Tagged: road racing

Okehampton CC Brentor Road Race

I have been slacking with race reports on here of late.  For example the fantastic Etape De La Defonce deserves a write up for the quality of the race (try PJ’s instead).  I managed to bag points in the TTT, 2nd Road Stage & the GC, tipping me over to 3rd Cat.  Maybe I have been spending too much time stretching instead of blogging after riding.

Anyway on to the Okehampton CC Brentor Road Race.  This was a 3/4 Cat race on the same course as I had ridden a 2/3/4 stage race earlier in the year (click here and scroll down a bit).  Knowing whats around the corners helps so much thats for sure.  4 other members of The South where in attendance (all had ridden the 2/3/4 as well), along with about 46 others from various clubs.

There was a dire forecast, Kierans twitter doom mongering was there to remind us of this.  Luckily the weather pretty much held, yes the ground was damp and there was some puddles about but aside from one shower it actually held.  Bonus.

Bringing more doom then Electric Wizard

 

Lots of things seemed to accidentally happened.  I neglected to check my tire pressure but it was bob on for the conditions, I got in an accidental solo break for a large portion of the race.

Now I say it was accidental but we were firing riders off left right and centre in the early laps.  Tom, Kieran and Me all had a go but it kept coming back together for the group to diddle up the climb.

It was accidentally good timing when I finally got away though.  The lap after the final prime (lap 5) following the downhill drag I pushed through the rolling kick and got a gap.  With no reaction from the bunch I pushed it on a little bit more and rode threshold up the climb.  Next time I looked back they were out of sight.

Scenarios start to run through you head, psychologically and tactically it is a big thing to be out of sight.  Even better then that when the Commi’s put a car between me and the bunch I knew it was pretty good . I decided to manage my effort as worst case I would get brought back and one of the others could attack.  I knew the bunch had been slacking on the downs and going relatively slow up the climb. I rode the climb in the low 90′s of my max HR and most of  the rest just below 90.  The first time I have properly used my HR monitor in a race, knew it would come in useful at some point….

Spot the break away (I think it was actually a little bit later then where it looks there)

 

I crossed the finish line in the lead again on the next lap.  At this point I realised the move could actually stick as the rest of the riders where still out of sight.  I went to take on my last gel and dropped it, hoping this wasn’t a sign for potential fading energy!  A couple of cars snuck onto the course in front of me despite the best efforts of the marshalls as well, I wasted a tiny bit of energy shouting at the drivers, they were moved on rapidly by the lead cars though.

I was joined just after the beginning of the last lap by Andrew Feather, who I knew was a strong rider.  He had smoked a lot of people at The Only Way Is Up Road Race so I knew he would do me on the final climb here.  When he joined I had a quick word to suggest we share the load which he was receptive to.  In reality it was quite even but I did bigger turns on the downhill sections where he was slowing, my interest was in ensuring that this move stayed out.  There was a sketchy moment on the final corner where we both nearly went down in a patch of gravel.  True to my predictions he rode me of his wheel on the climb, a quick look behind showed I had plenty of a gap to take 2nd!

The junction is almost made, I look like I am hurting a bit here.

 

With a big solo effort involved I was well happy.  My results have just kept improving through the season and the rest of the boys commented I had been due a good result.  It’s nice to know others had faith in me where I may have been doubting myself slightly.

Lots of things conspired together in this race that meant I got the breaks.  It was short race distance, only 37 miles in the end!  I had a lot of rest in the week (I was nervous this would hinder me before the weekend, I know long term its not a good plan).  I for some reason was given the rope to open up a gap. Tom, Kieran, & Mark patroling the bunch and makign a nusiance of themselves.  The team work of Bristol South has been exemplary the season and it’s a real privilege riding with such a good bunch of guys.

To cap it off Tom had come in 8th, chipping away at the points to make 2nd cat.   Mark was 11th, knocking on the door of points just again.  Kieran came in just behind after a lot of early work, extremely selfless!

Making paper in the tequila sunrise (got to be the go to drink for end of season party right?!)

