I always love a good race report. After a classy win at the In Gear Junior Tour Of Sussex Support 3/4 Race John Heaton-Armstrong had this to say:
The course was just over 7 miles. From the HQ, there was a rolling section to the bottom of the climb, which was about 3miles in length, getting a fair bit steeper in the last km. Apparently 200m of ascent every lap. After the start/finish line, there was a bit more climbing, then a reasonably fast rolling section, going into a fast descent. At the bottom of this was a sharp left and the HQ 200 yards from that.
Having arrived with good friend, Doug Baldock (Beyond MBC), had a bit of a chat with various faces I recognised (and some I didn't!), and was also very pleased to see, unexpectedly, another Mozzie - Paul Richards. Paul and I also did Flanders together earlier in the year, in somewhat less pleasant conditions. After lining up, the lead car took us neutralised from the HQ up to the start/finish line, from whence there would be 7/8 laps (I forget which). I had said to Paul to position himself right on the bumper of the car, but for some reason they wouldn't let us get close. I used the excuse of giving them my gilet to ride up to the back of the car, which gave me a little gap off the front of the bunch. As soon as they took the flag in, I (already in the big ring) attacked and started riding hard.
I had an idea that the bunch would think I was crazy to go from the start. My plan was that they would either chase me, and in so doing drop some people; that a few would cross the gap and I would go with them; or, least likely, I would stay away alone. After 1 lap I had about 1min, and after 2, the moto-marshall told me 1min30s. Having ridden quite hard to this point, I decided to ease off a bit, to get some recovery for my legs. Going into the third lap, the lead car was stuck behind a bus, so I made the naughty decision to overtake both. Midway through the third lap, the Dynamo Rider (Jason) caught up, and I took a rest on his wheel - we agreed to work together. Initially I was quite worried as he was going very well, but then he went backwards fast on the climb, meaning that I had to wait for him - this would set the tone for the remaining laps.
We began to work reasonably effectively together, but it was clear that the climb was really taking it out of him, as his turns on the front became shorter and slower. Consequently I put longer turns in to maintain the gap. With 2 laps to go we had over 2 mins on the group, but were told that there was a rider at 1min45. Goodness knows why, but I took this as a possible threat, and put in some big digs on the front. However, on the penultimate ascent of the climb it was clear from the view that both he, and the group were a very long way off.
We didn't drop the pace that much on the last lap, though Jason was really suffering now, with cramp as well. I didn't ride away from him immediately, and allowed him to catch up so we could finish reasonably close together. However, as Sean Kelly (my hero!) would say, I had the measure of him on the climb, and only had to push in the last kilometre to drop him. As I came to the line, I zipped up my jersey, and pointed to the sky as a little thanks to the Madonna of Ghisallo for keeping me safe during the race.
The course was just over 7 miles. From the HQ, there was a rolling section to the bottom of the climb, which was about 3miles in length, getting a fair bit steeper in the last km. Apparently 200m of ascent every lap. After the start/finish line, there was a bit more climbing, then a reasonably fast rolling section, going into a fast descent. At the bottom of this was a sharp left and the HQ 200 yards from that.
Having arrived with good friend, Doug Baldock (Beyond MBC), had a bit of a chat with various faces I recognised (and some I didn't!), and was also very pleased to see, unexpectedly, another Mozzie - Paul Richards. Paul and I also did Flanders together earlier in the year, in somewhat less pleasant conditions. After lining up, the lead car took us neutralised from the HQ up to the start/finish line, from whence there would be 7/8 laps (I forget which). I had said to Paul to position himself right on the bumper of the car, but for some reason they wouldn't let us get close. I used the excuse of giving them my gilet to ride up to the back of the car, which gave me a little gap off the front of the bunch. As soon as they took the flag in, I (already in the big ring) attacked and started riding hard.
I had an idea that the bunch would think I was crazy to go from the start. My plan was that they would either chase me, and in so doing drop some people; that a few would cross the gap and I would go with them; or, least likely, I would stay away alone. After 1 lap I had about 1min, and after 2, the moto-marshall told me 1min30s. Having ridden quite hard to this point, I decided to ease off a bit, to get some recovery for my legs. Going into the third lap, the lead car was stuck behind a bus, so I made the naughty decision to overtake both. Midway through the third lap, the Dynamo Rider (Jason) caught up, and I took a rest on his wheel - we agreed to work together. Initially I was quite worried as he was going very well, but then he went backwards fast on the climb, meaning that I had to wait for him - this would set the tone for the remaining laps.
We began to work reasonably effectively together, but it was clear that the climb was really taking it out of him, as his turns on the front became shorter and slower. Consequently I put longer turns in to maintain the gap. With 2 laps to go we had over 2 mins on the group, but were told that there was a rider at 1min45. Goodness knows why, but I took this as a possible threat, and put in some big digs on the front. However, on the penultimate ascent of the climb it was clear from the view that both he, and the group were a very long way off.
We didn't drop the pace that much on the last lap, though Jason was really suffering now, with cramp as well. I didn't ride away from him immediately, and allowed him to catch up so we could finish reasonably close together. However, as Sean Kelly (my hero!) would say, I had the measure of him on the climb, and only had to push in the last kilometre to drop him. As I came to the line, I zipped up my jersey, and pointed to the sky as a little thanks to the Madonna of Ghisallo for keeping me safe during the race.
