll make sure I fight for a good position with two or three laps to go.

jibberjim

gattocattivo wrote:

Back in action again tonight: I tried the Dunton Series for the first time. This was a welcome change from Hog Hill: the hill is much less steep and the corners are much less technical.

Glad to read a report of you racing somewhere other than Hog Hill! I raced there tonight 2 laps, puncture, (which I'd actually must've had since the start I think, it was just a slow one, but made cornering soft!) DNF.

Keep trying to go off the front, it may wear you out abit, but it's good training, and it wears everyone else out too!

Homer J

No Kitsmead Lane Jim?

jibberjim

Homer J wrote:

No Kitsmead Lane Jim?

Unfortunately not, various reasons went to Hog Hill, very unsuccessfully, Kitsmead would've been much the better choice.

Pinarello Marc

Sheffrec CC / JE James Evening Road Race 1 - Report

54 riders departed from the Fox and Goose for the first Sheffrec CC / JE James evening road race. Damp but ever drying conditions met the riders for 17 laps of the 2.2 mile Barlow Triangle on the outskirts of Sheffield. The days previous heavy rain had caused race organisers problems and had to spend well over an hour sweeping the corners and making sure the mud washed from nearby fields was removed from the circuit. Many thanks to marshals and in particular Pete Dungworth for his efforts with shovel and broom!

The first attack of the evening came on lap 2 from race sponsors JE James rider, Charles Tennick but by the following lap he was safley back in the bunch who were looking like they’d completed the Paris Roubaix with mud sprayed over most of the bunch riders. Furth attacks came on laps 3, 4 and 5 with unattached rider Ben Thomas gaining a slight advantage over the bunch. By lap 6 all was back together with a few riders drifting off the back due to the three sharp corners that we making the race more like a crit than an open road race.

The first Science in Sport Prime came at 7 laps and was easily claimed by Chris Metcalfe riding for Matlock CC. Most riders looked content to just sit in the main bunch and wait to make their moves. The major move of the night came from local rider Danny Lowthorpe riding for Rutland CC. Danny soon gained a 20 second advantage over his rivals. On lap 9, two riders emerged from the bunch to successfully bridge the gap and join forces to ensure that this was a race winning move. The group of now 3 was made up of original instigator Danny Lowthorpe, VS Cycles Dominic Turner and another local rider, Tony Grassby from Peak Road Club. These guys meant business and soon pulled out at 40 second advantage with most riders willing just to remain in the shelter of the main bunch.

The closing laps saw the trio of Grassby, Turner and Lowthorpe further extend their lead to 1 minute and the winner of the race would now come from this move. A late surge by Paul Allen of Wakefield CC and team mate of Grassby, Steve Gibson meant that they escaped the main pack but never really made an impact on catching the 3 riders up the road. The last lap came and still the 3 riders were together as the bell rang. The crowds gathered at the finish line it was Danny Lowthorpe who emerged from the mist to take the win in style. Dan had made a jump on the penultimate climb and this saw him cross the line with 15 seconds to spare from his 2 breakaway companions.

The pairing of Grassby and Turner claimed the remaining podium places with Dominic Turner edging out Tony Grassby just before the line. A further 34 seconds back came Steve Gibson and Paul Allen to claim 4th and 5th. The bunch sprint for 6th was won by JE James rider Charles Tennick just seeing off Luke Allen, Doncaster Wheelers and local veteran rider Rob Blackburn also from JE James RT. The top 10 was rounded of by Craig Wilson from Birdwell Wheelers and Ben Last of Sportscover Strategic.

1. Danny Lowthorpe, Rutland CC 37.2 miles in 1.33.19 2. Dominic Turner, VS Cyles @ 15 seconds 3. Tony Grassby, Peak RC same time 4. Steve Gibson, Peak RC @ 34 seconds 5. Paul Allen, Wakefield CC Exponential same time 6. Charles Tennick, JE James RT @ 1.00 minute 7. Luke Allen, Doncaster Wheelers 8. Robert Blackburn, JE James RT 9. Criag Wilson, Birdwell Wheelers 10. Ben Last, Sportscover Strategic 11. Mark Fidler, JE James RT 12. Ivan Boyes, Huddersfield Star Wheelers 13. Lee Allen, RVO Racing 14. Chris Metcalfe, Matlock CC 15. Steve Tompkin, Thurcroft CC 16. John Wright, Wakefield CC 17. Mike Salkeld, Crosstrax 18. James Farnaby, Crosstrax 19. Chris Lynch, Sheffrec CC 20. James Wagner, Sportscover 21. Ian Davenport, Dinnington RC 22. Jed Hartley, Cleveleys RC 23. Sam Kirby, RVO Racing 24. James Hunt, Sheffrec CC 25. Mick Clayton, RVO Racing, all same time 26. Luke Raynor, Ashfield RC 27. Guy Cook, Chesterfield Couriers 28. Stewart Gregory, Nottingham Clarion 29. Matt Sumpton, Mini ODV, Orbea 30. Graeme Huston, GS Metro 31. Christopher Scott, RVO Racing 32. Matt Rigby, Norton Wheelers 33. Russell Jones-Davies, JE James RT 34. Jason Shipton, Moonglu RT 35. Alex Wallis, Sportcover Strategic 36. Simon Cocker, Unattached 37. Nick Fry RVO Racing @ 1 lap 38. Richard Walker, Unattached @ 1 lap

