Oh my gosh! I could go on about this race forever. Don't worry I won't. Eight navigations of a 7 mile rolling loop with a two mile very significant draggy hill were on the menu. The race was hard, scary, fun, and very painful in parts. You generally don't have to respond to so many attacks in 3rd cat races Ouch!; I never knew horizontal rain could sting your face so much Ouch!..i wanted John Heaton-Armstrong to die - not literally of course cause he's a nice chap. But he kept attacking and stringing us out and Damn it hurt...Adam's Cotterell (TSN) spins a low gear beautifully up hills I had no idea - he's obviously been hanging out with that smooth as butter Dave Kennett (Dulwich Paragon) fella for too long... I don't think there have been many race we're I've known so many racers - Phil Sheehan (Fincheley RT), Phil Peters (I- team), Phil Murrell (Finsbury Park), Adam, Marek (big thanks mate, Dewrmot, James, John ok thats enough. But seriously it was like being on a club run - all be at a very fast very very painful one.
Result
Number Time gap
1st 53 Jaco Ehlers Wildside RT 2hrs 49min 18s
2nd 27 Jamie Howard EWCC 46 sec
3rd 55 Ben Wilson Private Member 50 sec
4th 59 John Heaton-Armstrong Fit-For ST
5th 41 Richard Mason London Dynamo 3min 8 sec
6th 50 Adam Cotterell Tri Sport News 3min 15 sec
7th 46 Simon Lawn Sigma Sport
8th 61 David Seager San Fairy Ann CC
9th 51 Roger Smith VC Etoile 3min 30
10th 33 Will Hedden Glade CC
11th 60 Mark Sussex Wildside RT
12th 69 Bartlomies Bielecki Private member
13th 67 Nigel Ling Citihub
14th 58 Toks Adesanya Addiscoombe CC 3min 34
15th 72 Andrew Eagles Dulwich Paragon 3min 44
16th 35 Mark Jones GS Stella
17th 38 Philip Peters I Team CC
18th 48 Simon Fox Team MK 3min 55
19th 64 James Gibson Peak Fuel 4 min 13
20th 68 Daniel Felstead Dulwich Paragon
21st 2 Tom Spreckley Ingear Dev Squad 10min 36
22nd 19 Robert Bordi Beyond MTB 16min 55
23rd 63 Ian Franlin Ciclos Uno 20min 44
24th 57 Philip Moore Private Member 21min 10
K.O.M Jaco Ehlers
1st Junior Philip Peters
1st 3rd Cat Toks Adesanya
Sunday 31 August 2008
Saturday 30 August 2008
Hog Hill (31.08.08): Team Economic Energy 3/4's
Blimey! if you believed some of the stuff doing the rounds on the various forums you'd think the climb on Hog Hill was the lengh and height of Alpe D'uez. Anyway whatever! I'd decided to take my 71 kilo grammed self back for some more pain this afternoon. Once again I was riding on my lonesome. The field was down to just 40 odd riders this week and the weather was the lovely summery kind that we've been craving since June.
On lap one there was a large explosion right in front of me that scared half of the bunch to death. It was my front tyre - a complete blow out. The inner tube had been ripped to shreds. I hobbled back to the start line taking short cuts across the freshly laid soil surrounding the track. Good old Tim Harris (remember him, should be back next year ) offered me his front wheel and a lap later I was back in the bunch.
We were only ten minutes in and there were a group of four about 30 metres in front of the bunch. I cranked up the watts into the head wind section and a less than a minute later I was at the front urging them all to put some work in. Two laps later we had a tentative 25 second gap and with fifteen minutes to go we had a minute. A top five place was definitely assured; the issue was how to make sure I got the lowest number.
