Sept/Oct/Nov 2007
13/10 - SCRL - Qinetiq, Chertsey 4th Cats
Paul Redman, reports from deepest darkest Surrey ..."A fine morning greeted the 4th category gang at the last Surrey League meeting at MOD Chertsey for the year (and if rumours are true .... ever, ever, ever!!); so fine in fact, the layers were shed after a warm-up so as to avoid over-heating in the race.
Before the race, I bumped (not literally!) into the iTeam chap who was in A&E with me after the June 2nd pile-up. Apparently he had in fact broken his arm and his summer of racing pretty much ruined, he was back to exorcise some demons. Fair play to him, good to see him back in the saddle!
On the start-line we were given a particular warning about the damp track and fallen leaves through 'The Snake' section, so tyre choice was quite important here. I was quite pleased to have an 'Intermediate' on the front and a 'Slick' on the rear, I hoped this would give me grip and speed in equal measure. Well, it was too late for a pit-stop anyway!!
With fourteen laps of the two-mile circuit ahead of us, off we trundled for a very quiet, easy first lap. The first run through 'The Snake' and indeed, there were wet leaves a-plenty, together with a wet track around the edges. However, everyone got through safely enough .... only some truly idiotic or daredevil antics through there would result in 'Tarmac Slamdown'. Coming out from the final corner, I eased my way up through the peleton with the wind at my back and level with the third or fourth, I launched an attack from the front. I went over the line alone and around the 180-degree first corner away from the pack. Then on the drag up towards 'The Snake', I eased right back and allowed to peleton to swamp me once more. "Just messin' wid ya!", I felt like saying.
I then spent the next twelve laps at the pack of the main bunch. On one particular lap, I checked how much effort it would take to go from the back to the front and then drifted to the back again. My main work was in 'The Snake'. At the top of the short rise, I'd let the riders ahead get a gap on me and then I would plunge downhill after them .... checking what lines I could take, how quickly I could go, how little I needed to brake, or if I could avoid braking altogether .... I felt happier doing this with no-one around me just in case something amiss went up ahead. You don't get popular in this game by ploughing into fellow competitors. My lack of braking in the final few corners soon got me back in the pack for the long start/finish straight.
Happily at the back, I was confident no-one was going to launch and maintain a break-away. I could. No-one else, though, oh no! I saw a few lone riders try to break away from the front, but they would hardly ever get a gap and would soon be caught each time. My plan was for a penultimate lap attack on the short rise within 'The Snake'. I'd use my previously gained knowledge of lines and where I could avoid braking to maintain my gap and with the wind behind me for the start/finish straight, build on my lead.
Unfortunately, this plan quickly went out of the window. On the drag up to 'The Snake' on lap thirteen and whilst I was moving up the bunch ready to initiate the plan, another chap launched a break. However, he chose the part of the circuit that was not only slightly uphill, but also into a headwind and he managed a gap of only a handful of metres before he was caught. The surge in pace meant I would need time to recover a little and so I settled towards the back to re-think a new plan. I was still confident no-one was going to try another break, oh no, they'd all be happy for a bunch-sprint now. Ha! Well, we'd try and upset that notion, would we not?
Going down the start/finish straight ready to receive the bell, the pace dropped to a saunter. The NEW PLAN suddenly flashed into my brain and I slowly made my way up through the pack. Once level with the third of fourth rider, I climbed out of the saddle and sprinted for all my worth. I was clear. There was no-one on my back wheel and I went over the line on my own, with the bell clanging in my ears. I had a quick glance behind just before the first corner and I had a noticeable gap .... it was easily a hundred metres, maybe as much as two hundred. I was hoping for some of the indecision or lack of co-operation akin to the previous race at Thruxton, where no-one wanted to work. If I could hold them off as far as 'The Snake', I'd be in with a chance .... I certainly knew how quickly I could take the downhill twisty sections of 'The Snake'.
I rounded the first corner to be greeted by the headwind. I bowed my head and dug in. The legs felt fine, but the heart and lungs were already at their maximum and voicing concerns about engine over-revving. I turned off the main track ready to continue uphill and into 'The Snake'. I did not dare look behind me .... that would only instill dread and a lack of self-belief. I could stay away, couldn't I? Couldn't I? Or could I?
I was then aware of a rider going past me on my right. I slumped my shoulders a little thinking that the peleton had already caught me and then immediately, I brightened when I saw his jersey .... it was the same as mine .... it was Jeremy Monk!! Now, there was ANOTHER new plan .... I would latch onto his wheel to recover my breath a little and then we would work together to hold off the baying peleton for a magnificent Thames Velo 1-2 .... and a ticker-tape parade through Maidenhead.
Immediately, that plan went right out of the window as I was too spent to draw up to Jeremy's wheel .... all I could offer was a wheezing, whispered "Go Jeremy!!" and I would try to hold off the bunch the best I could for Jeremy's solo win .... oh heck, they caught me sooner than I thought and I was swamped on all sides .... too exhausted to even catch the back of the train for an easy saunter to the finish. Further up the road, Jeremy was swamped too. The plans and the daydreams were all scattered like the leaves I was pedalling over.
