Racing Weekend

Photo: The 5th Floor

This weekend saw me take a break from university to return home my first couple of races of the year. In the last month or so I have been getting in some decent training, although unfortunately mostly on the turbo trainer. However, I have come down with a cold in the last week, so although I knew some form would be there, I was still uncertain as to how I’d perform. On the agenda was two circuit races. The Redbridge CC Spring Warm Up Races held at Hog Hill on Saturday, and the San Fairy Ann Spring Crits at the Cyclopark in Gravesend on Sunday.

Redbridge CC Spring Warm Up Races

Held at Hog Hill in East London, this circuit is dominated by a 300m long climb which tops out at around 13%, meaning that over the course of a one hour race you get through about 600m of climbing. However, as the hill is short and steep, this isn’t a race for climbers, more for the powerful rider who can cope with repeated short efforts.

With a sizeable field and most riders obviously unsure of their early season form, this was a very defensive race. A few attempts were made to get away up the hill, including one by yours truly, but all were chased down by an ultra-vigilent pack seemingly intent on a bunch sprint.

On a personal note, I felt surprisingly good for the first half of the race, as a combination of cold and flu tablets and Vicks Vaborub kept my airways clear. This meant that I was confident enough to launch the aforementioned attack, as well as to ride at the front of the peloton up the hill. However, almost a year without crit riding meant I lacked confidence through the corners of the technical section of the course, meaning that I was generally having to come round the whole bunch to make sure I was at the front up the hill. Inevitably this took its toll. As the pace lifted for the last few laps I found myself sitting at the back, while my failure to take on enough liquid before the race meant I was cramping up on the last couple of times up the hill.

The race was won by Charles Kennedy-Scott (Cycling Club Hackney) who galloped up the hill for the final time to win my a convincing margin, while Josh Greet (The 5th Floor) and Sean Dunlea (PCA Ciclos Uno) took second and third respectively.

But in truth I saw none of this. A failure to get into a decent position on the final lap left me well out of contention, and I rolled in 22nd.

San Fairy Ann Spring Crits

A smaller field took to the line for the San Fairy Ann Spring Crits at the Cyclopark in Gravesend. This was a slightly longer circuit, consisting of a hairpin bend at one end, before a short pitch up and a long sweeping descent to the bottom of the circuit. There were the a number of ninety-degree bends before a long drag up into a headwind to the finish line.

Unlike the previous day’s racing, this was a much more attacking race. Within the first couple of laps a single rider had gone clear, building a lead of about 20 seconds. With a strong wind, there was little effort of a concerted chase in the bunch. However, the accelerations out the hairpin bend and down the hill, mostly by riders from Catford CC and San Fairy Ann, steadily brought the gap down, with the added effect of whittling down the field.

About half way through the race, this attack was reeled in, but move on the following lap took three riders clear, including the previous escapee who latched onto the move. Unfortunately, failing to learn from Saturday’s mistakes, I was sitting at the back of the group, in no position at all to go with what looked like a decisive move.

With four laps to go and the attritional wind and hills having slimmed the main group to only ten or so riders, I noticed that one rider had been detached from the leading trio. Perhaps slightly misjudging the gap, I attacked out of hairpin bend in the hope of using this rider as a stepping stone to the two leaders. However, with the main group keen not to let any more escapes go away, I was reeled in after half a lap.

The next few laps saw us catch the rider who had been detached from the break, but a number of half-hearted attacks were quickly chased down, and the gap to the leaders must have grown all the way to the finish.

As it was Jonathan Harris (GS Avanti) won the two-up sprint for the win, while our group were left sprinting for third. With 500m to go I was poorly positioned (yet again) sitting at the back of the ten-man group. However with an acceleration out of the final corner I moved up to fourth wheel. With the uphill, into the wind sprint launched ambitiously at 250m to go, I was slightly unsure as to whether I could hold it, but held on to take second in the sprint, and fourth place over all. As it happened I need not have worried, as the photo above shows the group was completely split to pieces.

So a reasonably good weekend. I was secretly hoping to get the ten points needed to move up to 3rd cat, but fourth place is my highest ever position in my short career, so I can’t really complain.

As for this blog, I will be moving back to covering pro cycling over the next few weeks, but there will probably be more of these updates as my own race season gets going in April.

Finally, on a very sad note, while I was racing at Gravesend, Junior Heffernan was killed while racing in the Severn Bridge Road Race in Gloucestershire following a collision with a car. Junior was a talented young cyclist and a triathlete riding for Herbalife LeisureLakesBikes.com. Incidents like this should never happen in cycling and hopefully this can lead to British Cycling improving the safety of amateur races who are forced to compete on open roads. However, that is a debate for another day, and I would like to extend my deepest condolences to all of Junior’s friends and family, as well as the riders in that race who would no doubt have been affected by what they saw.