Crit 'n' Crash

Litchfield Town Centre Races

Promoted by Litchfield CC

E/1/2/3

60 mins + 5 Laps

Its been a good 2 years since i have done a proper town centre crit. The last one i did was the Warwick Town Centre races on 2008 when i still a 4th cat, It was good race as i had managed to break away with one other rider and pretty much lap the rest of the filed but on the bell lap as we came in to the first corner i got put in to the barrier by a lapped rider and couldn't finish due to the damage to my bike. This was the last time i raced this kind of race as there just arn't that many of them around and in general, its not really the kind of race which plays to my physical strengths although i can do well in these kind of races due to my cornering ability. I can make the courses a lot less stressful on my legs due being able to hit corners and hold my speed as i exit which means that i haven't got to sprint back up to speed. If you think how many corners there are in a typical 60 min Crit race, this amounts to a lot of saved energy.

I hadn't planned to race the Litchfield races even though they had been well advertised over the last few weeks, it was only when Tony told me that he was going to do them that i decided i would head down with him and give it a crack. Our race, the E/1/2/3, was due to start a 4.00pm so in the morning of the race i headed out first thing on my bike to spin the legs and make sure all was ok with my race machine. I then had a few hours to kill before Tony came round to pick me up at 1.30pm. Soon enough he did arrive and we began loading up the car with all the kit, as we did this i thought to myself how strange it is that you end up taking more kit to an hour long race than you do for a 3 hour race; Bike, wheels, spare wheels, clothes, spare clothes, Rollers, Turbo etc etc, just so much bloody kit for such a short race.

When we got the Litchfield the heavens opened with our arrival so we ended up doing our course reconnaissance in the driving rain which didn't help our confidence at all. The course was typical crit style with many tight corners, about 1km long and had quite a few cobbled section. Oh and of course it also had the typical course barriers with the big metal legs sticking out about a foot on to the course. Love it!!
45 minutes before the race we broke out the rollers and began warming up. To many riders don't appreciate how vital a good warm up is before a crit, the races start so fast and if your legs arnt ready to work then your race can be over before the end of the first lap. I have a warm up routine which i have used for a while and works every time, not only does it prepare my legs but it also prepares my mind for the hard efforts to come so it results in me being much more relaxed as i head to the start.

On the start line i was in the second row so had a pretty good starting position but in typical Dan Bill style it took me an age to get clipped in so come the first corner i was 2nd from last. Not a good start. After the first lap the race was already beginning to split and i was stuck at the back, is started making my way up through the field, taking riders on the straights and then using my cornering ability to close down the next group and so on. It was very frustrating when i did catch a group as i was always so much faster through the corners that riders just ended up slowing me down so i had to really try and pick the right times to make my passing moves. Soon enough i was the the front of the 2nd group which was basically a chasing group as the big boys had already broke clear and were a good 40 seconds up the road. I kept driving the pace hard making sure that i never fell back further than 3rd rider from the front. The reason for this is simple, the closer you are to front of a group, the less the conseteener effect from riders braking in to corners effect you, meaning that the less of a sprinting effort i have to make on the exit. By keeping the pace intense for a good 20 Min's we had managed to whittle out group down to about 5, the front group of about 8 had also split in to 2 groups and at just over the half way point the leading 3 riders which contained 2 Corley Cycles riders and Will Penn from Mammoth had managed to lap the field. As the y cam round our group i was on the front and so i did what most would do, i latched on and held the wheels for as long as i could!



To my surprise i actually had no problems matching there pace, in fact for me it was easier following the elite boys as they could corner as well as i could so when on there wheels the whole lap was much more consistent and flowed much better. Soon we also began lapping other groups, including the group containing Tony Kiss and his friend Steve, a National level track rider riding for Litchfield. With 5 laps to go lapped riders began to get pulled out and our group of 5 were instructed to drop of the leading 3 in order to allow them to contest there own race. I settled at the back of our group in order to watch the moves and conserve energy ready for the last lap dash. On the bell lap i began moving up and was in 4th as we came in to the penultimate turn, the rider in front was unfortunately not to good at cornering and i entered the corner with more speed than him i soon realised i was about the hit his back wheel as he slowed so much. This forced me to try and change my line mid corner which meant shifting my weight, as i did the front wheel lifted and that as they say was they end of that. SMASH!!!!!!!