With three laps to go I put in a testing dig and my breakaway buddies worked hard to chase me down. With two laps to go I jumped again and the out come was the same. On the bell lap I hit em again and led out on the climb. Almost did it but not quite. I was pipped into second by Tim's mate
On lap one there was a large explosion right in front of me that scared half of the bunch to death. It was my front tyre - a complete blow out. The inner tube had been ripped to shreds. I hobbled back to the start line taking short cuts across the freshly laid soil surrounding the track. Good old Tim Harris (remember him, should be back next year ) offered me his front wheel and a lap later I was back in the bunch.
We were only ten minutes in and there were a group of four about 30 metres in front of the bunch. I cranked up the watts into the head wind section and a less than a minute later I was at the front urging them all to put some work in. Two laps later we had a tentative 25 second gap and with fifteen minutes to go we had a minute. A top five place was definitely assured; the issue was how to make sure I got the lowest number.
With three laps to go I put in a testing dig and my breakaway buddies worked hard to chase me down. With two laps to go I jumped again and the out come was the same. On the bell lap I hit em again and led out on the climb. Almost did it but not quite. I was pipped into second by Tim's mate
Tuesday 26 August 2008
Hog Hill: Welcome to the Terrordrome
John Londoncyclesport - "IF YOU CAN RACE AT PALACE YOU CAN RACE ANYWHERE"
"Right, I'm gonna get my brother on to you". Do you remember that cowardly cry from your school days. It was usually from that annoying scumbag kid who'd lost out in a playground scrap for the nth time. Well Eastway may well be long gone but its bigger badder and tougher younger brother (Eastway 2, AKA Hog Hill)has finally shown up. You'll need to feel more than lucky to take on this bad boy. Yep some of 'us' are finally gonna have to do some proper training...
The layout is similar to Eastway. The judges and race announcer shed is now a proper building. Interestingly enough like the old Eastway it faces a main large building (which houses excellent facilities - bike storage, showers, club rooms, etc). The similarities don't stop there! - taking the anticlockwise loop you roll down a short ramp, then there's a wide left hand bend (replacing that hairpin bend of course); the road then drops down slightly before rising up again. After that things change markedly - a supper whizzy descent gives way to a series of bends, twists, turns and a proper hairpin before you eventually complete the 2k loop heading back up towards the HQ & start/finish line via a brutally harsh 12-14% climb.
Being a lover of all things new and shiny I signed on with 75 others for bank holiday Monday's Southend Wheeler's 3/4 race. The pace was fine (for me at least!)and most people coped with the circuit without problems. In fact it was quite easy to pedal around even the tightest hairpin bend and this was helped by the super smooth surface. The club with the largest number of riders was Team Economic Energy and in the early laps one of their strong riders David was putting in lots of work.
The organisers spiced up the race with £5 and £10 preems which only a handful of people really challenged for. The climb could be managed in 53/23 but quite a few spun up in the small ring. With around 13 laps of the 25 to go Nigel Ling (Citihub) and another rider pulled out a 10 second gap. I was still mid bunch and bided my time just to see what would happen.
Oh I should point out that the climb ensured riders were being summarily dismissed from the bunch on a lap by lap basis. This course takes no prisoners. Oh dear, you should've seen the the E12 field explode all over the circuit - it was UGLY!
Now which training sessions guarantee you'll be able to join any 3rd cat breakaway? Mmm! Before Nigel Ling (CityHub)and his partner in crime managed to eek out some more seconds it was time for me to start riding at my 2 x 20 threshold pace. Having put in a subtle dig just before the climb I surged ahead of the bunch; a big maximum effort was needed and I hit the climb in 53/21. Oxygen depletion over and maximum heart rate achieved (phew!) I managed to get across to them on the descent. sh1t! was it something I said? Ling's breakaway buddy suddenly went backwards. After a huge turn on the front from my good self our gap time went up slightly and a lap later an Economic Energy rider impressively made his way across came on board. Would three be the magic number?
No guessing which lady was the most animated supporter now that one of her riders was in the decisive break. Leslie Everest the life blood of Team Economic Energy was particularly vocal from the sidelines. The laps soon began to fall and with a 25 second gap with three laps to go we were gonna make it.
