Having moved into the B age group this year (45-50) I frankly thought I could get on the podium, easily, especially after been very close to it 2 years ago. But all odds were against me, yesterday:
Still painfull ellbow from my crash a week ago, brand new bike (only ridden for an hour the day before), awful cough and hayfever and hardly any sleep the night before due to mentioned cough and still hurting ellbow. Getting up at 5.00 a.m. and forecast for rain made me want to reconsider my intention to drive some 3 hours to the venue just outside Worcester.
If I hate anything in racing then its riding descends I dont know in the rain. This was proper rain, rather than drizzle so it was clear we would be racing through water filled pottholes and puddles.
The first of the 3 and a half laps on this 25km circuit was mental, no different to any E/1/2/3 race I have done this season. I went into the race with a zero risk policy and to no surprise I got droped on the first descent already, as under no circumstance I wanted to fall on my left side again, in particularly not with the new S-works. The guys were hammering downhill as if the finish was at the bottom. Was I the only one who didnt know the course? Admittedly I was the most anxious. I had to learn to handle the new bike, the new brakes and the carbon rims in rain. So the first lap I probably used up my matches fighting back on after each descent, wiggle myself to the front of the peloton on every climb, only to get dropped again on the following descent (for the ones who are not racing: This should usually be the other way round, get dropped on the climbs and get back on on the descents). Funny game for an experienced rider you would think, and rather stupid obviously. Not a big surprise that I wanted to quit the race after the first lap.
I got more confidence into handling the bike and the rain stopped and went into the 2nd lap with new motivation. I forgot to mention that there was literally no moment without anyone attacking. Sounds odd, but I really thought people were banging their heads to the wall, because nothing stuck. They had always been brought back. Towards the 2nd half of the second lap I realized that riders began to tire from the relentless attacking and chasing game and thats when usually chances are higher to get away. I marked a handful of riders that looked very strong and whenever they attacked or chased I went on their wheels, then the elastic snapped and we had some advantage. But it didnt last as not everyone in the 5-6 group committed, so we were caught. I was convinced the next attack would stick, so I went out again, full throttle following. When the guys noticed me, they took up their legs, but this time I continued, hoping for someone else to join. It hurt a lot. I must have dangled out there for a kilometer, when 2 guys got closer but literally sprinted past me, so I couldnt latch on and was mopped up by the field soon after with another 2 or 3 attacking immediately. I was cooked and needed recovery and was convinced the breaks up the road wouldnt last either. Also, I could see my 4 marked men around me, so didnt have any sense of urgency. Going into the last lap there were those 6-7 riders up front, we could still see them and it would have been possible to bridge, with better legs and respiration.
The speed picked up and we were closing in on the break and I began to relax. What happened then is only my speculation, but another 3 individual riders jumped off one after another and suddenly the speed of our group dropped a bit, I could see the 3 succeeding the bridgeover and for some reason the lead group soon disappeared out of our vision. I learned later that those guys made the group work together properly and quickly made ground. With about 15km to go my power faded and so did the power of my marked 4, they didnt have anything left. Except one guys who managed to sprint off the front on the last 2K, taking 12th and me taking 13., winning the sprint of the second group. We had lost a bit more than a minute to the first group. Less than half of the starters finished the race. Giles Pidcock won, be wary of him and his team, they are pretty strong guys, Martin Smith (winner 2 years ago) got 3rd. Talking to some of the guys after the race I was very surprised to learn that most of them have been riding all their lifes, since they were 10 or 12 or so, having competed against each others for 3 decades. Many of them still cat1 riders and just racing and maybe working as a coach on the side or running a bike shop to make a living. Interesting little community that is. The nationals have always been a season highlight for me, so you can imagine the disappointment if you dont get it right. So is life sometimes, on or off the bike
After an eighteen years break from competitive road cycling and any other sports I got back on the bike in 2011. This blog summarizes in retrospect my first period from 1982-1994 then fast forward to 2011 and finally gets to the turning point, my "revelofication" with my first race in September 2012. From that point in time this blog turns into a race diary with interspersed posts of a more reflective nature.
Sunday 24 May 2015
Sunday 10 May 2015
Bec CC Roadrace, 10.May, 2015 National B, Elite, cat1/2/3, 115km
First outing for me with the London Dynamo Nat B Race Team.
My job was to be race captain and wingman of Stuart and make sure he gets into position, particular towards the business end.
The course was 10laps on the Ladies Mile Circuit and 5 laps on the finishing circuit including a 1.5km hill of which the first 300m were a 22% ramp, followed by shallower sections and another 2 ramps, a biest of a climb. My legs felt better than during the entire week, but every time we went up the drag on the Ladies Mile circuit I went into the red, i.e above 97% HRmax, with considerable time spent at and above (!) 100%. It wasn't a surprise that I got in trouble right the first time we went up "the biest", but so did most other riders, too. The whole field splintered and in the following small groups started forming, some of them merging others splintering again at the climb next lap. I felt getting better on the climb in lap 4 and 5, legs were in tatters and hr in the red, but maybe the fact that riders around me tired even more, made me feel relatively stronger than during the earlier laps. I ended on 33rd place riding with a Craig Mc Lean of Sigma Nuun rider for the last kilometer. Happy I did the race, despite the result but after all these races I hope will help me to get stronger.Astonishing half the field didn't finish the race.
My job was to be race captain and wingman of Stuart and make sure he gets into position, particular towards the business end.
The course was 10laps on the Ladies Mile Circuit and 5 laps on the finishing circuit including a 1.5km hill of which the first 300m were a 22% ramp, followed by shallower sections and another 2 ramps, a biest of a climb. My legs felt better than during the entire week, but every time we went up the drag on the Ladies Mile circuit I went into the red, i.e above 97% HRmax, with considerable time spent at and above (!) 100%. It wasn't a surprise that I got in trouble right the first time we went up "the biest", but so did most other riders, too. The whole field splintered and in the following small groups started forming, some of them merging others splintering again at the climb next lap. I felt getting better on the climb in lap 4 and 5, legs were in tatters and hr in the red, but maybe the fact that riders around me tired even more, made me feel relatively stronger than during the earlier laps. I ended on 33rd place riding with a Craig Mc Lean of Sigma Nuun rider for the last kilometer. Happy I did the race, despite the result but after all these races I hope will help me to get stronger.Astonishing half the field didn't finish the race.
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