Yep, just like in 2008 at Warwick i hit the deck on the last lap. I was ok other than some nasty gashes to my left leg. The marshals lifted my bike over the barrier but i realised that i could still be well with in the top 15 as we had such a big lead over the groups behind. I asked for my bike back and began to ride towards the finish but realised the bike was un-ridable. I then  proceeded to remove my brand new Sidi shoes and held these in one had, grabbed the bike with the other and ran the last few hunded meters in nothing more that my blood stained, bright yellow Mavic sock and crossed the line to a hero's welcome (kind of).

So, was i disappointed? well no, not really. I was very happy with how i had ridden, i proved i was strong and i proved i was capable of matching the pace of the leaders. Its just that next time i need to make sure that get a better start and am up at the front on the first lap and not working my way up from the back. The Corley boys ended up taking a 1-2 with Will coming in for a well deserved 3rd. I still have no idea where i came but will let you know as soon as i do.

The Tour of the Wrekin is next on my race calendar so keep a look out for that report.

Dan

A Sting in the Tail – WASP Road Race 2011

The WASP Road Race
Port Talbot, Wales.
Hosted by Ogmore Valley CC
65 Miles
80 Riders

After a solid week of quality training mixed in with good fuelling and rest, I as looking forward to a good ride in today's 65 mile Regional A Road Race down in the deepest of Wales, well not quite but it was in wales and wales is known for its hills and this race included something that I have never experienced before; A mountain top finish. Yep, the UK actually has a race with a proper mountain in it and is another reason why I was looking forward to today, finally a chance for my lack of weight to come in to play and hopefully work in my favour for a change. The climb of Bwlcy-Y-Clawdd comes after 3 laps of an out and back circuit taking place on very rough narrow roads. The climb is just over 6km long and is the closest thing to a continental alpine climb I have come across in the UK. The first 400m are the steepest at just over 10% before settling in to a constant gradient of just over 5% and contains 2 switch back before a long drag to the finish. Awesome.

During the drive down with my racing buddy Tony Kiss, we began to discuss tactics and the best way to ride the race. With the climb being such a decisive factor I had already decided on my pre-race plan. I would stick in the shelter of the bunch and only go in a break if the race favourites were in it; the rider in my mind was Luke Dunmar from Qoros as he is a very strong climber and a great tactician. I will then go with pace setters at the start of the climb watching out for the moves and hopefully be in contention for the win after tackling the climb. I had made the decision not to go in any other breaks as I was sure these would not stay away till the finish die to the sting in the tail in the form of a mountain at the end of the race. I feel this was a pretty good plan and one which I was hoping to stick too.

At 11.00am the race took to the roads and began the 5km neutralized section before the flag dropped, I was mid bunch and meandering along before getting the shock of my life when the race started proper. The pace was super-fast, I'm talking Crit like speed, and already riders were strung out and curb crawling through the cross wind sections. Nobody could work out why the pace was so fast but soon enough it began to settle, as it did a few riders began to ride off the front and establish a bit of a break. Sticking with the plan, me, Tony and Mike (Tony's Brother) all stayed in the bunch thinking that nothing would come of it. Mile after mile the bunch road at what can only be described as club run pace and before we knew it the break had a minute and a half. I was beginning to think that we had really made a hash of things and the break would get a big enough gap to stay away on the climb.

Even with a good number of teams in the race, the break was not coming back. Every time the bunch made a sustained effort and put in some pace it was followed by a massive lull in speed, sometimes almost coming to a stop. It was very frustrating but I was sticking to my guns and waiting until the climb to make a move. As we finished the last lap we had a 5km ride back towards the HQ before hitting the bottom of the climb. Positioning would be essential as we had to tackle a tight roundabout which leads straight on to the 10% part of the climb. A few little attacks went in the run in but I managed to maintain my top 10 place in the bunch as we hit the roundabout.

