Sunday, 15 June 2008
Highbury-Brighton Beach-Highbury
Today was the annual London to Brighton ride and coincidentally happened to be my biggest ride so far this year. Yes - nearly six and a half hours or 124 miles of mostly flat stuff, broken up just the once by a little lump called Ditchling Beacan. Ninety of those 124 miles were spent in the extremely agreeable company of my Addiscombe club mates: Anthony, Steve, Jonathan, Paul and George. It wasn't quite a social ride but then again we weren't exactly 'gunning it' either. In every imaginable way it was a great day to be on the bike :-)
Sunday, 8 June 2008
Barcombe 3rd's: If only...
Freedom is a role seldom followed by the multitude (Wattstax, 2001)
Its June so there should be some sun, right? Well it certainly showed up on Sunday - it was a glorious summer morning. With my Smithfield crit adventure only 12 hours old it was with okayish legs that I met up with Phil Murrell from Finsbury Park CC at 6.30am. With the bikes loaded up in his car we began a 70+ mile trip towards Brighton...
Barcombe is one of Surrey League's feisty little gems out in West Sussex. In short its a lumpy bugger and definitely not a circuit for flatland specialists. So at 9.30am us thirty -five or so 3rd cat blokes began the 6 laps of the 48mile road race .
The pace was fairly civilised from the get-go but after five minutes of racing there was the inevitable attack. The ever talkative big Irish fella, David Walls, began a running commentary on how long or when the guy would be brought back. I'm not sure what he's final guess was but the escapee was back with us after almost a lap later.
At the start of the 2nd lap I rolled to the front and must have pressed a bit harder on the pedals than everyone else - suddenly I had a 30-40 metre gap. A quick glance back before powering around a couple of corners and the bunch were completely out of sight. Mmmm... now what? I kept the pressure on for another fifteen minutes and when I next looked back I saw a Bayeaux Landscapes rider bridging across. I kept things steadish and eventually he was on so I raised the tempo once again while he took a breather on my wheel.
I didn't know it at the time but it was Joshua Cunningham a Junior who had won ahead of Garry Dodd (Sigma Sports) in one of the Surrey League handicap races last month. The work load seemed to be distributed 60-40% in my favour. With 3 laps to go we had a minute on the bunch. Encouraging perhaps but I was well aware things were far from secure so kept the pace up when on the front.
Josh tended to ride on the hoods when in front which definitely blunted our overall speed. Having discovered that he was still only a fourth cat Junior last month I can only say he did fantastically well. With 2 laps to go our gap had dropped to 40secs and at beginning of the last lap I asked again and was told the gap was down to ten secs. Damn! and there was me planning my race winning report. Lol!! So we stayed away for more than 90 minutes before finally been swallowed up. I naturally sat in on the last lap and tried a Geraint Thomas style pursuit effort with 2k's to go. I got caught with around 800 mterte to go on the 1k climb up to the finish. Oh well it was fun while it lasted. I'm getting better just need a good result to confirm it.
Its June so there should be some sun, right? Well it certainly showed up on Sunday - it was a glorious summer morning. With my Smithfield crit adventure only 12 hours old it was with okayish legs that I met up with Phil Murrell from Finsbury Park CC at 6.30am. With the bikes loaded up in his car we began a 70+ mile trip towards Brighton...
Barcombe is one of Surrey League's feisty little gems out in West Sussex. In short its a lumpy bugger and definitely not a circuit for flatland specialists. So at 9.30am us thirty -five or so 3rd cat blokes began the 6 laps of the 48mile road race .
The pace was fairly civilised from the get-go but after five minutes of racing there was the inevitable attack. The ever talkative big Irish fella, David Walls, began a running commentary on how long or when the guy would be brought back. I'm not sure what he's final guess was but the escapee was back with us after almost a lap later.
At the start of the 2nd lap I rolled to the front and must have pressed a bit harder on the pedals than everyone else - suddenly I had a 30-40 metre gap. A quick glance back before powering around a couple of corners and the bunch were completely out of sight. Mmmm... now what? I kept the pressure on for another fifteen minutes and when I next looked back I saw a Bayeaux Landscapes rider bridging across. I kept things steadish and eventually he was on so I raised the tempo once again while he took a breather on my wheel.
I didn't know it at the time but it was Joshua Cunningham a Junior who had won ahead of Garry Dodd (Sigma Sports) in one of the Surrey League handicap races last month. The work load seemed to be distributed 60-40% in my favour. With 3 laps to go we had a minute on the bunch. Encouraging perhaps but I was well aware things were far from secure so kept the pace up when on the front.
Josh tended to ride on the hoods when in front which definitely blunted our overall speed. Having discovered that he was still only a fourth cat Junior last month I can only say he did fantastically well. With 2 laps to go our gap had dropped to 40secs and at beginning of the last lap I asked again and was told the gap was down to ten secs. Damn! and there was me planning my race winning report. Lol!! So we stayed away for more than 90 minutes before finally been swallowed up. I naturally sat in on the last lap and tried a Geraint Thomas style pursuit effort with 2k's to go. I got caught with around 800 mterte to go on the 1k climb up to the finish. Oh well it was fun while it lasted. I'm getting better just need a good result to confirm it.