Once again the breakaway conundrum presented itself. Do I (A) light things up pursuit style on the last lap? (B) attack a few times and try to drop em or (C)chance it in the sprint. Unlike Goodwood I went for the sprint up the hill. My jump wasn't great and it wasn't helped by wrong gear selection. Nigel Ling (Cityhub) took the initiative, closely followed by the The Economic Energy rider. Only a bike length between us. A great race and a fantastic circuit, well done to the Eastway Supporters Group and all others involved that have made Hog Hill happen
3/4 cats 75 riders
1 Nigel Ling Cityhub
2 Javier Garcia T.E.E
3 Toks Adesanya Addiscombe cc
4 Jo Skelton Brixton cycles
5 Kier Apperley CC Hackney
6 Mark Howard Shaftesbury cc
7 Mark Holt Cambridge Uni
8 Damion Foy Eagle cc
9 Daniel Scott Shaftesbury cc
10 Ralph Keeler Cambridge cc
"Right, I'm gonna get my brother on to you". Do you remember that cowardly cry from your school days. It was usually from that annoying scumbag kid who'd lost out in a playground scrap for the nth time. Well Eastway may well be long gone but its bigger badder and tougher younger brother (Eastway 2, AKA Hog Hill)has finally shown up. You'll need to feel more than lucky to take on this bad boy. Yep some of 'us' are finally gonna have to do some proper training...
The layout is similar to Eastway. The judges and race announcer shed is now a proper building. Interestingly enough like the old Eastway it faces a main large building (which houses excellent facilities - bike storage, showers, club rooms, etc). The similarities don't stop there! - taking the anticlockwise loop you roll down a short ramp, then there's a wide left hand bend (replacing that hairpin bend of course); the road then drops down slightly before rising up again. After that things change markedly - a supper whizzy descent gives way to a series of bends, twists, turns and a proper hairpin before you eventually complete the 2k loop heading back up towards the HQ & start/finish line via a brutally harsh 12-14% climb.
Being a lover of all things new and shiny I signed on with 75 others for bank holiday Monday's Southend Wheeler's 3/4 race. The pace was fine (for me at least!)and most people coped with the circuit without problems. In fact it was quite easy to pedal around even the tightest hairpin bend and this was helped by the super smooth surface. The club with the largest number of riders was Team Economic Energy and in the early laps one of their strong riders David was putting in lots of work.
The organisers spiced up the race with £5 and £10 preems which only a handful of people really challenged for. The climb could be managed in 53/23 but quite a few spun up in the small ring. With around 13 laps of the 25 to go Nigel Ling (Citihub) and another rider pulled out a 10 second gap. I was still mid bunch and bided my time just to see what would happen.
Oh I should point out that the climb ensured riders were being summarily dismissed from the bunch on a lap by lap basis. This course takes no prisoners. Oh dear, you should've seen the the E12 field explode all over the circuit - it was UGLY!
Now which training sessions guarantee you'll be able to join any 3rd cat breakaway? Mmm! Before Nigel Ling (CityHub)and his partner in crime managed to eek out some more seconds it was time for me to start riding at my 2 x 20 threshold pace. Having put in a subtle dig just before the climb I surged ahead of the bunch; a big maximum effort was needed and I hit the climb in 53/21. Oxygen depletion over and maximum heart rate achieved (phew!) I managed to get across to them on the descent. sh1t! was it something I said? Ling's breakaway buddy suddenly went backwards. After a huge turn on the front from my good self our gap time went up slightly and a lap later an Economic Energy rider impressively made his way across came on board. Would three be the magic number?
No guessing which lady was the most animated supporter now that one of her riders was in the decisive break. Leslie Everest the life blood of Team Economic Energy was particularly vocal from the sidelines. The laps soon began to fall and with a 25 second gap with three laps to go we were gonna make it.