Race Favourite Luke Dunmar hit the climb and put the hammer down, 3 riders were only able to go with this initial pace; Me, Tony and Connor Ryan of VC Montpellier. As the steep section ended we consolidated the gap we had over the bunch as we hit the narrow downhill section before hitting the main portion of the climb. I sensed that of we didn't keep the pace high then the bunch would come back and I was not prepared for that to happen, especially considering to my amazement we were passing riders from the original break. With thisin mind and the knowledge that only 4 riders were ahead, I hit the front and began setting the pace. I flt good and this was my terrain and I was prepared to urt a bit to try and do something special. Luke came through once or twice to do a bit of pace setting but I was doing 90% of it and putting in huge chunks of time to the riders behind us whilst closing the gap to the riders ahead. It was a pretty special feeling being able to ride all but 3 riders off of your wheel and not something I have expienienced in a race before.

As we rounded the first hair pin I had pulled us well clear of the bunch as Luke took to the front. Tony and Connor were beginning to suffer and were soon dropped as Luke upped the pace in an effort to catch the leaders. I went with him and stuck to his wheel as his pace increased. I soon began to cross the line and plunge deep in to the red, the last thing I wanted to do was blow o this climb as I would lose loads of time. I done the sensible thing and backed off slightly settling in to my own max sustainable pace still managing to put time between all those behind me. As we hit the final hairpin, Luke had bridged up to the 2 riers ahead with another 2 riders from the orinal break still about a minute clear. I was slowly gaining but with a KM to go and a stiff head wind I knew that my chances of catching them were slim yet I still pushed on riding at the max I could manage and already feeling pretty ecstatic at the ride I had managed to pull out of the hat. As it was, Luke suffered in the final push to the line and ended up 5^th with me crossing the line only a few seconds down in what as a very rewarding 6^th place. Connor managed to hold on for 7^th with Tony putting in another awesome ride to finish 9^th.

After congratulating each other I sat atop the climb at the side of the road realising how strong I actually can be when I'm fresh, fuelled and riding on my terrain. Only one rider was faster than me up that climb and that was the rider I had already picked out as the strongest. I knew that if the break had hit the climb with 30 seconds less that I would have been up there contesting the win for sure. However, I was not disappointed as I couldn't have ridden the race better given the situation and the freak break which went away. The only thing that did annoy me was that for the 3^rd time this year I missed out on the prizes by one place, but to be honest, with the performance I feel that I put in today was reward enough for me.
Now I just need to find more races with a mountain top finish, maybe I should move to France
Dan

1 Giles Drake (Team Elite) 2:55:00
2 Mike Simpson (GS Henley) @ 30sec
3 Luke Grivell-Mellor (Mid-Shropshire Wh) @ 1:00
4 Dan Pearson (Port Talbot Wheelers)
5 Luke Dunbar (Team Qoroz)
6 Daniel Bill (Cult Racing) @ 1:10
7 Conor Ryan (VC Montpellier)
8 Joe Harris (Reading CC)
9 Tom Kiss (Stratford CC)
10 Glyndwr Griffiths (Team Cyclemart)

Result or Performance??

Sometimes, especially in the world of competitive cycling and even more so in the discipline of road racing, the result that you come away with doesn't always reflect your performance during the event. I feel that road racing is best example of this as its its a very open discipline in that the strongest riders seldom wins. Road racing is very much a lottery in which luck plays a vital part along with the luck that you make yourself through the application of strategy, tactics, team work, grit and determination. All of these factors come in to play during a road race and you may well be the strongest rider by a country mile but that doesn't mean that you are always going to cross the line first. Many riders will judge the success of there day on the overall result and if things haven't quite gone to plan and you don't get the result that you expected then this can leave you depressed and frustrated, whereas what we should focus on once the race is finished is our overall performance.
By reviewing you overall performance during the road race you can look back and focus on the points or aspects of the race which your rode well or performed beyond your expectations. Its unfair for the last 10 seconds of the race to over shadow all the of the amazing positives which you may have experienced during the race and you may also learn to realise that a great performance can do more for you and your cycling that a great result. Sunday's race was a prime example of this as i will now explain in the following race report.