 

I really like the way that as a team we (almost) always look to shape a race rather then waiting for it to take shape.  The same happened in the Etape where joining in attacks or creating attacks really worked out for us.  Its awesome to see red and gold up the road in races.

Unlike the 2/3/4 race here I was not struggling at the back of the group but riding alone off the front of it, this is testament to how far I have come this season even though it was a lower category race.  My personal lap split times where on the whole higher then that race.  While 2nd cat is going to be out of touch this year it is definitely something I will aim for next year, I just need to start my charge a bit earlier.

Lloyd Coward Memorial Road Race

Last Sunday we headed into deepest Dorset to race the Lloyd Coward Memorial Road Race (3/4 Cat) organised by CC Weymouth.

It’s a good job we build a bit of time slack into our plans.  Tom was running late, and we had to strap the bike rack to the top of his car when he got to us.  This combined with a lack of petrol meant we had a bit of rally drive to get there.  We arrived with about twenty minutes to go which meant we would be using the first lap to warm up.  Luckily nobody turned the screw from the off so we were fine doing this. After the shoddy weather of the previous week it was great to have some sun at the start line.  For some reason I still raced in arm warmers though, got a bit toasty.

Coming into the race I knew Kieran had good legs.  He had been smashing me all over the previous week which was my first lot of riding after a full week of doing absolutely nowt.  My legs felt like they were coming back to life through the week though so I was not too worried.

Pythagoras course; 4.5 laps, bugger all climbing.

Looking at the course profile I expected it to be similar to the Brentor race earlier in the season.  After the first lap it was apparent that there was essentially no climbing.  This suggested we would be heading towards a bunch sprint at the end.  The places have some crazy names down there, Puddletown anyone?

Throughout the race all five of us communicated really well.  Letting people know if someone was in the break and making team decisions to chase moves down or let them go. This was normally helped by the fact we had someone in the break.  Kieran was really marshalling things at the front and Tom had a couple of goes at getting away but nothing stuck.  It was pretty windy on the downhill section which did not help matters when you were out there alone.

Kieran got himself into what looked to be a big move with about 8 riders, unfortunately he paid for his earlier efforts and after a little time away he dropped off the back of the break.  After a quick word with Sam and Mark we moved to the front to pull the break back.  Tom eased up slightly to try and get Kieran on to his wheel and keep him near the front of the bunch.  Great use of the numbers we had.

As we crossed the line for the final lap Sam bridged to another rider who had made a move.  He got there and they opened up a decent gap pretty qucikly, I think it went out to about 40 seconds.  As this happened Mark and Tom moved back slightly in the bunch.  I rode up the outside and pulled Mark to the front as with Sam out it meant we would have an armchair ride to the finish.  We sat around 5th wheel in the group and did not do one stint of work.  A few people got a bit pissy and where shouting at us to do work but we were completely entitled not to do so.

Rounding the final corner Sam was still away, only on his own now with the gap coming down quickly as everyone started to move up for the sprint.  I really should have tried to register where the finish was on the previous laps but I had a complete memory blank and had allowed people to swamp around me coming into the final straight.

Sam held on by about 50 yards.  A sterling effort to stay away for the lap, afterwards he said he had done about 80% of the work when there was two of them.  He really employed all his TT skills for that one.  Staying out for a lap in a 40 kph average race is ruddy good going.

Sam holds off the galloping bunch; Photo Credit; Graham Robins (click the snap to see more)

For the sprint I could not find a path through even though I felt like I had the legs, everyone had spread out to fill both lanes of the road so I passed a few people but got blocked from anything else by the numerous people in front of me.  This is my one regret of the race!  Tom managed to move up to about 7th.  The two lads from Bristol Uni CC had strong sprints and took the remaining two podium places.

Overall it was a really good day out and the entire team had a buzz off Sams win.  It was his first outright win in 10 years (on and off) of trying, everyone was chuffed!  A few people commented on how we raced it well as a team which is always nice, we headed home satisfied.