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
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
Thursday, 5 June 2008
No to Palace(03.08): Yes 2 x 20's
Another indoor adventure with me Kylie (Kurt Kinetic Trainer) and the 2005 TDF DVD. Worryingly my legs weren't great again. Cadence 95rpms, WATTS 315 + 312. I'm glad Palace was off, I don't think I would have been up to much. I'm racing in the Smithfield Nocturne on Saturday so lets hope the legs behave themselves and do as they're told :-)
Wednesday, 4 June 2008
Highbury to Pimlico: Thai for Me
Monday 3rd Of June. (Phone conversation with Girlfriend)
GF: Aren't you racing tonight?
Me: Nah that's tomorrow
GF: Hey guess what? Today is our sixth year anniversary!
Me: Me really?
GF: 2002 remember?
Me: Oh yeah, 1st day of the world cup - Brazil were playing Equador I think
GF: Mmm trust you to remember that. You coming around then, Its Thai tonight?
Me: (Big Smile)See you in 35mins babe
Ten minutes later... Snap Snap go the Speed play cleats! I then swing a right turn on to Blackstock Road. 53/21 for the next 60 secs and then its 53/19 stomp for the little 30 metre 7 per cent climb. I grab a lung full of air at the top and bring things back to 53/21 and spin at 20mph along Highbury Grove. I take a cheeky manoeuvre around the parked 19 bus...Whoa!! brakes on to allow a mother, buggy and kids to cross at the Zebra. The half smile as I wizz past my old secondary school soon becomes a solemn frown as I ride past the spot where my mates' 15 year old sister was knocked down and killed in 2006.
At the Lights facing St Pauls road and I wait while the best looking Red Light Jumper I've seen in ages rolls away on her fully suspendend MTB which must of cost a cool £80 at least. The Lights change I've caught her by the time I get to Highbury Corner roundabout. A second glance confirms she's definitely stunner. Calvin Klien glasses, sit stylishly on top of mousy blonde hair. No lycra on this babe - just a pink dress, denim waist coat and some cute soft brown swede boots. I resist a third glance, that would be pervy! Its first exit for her and 2nd exit for me. 18mph past Starbucks quickly become 23mph as I cruise past Islington Fire Station. On Upper Street, Angel there are lots of trendy peeps looking for bars and restaurants to hang out in.
At the main set of lights near Essex road, not far from Mosquito Bike Shop, there is five of us. A couple of fellas on mountain bikes, an Assoss roadie with what looks like a house on his back and a kid on a BMX. As predicted the kid RLJ's and we watch as he skillfully avoids a bus but forces one of those New Renault Meganes to brake behind him. Quite rightly he gets the Beep Beep treatment then bunny hops the kurb and turns right down a side road.
My phone rings and I fumble in the back pocket to answer it. Hello mate! Hi Dad can you...? I interrupt him mid sentence. Call me in half an hour K I'm riding my bike.
The Light literally take forever to change to green. In a few minutes I'm blasting past Bloomsbury Theatre at 25mph. Its all down hill from here. Ten minutes later I'm cruising past the Cut at Evans Cycles. Thai food is literally now a mile and a half away.
Oh I forgot to mention the Blackfriars Bridge Hill climb challenge. It was a close run thing thing. I pulled up amongst a big bunch of cyclist at the Lights near the Blackfriars Station and a naughty courier unsurprisingly RLJ's which gets him a good gap. When the lights change I sprint hard (but make it fair by not changing gears)and pull him back, sensing I'm coming he spins harder on his track bike but its too late. I pip him to the top of the Bridge - my maximum cadence 127rpms. The final dig takes place along Millbank in 53/17 and few minutes later than promised (I had to go to Threshers) I'm there. Did ya bring any wine she says? I smile and take off my rucksack. Its open, she peers in and smiles back.
GF: Aren't you racing tonight?
Me: Nah that's tomorrow
GF: Hey guess what? Today is our sixth year anniversary!
Me: Me really?
GF: 2002 remember?
Me: Oh yeah, 1st day of the world cup - Brazil were playing Equador I think
GF: Mmm trust you to remember that. You coming around then, Its Thai tonight?
Me: (Big Smile)See you in 35mins babe
Ten minutes later... Snap Snap go the Speed play cleats! I then swing a right turn on to Blackstock Road. 53/21 for the next 60 secs and then its 53/19 stomp for the little 30 metre 7 per cent climb. I grab a lung full of air at the top and bring things back to 53/21 and spin at 20mph along Highbury Grove. I take a cheeky manoeuvre around the parked 19 bus...Whoa!! brakes on to allow a mother, buggy and kids to cross at the Zebra. The half smile as I wizz past my old secondary school soon becomes a solemn frown as I ride past the spot where my mates' 15 year old sister was knocked down and killed in 2006.