Sun, August 14 2011
Worcester News Road Race
Kinnersley Circuit, Worcestershire
Elite Category
125km
90 riders

Result - 17th

The Worcester News RR is a well known road race in the UK, its got a good slot on the calendar meaning the weather is usually good and its targeted by many elite riders and high profile teams. This would be my first time tackling the 6 lap road race which takes place on the out skirts of Worcester. The course is a typical rolling UK road course with a steady ascent up a gradual bank and a few short steep kickers.
The race saw a good turn out, many or my usual racing buddies as well as many riders i have never raced which included a good number of elite and 1st cat riders, there was also a strong team presence which included Qoroz, Rotor Colbert and Forme Impsport.

As we rolled out from the HQ the sun was shining and the temperature hot, apart from the near crash as we exited the HQ all was looking good, my legs didn't feel to bad either. As the flagged dropped it was clear that this race was going have one theme: Speed. The pace was fast from the gun and with the cross wind along the first stretch of road, riders were already grappling for wheels. Team Qoroz were looking like they meant business and there presence was made well known. I used the first lap as a course reconnaissance and come the second lap i was ready for action.

I moved my way up towards the front of the bunch as it it began ti splinter with different riders getting ready to make moves. As we hit a small rise which took us over the motorway, a Qoroz ride attacked and gained himself a small lead. As i was at the front of the bunch and feeling good i decided to attack as well and set off in pursuit of him. My recent attempts of bridging gaps hasn't proved to successful yet i managed to close this one down in a few minutes and went straight past him in order to keep out pace high. We rode a very hard through and off before seeing that a group of 4 were also bridging up to us, as the caught us and we got organised i really thought that we might stay clear for a bit but then i looked round and the other teams were dragging us back in at a supersonic rate. After they caught us i settled in to the bunch to recover, down some fuel and get ready to try again.

On the 3rd lap i managed to sense a big move getting ready to go clear, i managed to accelerate from the bunch and get in to this move as well. It was a big group, about 10-12 riders or so, yet we were working well together and we soon had a good gap. We were riding hard with many riders on there limits and unable to come through every time, i made a real effort to grit my teeth and pull as much as i could but again, the teams were on the front of the bunch and dragging us back. it was clear that some of the squads did not want a break to go clear and they were making it very hard for us break away bandits to make a move that would stick.

Come the 5th lap, rider were tiring and the bunch was beginning to split. At one point there were 3 groups on the road but each only a few 100 yard apart. I had a feeling that the front group might manage to do something, at the same time Ben and Tom Stockdale from Qoros came down the outside of the bunch, they must also have sensed this could be a break that stayed away. I jumped on to the back of the 2 of them as the powered off the front of the bunch, bridged up to the first group, attacked again and then bridged to the second. I was on my limit as we closed down on the leading group. The qoroz boy in second dropped of the pace which left me with a gap to his team mates wheel. I dug in and put in all the power i had to close the gap but was really struggling. He had made it to the safety of the leaders with me a few meters of the back and then his team mate that left me the gap attacked around me to also get on the break. I dug deeper still feeling that i could close this gap a thankfully i did but i took one hell of an effort. I was exceptionally happy that i had made this successful move but what was now becoming routine in this race, the teams closed us back down and it all came back together. Very frustrating.

Now we were on the last lap and it was clear that the big teams were not going to let a move go clear, not even a move with there own rider in. Local rider and ex-national hill climb champion, Matt Clinton, decided to try his luck and broke away solo, dangling off the bunch for a few mile before getting reeled back in as we approached the final road before the finish climb. I knew that positioning would decided the out come of the race, i made my way towards the front and did my best to stand my ground as we came towards the bottom of the bank. However, the teams were riding so hard on the front in order to try and wrote each other off, the bunch became manic and with my small size and the cross winds, i was forced back down the bunch as we hit the climb. The sprint started as soon as the road went up yet it was still quite away to the finish. I had to sprint round the out side of the bunch trying to claw my way back up the field but the front was already split up and strung out up to the finish. Will Fox of Forme Impsport took the win with Ben Stockdale of Qoroz taking second. I managed to drag back a few more places in the run up to line to secure my 17th spot.