Many thanks to the event sponsors JE James Cycles and Science in Sport, the Commissares, Brent Storey, Dave Stewart, all Sheffrec CC marshals and car drivers, The Fox & Goose Public House and most importantly the riders who supported this event.

The second evening race returns to the Barlow Triangle on the 6th of July.

Link here:

http://www.sheffrec-cc.org.uk/events/evening_road_races.html



Marc Etches
Event Organiser
Sheffrec Cycling Club.

jibberjim

Etape de la Defonce - 2 day / 3 stage race in Wales.

Warning, extremely long and possibly boring!

With my fellow KingstonWheelers, we were doing this fun albeit somewhat short stage race.

Stage 1 TTT 7.1 miles rolling/hilly

We started hard, working reasonably well, unfortunately passing the scene of a nasty accident from one of the other local teams which had two of their riders in hospital after a pothole. We weren't terribly smooth copying our lack of practice and up quite a long draggy hill we dropped a rider. Some then miscommunication as I called someone through and heard them shout something I took to be "I'm going to have to miss a turn" led me to do an extra long turn. However actually he'd missed by signal and move and was actually shouting something completely different. With only 3 riders we continued to be ragged but reasonably fast.

Finished in 3rd place on the TTT, against our local rivals London Dynamo who won just from a welsh club - Having seen the dynamo actually practicing in the park in full aero gear on thursday I wasn't too surprised that they won. We lost 39 seconds to the Dynamo, and gained a few on the other teams. Even being well drilled we probably wouldn't've found those 39 seconds, could've certainly found more though, and I came off the TTT somewhat disappointed, made more so by losing the Power data when my Garmin shut off half way through, here's my power data.

Duration:  	6:34
Norm Power:	413
VI:        	1.06
Distance:  	4.297 km
					Min	Max	Avg
Power:       	0		770	388 	watts
Heart Rate:  	114	174	169 	bpm
Speed:       	8.3	55.3	39.3 	kph

Shouldn't really have been disappointed of course, it was a strong result, and without practicing, and some big differences in aero gear between us, it was still a good result for the team.

Stage 1a Rolling Road race 53miles

The sun was still shining, and the wind was pretty light, a nice day for a ride. I'd not even driven the course which was 2 loops of a 22mile course and an extra out and back that was on the TT course and up a finishing hill which I'd also only heard about and not seen. It started off at a reasonable pace, with lots of little attacks, but the Dynamo were doing a good job of chasing everything back, giving single riders a reasonable leash, but anything bigger was stomped on quickly. All the Wheelers had a go off the front, although my only significant effort with 3 other guys ended quite quickly as we just looked at each other rather than working together.

Despite warnings in the race notes of unrestrained sheep and cattle grids the ride was nicely event free, other than briefly hearing a shout and seeing two riders, including my lovely wife (who wasn't on our team, she was guesting for the Surrey League Ladies) having to hop on and off a pavement to avoid a dodgy swerve around a pothole.

Did a bit of work to help out the Dynamo when they asked, only really when the welsh team ahead of us on GC were away - which to be fair is the only time they asked. They rode well really strongly to defend the jersey, chasing everything, including one lapse in keeping tabs of who was down the road managing to live up to their local reputation in 4th cat races of chasing their own guys down.

At the end of lap 2 before the TTT course there was a fast downhill followed by a sharp left hand turn and up a steep hill, I'd drifted back on the descent, as I'm a bit of a wimp descending, and a car stopped on the corner forced everyone much slower and single file past it. Unfortunate timing for the bunch, but the marshalling otherwise was excellent, 4 NEG bikes and on day 2 a police bike too, great marshalling by the static guys and all in all an excellently run race on long and interesting circuits.

