Gifford Road Race.......

AndyD2574

Well........that was a learning curve!!!

Been riding bikes for a long time and raced mountain bikes many, many times and competed in loads of 100 mile sportives but never 'raced' competitively on the road until I entered the 40 mile cat 4 race at Gifford on saturday!

I consider myself to be the fittest I have ever been but I can say I got my @rse well and truly kicked......BIG TIME!!!

My tactic was to 'stay safe' and jump on the back of the group but little did I know that I must have been working twice as hard just to stay there and had little protection and on the first climb I got totally spat off the back and that was it!!!!!!!!........next 4 laps on my own fighting wind and going solo to finish in 1hr 57mins and an embarrassing 'nearly last', to my utter bemusement and annoyance!!

All I can say is that I learned some valuable lessons and I need to be braver and believe that I have the ability to mix it in the group...........'I have only just started to learn how to race my road bike now!!'

glasgowbhoy

Hi Andy,

It was quite a quick pace for a 4th Cat only race. Albeit it was only my 2nd race. I think there were only about 20 left in the leading bunch at the end in a field that started with 80 which shows the range of ability. The key as is promoted on here time and time again is to be near the front and moving forward all the time but not hanging off the front pulling the bunch in the wind. I got most of that right and was right in about it at the sprint finish but was late in my attack on the uphill finish, got boxed in a bit and finished in the worst possible place - 11th, and so just out of the points this time. Unfortunately with no Supr6 series this year there doesn't seem to be as many 4th Cat only races this year so will be harder for newbies like me to get the 10 points needed to move up.
You need fast chaingang runs and APR's now to get you used to the efforts required in the road races. Enter a few (Fenwick and the Lakes are open)and when the clocks change come along to our Monday night chaingang that leaves Torrance bus stop and is a 45min through and off. See Breveheart, Ivy or Gales website for details. There is also the Renfrew Bunch on Tues and Thurs. You'll suffer but you'll improve. Lots of 2nd and 3rds to bring you on.

AndyD2574

Cheers for advice! Doing the Loudon APR this sunday and going to try and get into some crits and also the Lakes. Been out with The Bundy a few times and stayed with them but going to make it more regular and also going to get out with Rab Wardell who does a APR style run on a tuesday.

Total shock to system and trying not to get p1ssed off about it!!

glasgowbhoy

Where is the APR style run on a Tues?
Good luck and dont get annoyed. It wasn't even the strongest rider that won on Sat. He was the guy that went off the front for a lap but got brought back on the last hill. The guy that won was just smart, stayed out the wind and had a gallop. Tactics and positioning are as important as speed, power and strength at this level.

AndyD2574

Glasgowbhoy wrote:

Where is the APR style run on a Tues?
Good luck and dont get annoyed. It wasn't even the strongest rider that won on Sat. He was the guy that went off the front for a lap but got brought back on the last hill. The guy that won was just smart, stayed out the wind and had a gallop. Tactics and positioning are as important as speed, power and strength at this level.

It starts from the The Mellets Heugh Inn up at the end of the A77.......I'll get exact details and post on here.

Johnpsanderson

Glasgowbhoy wrote:

It wasn't even the strongest rider that won on Sat. He was the guy that went off the front for a lap but got brought back on the last hill. The guy that won was just smart, stayed out the wind and had a gallop. Tactics and positioning are as important as speed, power and strength at this level.

+1!!!

Chaingangs are 100% the way to go - and short intervals on the turbo might well help too - you need to be used to the ebb and flow of the bunch - and that's a shock if you aren't used to it... Glas'bhoys not wrong - it's not described as 'chess on wheels' for nothing...

dulldave

20 mins down from the leader Andy. That's pretty much where I finished in that race a couple of years ago. Well done for keeping on going. I saw a lot of people pull out of that race on the last lap, they must've had an important race the next day to stay fresh for ;0)

Just keeping taking the doin's and it'll come good. Advice about the chaingangs is spot on, I'd just add that you should ride in the group one level above your ability if you want to get faster. Measure your progression with how far you go before getting dropped. When you don't get dropped it's time to move up a group.

AndyD2574

Cheers for all the tips and advice lads.
Was speaking to a mate who used to race and he said ' you get nowhere being at the back' and ' in your first few races you will get fcked!!' so dont feel so bad.........glad I finished.

Got the Loudoun APR this sunday and I am in group 2 so just going to see what happens......hopefully will be able to jump on someones wheel and learn even more!!

Happy racing all!!

glasgowbhoy

Keep us updated on progress. Will look out for you at the Lake APR the following week.

AndyD2574

Thats more like it!!!
60 starters in the Loudoun APR and got myself a nice wee 15th place so well chuffed.

My mate from GGCC got 3rd so a good result today for Glasgow Green Cycle Club!

Groups worked really well together and did my share up front.
1hr 42mins for the 38 miles.

What a difference a week makes.......and some proper rest during the week!!

Cheers again for the words of encouragement lads!