So, going back to what i talked about at the start, i would typically be a bit disheartened by 17th, even though it was in an elite road race with a big field. However, looking back at the race and picking it apart i can say that i rode a great race and one which i am very happy with. I was in every move that went of the front, i shut down and bridged some biog gaps, i worked hard and put in my pulls when i was off the front and generally i felt good. In summary, i feel that my result did not reflect my performance and my performance was, to me, a winning one.

Just think of that the next time you don't get the result you hoped for.

Result:
1 Will Fox (Forme Impsport) 2-49-00
2 Ben Stockdale (Team Qoroz)
3 Andrew Udall (Mammoth Lifestyle)
4 Martin Ford (Mammoth Lifestyle)
5 Jess Wieckowski (Team Nemesis GB)
6 George Moore (CC Giro)
7 Dan Harris (Halesowen A&CC)
8 Dexter Gardias (Forme Impsport)
9 Glyndwr Griffiths (Team Cycle Mart)
10 Philip Borrett (Team Tor 2000)

Wyre Forest Circuit Race

Stourport Circuit

2/3/4

45 mins + 5 Laps

Well, it's been a pretty difficult week or 2, physically I have been feeling pretty wrecked. Unfortunately this is not down to the typical mid-season burn out that many riders come across at some point during the year, instead it's the combination of various personal issues that have been plaguing me for most of my life. I will save you the despair of having to read about all of these and just say that there pretty hard to deal with but thankfully, as I write this report I have finally gotten myself set up to sort myself out once and for all both with the realisation that I need to and with the professional help of the National Health Service. Things are finally beginning to look up.

Anyway, cutting a very long story short, these issues have resulted in my physical state deteriorating over the past few weeks and I have been really struggling with recovering from racing and from general day to day activities for that matter. I raced at the Solihull Crit the other week and felt so terrible that I didn't even bother doing a report on it. So I decided that I need a few day of my bike in order to refresh my body and set my mind straight, I have a few big races coming up that I want to do well in so I need to be ready for these. I decided that I would have 3 days off the bike and then race at Stourport on Thursday night in order to wake my legs and lungs up in preparation for the Jean Baker Memorial Race which is taking place on Sunday 7^th, this is one race that I know I can do well in.

The 3 days that I was off the bike were basked in glorious sunshine, yet Thursday saw the weather turn and I was in two minds about racing. Thankfully the weather came good and with the encouragement from my Facebook chums I was back up for racing. As it was there was a good turn out with about 25 starters including the regulars such as Joe Page, Scott Law and Adrian Bird, I also took Mike Johnson from Stratford CC along who was fresh from his maiden with at Solihull in the 4^th cat race. I was very unsure how I would fare in the race after being off the bike for a few days but I was looking forward to it which is always a good sign.

The race started fast with a big break going early, I missed it as I was towards the back but decided that I would try and bridge so I attacked and went on the chase. I was closing it down until we got on the head wind section where they pulled it out again, riders from the bunch were using me as carrot and attacking up to me and then launching again up to the break. It was so annoying; here I was taking the early initiative to close the gap and now getting exploited after being stuck in no-man's land. Bloody typical. Anyway, it all came back together eventually but I had put in such a long sustained effort that it took me ages to recover and in this time there were more moved that went off that I had to chase down. This delayed my recovery even more and really having to work hard.

By mid race, 10 riders or so had been dropped due to fast aggressive pace. I had made a few little moves and made a few counter attack but I had also had a few scary moments were I was exposed and very close to going out the back. In fact, many thanks to Scott Law who gave me a much needed push to supply me with enough momentum to get in to his draft as we chased back the bunch. At this point, the super sneaky, super smart Adrian Bird launched one of his perfectly timed attacks which only one rider went with. As it was this was the decisive move and these two stayed away till the finish with Adrian getting piped at the line by his slightly punchier companion. Back in the bunch of around 12 riders more attacks and moves were going off the front but it all pretty much stayed together until the last lap. As we came in to the penultimate turn I was in a good position as set up for the sprint. Unfortunately, as we hit the final corner a rider on the inside rolled his tub and went sliding across the track right in front of me which put an end to my chances. I didn't come off but I pushed off course and unable to contest the finish. Bit annoying but at least I survived the incident!