On the run down to the line, I saw the back of the peleton up ahead. It had definitely been worth the go ..... I guess I was half-banking on the main field taking too long to organise a chase-down, but clearly I need to get out-of-breath more often and for longer. I see a potential chat-up line here; "Hi my name's Paul, would you like to help me get out of breath?". I can see that going wrong on so many levels though!!
From my angle though, I was thankful that I avoided a last-lap crash going under the bridge and into the first corner. I saw it on my slowdown lap and clearly it had happened whilst I had zipped away from the front. I hope and trust those involved are not too badly injured or traumatised. I also saw my iTeam co-crash buddy after the race and he managed to avoid it too.
Onwards and upwards people, less than seven weeks until the Hillingdon Winter Series starts."
30/9 - BC Thruxton
Three of the Velo at the race circuit today. Messrs Redman and Monk in the 4ths and Ian Lowe in the 3rds:
Results show a 10th and 12th placing for Jeremy and Paul, with Ian sneaking an 8th place in the 3rd cat event. So some late summer points in the bag - nice one. Here's Ians report:
"A place I really enjoy racing, so was hoping for a better race and hopefully a result. I watched Paul Redman and Jeremy Monk race in the 4th cat race to see a fantastic display of top quality riding from the eventual winner. Totally relaxed and in control from the off. Well soon it was my turn…..
I decided to go with anything that had a go as it was a really windy day and I believed that if 3 or 4 riders got away it would stick. Well with 20 laps for the race I must have had a go on about 8 of the laps with various other riders only to be caught. Then I helped chased down others and felt it was never going to stick and then realised it was going to be a bunch sprint, so I decided to give it one last go 3 laps from the end and stayed away the longest anyone had for the race. I soon got caught. Oops now to get a breather in before the sprint. I felt that I was too knackered to do anything in the sprint and just wanted to finish as high up the result sheet as possible.
On the last lap one rider shot off the front and no one went with him as they were all watching each other who was going to go. “Don’t look at me” I said to a rider who thought as I had done it almost every other lap I would go again.
I was now playing the waiting game. Half a lap to go I had already chosen my wheel to follow and was sticking to my plan. Down the back straight and the pace lifted. The bunch split into two groups - one left and one right on the circuit. I went with the right hand side up the last climb before the “S” bends. I was about 15th and then decided to go with another rider who jumped. He was far too strong for me but this dragged me into 9th place before the “S” bend with just the long flat sprint to the finish. I wound it up as hard as I could and had the 8th place rider in my sights. Soon passed him and noticed another rider coming at me. Then the line flashed by. I had grabbed 8th place for my efforts.
I was really please as it was my last race of the season and finishing in the points was a good mental motivator. Bring on the winter series!!"
30/9 - LVRC Reading RR
Mike Inder reports from Stoke Row. "We had around 40 riders in our event, with a notable number of 'hitters' in our midst. I recognised a few from the BC Masters racing scene, so knew it was gonna be fast. There wasn't much (any!) flat on the circuit, as we rolled out from Stoke Row Village Hall, but the race was neutralised until the main road at Highmoor, which gave us an opportunity to recce the finishing hill just beforehand - reminded me of Cutmill - oh dear!
So first lap sees a few skirmishes but all together until the hill finish where Andy Eagers takes a flier - a VERY good A cat rider (ages 40 to 45 for the uninitiated). There is a nasty false flat after the hill and this is where the race split to bits - but I chose my wheel wisely and tagged 2 other riders up the road. We quickly became a group of a dozen or so and the pace was mad - as the front of our group were trying to catch the lone rider up the road. We were lined out much of the time, so i knew the bunch would have a hard time pulling us back. It took us a lap and a half to catch Andy - testament to his strength. The bunch were long gone and I settled into the group (or "hung-on" really!), working through and off where I could.
We worked to consolidate our lead and I felt good in places and bad in others, but tried to relax in such quality company. On the last lap the attacks started to trim the numbers. Boy, did this hurt - Julian Cann and Brendan Heaslips attacks were particularly papinful experiences and the last dig by Nuffield Golf Course saw me lose a few lengths. I fought back on but knew I was going to be toast for the finish hill, coming in at the back of the break. Andy Eagers won the race and I got 5th in my category. Mixed feelings with the ride - pleased with the effort, but poor finish. The bunch came in around 5 minutes behind."
23/9 - BC/SCRL - Walliswood / Leith Hill
Keith Butler, God bless him - decided to "finish" the 3rd cat race at the top of Leith Hill today. This certainly wasn't in the script that Ian Lowe and Mike Inder read, before they set off for the event.