Happiness in the ranks of red & gold! LR; Tom, Mark, Sam, Christian (Me), Kieran

At the weekend I have some bonkers bunch start hill climb race up Haytor Vale that sets off at 5pm, not sure how that ones going to work out but I have done plenty of climbing early in the week and also the club TT so hopefully I have set myself up for it as best I can.

Bynea Tour of Carmarthenshire

The 3rd of June saw me and Tom head over the bridge to Wales for the Tour of Carmarthenshire organised by Bynea CC who have rad Banesto style kit.

This was going to be an interesting race because of a climb up Black Mountain slapped on the end of the race, not the norm for UK racing.  I have climbed part of it before but not at race pace, turns out the legs didnt have the oomph to climb it at race pace in this case either. More on that later.

There were a lot of strong riders on start sheet fresh off good results in the Welsh Championships.

The route was two large loops followed by the ascent of Black Mountain.

ToC Route, really good route!
Elevation profile, Black Mountain dwarfs the rest, but it all added up to around 1500 m!

The weather was foul and only let up for small sections.  The roads where drenched and I spent a lot of time swallowing filthy spray off the road.  Goggles where rendered useless in these conditions.  I ended scraping a substantial amount of grit out of my eyelids after.  The conditions alluded to diffifculty when one poor chap crashed in the roll out. After probbably less then 100 m, with no one around him.  I looked back and he was lying on the pavement.  Luckily this did not set the tone with only one other crash all race, the speed at which someone shouted out and the bunch moved around them was swift.  Good call preventing a major pile up.  The communication and bunch skills are noticably higher in the 2/3/4 compated to the 3/4.

I  felt comfortable in the bunch.  There were nice descents on the route with a good bit of climbing.  A nice punchy climb to the hill prime in Landeilo and the rest undulations.  There was only one sketchy corner at the back of the circuit but sensible riding meant everyone negotiated it hassle free.

Looking comfortable on the climb into Llandeilo

I felt strong approaching the base of the final climb, this itself was a drag going up a 1/2% incline.  A fair bit of jockeying for positon occured and I probably did a bit too much moving up round the outside in the wind to advance myself, it was interesting to see how some of the more experienced guys moving up without having to do this.  There is a lot more road craft to be learnt in 2/3/4 races.  

There was already a break of around 6 riders up the road including super strong Luke Dunbar and Alec Baskaya (they would go on to take the 1 / 2).  As we hit the climb Tom took the initiative to push on the front which strung it out, shelling a few riders. Zig zagging our way up the wind started to pick right up, I’m pretty sure it was blowing straight down in the first section.  Unfortunately I was one of the guys who suffered because of this.  As i slipped off the back I made an attempt to rejoin but my legs just werent having it.  HR says I could have pushed it more but it wasnt to be.  This was the longest race I have completed, nearly 110 km by the end and it could just be that which was my undoing.

Kit got plastered!

As the finishing group got further into the distance I engaged high cadence mode and made my way to the top.  I was pretty sure that was my potential small victory of first 4th cat dissapearing as well. The finish was actually closer then I expected, due to such low visibility and poor conditions on the mountain they had to move it down.  This is clearly apparent in the video from Welsh Cycling below;

One thing I was glad of was Tom’s girlfirend bringing the car to meet us at the top.  A 12 mile ride back to base would have been a bridge too far for me I think.  As we tried to load the bikes on the car roof I began to get nasty kideny ache and the serious shakes.  On the way down we saw people still heading up as well, cyclists certainly have strong resolve.  There was also one guy who had ridden in bibs and ss jersey on his was down, either rock hard or a bit stupid, not sure!

The wind was up. If you cant tell, we were in Wales.

Overall I took a lot out of the race, a bit of redemption after the Bristol South Road Race and my best showing in a 2/3/4 so far.  I still think I can learn to make myself suffer a bit more though, something to work on.

ROOKIE ROAD RACING

So far this year I have managed to attend (and more importantly finish) 4 races.  Starting at the lowest possible British Cycling ranking of Category 4.  I race for my local club Bristol South CC which is one of the oldest clubs in the UK (formed 1893!)