The car made it a little harder for me up the hill, but I'd not really done much in the race so pulled myself back up to the group without a problem. Although I was a little surprised how small the bunch was as I thought it had been a relatively comfortable race.

A mile before the final Prime (I'd ignored all the primes) I was just following a wheel forward up a climb when for some reason he decided to swerve sideways from in front of me and into other riders bringing a few down, no injuries I believe but a few tangled up people and much annoyance. Half the field had to stop, but the bunch didn't push on and allowed them to get on pretty easily - I suspect with no-one knowing who was where no-one wanted to drop their team mates, or maybe we were all just kind.

With 5.5 miles to go, up a strong hill, a rider went, a local guy, and the welsh guys said he'd blow so no need to chase, no-one really did, the Dynamo kept a good pace on the front, but weren't quite chasing hard. However after a few miles it was clear he was actually gone and the Yellow jersey and one dynamo were doing their last strong efforts to reduce the gap, the domestique Roy in particularly managing to give enough that he went backwards almost all the way through the very split group up the final hill. A pretty good result for his 4th ever race.

I was holding perfectly comfortably up the hill, on a wheel in the top 10 (it's only about 3 or 4% on a good road so we were still flying along) but with about 200m to go there was a kick, I couldn't respond - my normal complete lack of any finish which I need to address! - and I drifted just off the front bunch, being a few bike lengths behind the 12th place guy and annoyingly enough for it to be a gap to get the time of the 2nd group. My laziness and lack of finishing technique (I can't seem to attack from a 300watt effort in a finish, in the middle of a race on a hill I can do it no problem, but I get the gears wrong I think, or something no idea.)

So not a bad result, but we dropped to 4th place on team because of my miss there - 2 of the team only just behind us in the TTT made the front group. Team mate made 6th, and moved up on GC.

Again I was frustrated with how I rode, I took it too easy during the race, it was not much more than a hard club run for a lot of it for me, and I was content just to sit and watch for way too much, I know I can't finish, so no idea why I just sit there until it!

Duration:  	2:11:10
TSS:       	184.6 (intensity factor 0.919)
Norm Power:	294
VI:        	1.23
Distance:  	84.361 km
Elev Gain:    	1387 m
					Min	Max	Avg
Power:       	0		1108	240 	watts
Heart Rate:  	126	177	155 	bpm
Speed:       	13.8	66.8	38.6 	kph

Stage 2 43 mile hilly road race.

I'd ridden the hills on friday evening, so I knew what to expect, they weren't that steep, 12% or so maximum, but were a little longer than the surrey hills, however the better surface actually made them surprisingly quick and easy to climb, so I was actually looking forward to this stage. With our whippet climber, we also had high hopes for a good team result, but were a little questioning about how well the locals would climb, after all they must know the climbs like the back of their hands.

The Dynamo had lost the yellow jersey to bonus seconds on a prime and the new yellow jersey team decided to sit on the front ride hard, slightly confused as to why they did this, as there were no real efforts of people to get away - a few people tried briefly, but those that did you would've been astonished had they still been there at the top of the first hill.

The first hill, the steepest, 1.2km at 10% with more draggy flat after, Just before this there was a hard turn up another steep hill and a short descent. And everyone sprinted out of that corner to get position for the hill. As soon as the hill started though I moved almost effortlessly to the front as the new yellow jersey team shouted out for everyone to take it easy and ride up slow. Coming after me around the outside was my teammate Damien attacking and shortly after Ben Jacobs of London Dynamo with 3 other guys went off up the hill.

I had a choice, I could go with, or I could ride easily and set a slow tempo for the climb. I chose the latter, thinking with the long descents, and there must surely be lots of local good climbers that chasing after Damien would just take more up and nullify the chance of them being allowed to go for the Primes.

Slightly oddly the yellow jersey then said "Let them go, they're just sprinting for 10 quid". This was a little odd considering the guys down the road were the previous days winner, The previous days yellow jersey holder and the lead KW in the race. I was so surprised to hear it I actually laughed and said out loud that I don't think they were. Fortunately this didn't make him react - maybe he thought it was a bluff?

I rode easy (well as easy as 3 1/2 minutes at 413 watts can be, but that's still less than I can do for 6 minutes up box hill, and Damien is stronger than me up hill, so I knew he'd still be extending his gap!) and the front few accepted the tempo I was setting, however a lot of the guys were tailing off behind up this climb. It pretty much destroyed the field.

