Car Park Crits

Leisure Lakes Circuit Race 2
Cheltenham Race Course
5th Place Overall

Phew, what a tough week it’s been this last 7 days. I managed to put in some really great training rides this week, working on some specific things that I feel I can improve on. I have added some different kind of intervals to my rides; these are much shorter, harder, maximal type race efforts which have limited recover and really bring about some pain. I could talk all day about my interval session but that’s for another time, all you need to know for now is that they were some of the most painful and uncomfortable efforts I have ever done on a bike but they were the closest thing I have got to comparing them to the sensations that I feel during a hard race. This provided fantastic training but I feel that I may have underestimated the physical strain that these intervals placed on my body and I may have failed to provide myself with enough recovery time before tonight’s race. Mix this in with some long days of work with lat nigh and early morning shifts and you can see why I may not have felt quite a perky during tonight’s race.

Well even if I didn’t feel as good as I hoped, I still felt ok and the main thing was the whether was a stark contrast to last week with the sun shining brightly and quite strongly even at 7.00pm. The heat meant that the warm up on my turbo was unbelievable hot and proved very tough but still, at least I definitely got warmed up. With about 5 minutes to go I made sure that I didn’t fall in to the same trap as last time at the start so I stood right at the side of the line to make sure I was on the front row, even though the first lap is neutralized it still makes a lot of difference. As soon as the race started proper, BANG, the pace shot up like a firework and never really let up until the mid part of the race. An attack went every single lap on the infamous little climb and the bunch was once again shredded in no time. It wasn’t quite as windy on the back straight as last week and this showed in the fact that the front bunch never reduced to less than 10. The rider who came second last week managed to get of on his own early and got a good sized gap over the field. None of the bunch were really concerned with actually making a concerted chase but instead preferred to just attack each other senseless at every opportunity. I stayed well up the front for the whole race and I can safely say that I responded to every single attack that went and ended up chasing down a lot of moves. I managed to break clear a few times with other riders but the gaps always got closed down.

At about the half was point, Tom Stockdale, who had been the instigator of a lot of the attacks had a very unfortunate moment on the climb when his chain jumped of the chaining and he ended up getting chucked to the floor, ending his race and his night all together. At this point I was finding the race a lot more intense than last week, whether that’s because the racing was more aggressive or the fact that I wasn’t quite as fresh as last week I dint know, I imagine it was a mix of both but boy, I had to push myself in to the red a few times to go respond to the various attacks that took place that night.

With 5 to go, the race was still together and the group still about 8-10 rider big, every one knew it was going to come down to a sprint or a last lap kamikaze effort so every body was watching everybody and the mood turned very tense in the pack. Bell lap and nobody tried nothing on the hill, I was up towards the front and knew that I needed to stay there and still be there as we came out the sweeping right hander on the back straight. If you are at the back coming out of the corner the course is to tight and fast to make a pass before getting on to the climb which means that your chances are over. As expected there was a battle for positions coming in to this corner but I managed to hold my place well and exited 3rd. Jacob Tipper, last weeks winner, took the sneaky and controversial alternative line on the last straight to jump ahead of me and I had to get my elbows out to stop another rider taking us both down when he tried to pass me in the chicane. I came on to the climb in 4th and opened up the sprint, it was pretty close and I just got piped by another rider who took my 4th off me and I ended up 5th, not bad considering it was a sprint which is certainly not my forte. I was pleased with my positioning on the last lap and how I managed to hold that position when it got rough. I was also contempt with how deep I dug at certain points and the pain that I managed to push through at certain points.

So long as I can keep this constancy I will be end up in a good overall position, but most importantly, I know I can win at one of these races so next week I’m going to make sure I come to race with fresh legs. That way I will know that when I’m in extreme pain, every one else will be in even more!!!!

Jean Baker Memorial RR

West Midlands Road Race League Round 6

Clearly the god of good fortune where showing there faces today as the forecasted weather of rain was replaced by warming sun shine and little wind, perfect racing conditions for this, the Jean Baker Memorial Road Race which was held on the same course as the Halesowen RR only a few weeks previously. This was great news for me as I had already raced on the circuit and got one of best results here which was a 4th place in a very long break away which I instigated and established. This is also one of the better courses that the WMRRL use in the series, quite road, twisting lanes, lots of undulations and a few “race shaping” hills, all of which make for a very fun, exciting and unpredictable race.

