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Prudential Ride London 2019
Ballot results for this year's Ride London event arrived yesterday - mine was the glossy 'Commiserations' pack; a shame as I hadn't taken part for a few years, and wanted to see how close to four hours I could get, and so was aiming for an early wave start.
Did anyone else apply this year? I'd be keen to apply for a team place if that's a possibility? Stef, have you heard anything about the process of applying this year? I think Simon D may also be looking for a place, so there may well be others...
Did anyone else apply this year? I'd be keen to apply for a team place if that's a possibility? Stef, have you heard anything about the process of applying this year? I think Simon D may also be looking for a place, so there may well be others...
Comments
Definitely interested in a team place too.
But I did it with the club two years ago. Dave, I'd love to see how close we could get to 4 hours too. I think I was 4:29.
If there is a team place available I am interested as these seem to get the early departure that yu need for a quick time
Great, be good to have someone to work with - I did 4.28 last time, so we should be fairly well matched... I think 4.15 is certainly doable (if I can keep my wheel QRs done up this time!), but with the right group, under 4's not impossible.
Disappointed not to get in through the ballot, though - an early start is less likely with the team places...
I actually have a place. Got it last year in the ballot but couldn't ride so deferred to 2019. Looking forward to it.
Ref the early start - I think that if everybody in the team predicts a quick time then you will get a reasonably early start. The problem is that most entrants have sussed that you're best to be optimistic about your times and consequently there is a lot of pressure on the early slots.
Applications open Monday.
From above following were interested in a team place -
Dave W
Simon D
Brendan
Andrew R
Keith (Harvey123)
Still interested? Please confirm you are definitely up for this - require a firm commitment otherwise you will be letting others on team down if you drop out. Thanks.
Others interested? Again firm commitment required. Post here.
Team applications will close at 17:00 on Monday 8 April 2019.
Clubs can apply for more than one team but all applications from a club must be co-ordinated by one person on behalf of the club. Clubs will be informed of the outcome of their application by Friday 12 April 2019.
For those clubs who are successful in their application, each rider within the team must pay their own entry fee (£69) and complete their own online entry form. Unfortunately, on past entries, not all clubs will get teams into the event, however the more paid-up British Cycling members your club has, the higher your chances of a team or teams gaining entry.
All four riders in the team must complete and pay for their entry by 17:00 on Friday 31 May 2019. Further information on this process will be sent to the successful club secretaries.
Please note:
A team comprises four riders
Every rider in a team must be a current British Cycling member
Teams can comprise four men or four women or a mixed team of two men and two women
Riders who hold an Elite or Category 1 British Cycling Race Licence are not eligible to enter the Club Challenge
Riders who have already secured an individual place through the original entry ballot or a charity place are not eligible to enter the Club Challenge
Dave W
Simon D
Brendan
Andrew R
1st Reserve -Keith (Harvey123)
Should get the result of application by Friday 12th April.
And thanks Keith for graciously dropping out.
Next step - “You will be sent an entry link by 17:00 on Friday 19 April.”
Will be in contact when this received.
Thanks
Thanks
Thanks, Simon
P.S The email you have for me is correct.
Deadline is 17:00 31st May.
After a shockingly early start (4am, and we were staying just down the road in Stratford), Brendan and I found ourselves heading through the dark streets of East London to the Olympic park, having the usual debates about the need for base layers, how much of a weight penalty is a phone, and how many gels/beetroot shots will make you sick, etc. The three of us had managed to get a team start in about the third wave, starting at 5.45, and were hoping to get carried by the bunch to the hills of Surrey before we had to put in any real effort.
Whilst Brendan and I had the target of a 4hour 15PB, we also had an ambition to see how close to 4 hours we could hit. Anyone who's done this ride previously will know that the first 15-20 miles out of the park are thrillingly fast, on flowing dual carriageways through the City and then blasting through the West End, and this year was no different. The pace was frantic, but despite not really putting in that much effort, after 40 miles I was still on schedule to go under 4 hours with an average of 26mph, and worked my way up to the front bunch behind the safety motorbike.
However, as the Surrey landscape became more rolling, I started to feel that familiar squirming of a punctured front wheel, with only a few miles before we hit Leith Hill, where I was relying on being dragged up by the big bunch to keep this individually unsustainable pace up. Despite a fairly straight-forward tube change, I saw all of the big fast groups, including Brendan, come flying past, leaving me with an impossible task of trying to make up 4 minutes, hoping that the steep climb of Leith Hill would slow them down. Whilst burying myself trying to catch the bunch, the thought also occurred to me that I no longer had spare inner tube or CO2 - fortunately there was a bizarrely located mobile mechanic two thirds of the way up the hill. This cost me further valuable minutes, as after the 50mph descent, approaching Box Hill, I felt the tire go again - I hadn't managed to locate the offending bit of flint...
This time it was definitely game-over for my targets - across the three stops I'd lost 18 minutes, but more importantly lost all the fast groups coming through. The day turned into a familiar time trial training session, trying to minimize my losses, but not really finding people to work with, and I'd burnt way too many matches to gain any time back on the marauding pack. And as if in protest at the extra time expected to function, my Garmin died with about 500m to go...
98.7 miles (plus a bit!) @22.9mph
https://www.strava.com/activities/2590208910/overview
Having met up with a recovered Brendan, we took a tenuous route back to the car in Stratford and made it home by mid-afternoon, just in time to watch the pro-race and Dowsett doing his impressive maths to win the KOM competition.
All in all, a great day out, despite the delay - people sometimes get sniffy about sportives like RideLondon because they're not an actual road race, but I say don't knock it till you've tried it - there are few opportunities to ride fast on closed roads in central London, and it's a real buzz. Yes, the logistics of registration and the early start are a bit of a faff, and it is a bit pricey, but it is a massive event, and a slick operation that involves thousands of people to organize and mega-complicated road closures. It (understandably) gets some bad press from some residents on the route, but equally I've always been surprised by the thousands of people who come out on the streets to cheer 25,000 amateurs early on a Sunday morning. I was also very grateful for the Surrey resident who saw me struggling with a duff CO2 canister and ran across the dual carriageway to lend me his track pump.
Hats off to Brendan, who beat the 4.15 target, Simon D who missed out on his target by just 9 minutes but set a big PB, Hilary completing the full course for the first time, and Stiggers for raising a load of money for Papworth Hospital. Something for everyone.
And thanks to Stef for sorting out the team places, much appreciated.
As Dave said, it's a great day out. If you've haven't done it, give it a go. It's a very different experience.