The Smithfield Nocturne: Support Race 2,3,4

Wow! the last time I heard that many people shouting "go Toks" it was in a football match over 30 years ago. Excuse my indulgence - The Silver Jubilee Islington clubs under 12's Cup final. I played up front that day and if the memory serves me well I managed to score twice in that game.

No goals yesterday but I did score my pedals on the ground twice whilst trying to ride horizontally around those twisty bends in Smithfield Nocturne. Unlike my footballing hey day I didn't get to play up front though. My failure to clip in first time coupled by starting near the back of the field quickly ensured I was in for a tough 60 minutes worth of riding - mostly near the tail end of things

The guys up front were literally 60 or 70 metres away from us even on the first time around the bottom hair pin bend. The constant effort to close gaps was an exhausting process and quite frustrating too cause you were needlessly burning matches just to maintain contact with the bunch rather than attacking or responding to attacks. With some tasty Cat 2's in the race an ex pro Ben Wilson, (Cycling Weekly) the pace was relentless. The first twenty minutes seemed painfully long (I should know I've done 2 x 20's without music).

Soon enough guys began to blow, gaps formed and the inevitable happened. A spilt. No prizes for guessing which group I was in. Creditable efforts from Alex, (Shaved legs), Dermot (Mosquito Bikes), Adri (Condor Cycles),a couple of others and myself occasionally were all in vain. If it was a straight up 1 Kilometre gap to make up along a straight road we would've got back on no probs. Not on this twisty circuit, baby! It was a case of see ya later! Yes in reality TV terms we were already up for the public vote. Slowly but still painfully the clock ran down and we were given the bell a couple a laps early to prevent us clashing with the main group and the 2 man breakaway out in front featuring Ben Wilson (Cycling Weekly) and Douglas Dewey (Team4 2000). Slightly disappointed I sprinted to third place in our group. Nevertheless I can't lie I had a great night. Watching Geraint Thomas take the win in the Elites race capped off a great nights racing and a great event.

Results from race 2,3,4

1. Douglas Dewey, Team Tor 2000
2. Ben Wilson, Cycling Weekly
3. Jules Birks, Kingston Wheelers
4. Christopher Whorral, manx road club
5. Gavin Ryan, London Dynamo
6. Danial Clark, Brighton Mitre
7. Peter Wager, BC - Meudon
8. Werner Otto, Finchley Racing Team
9. Huw Watkins, Cyclefit
10. Guy Powdrill, Cyclefit
11. Will Hayter, London Dynamo / Cyclefit
12. Neil Pearson, Colour Tech RT
13. Joe Hemmant, Cyclefit
14. Jake Butler, In-Gear Development Squad/DFL
15. Paul Richards, Mosquito Bikes
16. Angus MacAlister, London Dynamo
17. Alex Palmer, Sigma Sport
18. Toks Adesanya, Addiscombe CC
19. Alec Leslie, John's Bikes RT
20. Harry Bulstrode, Thames Velo
21. Will Heddon, Glade CC
22. Torkel Dohmers, London Dynamo
23. Spencer Wilson, TEAM ECONOMIC ENERGY
24. Dermot Kealey, mosquito bikes
25. Adri Rouco, Rapha Condor Recycling
26. Jason Jeffers, Team Economic Energy
27. Alex Kirk, Shavedlegs.co.uk