I was really up for the race today; I had a few easy days prior to the event so my legs and lungs would be fresh and ready, I also decide to use my deep section carbon wheels which were lighter and stiffer than all my other wheels. Yes, I was going in full guns blazing and looking to come away with a good result, top ten is the aim, top 5 would be even better. 9.30 rolled round and the satisfying sound of 90 riders clipping in to the there pedals echoed around the village of Astley, we were off and not just off but off at a fair old pace, we were barley out of the neutralized zone before I was down in my aero tuck looking for wheels to hide in. I didn’t panic though as these races always go off a little enthusiastically, I think some riders forget that they have 70 miles to race, either that or they think that attacking in the first mile could shape the race! Anyhow, the race settled but it was never together during the while race as there was always a rider or group of riders looking to establish a lead. Seeing how, for the first time in while I felt good, I found myself in most of these moves, in fact, I would say I was one of the top 3 most attacking riders in the race. I even manage to get away on my own at one point, even though my intention was to get someone like Matt Gee and Mike Lawton to come cross the gap and establish a strong group. This never happened and I settled back in to the bunch.

Most of the main moves went on the final climb on the lap which was fairly long and had 2 steep kicks to it, this was followed by a small decent and a mile or so of flat before the kick to the finish line. I attacked on the climb on most laps and each time I crested the top I had a little gap and then seemed to form a nice group of riders clear of the main group. This was very frustrating because there was always some one who wasn’t willing to work so we always got dragged back. After 2.5 hrs of racing, the bell lap was upon us and the race was still together, by this point every one had conceded to the fact It was all going to come down the that final climb which would be the last place to really attack before the finish. As everybody had the same idea, the miles before the climb saw riders battling to stay up at the front of the bunch. I was getting good at doing this and held my position at the front as we hit the climb. The pace was high, too high for anyone to attack of the front but not high enough to really split the front of the group. I was still in the first 10 riders or so as we turned on to the final straight, to my right was my team mate Josh Papworth who was one of the favourites for the win and to his right was Matt Gee who WAS the favourite to win. The finish line was at the crest of a small rise, the sprint opened up just at the bottom and this time I didn’t hesitate to go with straight away. I lost a place or 2 in the initial snap but made it back up as the road climbed, I just managed to snap up one more place before the line to finish in a very pleasing 8th place. Josh managed a fantastic 2nd but the win went once again to Matt Gee who once again proved he can do jus about everything.

Another really fun race today and nice to race with good legs and really e able to be apart of the race. Like last week I had the joy of riding 40 miles back home from the event which I was dreading after such a punchy race. I made it back alright but after doing a total of 110 miles at an average speed of 22 mph, I was pretty tired. Tomorrow is a rest day for sure.

And there off!!! Leisure Lakes Circuit Race Series

Cheltenham Race Course, 18/06/2010
Category 2/3/4, 50 mins +5 laps

At last, the 4 weeks I had most been looking forward to all year were finally here, the 4 race Leisure Lakes Circuit Series was up on us and I was gaging to get going. At least I was a few weeks ago but now my feeling was somewhat more modest, unfortunately I had had a terrible week, I felt lousy, fatuiged, grumpy, depressed and generally worn out. I think the epic that I did on Sunday was mainly to blame, as well as the cumulative effects of the previous Sunday epic ride aswell. I tried some intervals on the Friday but jys felt terrible and lacked anykind of power, I took this as a sign and abandoned the session. I tried again Wednesday and the same happened, once I can deal with but twice really got to me. I tried to forget it and decided to have the week as a recovery week which by the looks of things, I really needed.

The easy week seemed to do the trick and I got to Cheltenham race course feeling fresh and enthusiastic. The warm felt great and my legs were going round in circles for the first time in days. However, I may have been feeling good but mother nature was going to try and break my spirits by sending a nice big rain cloud over our way, although it did rain on us, it stopped before the race started and only made the ground slightly wet.