There was only a short relief, a minute of descending, before straight back to another climb, a few people had passed me on the flat at the top and down the descent, and I had to sprint around a few guys once the 4% grade kicked in to get back to the leaders, but once it kicked up to 8% again I was allowed back to the front to set a tempo, which this time I pitched at 300 watts. On cresting I think the yellow jersey realised his foolishness - or maybe it was always his plan to let them go and get them back on the descent, as he flew down the descent, and despite some sharp bends through roundabouts and an almost flat ride we averaged over 32mph for the next 8 minutes.

Looking around there were only 8 of us in this yellow jersey group, and the yellow jersey had none of his team, and we had 3 dynamo and me who had no interest in chasing, and he wasn't getting any help from the others - only one of which was from a welsh club, and even he is really from the South East and friends with dynamo's.

At the sprint prime which was pretty much at the turnaround before we did the two big hills again, the yellow jersey sat up, a little blown, a little annoyed that no-one else would help him, either way it was good to happen! I went to the front and set a pace up the slight hill, I was mostly riding at around 50watts, and everyone was letting me, so I knew now that the break should be getting some decent time.

After a minute or so of this blistering tempo I was setting up the hill more people arrived from behind, a group of 25 or so had caught us up, including 2 teammates of the GC and another of my teammates. One of the Yellow Jersey teammates hit the front, asking if I had a guy in the break, not sure why as why else would I be riding so slowly?

The pace up the first gentle part of the hill really wasn't fast, 2nd wheel, 250watts bored more than comfortable, but pleased of course at how it was playing out. We struggled to get gaps, the marshalls and spectators at the feed station even didn't seem to know, or want to give us them, but occasionally the NEG guys let us know and it was around a minute at this stage already, with 1 1/2 big hills to go.

As it steepened again, I again found myself on the front and just kept pace with a local guy and chatted - asking him if was going to chase or not, thankfully he wasn't... Neither of us were working hard, but behind there were some laboured breathing, and I really began to wonder why the local guys weren't better climbers, I'd come to realise my easy pace up these hills was getting close to their all out.

Over the top the yellow jersey again showed us he knew how to descend and I dropped a few places and then hit disaster at the bottom of the next and final climb, my chain fell off going to the small ring. I was back through the group - trying to rock it back on with out stopping, failed. I stopped, dismounted, put the chain back on, watched the convoy go by, remounted and started riding, the Garmin shows 20 seconds stopped. And I was off after the group. The convoy was nice enough to give me plenty of room and 90seconds at 480 watts and I was already back on the back of the group, by the crest of the hill I was back in 5th place. From oh rats, I'm riding solo chasing, to oh dear these guys really can't climb, why did I stay with them in less than 3 minutes. This really defined the race for me, and showed me how much I'd got it wrong tactically.

Off down the descents and down the long run towards the finish, mostly downhill, a few little rollers particularly 6miles from the finish where there are a couple of rises. The yellow jersey guys put in a good chase, got help from one other and we were well strung out going fast unless it was uphill when we weren't... I just sat near the front and watched.

6miles to go, I was sitting top 5 when from behind someone went up the first hill, unfortunately he had a teammate on his wheel who then dropped in in front of me and blocked my route to join him, one other guy tried and they were both off down the road holding maybe 15 and 25 seconds away.

The final real hill before the finishing hill and I took my chance to join them, 20seconds at 700 watts, a look back to make sure none of the yellow jersey guys had come with me and then pressed on to catch them, Made it to the first and we worked together digging into the first and holding the bunch comfortably on this uphill, however after we turned onto the main road and down the long hill we started to lose time to those behind, every time I looked behind they seemed closer. I leaned as much over the front of my bike as I could - even managing to stop the garmin mounted on my stem as I did it.

We couldn't hold off the 4 big guys working behind and they caught us depressingly easily - 8 minutes at 350watts is all I managed before stopping the Garmin, although a fair bit of that was freewheeling at 65km/h. Settled back into the bunch, rolled in middle of it up the hill, again no real sprint at the end, despite this time having Damien there actually cheering for me, I can't finish!

So a good result for the Team, Damien away and taking 2nd on GC, 3rd on stage, and me and Dave in the bunch to ensure we were also up to 2nd team on GC (Ben Jacobs and the Dynamo won both GC and Team overall with all 4 of their riders in the top 8 overall, a great ride.)

I finished =12th on GC, which should get me my first points of the year (although I should get some from the TTT too, but that's cheating really) but again I was disappointed, I made the wrong decision not to go with the break initially, but I was just not expecting the welsh guys to be so poor climbers!