Once again the breakaway conundrum presented itself. Do I (A) light things up pursuit style on the last lap? (B) attack a few times and try to drop em or (C)chance it in the sprint. Unlike Goodwood I went for the sprint up the hill. My jump wasn't great and it wasn't helped by wrong gear selection. Nigel Ling (Cityhub) took the initiative, closely followed by the The Economic Energy rider. Only a bike length between us. A great race and a fantastic circuit, well done to the Eastway Supporters Group and all others involved that have made Hog Hill happen
3/4 cats 75 riders
1 Nigel Ling Cityhub
2 Javier Garcia T.E.E
3 Toks Adesanya Addiscombe cc
4 Jo Skelton Brixton cycles
5 Kier Apperley CC Hackney
6 Mark Howard Shaftesbury cc
7 Mark Holt Cambridge Uni
8 Damion Foy Eagle cc
9 Daniel Scott Shaftesbury cc
10 Ralph Keeler Cambridge cc
Sunday 17 August 2008
Goodwood 3rd Cats (17.08.08)
At various points throughout the day youth, women, 4ths, 3rds, E12's and the Revolutions 5 day racers all got to sample Goodwood Aerodrome's windy 2.4 mile circuit. After a tortuous two hour drive from North London via the M25 I just managed to get to the circuit in time for the start of the 3rd cat race (20 laps - 48miles). Once Keith Butler got us going I was determined not to revert to type by attacking needlessly from the off. In fact the need to warm up meant any jumping around would be put on the back burner for a while. Fortunately the pace was comfortable from the start so it was easy to just chill at the back of the bunch . Hanging at the back is not something I'd generally recommend, but Goodwood circuit allows you to do that in the 3rd cat races.
At the front of the fifty or so riders the big fella from Der Ver, a Bayeaux Landscape rider and a couple of others occassionally tried their luck. The combination of headwind and a bunch with fresh legs meant nothing was gonna go and things pretty much stayed together for the first hour. By now I'd positioned myself a little closer to the front. When a couple of Velocity riders pulled away from the pack on the draggy bit it looked kinda promising so I jumped across. This brief bit of excitement was soon over and a lap later I found myself on the front. Mmm!! Peeps were lined up behind me but no one seriously fancied having a go. I swung off and allowed others to do some wind-catching. As the promoting club the Velocity duo were determined to show their colours and soon they were off again. Another game of follow the leader ensued and I shouted to them that "we've got a gap". Never one's to miss a breakaway opportunity an Agiskoviner rider soon joined us and our cycling quartet began to work together.
Despite working well the four of us didn't quite have it against the wind. To survive we were gonna need some help. Two and half laps later five more riders bridged across. Just to make sure they weren't gonna sit on I shouted "two lines; thru and off boys" and surprise suprise they complied. A few strong pulls here and there between myself and the Akiskoviner rider shook of any light weights and with five laps to go we were now a strong bunch of six. Sadly we had to say goodnight to the Velocity boys.
Myself and a Twickenham CC rider continued to cajole the group during the well executed through and off. Soon we were close to 45 secs on the bunch. With 3 laps to go the Pearsons rider announced "yes we're gonna make it'. So there we were - one Addiscombe, one Norwood Paragon, a Pearson, an I-Team, a Twickenham and one other rider. So far nobody had missed a turn apart from the Norwood Paragon guy. With two laps to go I needed to make a decision. These guys all had calves double the size of mine (not hard). Could I take the risk of a sprint finish? On the windy drags I'd occasionally pulled thru a little on the hard side just to see who had a real snap about them. Both the Pearson and the Agiskoviner guys looked strong. On the bell lap my mind was made up!... The Agiskoviner guy pulled thru and switched to the right; I was on the Pearson riders wheel as it was his turn to switch over. At this point we'd hit the windy draggy bit and I began sprinting - Hard! Yes people, it was time to go for a long one. Thirty seconds later I finally plonked my butt on the seat and began my Bradley Wiggins pursuit impression. The Pearsons rider was coming up fast. Perhaps he was 25 metres away. I clicked down to 53-14 and stomped harder. Again I looked under my arm to see if he was getting closer to me. Shhit! it was hard to tell.