This was complete step up in terms of riding me having only recently acquired a geared bike at the turn of the year, not only that it was my first geared road bike.  All previous ones have been mountain bikes (a long long time ago).  Luckily I am not the only one with my good friends Kieran and Mark also venturing into the unkown.

Rookies.

The virgin race was a First Chard Wheelers organised cirucit race (Cat 4 only) at Ilton (an old airfield). I totally wasted all my energy willy waving at the front of the race as the picture below shows;

Red & Gold Train. Photo Credit; Charles Whitton Photography

I was pretty happy to get round in one piece (Cat 4 cirucit races are notoriously crashy) but a little bit irritated not to be there or there abouts at the end as the wheel I picked for my lead out punctured on the sweep down to the finish.  In hindsight this was by far the easiest race completed.

Next up was my first true road race at Blackawton (Cat 3/4), making a serious rookie mistake by starting at the back of the bunch I spent the first 10 minutes chasing back on!  I guess at least I know I can do it now….

The race was and out back, out back and out a bit again of sorts in the rolling hills of Devon and again I pleased myself with my ability to finish with the main group at the front of the race, especially as  the acceleration at the final turn really strung the bunch out.  Descending in a bunch at 40 + mph is quite an experience also.

Steve Green strings out said bunch. Photo Credit; British Cycling Photos

Someone made this rad video on facebook;  Blackawton Road Race you can just about pick the Red and Gold up in it. Arty.

Next it was back to circuits again and the Castle Combe good friday meet.  With my family visiting my old man did the good deed of taking me over and snapping some shots.

A huge field of around 120 took to the tarmac for the 4 only race and boy was it twitchy.  The bunch was incredibly nervous in the two chicanes with the apparent inability of a lot of riders to hold lines through them. Fellow BSCC racer Mark rode over a dropped bottle on the first lap, a great feat staying upright.

A windy day meant no breaks went and a bunch spirint was on the cards, as we rounded the final corner I grabbed a wheel for a tow round to the right of the bunch only for some idiot to open up a sprint right from the middle of the group, skittling some riders including the one in front of me! A deft skid saw me avoid the tumble ahead but sapped all my speed to the finish, trickling over the line in the top 25.  Plenty of people on the tarmac meant the paramedic had a good days practice and the ambulance saw some use as it had to take 3 people to the hospital.

Pinning on the number to the unmistakeable BSCC jersey.
The bunch under a big sky.

The following Sunday saw my first Cat 2/3/4 race at the Brentor 2 Stage Race which I was pretty nervous about after reading the start sheet (read Alex Baskaya / Scott Easter).

Quote fellow BSCC racer Kieran ‘its going to be hurty’.  It was a two stage race. Stage 1 was a TT which was one lap of the race circuit.

Supplied race map (turnings at circles)

A simple (yet brutal) triangle it contained an unsurfaced road heading down, a undulating back section and a draggy climb back to the top.  I posted a below par time.  Time trialling is definitely an area I need to improve on so my attendance to the BSCC classic league series will hopefully ensure this happens.

Stage 2 was a further 10 laps of aformentioned circuit, the addition of Cat 2 riders ensured the pace was high.  I was totally clinging on with 4 laps to go but managed to stay in touch until the very last corner, which saw me lose about 20 seconds as I could not stick with the burst to the end.  I was incredibly chuffed to roll in where I did and chapeau to Steve, Tom and Mark who all finished in the top 15.  With Steve and Sam taking points.  Hopefully I can continue to learn off these guys.

Steve leads the bunch down the unsurfaced road. Photo credit; Samantha Febrey
Helicopter Shot. Photo credit; Samantha Febrey
Tom loads the car up for the journey home

Apologies for the essay but we are up to speed now.  All the race data for the above can be found via the Strava link on the right if anyone is interested.  I have a weekend off before returning to action in the Betty Pharoah Memorial in Wales next weekend.

Racing is hard, even at this level it seems extremely competitive and has a steep learning curve.  I seem to be coping ok, having a great time meeting a lot of sound people (particularly members of The South).  I will continue to document my season, its highs, lows and hopefully some more behind the scenes stuff.