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Road racing at Redbridge last Saturday

edited March 2016 in General
It was great to see so many CCA riders racing at Redbridge on Saturday. Sophie and Harley were in the girls Under 16 and Under 14 race. Sophie gave a sterling performance and won overall after sprinting away from the group on the final hill climb, winning by a good 4m from the next rider over the line. Harley came in 4th after getting slightly boxed in up the hill. Travis and Tom(?) King, a new rider to the club were in the junior race. Tom sadly punctured and withdrew and Travis came in 10th I think. I am not sure how the three or four CCA adult racers did. Jenny - how did your first race go?

Comments

  • Well done to all the youth riders - it was great to see them race up the hill (knowing that we were using the lower circuit - Hog without the Hill). Congratulations to Sophie on the win!

    Lillie and I were in the women's cat 3/4 race, part of the London Women's Racing league. They did a fantastic job of promoting this, so there were 38 of us on the start line (and only slightly fewer in the cat 1/2 after us). It was an amazing first race experience, such a buzz to fly round the corners in a big group. As the race went on there was no chance anyone making a break, so it was a bunch sprint. By this time I was almost crippled by cramp, so finished about 15th. I think Lillie was 9th? Thanks to everyone who gave advice - it definitely helped to stay in the front third of the bunch most of the way round.

    I'll let Dave say more about his race, but suffice to say it was a masterclass in grit and determination!

    I would recommend this to anyone - I was so nervous about taking the first step but it was amazing! LWR organise training days to get a feel for it before taking part in the first race, which definitely helped me and Dave.

    There are some photos of the racing here, including some fantastic photos of the youth races too. https://www.flickr.com/…/72157665488179106/with/24930160284/
  • Hi all!

    It was a great day all round and really lovely to see so many CCA jerseys there! The youth members were awesome, Very inspiring!

    It was new for me to race in such a big group as I've never had that experience before and it was very different, proving there is lots to learn and after speaking to Adam and Will afterwards I pretty much did everything wrong oops!! Jenny was epic and very strong.

    There were quite a few tries at a break, I tried to stick with them all but to my detriment and to no avail as none of them stuck, it's a big learning curve and more training needed! Every time I looked to see where Jenny was... She was pretty much next to me or in front, so I think we could have a bit of a tiny TT team of two at the next race and try for a break Ourselves.

    Next race for both of us is 2nd of April back at the Olympic velo park if anyone fancies joining us!
    It would be really cool if some others fancied giving it a go.
  • Jenny
    The link for photos does not work. Is there another I could try?
  • sitting up here in the colder wetter snowier north I sometimes wonder at my sanity.
    Reading of the success of the club and the great results of all the members softens it enormously.
    Good win Sophie and wonderful to see the girls and women members of the club getting stuck into racing.
    The lads were always competitive and their results are still impressive.
    When we started the club we never considered CCA as a racing club but more as an inclusive welcome all types of rider.
    There is no doubt that CCA now has a serious and growing cadre of hardened racers in almost every discipline.
    Chapeau to all you racers.
    This was a secret wish of mine that we would evolve into just such an all encompassing club.
    Keep on growing
  • edited March 2016
  • My initial foray into the world of racing was a little less auspicious than Jenny or Lillie's, but really enjoyed/tortured myself. First few laps I was surprised that it wasn't harder, then after a botched corner I came off the back a bit and suddenly it was... I'd never fully appreciated the drafting benefits of riding in the bunch, and I just couldn't get back on- turned into a lonely time trial, until eventually the bunch lapped me just a few laps before the end- such a relief to get back on, their average speed was only 0.8mph faster than mine, but my effort levels and heart rate went through the roof on my own...
    Can't wait for the next one though, just need to work on my positioning in the bunch - if anyone else in the club is dithering about whether to sign up for their first race, just do it!
    Roll on 2nd April at the Velodrome Park of anyone fancies joining us!
  • well done Dave. A great report on that lonely and hard place in ones first race. I'm sure most will sympathise and echo your experience. Keep going. your next will be in the bunch and the one after contesting points I reckon.
  • Terrific everyone! and thanks for the write ups its great to know what everyones getting up to.
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