Thruxton 4th Cat Race (22/3)

Sunday was my second outing in a row to Thruxton for another crack at the 4th cat race. Weather was almost identical to last weekend, though this time there was a little more wind. Myself and Morgan would be racing again with Claire racing with the women in the E/1/2/3/4 race. This week however we'd have Dan with us who's been out photographing the Mitre on various training rides and club runs for a photography course project. This weekend he'd get chance to snap some action shots of us racing.

The major difference this weekend was how I was feeling. Friday nights fitness test was about purely surviving the 2 8 minute tests, being too tired to concentrate properly on breathing or pedal stroke I just wanted to get it over. It had been a hard week with a few late nights and it really showed on the test. I'd improved on the last test but not by the same margin from the test before. On top of that I was very pleased to be attending James and Katies amazing wedding at the OBE chapel at St Paul's. This combined with the culmination of the 6 Nations ruled out any kind of rest and recovery prior to the race Sunday.

Sunday morning I was feeling the effects of the £11 cognacs Kelv bought at the wedding along with only few hours sleep. Struggling to get breakfast down again I wondered if I'd be in for a repeat performance as at Darely Moor. Booze (pretty much anything more than a couple) and racing definately do not mix at all. What would normally be uncomfortable becomes excruiciating as your whole body screams at the effort. Once I'd picked up Dan and we were on our way however I was starting to feel a little better.

At Thruxton I signed on whilst Dan started snapping some behind the scenes pics and then warmed up. Next time I'll definately take the turbo for warming up, there isn't enough room at the aerodrome for a proper warmup, especially with 50 riders all trying to do the same. This weeks plan was pretty much the same as the last, though I wasn't sure how much effect the wedding hangover would have. Things to concentrate on would be spending more time in the bunch until the last lap to either hang on or conserve energy.

From the start the race felt completely different from last week. No pointless attacks, no bad handling or shouting and no crashes. The race felt more organised and was definately a lot faster. Already on the first lap coming up the climb my heart rate was starting to climb way above lactic threshold. Sit back, hide away, recover. 5 or so laps in I was actually starting to feel ok and was able to control my effort keeping heart rate just below anerobic effort except for the climb. Some serious attempts to break away started now and one chap actually kept clear for 3-4 laps before being caught. A good effort considering the wind.

2 laps to go and 3 strong guys made it away. The rest of the bunch would now be playing for the last 6 point placings. Penultimate lap I manuevered into the front 10 alongside Morgan, who was looking pretty comfortable. This time I managed to bury the urge and kept back behind wheels. Heart rate bobling around threshold. Last lap.

Another guy goes for it with intent and manages to dangle about 25m in front of the bunch. He's strong enough and keeps there as we hit the base of the climb. Things start to kick off, I hit the gas 100% and take the 4th wheel on the climb and things are looking good positionally, but then, bang! legs are shot again, exactly the same point as last week. As I come into the chicane 15 or so pass by, then another 10 coming into the finishing straight. Thinking fuck it, I get out the saddle and put everything I've got into a final pointless sprint. This effort smashes what I though was my maximum heart rate by 5 bpm's up to 101%. Cross the finish line almost throwing up.



Once I'd recovered I started to play back the race in my head. Not a bad effort considering how knackered I'd felt and a definate improvement technically and tactically than last week. Was also good to know that I can push through what I thought were my physical and mental limits, even though on this occasion there was no need. Back at the car Morgan produces some more great cake and we talk over the race over a cup of tea. Dan gets some more great snaps before we head back to Brighton.

That'll be my last Thruxton and last race for a while, this weekend I'm going to Poland for the World Track Championships with Meat and Chet, then the following weekend is Belgium for the Tour of Flanders sportive and a weeks training. Reports for both will be up on here soon!

Dan's flickr photo stream is here - includes snaps from recent training rides, club rooms, coffee stops, hill repeats and Thruxton.

BCF Race report and Photos.

L'Eroica!

No, its not some Spanish porn site, L'Eroica is a vintage sportive on the gravel roads of Tuscany, trying to recreate the 'heroic' era of cycling. The route features the grueling, relentless dusty tracks that criss-cross the region. Don't expect power bars and energy drinks at the feed stations either, instead you'll be presented with a selection of meats, breads, olives and wine.

Unfortunately due to the huge amount of entrants last year (3000), this years edition will be restricted to 'heroic' bikes only. The definition of heroic appears to be anything pre-1987, with externally routed cables, toeclip pedals etc. So get rumaging around in the shed and dig out your old steed, or your Dad's, or your Granddad's if it comes to it.