My solo bid for freedom felt unbelievably hard. I could feel the "burn" as blood lactate swamped my thighs. What about the gap to the Pearsons Guy? I wanted to look back again but dared not. I tried to remove negative images from my mind (Hillingdon - twice reeled in on the final bend, Ockley last Sunday - our break was caught with less than 100 yards to go). At last the slight down hill section of the course, 53-13 was engaged... one man against five; my back couldn't get any flatter and I couldn't push any harder - things were very uncomfortable indeed. Finally I reached the chicane - 150 metres approximately from the line. I could see the small crowd to the right and the chequered flag. Forty metres to go and I was finally brave enough to look back.... Nobody There! In fact there was no one even close. Did I zip up my Addiscombe top completely and milk the moment? Of course I bloody did!! I Applauded the people back that were cheering me on (special mention to ACC's Chloe); then pointed to the name on the shirt and held up one finger as I crossed the line. Shhit I won and I won solo too. Goodwood was good for me!
Surrey League Revolutions 5 Day Stage 3 Support Races (Velocity Bikes CC)
Road & Track - 3
Place Rider Club Age Cat Disc Cat Rank Pts Series Pts
1 Toks Adesanya Addiscombe CC Over 23 3rd 10 0
2 Michael Ladbrook Pearson Cycles Over 23 3rd 8 0
2 Gareth Dickinson www.agiskoviner.com Under 23 3rd 8 0
4 Paul James Norwood Paragon CC Over 23 3rd 6 0
5 Joshua Worrall Twickenham CC Over 23 3rd 5 0
6 Howard Radcliffe I-Team Cyclist's Club Over 23 3rd 4 0
7 James Cotty GA Cycles Over 23 3rd 3 0
8 Tom Spreckley In Gear Cycling Development Squad Under 23 3rd 2 0
9 Mark Walter Over 23 3rd 1 0
10 Paul Aldridge Kenilworth Wheelers CC Over 23 3rd 1 0
11 David Hooper DH Cyclesport.co.uk Over 23 3rd 0 0
At the front of the fifty or so riders the big fella from Der Ver, a Bayeaux Landscape rider and a couple of others occassionally tried their luck. The combination of headwind and a bunch with fresh legs meant nothing was gonna go and things pretty much stayed together for the first hour. By now I'd positioned myself a little closer to the front. When a couple of Velocity riders pulled away from the pack on the draggy bit it looked kinda promising so I jumped across. This brief bit of excitement was soon over and a lap later I found myself on the front. Mmm!! Peeps were lined up behind me but no one seriously fancied having a go. I swung off and allowed others to do some wind-catching. As the promoting club the Velocity duo were determined to show their colours and soon they were off again. Another game of follow the leader ensued and I shouted to them that "we've got a gap". Never one's to miss a breakaway opportunity an Agiskoviner rider soon joined us and our cycling quartet began to work together.
Despite working well the four of us didn't quite have it against the wind. To survive we were gonna need some help. Two and half laps later five more riders bridged across. Just to make sure they weren't gonna sit on I shouted "two lines; thru and off boys" and surprise suprise they complied. A few strong pulls here and there between myself and the Akiskoviner rider shook of any light weights and with five laps to go we were now a strong bunch of six. Sadly we had to say goodnight to the Velocity boys.