At the end of the day, I had a good race, felt pretty fresh, enjoyed and thrived off of the pain again and was able to suffer. Hopefully this will have put me in a good physical and mental position for the race at the weekend. I guess we will soon find out

Dan

4 Hills and lots of Suffering

Race Report.

Colin Carfield Memorial Road Race - Sunday 24th July
Wells,Somerset.
Regional A
65 miles
Course - Hilly with 4 main climbs including a hill finish.

I don't go to many races where i feel nervous due to the nature of the course but this race was different and there are very few like it in the UK. The Colin Carfield is known to one of the hardest and most savage road race on the UK calendar, it puts the fear of god in to a lot of riders and most who have ridden the event one year will not enter again the next as they know just how tough it is. When i found all of this information out i was a little worried about how hard this race might actually be but i was also very excited at the prospect of going in to a race which suits my climbing ability. However, as i have been feeling pretty exhausted due to life's issues recently, i was more worried than excited!

I traveled to the race with Tony Kiss form stratford which was great as he rode the event for last year and was able to supply me with some good inside information. When we got the event we drove the last 2 climbs just to check out what we would be up against and the answer was some very long and very steep climbs. races like these play out completely different to your typical UK road races which generally don't have much in the way of challenges. This means that the winner can usually spend the whole race sitting at the back of the bunch, letting others drag the breaks back and then sprint with fresh legs at the end. I have nothing against this and agree that this is a very intelligent way to race but it does mean that not always does that rider deserve the win or in others words, that rider has nor really earned there win. With the Colin Carfield race things are different. The winner is the rider that is the strongest, simple. Breaks are not made in this race they occur through natural selection each time the race goes up a hill. Only the strongest can stay at the front and everybody else gets shelled out the back. If you want to win this race then you have to grab it by the horns and want it cuz there's no such thing as a free ride in this race.

The race rolled out of the HQ at the gentlemanly time of 10.30 and on to the course, the course its self is very well thought out. Essentially its 4 ever decreasing laps which take in a new climb over the same ridge, so although you ride some parts of the course 4 times, each hill is new and other bits you only ride once. This makes a great change to the usual repeated laps of many courses. As we headed of in the direction of the first killer climb i concluded that i felt OK, not great but just OK. Having not ridden the course i had no idea where the first climb was so each time we hit a little slope i began to shit myself thinking this was it. The reason for this nervousness is because i was told that the winning group of leaders is always decided on this first climb and if you ain't in it then you can kiss your race goodbye. When we did hit the first climb i was pretty far back in the group and i could see the strongest riders if the race hit the front to lift the pace, these included ex nation hill climb champions Danny Axford and James Dobbin. The pace was intense i had made it harder as i had to accelerate through the bunch just to get up to the pace. The sound of laboured breathing and physical plain was crazy and already the race had split apart. I managed to grit my teeth and hang of the back of the 15 leaders as we crested the top, it was painful to say the least but i was there and it felt good.

On the ridge we began to ride a good steady through and off and at this point i thought that we had seen the last of any other riders. However, as we got to with in 5 miles of the second climb everyone just stopped working and would not take a pull. The problem lied in the fact that everyone was thinking so much about the climb that they wanted to save there legs. With this drop in pace came the expected catch of another few groups so our bunch was now a good 30 strong.  again i had no idea where the next climb started and i had already slipped myself to the back of the group when low and behold we took a left hander and the road kicked up to 14%. Enter climb number 2. Apart from the fact i was still in the big ring i was well down inn the bunch again as the strongest hit the front and ramped it up. Once again i had to fumble around slowing riders and sprint up to the back of the leaders which now only contained about 10. I was just off the back as crested the top yet the pace continued so i had to keep my head down and ride myself back on to the wheels, one of which was Tony's who, it was fair to say was riding extremely strong.