Come race time I lined up on the start ready for the neutralized lap, I made the effort to get up towards the front on this lap but as e crossed the line to start the actual race, I got stuck behind the ladies which are made to lead out this opening lap. I was already half way down the field and Tom Stockdale had already attacked and got a sizable gap. I had to make some big efforts just to get to the front of the race, this took about 4 laps and once I was there I stayed there. I was feeling good and was setting a fast pace, I had already shreaded the field by attacked every lap on the hill and now I was breaking clear. The were only about 10 of us at the front and I was still at the head of the field, a rider attacked on the hill to bridge the gap to Tom, this is what I needed to do soon but in hindsight I knew I was doing to much on the front.

At this point I slipped back a few places and lauched an attacked on the next lap, I got clear with 1 or 2 others. I was still on the front at this point and using to much energy, Jacob Tipper attacked off the front and I managed to go with him. We were coming up to the back of the break and about to catch them and then disaster struck, I lost my front wheel on a corner, I didn’t go down but I lost the wheels and now the gap back was big. I was in between the 2 groups but had another rider with me, we worked to close the gap and brought I back slightly before he blew to pieces and couldent hold the pace. This left me with a dilemma, do I ease up and slip back in to the bunch and work with them or do I go in to TT mode and make my own effort to catch the break. It was an easy decision, I went for it solo. The aim was to ride hard consistant laps to bring them back, problem was there was 3 strong rider to catch and with the head wind on the draggy back straight and me on my tod, this wasent happening. The gap was going out and I realised I wasent going to catch them, however, I was still pulling away from the bunch so I just kept my head down and kept on riding.

There was still 40 minutes to go and then 5 laps, I was pulling further away from the bunch and still rising the laps as fast as I was when I begun. This trend never changed and I was as strong with 5 laps to go as I was after 5 laps in to the race. I always loved the atmosphere on the climb during these races with the cheering from the crowd and the crazy cometator doing his thing. It was even better for me tonight as I was getting the biggest reception from the crowd and the commentator which was giving me the strength to keep on pushing. By race end, I had lapped a fair few riders twice and was only a few meters away from lapping the bunch. The race was won by Jacob Tipper with Tom Stockdale settling for 3rd, I cam home in 4th, happy but annoyed with what happened earlier in the race.

Anyhow, I was on the podium, got huge cheer whilst collecting my prize money and had a fantastic race. The only really annoying thing now is that I have to wait a week till the next one and let me tell you, I wont be making the same mistake twice. Watch this space.

Mistral at Mallory

Of to do another Mallory Park race with the hopes of a top 5 place which I hoped wouldn’t be to difficult given that a lot of the top boys were racing the Tour Series so they all absent from the race and would be for a few more weeks. The biggest factor of the race would be the Gail force wind that was blowing a head hideous head wind up the finish straight. The race went of and 1 rider just decided to ride a bit harder than anyone else of the start and managed to get a gap, this gap then grew to a big gap and with all of us jus watching each other it looked as though he might stay away. With this in mind, after 5 laps I attacked on the hill and broke away, soon after I realized I felt crap and had no legs, D’oh! Soon I was joined by a PedalForce rider and we worked together to bridge the gap which we did in another 5 laps or so. For the rest of the race we rode as a threesome, sharing the workload and battling through the head wind. I really found this race took a lot out of me and I was slowly getting worn down by the wind. With 2 to go and whilst doing a turn on the front in to the head wind, the rider who broke away at the start attacked me, I tried sprinting for his wheel but having just done a turn just couldn’t close the gap. The PedalForce rider then proceeded to chase him down leaving me in the dust having just blown a gasket. I soloed the last 2 laps knowing that 3rd was secure as we managed to get ¾ of a lap advantage over the chasers and even lapped a few others.

So 3rd was were I finished which would do nicely. Tell you what though, that was one exhausting race. Bloody wind!

Gerry Hughes Road Race

West Midlands Road Race League Round 5
Currently 5th Overall

Next stop on the West midlands road race tour was the Gerry Hughes Memorial race organized by the Worcester St Johns Cycling Club. The race was held on the Welland circuit at the foot of the Malvern Hills, having raced on this course before I new what to expect from the race and what the course had in store. Very fast is the key phrase that comes to mind when thinking of this course, other than a few undulations its flat and very suited to the big powerhouse type riders and sprinters, basically the exact opposite of my physique but there’s always a chance if the right break goes up the road.

