2017 season - A mixed bag
JesseD
Posts: 1,961
At the beginning of the year I set myself 4 goals, there were:
1 - To move to Division 1 and ride/compete with the top boys (including ex commonwealth games and current Island Games riders) by the end of the year.
2 – To win the Division 2 Summer circuit race series.
3 – To win the JCA Vets Road Race Championships
4 – To win the JCA Vets Circuit Race Championships
Well the season is almost over for me and the year has been a mixed bag of results with some early season promise in winning the first divisional road race of the year from a 2 man break and placing in the top 10 in most other races I have entered including any Division 1 and 2 races I have entered.
I kind of met goal 1 as even though I raced Division 2 for most of the year, when I have raced against Division 1 I have managed to get some solid top 10's and even a top 5 in one crit only beaten (just) by 4 riders who were all representing Jersey in the Island Games the month after, I have one more HC road race left this year now and I will be riding in Division 1 to see if I can place in the top 3 (it’s a flatter course favoring the sprinter types)
Goal 2 was not met unfortunately, I missed the first race due to my father in law passing away so family duties took over as they should, however I managed to race the final 4 races out of the 5 and need to win the final race to take the overall, however due to a miscommunication between me and my lead out man, I got caught up temporarily behind him coming out of the last corner and was jumped in the sprint, I managed to make up most of the distance in the sprint but still could only manage 5th.
Goal 3 was always a long shot due to the course being a six lap affair with a climb coming in the first quarter of each lap, not the longest or steepest climb but one that invites attacks. I managed to stay in the bunch on each climb and was with the front group at the start of the last lap and was feeling good, then a move went halfway up the climb and as I went to react my right hamstring cramped, followed by my left hamstring and pedaling became impossible, I got dropped and ended up with a DNF, I was gutted as the break stayed away and was won by a sprint from a small group which I am confident I would have won.
Goal 4 was on Sunday and it was a race that I won last year almost by accident, I was racing in support of a team mate who got caught in a crash on the last lap so I went for it myself and took the sprint. So the pressure was on this year and I was a marked man from the off, every time I attacked or reacted to a move, it seemed like the whole bunch was on my wheel, I was given no space to race at all despite giving it a real go throughout and seemingly attacking on almost every other lap. So for the last 10 mins I settled into the group and conserved energy for the inevitable sprint, then as we approached the last corners to the finish straight I moved up from 4th wheel to second and as soon as we rounded the last corner I opened up at full gas. The sprint is slightly uphill with a crosswind and around 200m long, I had no choice but to lead out and just went full gas. After around 100m I could see wheels coming up both sides but still had one more kick in me and accelerated with everything I had left and took the win by half a bike length. Title retained for another year!
This year was going to be my last year road racing as work and family commitments are starting to increase, but I still have unfinished business now after this year so think I may be able to squeeze another season in before I hang up my racing wheels
1 - To move to Division 1 and ride/compete with the top boys (including ex commonwealth games and current Island Games riders) by the end of the year.
2 – To win the Division 2 Summer circuit race series.
3 – To win the JCA Vets Road Race Championships
4 – To win the JCA Vets Circuit Race Championships
Well the season is almost over for me and the year has been a mixed bag of results with some early season promise in winning the first divisional road race of the year from a 2 man break and placing in the top 10 in most other races I have entered including any Division 1 and 2 races I have entered.
I kind of met goal 1 as even though I raced Division 2 for most of the year, when I have raced against Division 1 I have managed to get some solid top 10's and even a top 5 in one crit only beaten (just) by 4 riders who were all representing Jersey in the Island Games the month after, I have one more HC road race left this year now and I will be riding in Division 1 to see if I can place in the top 3 (it’s a flatter course favoring the sprinter types)
Goal 2 was not met unfortunately, I missed the first race due to my father in law passing away so family duties took over as they should, however I managed to race the final 4 races out of the 5 and need to win the final race to take the overall, however due to a miscommunication between me and my lead out man, I got caught up temporarily behind him coming out of the last corner and was jumped in the sprint, I managed to make up most of the distance in the sprint but still could only manage 5th.
Goal 3 was always a long shot due to the course being a six lap affair with a climb coming in the first quarter of each lap, not the longest or steepest climb but one that invites attacks. I managed to stay in the bunch on each climb and was with the front group at the start of the last lap and was feeling good, then a move went halfway up the climb and as I went to react my right hamstring cramped, followed by my left hamstring and pedaling became impossible, I got dropped and ended up with a DNF, I was gutted as the break stayed away and was won by a sprint from a small group which I am confident I would have won.
Goal 4 was on Sunday and it was a race that I won last year almost by accident, I was racing in support of a team mate who got caught in a crash on the last lap so I went for it myself and took the sprint. So the pressure was on this year and I was a marked man from the off, every time I attacked or reacted to a move, it seemed like the whole bunch was on my wheel, I was given no space to race at all despite giving it a real go throughout and seemingly attacking on almost every other lap. So for the last 10 mins I settled into the group and conserved energy for the inevitable sprint, then as we approached the last corners to the finish straight I moved up from 4th wheel to second and as soon as we rounded the last corner I opened up at full gas. The sprint is slightly uphill with a crosswind and around 200m long, I had no choice but to lead out and just went full gas. After around 100m I could see wheels coming up both sides but still had one more kick in me and accelerated with everything I had left and took the win by half a bike length. Title retained for another year!
This year was going to be my last year road racing as work and family commitments are starting to increase, but I still have unfinished business now after this year so think I may be able to squeeze another season in before I hang up my racing wheels
Obsessed is a word used by the lazy to describe the dedicated!
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