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