Sportive is on October 5th. Gwyd, if you can find a bike, I'm sure you can perfect a fantastic heroic facial hair design for it!

http://www.eroica.it/index_en.php

Thruxton 4th Cat Race (15/3)

Sunday was a perfect day for racing with little or no wind and perfect blue skies. Todays destination was Thruxton aerodrome near Andover for the 10:15am 4th category race. This time round I was joined by fellow Mitreite Morgan who would be back on the bike for his first race of the year. His late start to the racing season was due to his time being taken organising the very successful Punchuer Sportive.

Arriving at Thruxton nice and early we had a 40 minute warmup after signing on. The circuit was fairly similar to Goodwood in that it had a chicane in the last 100m before the finish line, but prior to this there was the addition of a short rise. Morgan and myself had received plenty of advice of how to tackle this race and the following was going through our mind repeatedly whilst warming up:

"...Thruxton is a two sprint effort. Keep to the right as you approach the hill and go hard as you hit the bottom. You want to be in the top 5 as before the chicane as the bunch will naturally swing over to the right as they approach the chicane so if you are too far back you'll get swamped. You then need to go again, immediately as you exit the chicane. It's a long sprint but the bunch will be compressed through the chicane so most will be out of contention immediately. Keep close to the wall as it curves rounds to the finish so that's the shortest route to the line. Plus if anyone tries to come inside you can plaster them to the wall..."

The good weather gauranteed another large turnout with a few teams fielding 8-10 riders. Undaunted by this I waited at the start line going over aims for the race. One of the mistakes I'd made at Chertsey and Darely Moor were to waste too much energy holding a good position from the start. This time round I was going hide away in the bunch for 8 of the 10 laps, then start playing for position into the penultimate lap.

David arrived whislt I was warming up having driven down from Oxford to see me race. Was great to have another spectator there to cheer me on, or not, seemed to remember him saying I had more points on my driving license than my racing license!

As we started off a chap attacked immediately right off the line. The majority of riders didn't appear to be particularily phased by this, though some chased off like dogs after the rabbit. They were all caught within 500m from the start line. Other people continued to give it a go trying to get away, but no-one gained more than 30-40m on the bunch before being slowly reeled back in. Thruxton looks like a very hard place to breakaway and you've got to question the thought process of the guys making these attacks so early, especially as the bunch was crusing at 27-28mph without much effort.

Along with the suicidal attacks in the early stages of the race there was also some horrendous bike handling. Along with the usual crossing of lines, braking or riding into closing gaps, the middle of the bunch kept closing up on the chicanes and corners completly shutting out those behind. This caused a few people to hit the grass or the concrete corners as they ran out of space. Finally this unfortunately resulted in a bad crash on lap 4 taking out 4 riders. I saw one chap at the end limping back to his car covered in cuts and mud. I managed to avoid most of the trouble keeping up in the front 15-20 or so.

Leading into lap 8 pretty much everything had gone to plan, keeping out of trouble but not too far back to have to work hard getting to the front. Heart rate had been steady around 165-170, hovering around lactate threshold. Coming into the penultimate lap I latched onto the wheel of a chap I'd seen racing before who I knew was a good strong rider, who towed me up the rise and through the chicane into a great position in the front 5.

More last ditch attacks rained in on the penultimate lap and once more I was caught out expending too much energy holding my position when again the bunch finally joined up together. I'd hit my max a couple of times and had no time to recover coming into the final lap, though still sitting fairly comfortably in the front 10, though on the left side of the bunch. The advice about holding the right line through the chicane was chiming in my ears and coming into the climb for last time I was getting boxed in way out on the lefthand side.

The big chap I'd latched onto to get a tow and some time to recover now started to tire and I was loosing further ground coming into the base of the climb. At the same time a big attack went in on the far right and I could see my oppourtunity to get even a top 20 spot fade. Finally he drifted to the right just enough for me to shoot past, hitting the climb at top speed and crossing the whole track to the right and join the 5th wheel heading into the chicane. Unfortunately this maximum effort to get into the chicane in the top 5 was to be my last one, as once the second sprint for the line started I had nothing left in my legs, drifting in at about 35th spot.

The result aside this was technically the best race I'd ridden so far, keeping my heart rate low for 90% of the race, chosing the good wheels to follow and getting into a position to contend the finish when I needed to. The only issues were again overcooking it slightly on the penultimate lap and not having the legs for the second sprint for the finish line. That aside it was a great race, if a little hairy at the beginning. This week is a recovery week and I'll be returning to Thruxton this Sunday to give it another go.

BCF Race Report


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My 2009 challenge

After the Devil Ride last year, I said I'd never do it again. But by the time the entry form came round for 2009, I'd forgotten the miserable slog over windy, wet, barren mountains in the Welsh "summer" and was really tempted to try it again. Luckily, in the meantime, a shorter, flatter alternative has come up and it starts on my doorstep...

