Surrey League Crit@Cyclopark Gravesent, 26.May 2013, cat3, 25laps (total approx 68km)

First time for me at Cyclopark, I think this is the most technical course I have ever ridden. The wind direction gave us quite a tailwind on the final straight uphill and headwind on the undulating other side of the course downhill. It proved difficult to break away as the bunch had more synergy on the downhill than any breakaway group could bring up, due to the headwind. I had a few successful bridgings and one own attempt . Alexander also tried his luck and chased and was a regular at the front. Any break got caught back within a lap or two. We realized that it would end up as a bunch sprint. With 10 laps to go I realised something else too, my rear wheel displayed some well dreaded bounciness and began drifting in the numerous fast bends. Again a puncture, but a slow one this time. With 4 laps to go the tyre stability at 45 degree lean-in angle in the bends had entirely gone and I felt like riding on jelly tyres, I thought to abandon because I didn’t want to expose any riders to the risk of me slipping out of any bend and cause a crash. But there seemed to be a way to get around the symptoms, always staying on the outside line (in order to not take anyone with me if I crashed) and going really slow around every bend, which meant losing like 10 positions at every corner and making good again and again on the straight portions. Going into the last lap I was cooked and could feel the rim kissing the perfect cyclopark asphalt with every turn of the crank. I must have been around mid field when I could see a Twickenham rider attacking and nobody following him. I was still too busy with roping myself around the bends as surely somebody was to bring the TCC rider back. But no, they even let a second guy go off the front. As it had cost me a lot of energy to make ground again after each curve I was too cooked to chase them out of my hopeless 20 something position on a flat tyre. Then we got onto the final straight, I chose 53/16 to start with and soon clicked down to the 12, now practically deflated tyre running on-ground on my nice rear carbon rim but made ground, a lot of ground and got 3rd of the bunch, 5th in total. No smiles, though.

GS Henley Roadrace, Maidenhead, 19 May 2013

Cat3/4, 6 laps, 88km, 2:08h. Sunny weather, 16-18centigrade. The race was held on a circuit between Bracknell and Windsor - a fast, flowing on mainly wide and open roads, only 2 sharp turns, and with a mix of flat and undulating terrain (original pre – race description by the organisers). The difficult section was the approx 3km long descending finishing straight, with 45degrees tailwind today but a 3-4% rise on the final 500m metres. This meant potential mayham on the final Kilometre.

As the course description promised the race had very fast intervals, usually followed by “legs up” periods. The average speed I think was above 41km/h but peaked on most laps at 60km/h on the gentle descending final straight. There were two kind of serious breakaways which showed potential but I was in the chasing packs on both occasions. In fact the course and the wind direction was all thumbs down for any breakaway, as it repeatedly confirmed that with a fully charging pack any escapee was brought back easily. I had a dig myself during the third lap and realised quickly enough that it was hopeless. The race was quite active though every now and then someone else trying their luck. But at the end the inevitable was to happen, a bunch sprint on that horrifying final straight. The tension was already full on with the final lap to go and only grew more nerveous, accounted for by permanent shouting, swearing and riders swerving around others from all sides. It was the worst scenario anyone could have hoped for. Oncoming traffic at the 1000m mark, peloton in full charge towards that final 500m “climb” to the finish. I had made sure to stay amongst the top 10 on the final 3000m which was not so easy at all. At 1000m I was boxed in around position 15, when the action started. Some riders took their legs up and where handed through the middle. At 500m to go I was in about 6th position when a guy started the final sprint on the opposite side and nobody followed him. “Shall I go or wait?” Still nobody going and the guy got several bike length, maybe even 30m. At 300m I had enough of the wait, I was in 4th and had a clear run, put the afterburner on and started “my“ sprint up that hill. At 100m to go I flew past the guy in front and turning my head realised that I was clear by a safe margin to my followers and crossed the line with both arms stretched into the blue sky.

The organisers did a great job with marshalling all the potentially dangerous corners. It was a nice move to have a prize ceremony after, cash prizes for the top 6 and champagne for the 3 podium riders.