Mike reports: "We were to do 5 complete circuits of Walliswood before donning oxygen masks for the ascent of Leith Hill, so most of the race were saving themselves for the finish. This didn't stop a couple of riders getting a good minute on the bunch mid-race. However, a combination of tiredness and a turbo-boosted bunch on the penultimate lap meant that they were brought back. Ian and I had a few digs, but from a personal perspective the legs were refusing to play ball so I had sulked back to the bunch. Pretty much all together for the climb, which was off the circuit, I predicatably slipped off the back to come in a rather unceremonious 30th place. Ian managed to hold off 3 riders behind him so to his surprise he wasn't last. Nice to see Keith with a big smile on his face at the finish line - at least it made the judges job a dream!"
22/9 - BC Shrewsbury Crit
Ian Lowe reports from Shropshire: "Well the season was coming to an end I was still up for trying to get my Cat 2 licence. So I decided to try Shrewsbury and little did I know that it was a place where loads of young fit riders and some older ones too (but few and far between), come to do sprint type racing.
From the gun it was fast. Fortunately the rain held off and I was pleased with my performance. I was riding in the top 10 most of the time and dropping back into the middle of the field for a breather every now and then. I certain was really enjoying myself and as the race was getting towards the end I was now starting to plan where I needed to be for the sprint - out of the final hairpin bend.
With 5 laps to go the rain started to fall quite heavily and as some of you know, the rain and I don’t work well together. The bike became quite loose and was all over the track. In one lap, the 3rd from last, I went from about 8th place to last in three quarters of the lap. Coming out of the hairpin I straightened up and put the hammer down as I was 3 bike lengths off the back. I came into the bend and the bike drifted from the inside bend across the track and onto the grass narrowly missing a drain and a lamp pole (all be it padded!)- it certainly would have not been fun had I hit it.
I opted out of the race with 2 laps to go totally dejected. How bad can it get. I will need to understand why my bike just does not handle in the wet as this is not the first time this has happened to me."
16/9 - BC - Willesden Road Race, Cheddington, Bucks.
Ian Lowe reports from Mentmore: "Well this was a course I really enjoyed but failed to finish at the Kenton Road Race earlier in the year - must get rid of the Gremlins. With a long drag before the first climb I decided to hold back this time as I did too much work last time and ran out of steam.
Low and behold 3 riders shot off the front, the way I tend to enjoy riding.
One of them was a friend of mine and thought: "should I?", but decided to keep to my game plan. Something I came to regret later. These 3 riders had about 30 seconds on the group down the back of the course Into a very stiff headwind. Suddenly a single rider shot off the front of the bunch and tried to bridge over to the leaders.
After about 10 minutes he joined them and they started to work well together but no one in the bunch wanted to work. There were a few attempts to try and close the leaders down and what with every one believing they would be caught on the last lap it was left too late. The rider who bridged the gap to the 3 leaders eventually won by half a wheel from a very hard fought second rider who was determined to give it everything.
There was gap of 10 bikes to third and again another 10 bike lengths to the junior who picked up fourth. With 2 other riders clipping off the front with 1 km to go the bunch was now sprinting for 4 places, 7 – 10 th.
It all became a bit silly and I opted to stay upright and not get involved. I went away a little dejected as things were not going according to plan and although I finished this course and worked really hard into the wind to help the group to attempt to catch the leaders, there were not enough helpers to do this and they were all saving themselves for the non-existant sprint. Maybe I need to revise my tactics."
12/9 - LVRC Hillingdon Crit
The final mid-week crit was held off in dry and mild conditions, squeezing in 55 minutes due to the fading light. A big field and Mike Inder was there, but with the still conditions, breaks were a short lived affair. A mass gallop at the end saw Mike come in top 20 and more importantly in one piece as there appeared to be a lot of dodgy wheels out there tonight.
09/9 - BC Great Salling, Essex
Ian Lowe reports: "Great Salling or Rusper, Great Salling or Rusper, Great Salling or Rusper. Well we eventually decided to race Great Salling(!) - that’s Vaughan Luff, a racing friend and myself. We were on unknown territory as neither of us had raced there before. 'Flat and small lanes' we were told and true to form it was.
A number of riders attempted to get away including Vaughan and myself but all were caught and then the race got very boring as the paced dropped it became almost pedestrian.
Well it was now or never and I gave it full gas and shot off the front but no one came with me. I was hoping at least a couple of riders would, and then we could share the load. So I slowed a little to catch a breather and then 4 other riders came over to me. I shouted to them to get a good through and off going which happened pretty quickly and very well .... when 2 of the riders started to miss turns and it all fell to pieces.
I guess they just did not have it in them and soon we were caught. It ended in a bunch sprint and Vaughan and I coasted in mid field. Another race without points. I am doomed for 3rd cat status forever, but at least I had a go."
5/9 - LVRC Hillingdon Crit
Mike Inder was the sole Velo rider flying the colours tonight. A large field that stayed mostly together with the usual flurry of attacks. For once he held his postion on the last lap, choosing wheels wisley to grab top ten overall and 3rd place in the 'B' cats.