As I expected, the race went of pretty fast with several riders trying to establish an early break but with a fast course and still conditions, this proved harder than anyone could have imagined. I tried to make a few moves and go with a few of the favourites but as usual, everything was neutralized and it always came back together. With 3 of the 4 laps already completed, it looks as though everyone had resides them self to bunch sprint. However, 2 riders did manage to get up the road in the later part of the race and managed get reasonable sized gap over the group, in fact with half a lap to go it looked as though they might stay away. With this in mind and with 5 miles to go, the bunch lit the after burners and we rocketed through the lanes of Welland with 2 things in mind; Catch the break before the finish and make sure you are well placed at the front ready for the sprint.

We were beginning to realise we were running out of time to catch this break before the finish so the pace got even higher and the general rules of British Road Racing quickly went out the window with riders spread across the whole road for the last few miles. Most of the bunch was riding on the wrong side of the double white lines and on coming cars literally had to pull in to the bushes to escape the arrow head of the charging bunch!
We rounded the last corner on to the drag strip road that was the final straight, the break was almost caught and the argy-bargy soon came in to play. I found myself on the outside of the bunch, on the wring side of the road and with no where to go. It was a war zone, riders darting on to the grass, pushing other riders out the way. I even found myself sprinting round the out side of an oncoming car which was quite a scary experience.
In the last 50 meters I was towards the front as the sprint opened up, Matt Gee once again proved just to strong and sprinted of the front to a clear win whilst I managed to sneak my way through the wheels come in a respectable 12th.

To be honest, although I was pleased with my result, I was more relieved to be alive after what was the most dangerous sprint I have ever experienced. As a bonus I came away with the 4 points I needed to maintain my 2nd cat for next year and won £25!
The race may have finished but my day wasn’t over as I had had to ride another 30 miles back home. 5 hrs and 100 miles after starting the race I arrived back at my door step thoroughly exhausted. A grand day out for sure.

There’s a nice clip of the finish sprint from the race, just follow this link and see if you can spot me in the blue lunging through the riders just in front of the camera 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KElIflvCHmU

No-Mans Land!!!

Another Thursday, another Mallory Park race to be raced. Nice change this time though was the fact that it was nice and warm so there was no need for any knee warmers or long fingered gloves, happy days. Tonight was also different as I was riding my nice rebuilt deep section carbon wheel with some nice new tires on, whether it would make any difference I didn’t know but at least I looked fast. My legs didn’t feel too good initially after having a hard couple of weeks with all the elite racing and doing hard intervals in training. It was all starting to take its toll on my poor little legs, so I knew tonight would be hard regardless of what happened.

About 40 riders took the start with the Kuota Team very present with 5 riders. After a very easy first lap, the race soon got going and once it did it never let up for the rest of the night. I put my self in a very silly position at some points where I would do a stint on the front just before the hill, drag every body in to it and then get attacked by half the field and almost spat out the back. At one point a very powerful looking break got clear which I thought would have the potential to stay away. However, once the bunch got a move it was soon thundering along and eventually we managed to drag them back.

At the half way mark I had made a few digs, done lots of chasing and lots of hanging on to wheels. My legs still felt tired and never really loosened up. However, these races were as much about hard training as there were anything else and I know how much I can suffer in normal training so why not try to suffer a bit more in races. With this in mind and with 10 laps to go, the bunched eased up and 5 riders snuck away and pulled a gap. I was sitting a few riders back in the group and decided to slip away as well, but because I hesitated about going for the break I found my self off the front of the bunch but also way behind the break away group. Or, to put it another way, I was in a cyclist worst nightmare, I was in no-mans land! I knew I had a gap over the bunch so I just kept riding. My legs just didn’t want to do it but I was determined to give it a go. I rode as hard as I could and suffered like a dog but thankfully after 2 laps on my lonesome, 2 riders had broke clear and were bridging up to me. As they came passed I sprinted as hard as I could to get on the wheels which luckily I managed, this also hurt like hell! The 3 of us worked together and with in a few laps we had caught the break, it looked like I was going to get 8th place at worse so I was sitting there suffering but very content with my efforts. We had a few laps to go but already some riders were starting to mess around and the bunch was closing fast. With 1 lap to go, just one, the inevitable happened and we got caught. Unfortunately for me, we got caught as I was doing a pull on the front and giving it a last shot at staying away. A counter attack went straight off and everybody went with it with me trying to recover from my pull, I managed to get in the wheels but was almost last in the pack coming towards the line. I didn’t have much left for the sprint but gave it what I could and maybe, just maybe scrapped in to the points.

