Tour of the Wrekin
West Midlands Road Race League
Regional A
70 Miles
3 & ¾ of an undulating loop with a steep climb a few km from the finish
September. A time when the nights begin to draw in, the weather begins to turn, leaves begin to rust and the UK road racing season begins to draw to a close. Sunday 11th September marked the last round of the West Midlands road league, in which I am currently 4th or 5th overall due to my cock up in the last race. However, today I could rectify the situation and claw my way back up the standings providing I get a good result, I would also be marking the current leader, Matt Clarke, in an effort to try and finish ahead in order to relight my chances of winning overall. First we had to see how this race played out and one things for sure, everyone knew that the weather would play a vital part. Gail force winds and the chance of rain is what the forecast predicted and milling around the HQ it was clear that I would be a gusty one!
The race started off pretty brisk which has now become a fairly standard affair in these races and I made sure I was near the front but sheltered from the elements. To be honest, I cant really recall to much of the first part of the race, I know that I didn’t feel great and that a break was up the road but generally not much happened. It wasn’t until the 2nd time up the bank where the race really heated up, with the break in sight a few of us drilled it on the climb and I helped contribute to the pace which was savage and continued all the way along the drag until the roundabout on the main road. Reviewing my power data it showed that I managed my best 5 minute power during that effort with a 329 average and a 351 normalized power, this was definitely on of my matches burned that’s for sure.
With the break now brought back, all hell broke loose as we hit the headwinds and riders tries to counter and go clear. I was struggling with the wind and getting battered around the place even though I in the bunch. After a few attempts to get away, all of which were marked and chased down, I settled back in the group just a Tony Kiss who I went down with rode off the front in a very casual way and somehow was left alone to go clear with a few other. During the next lap a few riders bridged up to the group before it gained its maximum advantage of 2 minutes. I have to confess that a lot of that time gap is due to me and my efforts in disrupting the chase so as to give my mate the nest possible chance of winning. This was hard enough but the wind made it savage and a few times I had to really dig in order to stay with the group.
After the 3rd time up the climb we had managed to whittle the field down to half of the amount that started and continued to ride hard. As we begun the last lap it was clear that the break had a big enough gap to stay away even though they were also down to just 3 riders. With this in mind I decided that it was time to try and do something for my self but again, every move that I made as marked and brought back but at the same time, all of these little digs were beginning to tire the field and the head wind just exacerbated that fact. With half a lap to go and my chances of getting away looking slim, I was dropped a life line when Adrian Bird, ex elite rider and good friend, made his move on a very difficult section of road. I was in the right place to go with it so latched on to his wheel even though I was trying to recover from an effort that I had just made. I gritted my teeth to stay in contact but as we crested the small ride I looked back and was surprised to see that we had ridden away from the bunch and all the favourites and already had a substantial gap. And so it began, after catching a straggler from the break the 3 of us drilled it in to the ever strengthening head wind. Although it was mainly me and Ady doing the work as the other chap was suffering big time.
I knew that we didn’t have too long before the descent which lead to the foot of the climb but the head wind was making it take a lot longer and lot harder. I sensed that Adrian was also beginning to tire but I also knew that we needed more time going in to the climb as it was inevitable that the bunch would hit it hard and take chunks of time out of us. With this in mind and the other 2 not really doing any work, I took it up on myself to drive the pace and I hit the climb on the front. I had told myself before the race that if I was in a good position on the climb on the last lap I would make an effort to attack a go for a solo victory! Well, victory might have been out of the question but a solo ride to 4th was still on the cards so that what I did, I put the hammer down on the steep part of the climb and rode away from my 2 companions, kept the pace going over the top and settled in to the pain. Amazingly, as I crested the climb I could see Tony and his break away companions literally seconds up the road, I dug in still pulling clear of the other in an effort to catch them before the line. The problem was I, apart from the fact I was at my limit, there was also a hideous head wind all the way to the finish and in the end it proved to much and I didn’t quite get them back. Tony had to settle for 3rd after being out sprinted by the bigger riders but still a fantastic result non the less, I rolled in literally seconds after to secure 4th with Adrian coming in 6th.
After what started off as a frustrating race having being stuck in the bunch and feeling that I had no prospect of getting away, I had managed to pull out what I would class as one of my best rides of the year and soloed to 4th after making the kind of attack I knew I was capable of and almost catching a break that was 2 minutes clear. Not only that, you cant beat the feeling of you and your mate both doing very different but just as impressive rides and finished 3rd and 4th. Awesome.
It also turns out that my result had indeed allowed me to claw my way back up the overall standing and I have ended up 2nd overall in the lead only a hand full of points down on Matt Clarke who ended up 7th today. Not to shabby considering I missed the first 2 rounds due to my broken collar bone!!!
So, with only one or two more races left on the calendar for this year, my attention now turns towards the winter. I’m looking forward to winter training as I do every year at this time of season, I look forward to a few weeks of moseying around on the bike and having a laugh, Chomping on Banana and honey sandwiches during epic winter training rides on new roads that I have not year ridden and the prospect of a hot coffee and bean stew on my return. Plus, I am also looking forward to announcing a very exciting that is currently been put together ready for the new season.
Thanks fro reading.
Dan
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