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CC Sudbury Road Race
Yesterday, Sat 30 August, I traveled over to north Essex for the Catagory 3/4 CC Sudbury Road Race. The Race consisted of 4 laps of an undulating 13 mile circuit (52miles / 84km). There were no real climbs on the course, but in contrast there was rarely a prolonged period of flat.
I had one ally for the race, an Army Cycling Union rider, Ian Cullen, who i know to be a strong rider. I had not raced for about a month so wanted to see how i felt before committing anything too early. As per our discussion before the race, we moved to the front of the Peloton after the neutralised zone and i was going to sit on the front as Ian attacked, and then try and slow the group. I would then follow in any strong chase groups, but not work too much for the catch. This worked very well, with Ian going solo for 2 laps gaining over a minute on the Peloton. I went with 2 chase groups, but neither worked well enough and were caught in a fast tailwind run towards the end of each lap. On the third lap Ian was caught. There were plenty of attacks, but none stuck for more than a few km.
On the last lap I linked back up with Ian in the Peloton and we positioned ourselves well. Both Ian and I tried a last break with 5km to go as the pace briefly dropped. It wasn't successful so we sat back in. As we approached the final corner, a Cambridge rider slipped off the front and maintained a good gap as the Peloton jostled for position. Ian gave me the signal to lead me out and repay the earlier favour so i sat in his wheel as we hit the final corner. This is when the carnage began, with a rider crashing down behind. The finishing road had been closed, but they had trapped cars within it. As such, with 250m to go riders were 5/6 wide and then had to deal with two oncoming vehicles around a curve in the road. I was about 8th wheel being led out, before 5 riders attempted to fit through a gap for 2/3. I heard the inevitable sound of Carbon hitting tarmac behind me. I thought i had escaped the crash, but a bike then came flying from my left over my shoulder and under my front wheel. I went flying over the bars, landing on a mixture of tarmac and stinging nettles, brilliant. A rider behind me was welcomed with my two cleats to his chest as he landed on top of me. I think there were 8 of us that came down hard in the crash.
Obviously that was my race over, with the Cambridge rider winning by 6 secs from a very sparse chasing sprint. A disappointing end to a race that i felt strong in and with 200m to go was looking like i would be scoring some good points. As for the injuries, nothing too serious, a mix of road rash and nettle rash on my right leg, arm, shoulder, a sprained ankle and a dislocated little finger.
I'll look forward to some CCA company in the Falling Leaves Road Race next weekend, which Tom, Bryn, Carmelo and i are down to race. Hopefully a better outcome too.
I had one ally for the race, an Army Cycling Union rider, Ian Cullen, who i know to be a strong rider. I had not raced for about a month so wanted to see how i felt before committing anything too early. As per our discussion before the race, we moved to the front of the Peloton after the neutralised zone and i was going to sit on the front as Ian attacked, and then try and slow the group. I would then follow in any strong chase groups, but not work too much for the catch. This worked very well, with Ian going solo for 2 laps gaining over a minute on the Peloton. I went with 2 chase groups, but neither worked well enough and were caught in a fast tailwind run towards the end of each lap. On the third lap Ian was caught. There were plenty of attacks, but none stuck for more than a few km.
On the last lap I linked back up with Ian in the Peloton and we positioned ourselves well. Both Ian and I tried a last break with 5km to go as the pace briefly dropped. It wasn't successful so we sat back in. As we approached the final corner, a Cambridge rider slipped off the front and maintained a good gap as the Peloton jostled for position. Ian gave me the signal to lead me out and repay the earlier favour so i sat in his wheel as we hit the final corner. This is when the carnage began, with a rider crashing down behind. The finishing road had been closed, but they had trapped cars within it. As such, with 250m to go riders were 5/6 wide and then had to deal with two oncoming vehicles around a curve in the road. I was about 8th wheel being led out, before 5 riders attempted to fit through a gap for 2/3. I heard the inevitable sound of Carbon hitting tarmac behind me. I thought i had escaped the crash, but a bike then came flying from my left over my shoulder and under my front wheel. I went flying over the bars, landing on a mixture of tarmac and stinging nettles, brilliant. A rider behind me was welcomed with my two cleats to his chest as he landed on top of me. I think there were 8 of us that came down hard in the crash.
Obviously that was my race over, with the Cambridge rider winning by 6 secs from a very sparse chasing sprint. A disappointing end to a race that i felt strong in and with 200m to go was looking like i would be scoring some good points. As for the injuries, nothing too serious, a mix of road rash and nettle rash on my right leg, arm, shoulder, a sprained ankle and a dislocated little finger.
I'll look forward to some CCA company in the Falling Leaves Road Race next weekend, which Tom, Bryn, Carmelo and i are down to race. Hopefully a better outcome too.
Comments
Tim - All carbon is in one piece, just scuffs and scratches. I must say, the Endura kit held up very well also.
Hopefully you'll be up and at'em on Sunday!
Glad you are OK and bike in 1 piece!