At the Lights facing St Pauls road and I wait while the best looking Red Light Jumper I've seen in ages rolls away on her fully suspendend MTB which must of cost a cool £80 at least. The Lights change I've caught her by the time I get to Highbury Corner roundabout. A second glance confirms she's definitely stunner. Calvin Klien glasses, sit stylishly on top of mousy blonde hair. No lycra on this babe - just a pink dress, denim waist coat and some cute soft brown swede boots. I resist a third glance, that would be pervy! Its first exit for her and 2nd exit for me. 18mph past Starbucks quickly become 23mph as I cruise past Islington Fire Station. On Upper Street, Angel there are lots of trendy peeps looking for bars and restaurants to hang out in.
At the main set of lights near Essex road, not far from Mosquito Bike Shop, there is five of us. A couple of fellas on mountain bikes, an Assoss roadie with what looks like a house on his back and a kid on a BMX. As predicted the kid RLJ's and we watch as he skillfully avoids a bus but forces one of those New Renault Meganes to brake behind him. Quite rightly he gets the Beep Beep treatment then bunny hops the kurb and turns right down a side road.
My phone rings and I fumble in the back pocket to answer it. Hello mate! Hi Dad can you...? I interrupt him mid sentence. Call me in half an hour K I'm riding my bike.
The Light literally take forever to change to green. In a few minutes I'm blasting past Bloomsbury Theatre at 25mph. Its all down hill from here. Ten minutes later I'm cruising past the Cut at Evans Cycles. Thai food is literally now a mile and a half away.
Oh I forgot to mention the Blackfriars Bridge Hill climb challenge. It was a close run thing thing. I pulled up amongst a big bunch of cyclist at the Lights near the Blackfriars Station and a naughty courier unsurprisingly RLJ's which gets him a good gap. When the lights change I sprint hard (but make it fair by not changing gears)and pull him back, sensing I'm coming he spins harder on his track bike but its too late. I pip him to the top of the Bridge - my maximum cadence 127rpms. The final dig takes place along Millbank in 53/17 and few minutes later than promised (I had to go to Threshers) I'm there. Did ya bring any wine she says? I smile and take off my rucksack. Its open, she peers in and smiles back.
Lazy Weekend
Things didn't quite pan out the way they were supposed to last weekend. The plan was to do a gentle 90 minute recovery ride on Saturday with a friend who has just got into cycling, and then a three hour tempo ride on the Sunday. So on the Saturday we rode and rode and rode. All very nice - 3 hours 15 minutes at a comfortable sit up and beg speed.
Surprisingly though after the ride I felt like I'd ridden at 20mph rather than our commuter paced 12.9mph average. Yes Ladies and Gents I was knackered. Two weeks of approximately five hours sleep per night were finally catching up with me! So come Sunday morning it definitely had to be a lie in. After a lovely big breakfast at approximately 11am I was faced with a dilemma: bike or sofa; sofa or bike: bike or sofa. Oh sod it I put on my cycling shorts sat on the sofa and dozed off while trying to read the papers.
After the shocking announcement that I wasn't going to ride the girlfriend kindly found me some domestic chores to do and after lunch I was back on the sofa watching "Britain's Got Talent". In the evening we went to Gourmet Burger Kitchen in Covent Garden and once again we ended back at hers on the sofa watching some re run of that other reality TV show "Nancy". Is there any show that doesn't feature the obsequious and smug Grahame Norton? My Girlfiend later commented that all this Reality TV sofa watching has turned us into middle-aged saddo's. Lol's. And she's right of course! - Big Brother starts on Thursday, Euro's Football Champs and Dauphine at the weekend. Bring it on
Surprisingly though after the ride I felt like I'd ridden at 20mph rather than our commuter paced 12.9mph average. Yes Ladies and Gents I was knackered. Two weeks of approximately five hours sleep per night were finally catching up with me! So come Sunday morning it definitely had to be a lie in. After a lovely big breakfast at approximately 11am I was faced with a dilemma: bike or sofa; sofa or bike: bike or sofa. Oh sod it I put on my cycling shorts sat on the sofa and dozed off while trying to read the papers.
After the shocking announcement that I wasn't going to ride the girlfriend kindly found me some domestic chores to do and after lunch I was back on the sofa watching "Britain's Got Talent". In the evening we went to Gourmet Burger Kitchen in Covent Garden and once again we ended back at hers on the sofa watching some re run of that other reality TV show "Nancy". Is there any show that doesn't feature the obsequious and smug Grahame Norton? My Girlfiend later commented that all this Reality TV sofa watching has turned us into middle-aged saddo's. Lol's. And she's right of course! - Big Brother starts on Thursday, Euro's Football Champs and Dauphine at the weekend. Bring it on
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
The Beauty Of Winning Solo!
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.
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