If there's one race in the whole year which I look forward to racing most or if someone asked me whats my favorite road race within the season then I would have to say its this one, the Halesowen Road Race, promoted every year by Halesowen Cycling Club. I can only congratulate the organizer for the event which he puts on each year and every time I am amazed by how well its organised and carried out. If you want to know how to organize a safe and spectacular road race then come and see how these boys do it and this year was no different.
The first thing to congratulate them on was the fantastic kitty for the prizes, the winner would walk away with £200.00! with second pace taking £100.00 and 3rd £50.00. Prizes continued down to eighth but also included cash prizes for 1st 3rd and 4th cat as well as primes for every lap of the race. Nice.
The main reason why I love this race however is because of the course. In my opinion this is the best course which the West Midlands has to offer and think most people would agree. It has everything, exposed cross wind sections, horrible drags, fast descents, technical twisty lanes and a few punchy climbs. This course is made for one thing; Breakaways. For the last two years I have ridden this race it has played out pretty much the same; A break has gone and been about 6-10 riders big which I have been included in. Mike "the Rhino" Jones has come out on top in both the 2010 and 2011 editions of the race and I have placed 6th and 4th respectively. They have been those "epic" feeling days when you out in front of the bunch, pulling out a gap, working together as a break and then attacking the hell out of each other on the last lap.
This year would be different for a few reasons however, I was going in to the race after a bad start to the year due to a few pressing medical issues which hopefully will be behind me in a few months time. These have meant that I have not being able to reach the level which I should be at so my form is no where near where it has been at this time of year in previous seasons. Also Mike Jones was telling me that he is also lacking form and was doubting himself as to whether he could pull out the hatric. The biggest difference coming in to this race was that I would be riding with a proper team and proper team mates. Me, Tony and Mike Kiss and Adrian Bird were once again out in force and ready to take it all the way.
The night before this race was the first night in a long time where I struggled to sleep because of a toxic mix of excitement, anticipation, nervousness and dread! In my mind I was determined to win it and if not that then at least crack the top ten and if not that then at least be in a break away. Mentally I was ready for this but physically my body was still lacking what would be normal for everyone else. It would just be a case of do what I can and give it hell!
The race rolled out at 9.30 with the sun gleaming in the clear skies and the heat beating down on a race ready peloton. After crossing the start/finish line behind the neutralized car, the flag dropped and we had 5 laps of the course to complete resulting in a total race distance of 113km, one of the longest of the West Mids RR League.
I had a game plan, this was to follow the moves for the first 2 laps and if nothing had gone clear by then I would start thinking about making my own moves. 4 miles in the race and on the first climb however, the plan went out the window and I found myself charging across a gap up to an early break which contained a lot of good riders including my team mate Tony Kiss. We had a gap over the field but we also had about 14 riders in the break and I don't think anyone expected it to come to much.Usually with a break this big everyone expects someone else to work and eventually it all just slows and then you get caught. Today was different though, 14 riders formed a chain gang and drilled it blood sweat and tears around the first lap leaving the bunch in its wake and eating up the road ahead. Phase one was already complete, I had made the break and it looked like it was gonna stay away.
Although there were 14 riders, my god it was hard work for the first 2 laps. I consider myself a late race attacker as my endurance capacities trump my big power capacity hands down so when when all the power houses are flagging in the latter stages that's when I come to the fore. Today though this was not the case, it was a case of gritted teeth and pull when you had too, I think most people were feeling the same though. As we approached the finish to complete the first lap, Tony sprinted away for the prime and won it from Cheltenham CC's Ian Alexander. Her repeated this feat on the second lap so already he was £24.00 up, nice work.
As we began the second lap we had a time gap from the car and already we had pulled out over 2.5 minutes on the bunch. Either we were charging, the bunch was cruising or a healthy mix of both. However with the start of the third lap the frustrations began. Riders began missing turns and not coming through when they should have. This meant that the speed of the break began to reduce and I became increasingly worried that our lead would soon fizzle down to a handful of seconds. At this point Tony began to feel the prime efforts in his legs and he found he could no longer come through, I was one of only a handful in the break which was pulling on the front and this was the same with the 4th lap. Still very concerned that we were going to get caught I asked for a time gap as we began the fifth and final lap and to everyone amazement we had a gap of just under 5 minutes, 4 minutes and 49 seconds to be exact. This took the pressure off of everyone and now we all began to think about our own glory. We still had a full lap to complete and with in that lap there are lots of opportune moments for one to launch an attack and soon riders where doing just that.
As is the norm for me, I began to feel great on the last lap which was possibly helped by the caffeine gel which I had! I followed the attacks as they went and then took the chance to launch my own as the bunch slowed. I sprinted of the front and took a leisure lakes rider with me, we were happy to work together but the others didn't want us going clear and soon we were brought back. Over the next few miles the attacks went and come back and it all looked like it was going to come down to a sprint finish. However, on the final climb which is roughly 5km from the finish, a light hearted attacked was followed on the lower slopes and as we all eased up, James Notley of Planet X seized his opportunity and attacked off the front. We all looked at each other waiting for someone to take up the chase but by the time we did he had a descent gap.
Over the next 4km we jostled between chasing Notely and not flogging ourselves to death on the front as this would reduce our own chance of glory. We slowly ate away at Notleys lead but by the time we reached then final kick, Notley was already oven the top and across the line. As the sprint went I was positioned quite far back but managed to put in a good sustained kick passing Tony and a few others to cross the line in 7th with Tony following closely in 8th. For me this was extremely pleasing and finally it feels like I am back in the game, however the best bit was yet to come.As we waited for the bunch to come in, Mike and Adrian poped in to view riding side by side, hand joined and up in the air just like Lemond and Hinault many years back on Aple d'Heuz. It turns out that they both attached with a lap to go and rode clear of the bunch, this meant that they came in the top twenty but in the best possible way. Awesome work team.
This ride puts us all in good vibes ready for what will be a huge suffer fest next weekend when we tackle the West Midlands Regional Road Race Champs in Telford. Last year me and Tony both managed great rides which were very similar to today's feats so hopefully now we are all riding well we can do better as a single united squad.
Happy Riding.
Results:
1. James Notley (Planet X)
2. Tom Marshall (Cadence Cannondale)
3. Matt Clarke (Halesowen CC)
4. Rob Turner (NFTO)
5. Jonathon Pain (Leisure Lakes Bikes.com)
6. Philip Mason (Climb On Bikes)
7. Daniel Bill (Rapid Performance Coaching RT)
8. Tony Kiss (Rapid Performance Coaching RT)
9. Ewan McDonald (Mirmil CT)
10. Ross Clayton
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