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Full Gas Winter Series road circuit race #4, Sat 26 Nov, 1pm
I've entered the fourth in the series 3rd/4th Cat race, two weeks away, Sat 26th Nov. Fancy it too?
The road circuit is behind the London Velodrome. 1pm kick-off. Race is 45 mins long.
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/154848/Full-Gas-Winter-Series--04
'Amazing but true'... All riders are fitted with timing transponders for precise positioning. At last week's race, the difference between 2nd and 11th place was just 0.96 seconds!
I see Luke D got 2nd in the E/1/2 Brivelo Winter Series race at MK Bowl last Saturday. Nice one!
The road circuit is behind the London Velodrome. 1pm kick-off. Race is 45 mins long.
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/154848/Full-Gas-Winter-Series--04
'Amazing but true'... All riders are fitted with timing transponders for precise positioning. At last week's race, the difference between 2nd and 11th place was just 0.96 seconds!
I see Luke D got 2nd in the E/1/2 Brivelo Winter Series race at MK Bowl last Saturday. Nice one!
Comments
Dave was in for the craic, to keep on his toes and to gauge fitness. I was having one very last roll of the dice for a go at 3rd Category, needing just 2 points, or 8th place or higher, before 1st Dec, from the 50+ riders in the field (They added the few women racing into our race too). Annoyingly, got a post-Ghent heavy cold, but had to go for it.
Against expectations, the race got off to an absolute flyer. We were immediately into one thin line and taking no prisoners. 25.9mph first lap. 26.2mph lap 2. And it didn’t really relent throughout. It was a very aggressive race and as one line faded, a new one built up to try and take advantage. As a result, it was easy to yo-yo and burn precious energy fighting back up to nearer the front.
There were no crashes but plenty of moments. Wheels touched. Pedals struck the ground. Two riders had a little flailing arms fight at speed. I can’t explain it. Maybe there were several people on the cusp, like me, and getting too worked up. Maybe it’s just… blokes.
There was a big break early on. Me and Dave were on to it. But it broke down and we eased back into the bunch again for beetroot juice burps. Dave is really on it and was confidently riding up and down the bunch.
The bunch was very savvy. Indeed, I’ve learned a lot of racecraft in my three races here from this very technical course, which is brilliant. Much has been to really work the wind to your advantage and plan early on to nestle in on the good side of it all. Despite the skills, on one lap, the bunch went mad and created an echelon on the totally wrong side of the circuit. I couldn’t believe it, but shrugged and had a free and easy run from about 20th to 3rd in the bunch on the straight in 11 seconds of vacuum to get a 41mph, 7th place Strava Cup for the final sprint segment out of 9,000 riders. Lolz.
One great tip is to find the time beforehand to study the rider list. Doing so helped me pick out the winner from the previous round. And once I found him, I liked the look of him and I did everything to keep his wheel. He played a hiding game, and then effortlessly put the hammer down with 3 laps to go and make the front five. To be honest, I couldn’t keep up very easily and found it hard powerwise. My pre-race plan was to go early though, and so didn’t mind burning matches now.
He made his big leap where I hoped for, as we went into the final lap. The curves thereafter make moving through impossible. So, I knew I’d still be in the top half dozen or so entering the final three bends. The climb onto the first of the three bends saw my guiding rider swamped on the right and I dumped him. Luckily I had a clearer view.
I also pre-planned to be way more aggressive this race and did all I could in the remaining run in to bridge the emerging gaps and opportunities that appeared. Second last bend and the bunch thinned as we all went into the red. All hail the club’s Monday roller disco sessions though, as I found myself moving forward at this point, applying the recently sprint trained legs.
The last bend and it’s getting proper messy. Fading riders are leaning on me in desperation to not get edged out. GerOff! I feel someone’s wheel touch my rear wheel. Eedyat! I nudge other bars out of the way. I figured this is how it’s got to be done. Then it clears into the final straight. I can see the top drawer riders have done super well to make the break, but I’m in with a shout of top 10 with a bit of luck.
Hammer time! I had a terrific duel with a Colchester rider. We helped each other and passed others on the way to the line. I messed up my lunge, misjudging the line but could see I did all right. Maybe it was good enough… 50 minutes @ 25.4mph av.
Euphoric survival banter with the others and a man hug with Dave who was in the bunch just behind, and then a quick coffee in the velodrome before popping back for the provisional results… 9th! Or… it would have been if the 1st place rider hadn’t been DQ’d for taking both hands off the bars crossing the line and being done for dangerous riding. So… promoted to 8th! 2 points… 3rd Cat. Wahey!
Dave and I both agreed we find these kind of races really thrilling and the mathematics of them makes them extra appealing and addictive. Meanwhile, the open road races are a different thrill. Either one, it seems if you’re to score points, you have to stick your neck out. But you can also enjoy life in the bunch and have, effectively, a reet good chain-gang kinda ride. And still get a great buzz. There’s plenty of riders clearly treating them like this. Have a think about it. As of next week, you’ve got a whole year’s worth of racing to accrue points.
You'll grab plenty o' points in this series, Mitchy. I think a few of us are looking into one in January. Don't leave it too late to enter...
Really enjoyed that; and you can't underestimate the psychological benefit of having a team mate in the race, even if opportunities to work together are limited. Last time I raced there was with Adam and Tom in early april- amazing the difference a few months of focussed training and losing a few kilos can make - I found that far more comfortable than last time (last race there turned into 'lone tt training'), and resulted in about 1mph faster, but average power about 20w lower - frustratingly even having to freewheel up some of the 'hills' to avoid the bikes in front.
Word of warning to anyone going to the Velodrome- they've changed the parking regime, and you now have to register your number plate at the less-than obvious machines in the centre to get your 4 hours max. Unfortunately as I'd turned up in unusually good time before signing in, and then our start time was delayed, I went over the 4 hour limit- the Velodrome staff can't do anything about it as it's a separate company, so i had to purchase an extra hour as a backup - still not totally convinced I won't get the £100 fine through the post...
Oh, they do fine at that car park, I have the evidence!
I heard you got stung by the parking crooks; I'm hoping my one hour extension ticket covers it, although there was a 10 minute gap without... Seems a bit unfair that it was the velodrome that double booked the venue, causing the delay, but apparently they don't have anything to do with parking, so can't help...