Over the top the same scenario as last time took place, we powered along in organized through and off and then sat up with a few miles to go before the climb. It was really annoying as riders kept bridging up to us but i can understand the reason for it happening and I'm almost glad it did as it gave me chance to rest a bit. One problem i was having today which i suffer with sometimes is nasty stomach cramps, not something i wanted in todays race and every time i got out the saddle i just wanted to sit down again. This was not an option as we hit the 3rd climb and finally i found myself in a good position as we began the ascent. The oace rocketed up as the favorites began to throw in some acceleration in order to expell the weakest riders. I was gripping on with my finger nails, punching the pedals round as hard as i could, trying to overcome the pain of the climb aswell as my gut! Once again i ahd survived the climb and was over the top, this time the pace was so high that only 10 survived and no one was coming back to us this time round.

As the loop was getting smaller with each lap there was not long before we hit the final climb. There was a bit of an incident with some horses which split up our break a bit and caused us to loose some time. Thankfully no one was hurt and we all regrouped and continued. Not long after that one of the riders in the break turned to me and said "how far away is the final climb", "No idea mate" i replyed. just as i turned my attention back to the road we rounded a left hand corner and there we was, starting the final climb. Is shouted to the rider "I think i no where the final climb is........its under you wheels my freind".
This was it, 3 hills down and 1 to go, last big effort to make it all worth while. The climb kicked up at the half way point where Dobbin and Axford dug in and put the hammer down, only one other went with them as they gained tim over the rest of us. Tony couldent go and setled in to his pace with another rider on his wheel. A bit further back was 3 more including me, there were agps between our whels as we all ground towards the top. Behind me were the rest of the break which were dropping of the pace. Dobbin scored the win with a final sprint effort with Axford in second and the Qoroz rider in 3rd. Tony out sprinted his companion to secure 4th and i managed to drag myself up another position by catching one of the riders ahead to finish in a very pleasing 7th.

Crossing the finish line i high fived Tony for an awsome ride and felt quite compelled with the race that had just taken place. It felt Epic, like a proper race, more reminisant of what you would expect to feel if you had just ridden a stage of the tour through the alps or pyrenees. It felt like i had earned my place, it might only have been 7th but given the caliblre of the field, my stomach problems and general tirdness i was more than satisfied. I had hung on, clung on, dug so deep that i felt strain in part of my body i never new had nerves.

Will i be back for next yeart, dam right and this next time i will know where the climbs are, where i need to be and what to expect. Nect year this race will be mine for the taking.



Tony Kiss (Right) and his brother and ex pro Mike
enjoying a well deserved peice of cake!

 Result:

1 James Dobbin (Adeo Cadence RT) 2-14-00

2 Danny Axford (Arctic Premier RT) @ same time

3 Luke Dunbar (Team Qoroz) @ 2sec

4 Tony Kiss (Stratdord CC)

5 George Harper (VC St Raphael)

6 Karl Hine (Adeo Cadence RT)

7 Dan Bill (Cult Racing)

8 Ben Pedley (Cheltenham & County CC)

9 Conor Ryans (VC Montpelier)

10 Rowan Marshall (Team Cyclemart) all @ same time

Racing Fatigue

 

its strange, the race session is the time of year when a riders weekly volume is at its lowest yet the build up fatigue, tiredness and exhaustion can be at its highest. Racing takes its toll on your body no matter how good or experienced you are as a rider. we do all the leg work in the winter months and in pre season training, riding hundreds of hours every month in order to develop our endurance, power and speed as well as our resilience to fatigue. Yet even with all of this work and riding in our legs, racing can still destroy a body which was at its peaks only a few weeks earlier.