Stats (again missing the last few minutes)

Duration:  	1:54:18
TSS:       	170.2 (intensity factor 0.945)
Norm Power:	302
VI:        	1.24
Distance:  	69.195 km
Elev Gain:    	1373 m
					Min	Max	Avg
Power:       	0	1191	243 	watts
Heart Rate:  	101	173	152 	bpm
Speed:       	0	172.7	36.3 	kph

So once again, my brain not my legs letting me down, but still an enjoyable ride, stage races, good team mates, friendly opposition and good rivalries all made for a good ride. The courses were great, it was well run, and I can recommend the race to everyone!

Pross

Any idea of the full results and who the yellow jersey was during the final stage? Trying to find out how my clubmates got on. As for your query about local riders not climbing well I suspect this is because those who are get plenty of chances to pick up points racing around here and quickly move up to second cat.

maryka

Pross wrote:

Any idea of the full results and who the yellow jersey was during the final stage? Trying to find out how my clubmates got on. As for your query about local riders not climbing well I suspect this is because those who are get plenty of chances to pick up points racing around here and quickly move up to second cat.

Dave Povall was the yellow jersey on day 2. He's an um interesting character to say the least.

http://www.veloriders.co.uk/phpBB2/view ... 21#1197021 has the full results.

As for my own result, I'll put together a proper blog post and analysis shortly but I was happy to stay with the bunch on day 1 and finish in the 2nd group on day 2. More importantly I managed to snag the overall women's GC from Ang Mason who is probably kicking herself for not attacking me more to gain back the time she lost on the TTT. Though truth be told, I won it honestly as we went in with a team of 4 ladies who pulled together a great TTT for me. So I'm happy with the results.

Pross

Thanks Maryka and well done. My club mate was 3rd lady - pretty good in her first season and having had a few heavy falls recently. With a bit of luck and hard work I might try to get a ride in this next year.

jibberjim

Pross wrote:

As for your query about local riders not climbing well I suspect this is because those who are get plenty of chances to pick up points racing around here and quickly move up to second cat.

I guess that sounds reasonable , unlike here in the southeast where it tends to be the good climbers who stay as 3rd and 4th cats as the races don't really suit them.

I'd highly recommend racing, the first day kept together, and even the pretty hilly second day only split into a couple of groups, so even if you're nearer the back of the field than the front you should be able to get some reasonable rides in, rather than just ending up solo.

Pross

My only stage race was the Gwent 2 day (now evolved into the Junior Tour Of Wales). I did well in the prologue hill climb but then got dropped at the end of the neutralised section of the first stage finishing nearly an hour down after 60 miles on my own :oops: I then got dropped with a couple of others after 10 miles of the second day. Two of us carried on, was a much better day and I only lost 45 minutes I think it's fair to say my stage racing career can only improve Are you doing the Ras de Cymru?

Bronzie

Great race report Jim, really enjoyed reading that and your stats always make me realise why I struggle to even finish races most of the time. Very enlightening.

Still can't work out how you aren't getting placings regularly - I'm sure it will come together for you though.

jibberjim

Bronzie wrote:

Great race report Jim, really enjoyed reading that and your stats always make me realise why I struggle to even finish races most of the time. Very enlightening.

I'm sure Maryka will show how 200 watts can get you into the bunch on the first day, remember I'm notoriously wasteful with my watts. If we just looked at power numbers I'd be doing a lot better I'm sure.

It really highlights that it's not numbers that get you results!

gattocattivo

Did the Rapha Condor series at Hog Hill again on Saturday. Judging from this photo I managed to pick up a decent 3rd place in the women's race:
http://londoncyclesport.com/Assets/LondonCycleSport+Digital+Assets/rapcon20103gall.jpg
Just a shame I was actually in the men's race.

Toks

Great report as always Jim, well done to you, Maryka and the Wheelers. I hope the Dulwich guys who went down recover quickly. A storming stage win by Dynamo's showing the locals how we do things down South (I see nobody on Veloriders was prepared to give the LD massive their props), ..That David Povall's a sandbagger. :oops: I'm sure he's been a 1st cat before

Dess1e

Toks wrote:

Great report as always Jim, well done to you, Maryka and the Wheelers. I hope the Dulwich guys who went down recover quickly. A storming stage win by Dynamo's showing the locals how we do things down South (I see nobody on Veloriders was prepared to give the LD massive their props), ..That David Povall's a sandbagger. :oops: I'm sure he's been a 1st cat before

To be fair Toks, the thread on VR was discussing the VR team, who did win 2 stages with a local rider Besides VR as you know is pretty much tounge in cheek..

jibberjim

Pross wrote:

Are you doing the Ras de Cymru?

Doesn't look like we made it in Which is a real shame!