Tough race but very chuffed at how I raced, how I manage to suffer and all of the with shit feeling legs. Just think what I could do when im fresh!

Circuit Race Redemption

Paramount Circuit Races, Shrewsbury, 15/05/2010

After a few really pleasing and confidence inspiring races, I really feel like im getting in to this cycling lark and I really feel like im beginning to catch the circuit racing bug as much as anything else. I like the aggressiveness of tight quarter races and the huge amount of effort that you are required to commit to in only an hour or so of racing. However, before I can really begin to fully enjoy these races; there is one demon that I must lay to rest. This demon is the one that struck me in February when I took part in my first race of the season, round 1 of the Paramount Circuit Races. This was my first E//1/2/3 race and the first time I really got see first hand what I had done to my body in the off season by training too much and eating too little. Straight away it felt hard and I was struggling with the power surges, soon enough I was hanging on to the last group and we were soon getting lapped by the other groups on the circuit. Mentally I was destroyed, but ultimately this embarrassment of a race lead me to change the way I think and has helped me make progress towards a new, better me!

So, as you can tell this was a bad experience for me and before I can truly move forward I have to correct this blemish by racing it again and not riding like a 12 year old girl. Luckily, a last minute decision gave me the chance to race there this week end (Saturday 15th) and finally lay this demon to rest. I was really looking forward to it having had some great races in the past few days but for me the race nearly didn’t happen. As I was warming up on the rollers, BANG, my rear tyre exploded, I had spare wheels but after putting the new one in it seamed it was pretty much screwed. Luckily my dad, the hero that he is, managed to save the day by frantically swapping over tyres and tubes in the minutes before the race. Like always he had saved my skin for the millionth time and I got on the course for a last minute warm up.

Race time, and with a big field full of top quality riders including Dan Fleeman, other Raleigh Pro team riders, the best of Phil Corley’s and other notable teams and riders, I was worried that today might not be the day that I redeemed myself. It was going to be fast. As soon as we set off the pace was fast with riders jockeying to get up front and make some aggressive moves. I was pretty nervous about how the race would go but I new that I was feeling ok and was willing to grind my teeth to the gums so as not to get dropped. Dave Clarke was at the for front again, drilling the pace and forcing the splits, soon he managed to get off the front with one other rider. Although the pace was fast, I found myself still in the mix up the front and even on the front on some occasions. I find this circuit quite tough as it has a very sharp 180 degree turn which requires a massive surge of power coming out of it and to make it harder; the straight coming out of it is slightly up hill and in to a head wind. This is what caused me the problems last time and although it was still tough, I found that I had more power to grab the wheel coming out of it.

Growing in confidence as the race wore on; I was chasing more moves and even getting in some of the small groups of the front. As it was, nothing else got away and amazingly Dave Clarke had managed to gain a lap on everybody and was still forcing the pace once he had joined the bunch again. This guy is crazy strong. With the winner decided it was all about the sprint for the other podium spots. With 3 laps to go I knew I was to far back so in the next 2 laps I made some great effort and got up and stayed up towards the front. Coming in to the nasty last turn I was position on the outside which allowed me to carry my speed out of the turn. I was well in the top ten riders as the sprint opened up, I was gunning for the line and then some moron looking at the floor as he was sprinting, realised he was going of course and decided to grab some brakes and swing across straight I front off me. I had to slam on the anchors and head towards the grass. In an instant I gad gone from top ten to mid pack, which as it was had split in the last lap.

The out come was that I was gutted not to get a position but at the same time I can safely say that I had slayed my demon with a truly awesome ride if I didn’t mind saying. So its back to Mallory on Thursday for some more Circuit racing, super fun time :)