Pearson Cycles Jaunts 5 Day -Stage 2

2nd stage report from Stu Chamberlayne...

it was rather long and lumpy stage, at 63 miles and with 2 sharp climbs, and and long drag up the main A road through bletchingly. the finish was up a sharp climb that goes up to bletchingly...(the one where i always drop paul after the chaingang)

i was feeling fairly ok, and settled mid pack to see what was what. the first lap was pretty slow, and i had to restrain myself from making any futile attacks, which i would have done had it not been a 5 day race.

pretty soon however, the top guns started to fire up and the race got going... much better

i was fairly comfortable, settling in the front third of the pack. there were attacks occurring all the time, but nothing was getting away, so i decided to save my powder and not go with any, as i knew that there was a 90% chance it would come to nothing.

for me personally there was not that much action, i felt reasonably comfortable, and almost never in the red, accept having to bridge a spilt in the group a couple of times going up the long draggy bit, which is where the strong guys chose to attack each lap!

with 2 laps to go i could feel i was getting a bit more tired, and was having to get out the saddle on the climbs, but nothing to worry about- i downed the rest of my energy bars and took a big swig from my bottle. after about 10 minutes i could feel the benefits, and started my plan for the finish, which i thought might suit me somewhat.

however, with 1 lap to go, and with no drink left i started to notice the creeping of cramps

a few months back this would have been the end of my race, but ive learnt techniques on 'managing' it. firstly, dont get out the saddle, secondly spin the gears, especially up hill, and finally- if you need to respond quickely to a change in pace dont! gently increase the speed, and if it means loosing a few places so be it.

with my guru like knowledge acquired from un paralleled experience of cramps in a hard races i managed to hold off a full , crippling cramp of my legs, instead only getting the preliminary twangs and bubble sensations in my legs.

i knew my chance of a good finish was out the question, so i knew i just had to make sure i didnt loose too much time.

as we hit the finising hill i was mid pack, where i wanted to be to get as much shelter as i could . i got out the saddle round one of the steeper sections, but promptly whacked my a*rse back down as i felt my leg nearly go. so as can be seen in the results i finished with the main bunch, not coneeding any time to my nearest GC competitors.

so after 2 hour 40 minutes it was over, pleased to hold off the cramp but disappointed also, as i felt it was a perfect finish for me (a lap early! )

todays write up to follow later.....
stu
1 Richard Hoult London Dynamo 2 42 2:36:51 @ 0:00:00
2 Roger Smith VC Etoile 3 57 2:37:41 @ 0:00:50
3 Lee Tunnicliffe DHCyclesport.co.uk 2 16 2:37:51 @ 0:01:00
4 Richard Mason London Dynamo 2 43 2:37:54 @ 0:01:03
5 Daniel Felstead Dulwich Paragon CC 3 19 2:37:54 @ 0:01:03
6 Stephen Dring Team Echelon 2 52 2:37:56 @ 0:01:05
7 Jaco Ehlers Wildside RT 2 62 2:37:56 @ 0:01:05
8 David Kennett Norwood Paragon CC 2V 46 2:38:05 @ 0:01:14
9 Mark Jones GS Stella 3V 27 2:38:11 @ 0:01:20
10 Steve Home Twickenham CC 2 55 2:38:43 @ 0:01:52
11 Steven Saunders Kingston Wheelers 2 38 2:38:46 @ 0:01:55
12 Joshua Cunningham Bayeux Landscapes 3J 9 2:38:51 @ 0:02:00
13 Adam Cotterell TriSportNews.com 2 53 2:38:51 @ 0:02:00
14 Mark Sussex Wildside RT 2 63 2:38:51 @ 0:02:00
15 Geoffrey Lulham Evans Cycles RT 3 23 2:38:51 @ 0:02:00
16 Tom Spreckley In Gear Development Squad 3 36 2:38:51 @ 0:02:00
17 Guy Powdrill London Dynamo 2 40 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
18 Allan Ridler Army CU 2 3 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
19 Andrew Davies Fit-For 2 24 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
20 Cameron Carthen In Gear Development Squad 3J 31 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
21 Ben Wilson Private Member 2 49 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
22 Daniel Clark Brighton Mitre 2 11 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
23 Philip Watkins Old Portlians CC 2V 47 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
24 John Heaton-Armstrong Fit-For 2 25 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
25 Simon Bird Dulwich Paragon CC 3 22 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
26 Mike Cripps Army CU 3 6 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
27 Robert Bordi Beyond Mountain Bikes 3J 10 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
28 Mark Gibbs VC Meudon 3V 61 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
29 Stuart Chamberlayne Addiscombe CC 2J 1 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
30 Jason Green London Dynamo 3 41 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
31 David Wilson Charlotteville CC 3 13 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
32 John Saddler TriSportNews.com 2 54 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
33 Jason Salter Bayeux Landscapes 3V 8 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
34 Oscar Challis Dulwich Paragon CC 3 21 2:39:07 @ 0:02:16
35 Dan Guest Army CU 3 4 2:39:07 @ 0:02:16
36 Kevin Knox Dulwich Paragon CC 2 20 2:39:10 @ 0:02:19
37 Duncan Hards VC Meudon 2 60 2:39:13 @ 0:02:22
38 Justin Callaway DHCyclesport.co.uk 3 15 2:39:13 @ 0:02:22
39 Craig Northam Dulwich Paragon CC 2 18 2:39:13 @ 0:02:22
40 Niall Digby Sigma Sport RT 2 51 2:39:20 @ 0:02:29