The Skoda Velothon Berlin is a 120km ride starting and ending in the centre of Berlin and taking in the Brandenburg countryside.


I'm looking forward to checking out the route at a gentle pace sometime in the next few weeks as I start to build up my fitness from zero.

It will also be very interesting to start the race - the expected number of participants is... 15000!

Darley Moor 3/4 Cat Race

Back in January I'd booked a weekend at the Gables cottage in Alstonefield in the Peak District. This weekend coincided with an annual reunion of Peace Race riders not far away in Fenny Bentley plus there was a 3/4 cat race at Darley Moor on the Saturday morning.

Friday morning I'd just landed in Gatwick after a week in southern Spain training with the Brighton Mitre. Our last night had been spent sampling the local homemade wine and needless to say Friday was a bit blurry. Getting up at 5am with a few hours sleep followed by a 6 hour journey back to Brighton wasn't the best preparation for a race. Jo picked me up from Gatwick with the intention of us both driving straight to the Peak District, but as usual I'd forgot something - this time my racing license...

Friday night in Alstonefield was a quiet one, having one drink in the George next door to our cottage with my Mum, GT, Jo and Jo (Jo Jo Jo). They'd all planned to come to Darely Moor to watch me race the next morning so I got to bed early still feeling knackered from Thursday/Friday.

Saturday morning I was up at 7 to get some breakfast, check over the bike and get ready nice and early for the race. I was feeling shattered, no appetite and a little sick, not a great sign. The weather however was great, light wind and sunny. Darely Moor motor racing circuit was only a few miles from Alstonefield and GT came along to the start to give some support.

We arrived at the windswept circuit in plenty of time and I signed on and picked up number 81. Another big turnout with 70+ riders on the sheets, this being a 3rd & 4th cat race. There were some very strong looking riders milling around and I knew today was going to be hard. Mick had raced here and gave me a low down - it was a fast circuit, windy and suited breakaways, the bunch was generally well organised though didn't favour a chase very often. There were also a few technical sections to negotiate, a tight hairpin and a few shicanes. I'd time for 3-4 warmup laps during which time the wind started to pick up. On the 4th warmup lap I was breathing hard and feeling groggy though not too bad not to start, though I knew it was going to be a painful morning.

I pulled up to chat to GT before the start, he'd been talking to another rider from the Derby Mercury about how he thought the race would unfold. His view would be that a break would happen coming into or out of the hairpin. He was absolutely right, later I saw it happen and the same rider went on to win. At the start line I surveyed the large field looking for any familar faces from my time riding with the Beeston road club a few years back. None to be seen unfortunately but I did see a huge range of club jerseys from Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, Derby, Ashfield etc.

Soon after we were underway and not before I'd even clipped in there was a crash behind. Appears someone lost balance or something clipping in, taking out an unknown number of riders. It appears later that as the front 50 or so got away unscathed, a good number of people were off the back from the off. Unaware of this I raced off with the majority of the bunch into the first corner. Feeling a little better I was able to position in the front 10-15 heading into the hairpin without any problems. Keeping this position however would soon prove to be very hard as on the second lap the first series of serious attempts to breakaway rained in.

The same chap GT had spoken too before the race was repeatedly attacking along with a couple of other very strong looking riders. For a short time I was able to see all this action at close range, until on the 6th lap when he finally successfully made it away with 2 others. By this point I'd completed lap 6 at 98% heartrate almost the entire lap. My legs were shot and as the bunch pace pulsed again I was rapidly going backwards, hanging out of the back on a yoyo.

I tried a few times successfully to get back and up into the front 3rd of the group, but as soon as the pace lifted again I was straight out. On the 3rd attempt I was suddendly listening to only my own gears whirring away whilst watching the bunch disappear into the hairpin. Looking back I expected to see another sizable group, but the track was completely empty. Where had everyone gone?! Completing a lap on my own I began to realise that many had been dropped already or packed altogether. Coming into the home straight I could see a straggler, so putting the urge to pack as well to one side I focused on catching him.

I'd caught him and saw there were still 15 laps left. We had a quick chat and decided to work together in not being lapped and managed 5-6 laps together before I left him and went on to catch another pair. This continued right to the end of the race, catching up with ones and two's, recovering then hopping over the next group. I'd figured there was no point packing, it was a nice day and a good workout blasting round the track. Shortly after the lead breakaway steamed past looking like a very well oiled machine. Minutes later the bunch poured past, I moved over to let them past without hinderance.

At the finish I pulled over opposite my Mum, GT, Jo and Jo who'd been spectating near the finish line. I felt pretty gutted that they'd had to see my get dropped and spend the majority of the race riding on my own, but they didn't seem to mind. That aside, I was another great learning experience and a very fast race.


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