Wansbeck CC Australian Pursuit: Win

My second race of the season was the Wansbeck CC Australian Pursuit (16/03/14), up in Northumberland. The race covered 6 laps of a 12km circuit on grippy roads with a strong wind blowing. The race was a handicapped race with the first group setting off 8 minutes before me in the scratch group.

For the first 3 laps the scratch group was working well to close the gap to the first and second groups, clawing 1 minute back after lap 1, and a further 3 minutes after lap 2, by the end of the third lap it was all back together and didn't take long for the first attack to take place. The conditions were tough with the wind being exceptionally strong the break of 2 were brought back with just less than a lap to go. Some hard riding by James Moss, James Alder, Matt Kipling, Tom Timothy, and Myself saw the gap to the break come down quickly and a natural selection occur whittling the race down to around 15 riders in the front group.

Scratch group chasing early in the race

Getting rid of my gilet and an empty bottle 

On the last lap there were lots of attacks, the last 10km were very tough, and the screw was really being turned. James Moss and Myself got a reasonable gap with 6km to go and a couple of riders bridged across but got caught. The last 2km saw some last attempts to get away by some riders. Going into the last 1km everyone knew it was going to come down to a sprint... slightly uphill... into a block headwind... I knew if I positioned myself right I would have a good chance of grabbing the win. I tried to leave it late but found myself getting squeezed up against the grass so as soon as I found a gap I kicked for the line. (Here is a video of the finish http://instagram.com/p/lmxlfFIgwr/ ) 33 riders finished the race from a field of 80, which quantifies just how tough it was out there today. 

The finish (f-stop photography)

I'm really happy to have won, a big thanks to the organisers for putting on a great race. 

My next race is the Coalville RR on April 6th, then the Tour of the Reservoir on April 12th-13th.
As the team head to Majorca for a training camp next week I'll find myself in the Lake District on a Geology Field Trip mapping an area close to Ambleside and looking at rocks.

(Managed to get my heart rate as high as 210 in the sprint. So 220 minus your age would make me 10.)

Thanks for reading

James

First race first win at the Highfield Trophy 01/03/2014

Highfield Trophy 01/03/2014 Race Report

Establishing the break

My first race of the year was the Highfield Trophy Criterium in Middlesbrough, (01/03/2014). It’s fair to say I was very nervous in the build up to this race, with it being the first race of the year. The race was just over an hour around a 1km circuit, and in terms of the result is was wrapped up pretty quickly. The race-winning move was made around the first 4 laps, comprising of 6 riders, which later dropped down to 5. Richard Meadows, Ralph Hodgson, Shaun Nicholson, Dan Bryant, and myself.

We all worked well to establish the gap and then the pace was very smooth all the way to the line, with a few excited flurries towards the end of the race.

With around 10 laps to go Dan Bryant had attacked solo, but with all the riders in the break all-eager to win he was swept up with 3 to go. For the last 3 laps it was like a game of cat and mouse. I was looking over my shoulder almost more than looking forward at one point, anticipating the last attack from anyone who didn’t fancy their chances in the gallop.

Cat and mouse on the last few laps

The bell rang for the last lap, and I could really feel the butterflies in my stomach. An early jump from a rider with 500m to go nearly caught the rest of the break sleeping but ending up leading us with 200m to go full gas. I put it in the 12 sprocket and was first to kick out of the corner, before I knew it, I had crossed the line, arms in the air, WINNER! (Here is a link to a short video of the finish http://instagram.com/p/lAdFYUog-s/)

Such a relief to win, especially in the opening race of the season, massive thanks to TrainSharp, with there expertise and guidance I’ve hit the ground running for the season and hope to continue like this into the bigger races. The new Beacon BF_100 felt great too, I’m really impressed with all of the new kit from the team’s generous sponsors. A big thanks to them for their support for the year ahead.

Also some great photos from Michael Craig (f-stop picture company http://www.flickr.com/photos/96788374@N05/ ), captured the race perfectly.

Thanks for reading

James