Welcome to the forum
Hog hill 25th Jan
This was our first race of the season and its fair to say we were pretty excited. Im not sure how the youth did but I know Gareth finished pretty high up in his race. Daniel made a solid debut in the 4ths race but unfortunately I didnt see much. Jon, Cam, Bryn, Pedder, Neil and I lined up and set off in the 2/3s race. Unfortunately it wasnt long before our first mishap; Bryn was having trouble Im so used to at Hog hill, so he had to drop back due to illness. Pedder was next to suffering misfortune, this time with a puncture. Although Jon was on great form his asthma/breathing was giving him trouble and cost him the race. It had been a while now and still nobody had successfully broken away, this was mainly due to the winner of the last 2 races: Gunther, he was a marked man so found it hard to get any space. I was keeping myself at the front waiting for the winning break. I had my eye on a guy from Cambridge, who was itching to get away. He attacked on the hill but no one responded and he didnt have the strength to hold it on his own. I knew that once he was caught there would be a counter attacked, so I prepared for that. Sure enough the next lap up the Hill Gunther puts on the gas. I wasnt in great position but I had to go. I leapt up to his wheel and sat on. We had a few more people join us and began to work well together. Back in the peloton Cam was staying at the front controlling the pace making sure nobody attacked. I felt pretty strong and I knew I had a good chance for the win. About 2 laps to go just after the hill I dropped the ball. Cambridge dude and Gunther attacked but I was in the little ring and spun out straight away. I franticly tried to chase back. They had pulled away a bit of a lead now but the two remaining breakaway riders where just ahead of me, one of whom (Lewis) I knew from youth. I caught up to them and had a chance to go after the leaders but I would have burnt out and dropped back. All I had to do now was out sprint two people to come third. I was leading out slow up the hill in a classic match sprint style finish. Lewis came up round me but I could match his speed. We were neck and neck until around 30 metres. He stopped accelerating and I carried on.
Apart from all the misfortune it wasnt a bad first race. Well done to all those who participated as well as the youth.
Stay tuned for a short video.
Apart from all the misfortune it wasnt a bad first race. Well done to all those who participated as well as the youth.
Stay tuned for a short video.
Comments
Neil was unfortunate that he must have got a puncture right at the top of the hill going down the hill, and Pedder was unknown about Cameron and mine spare wheels which all have the same cassettes on. Bryn has had just an off day, but he pushed himself to be sick. I believe because I was thinking quite a lot as it was the first race of the season that I forgot about the breathing techniques which I was meant to be doing so got the usual symptoms as usual, could possibly be due to the cold dry air which irritates my throat. I will all should be racing next week and hopefully have a few less problems
Jon
U10
Mark Lightfoot 7th
U12 (girls)
Harley Pell 1st
U12 (boys)
Adam Lightfoot 8th
Well done to all, especially Harley.
I know Gareth was racing too because I had a good chat with him as he was leaving.
Daniel
UNDER 10
I wasn't able to watch the race but I know that Mark Lightfoot had an excellent debut as an Under 10 to finish in 7th place against a strong field containing a couple of national standard riders. He tried so hard that he felt quite unwell afterwards.
UNDER 12
There was a big field of 50 riders, and in typical youth racing fashion the pace was flat out right from the gun. A lead group of twelve riders containing Adam and James (riding his first Under 12 circuit race) formed after a couple of laps, with Harley working hard in a chase group a little further back. Adam made a couple of strong digs to test the strength of the lead group. With two laps to go, the lead group splintered after attacks from Chelmer & Welwyn riders. James and Adam then worked well together with a rider from another club. On the last lap the race was sent up the big hill towards the top circuit and then up the alpine section up to the finish line.
On the climb James got a slight gap on his two partners and held on to finish 6th, with Adam close behind in 8th place. Harley came in around a minute later to finish as the first placed girl.
I was sent a link to this video which shows how fast Under 12s are:-
James: http://youtu.be/nJ5wb-aUvVs?t=28s
James & Adam: http://youtu.be/nJ5wb-aUvVs?t=47s
Harley: http://youtu.be/nJ5wb-aUvVs?t=4m55s
Harley: http://youtu.be/nJ5wb-aUvVs?t=11m57s
UNDER 14
I left before the race finished but Gareth was looking strong in the first few laps that I saw. I'm hoping he'll be along soon to tell us himself how the race unfolded.
Shelton
My race (U14) started down at the bottom circuit - which is unsual, the reason was as it was damp, we usually start at the top and fly madly into the first corner, which I dread! So I was happy to know we had a slight rolling start at the bottom! First few laps I worked well in a group of 3, one rider went off and attacked up the hill me and a MK rider decieded not to respond to his attack. Thankfullt as it was getting quite hard, working in a 2, the main bunch caught up with us. As soon as they caught up, one of the riders from the bunch made an attack, I went with him and 2 other riders. We worked all the way to the finish, taking turns. The hill was getting harder everytime, overall we went up it 8 times! On the last hill, I made my attack and managed to get 3 riders at the finish (one being the rider who attacked early on in the race). I was 13th out of 40 riders which I'm pretty happy with, considering it's the start of the season!
Well done to Mark, Adam, James and Harley + the juniors who raced later on too!
Gareth
Some great pics there too...