Myself and a Twickenham CC rider continued to cajole the group during the well executed through and off. Soon we were close to 45 secs on the bunch. With 3 laps to go the Pearsons rider announced "yes we're gonna make it'. So there we were - one Addiscombe, one Norwood Paragon, a Pearson, an I-Team, a Twickenham and one other rider. So far nobody had missed a turn apart from the Norwood Paragon guy. With two laps to go I needed to make a decision. These guys all had calves double the size of mine (not hard). Could I take the risk of a sprint finish? On the windy drags I'd occasionally pulled thru a little on the hard side just to see who had a real snap about them. Both the Pearson and the Agiskoviner guys looked strong. On the bell lap my mind was made up!... The Agiskoviner guy pulled thru and switched to the right; I was on the Pearson riders wheel as it was his turn to switch over. At this point we'd hit the windy draggy bit and I began sprinting - Hard! Yes people, it was time to go for a long one. Thirty seconds later I finally plonked my butt on the seat and began my Bradley Wiggins pursuit impression. The Pearsons rider was coming up fast. Perhaps he was 25 metres away. I clicked down to 53-14 and stomped harder. Again I looked under my arm to see if he was getting closer to me. Shhit! it was hard to tell.
My solo bid for freedom felt unbelievably hard. I could feel the "burn" as blood lactate swamped my thighs. What about the gap to the Pearsons Guy? I wanted to look back again but dared not. I tried to remove negative images from my mind (Hillingdon - twice reeled in on the final bend, Ockley last Sunday - our break was caught with less than 100 yards to go). At last the slight down hill section of the course, 53-13 was engaged... one man against five; my back couldn't get any flatter and I couldn't push any harder - things were very uncomfortable indeed. Finally I reached the chicane - 150 metres approximately from the line. I could see the small crowd to the right and the chequered flag. Forty metres to go and I was finally brave enough to look back.... Nobody There! In fact there was no one even close. Did I zip up my Addiscombe top completely and milk the moment? Of course I bloody did!! I Applauded the people back that were cheering me on (special mention to ACC's Chloe); then pointed to the name on the shirt and held up one finger as I crossed the line. Shhit I won and I won solo too. Goodwood was good for me!
Surrey League Revolutions 5 Day Stage 3 Support Races (Velocity Bikes CC)
Road & Track - 3
Place Rider Club Age Cat Disc Cat Rank Pts Series Pts
1 Toks Adesanya Addiscombe CC Over 23 3rd 10 0
2 Michael Ladbrook Pearson Cycles Over 23 3rd 8 0
2 Gareth Dickinson www.agiskoviner.com Under 23 3rd 8 0
4 Paul James Norwood Paragon CC Over 23 3rd 6 0
5 Joshua Worrall Twickenham CC Over 23 3rd 5 0
6 Howard Radcliffe I-Team Cyclist's Club Over 23 3rd 4 0
7 James Cotty GA Cycles Over 23 3rd 3 0
8 Tom Spreckley In Gear Cycling Development Squad Under 23 3rd 2 0
9 Mark Walter Over 23 3rd 1 0
10 Paul Aldridge Kenilworth Wheelers CC Over 23 3rd 1 0
11 David Hooper DH Cyclesport.co.uk Over 23 3rd 0 0
Monday 11 August 2008
more racing..and more of the same
Hey whats up guys its been a while? Racing wise there's nothing to report really. I've generally been happy with my performances but still haven't had any results worth blogging about. In 3rd cat only races, 2,3,4's or vet races I've been part of a some good breakaways that have always been reeled in; in fact it was the last 50 metres in last Sunday's (10.08.08) Surrey League 3rd cat race at Ockley. Oh well if at first you don't ...
Finally it was fantastic to see Nicole Cooke's Olympic RR win on Sunday. Like most people I thought she'd lost her chance on that final treacherous wet bend. It was slightly reminiscent of her caginess I witnessed first hand in one particularly wet stage of the Ras De Cymru stage race; Nicole was obviously just teasing us - adding some extra drama to a great race ;-)
Finally it was fantastic to see Nicole Cooke's Olympic RR win on Sunday. Like most people I thought she'd lost her chance on that final treacherous wet bend. It was slightly reminiscent of her caginess I witnessed first hand in one particularly wet stage of the Ras De Cymru stage race; Nicole was obviously just teasing us - adding some extra drama to a great race ;-)
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