A race period should really last no more that 2 months at a maximum and in my opinion this should only be if you have 1 race period throughout the year. If you have 2 peaks in the year then these should last no more that 2-3 weeks. The thing with racing is, as stated in my “Racing is Training” post a few weeks ago, the demands which are actually placed on the body are just so hard to replicate in training. However, the other thing that comes in to play is the mental side of things. Racing as just as mentally exhausting as it is physically and this can have huge effects on the way you feel. Emotions and feelings run very high when we have a number pinned to our backs and this can be extremely draining. Finally, lets not forget that we cyclists are a competitive bunch and typically we will always dig deeper and go harder when we are in a race situation as opposed to just training. So when you end up racing 3-4 times a week for 2-3 months and you consider all that of that, no wonder you end up feeling absolutely wrecked and this is kind of how i am feeling at the moment.

i have been racing every weekend and in the week for the past number of weeks, i have loved every second of it and had some great results and even better performances but in the last 2 or 3 races i have notices that my legs don't posses that same punch that they did a few weeks ago and its taking me longer to get over the races that I'm doing. I feel the time has come to schedule a mid season break to allow my body to recover but before that can happen, its time for some more races!!!!

Last night i went a rode the first round of the Stourport Circuit series which consists of 4 mid week cat 1/2 races put on by different local clubs. Having finally made the decision that i did want to race, i knew that i was feeling tired and still had a wee bit of a cold so decided that i would race by how i felt and do what i could do. Which a pretty turn out of pretty handy riders i knew that it wouldn't be slow so i decided to place my self in the draft for the first few laps to see what the pace was like. initially it didn't feel to bad and then about 15 minutes in the main move started to form, a break of 4 began to ride away and i was in the perfect position to jump on to the back of it but i didn't. I didn't because i felt it was to early, i didn't know really how i was feeling and i was playing it cautiously. Bad Move. Is have just went for it but i hesitated and that was it, the 4 rode hard and increased there gap and before long they were a quarter of a lap ahead.

We had some strong riders in out group including 2 of the Qoros boys but once again it was only me and a few other doing any work so the chase never really happened and there lead just increased. Adrian Bird for Worcester CC was racing and riding strong, we both adopted the same idea of wearing the other guys down before trying something. Adrian attacked with about 15 minutes before the 5 lap count and i went with him. He rode a lap on the front and then i did my turn, coming out of the far hair pin i accelerated, looked behind and saw i had gapped Adrian who still had a small gap over the bunch. Rather than try to figure out what had happened i just got my head down and went for it. So began my 15 minutes of Fame and Pain.

I pulled out about 20 seconds on the bunch and closed ever so slightly on the leading group, i drove hard on every straight and every corner but the course just really wears you down. Its so hard to be out on your own as there is just no recovery, you power one straight, hit the corners fast, power out of them, in to the next corner and back on the gas. Its really demanding stuff. I never managed to make the gap any bigger but it wasn't getting smaller either and soon the laps boards were out and i was beginning to think that i might be able to hold on for 5th. As it was they started attacking each other back in the bunch which de=rove the pace up and with 2 laps to go i had been caught but they had also dropped a few riders so i joined the group which was now4 big as well. With 1 lap to go the first 4 crossed the line with the winner coming from that group. Half a lap later we came in to the last corner and i was positioned on the back and although i was dead due to my earlier exploits i was hoping i could sling shot round and still get 5th. As the sprint opened up and was in the slipstream but my legs refused to go and i finished in the position where is started sprinting which was 8th.

A tough and tiring race but again one where my performance didn't reflect the result. I'm pleased that i raced and pleased that i made the efforts that i did, now though i thinks it time for a rest before i hit the big races of the season.

Dan

Newport Shropshire Road Race

 

West Midlands Road Race League 9

Shropshire

6o miles

5 laps of an undulating course with one main climb

Sunny conditions

 

Beep, beep, beep, beep. 6.15am. Alarm goes off and i wake up to the feeling of a clogged chest and a sore throat, yes folks, i have a little bit of  a cold which has gradually crept on over the last few days. I was hoping it would miraculously disappear before todays race but its hasn't and under normal circumstances i wouldn't dream of racing but as todays race is part of the WMRRL i need to be in it to keep my chances of overall series victory alive. Mike Johnson is also racing today when he shouldn't be as he is still recovering from is horrific crash only 2 weeks ago, i tried to convince him  not too but he is way to egger! We struck a deal in the end that if i take him he has to get through both his bottles by the end of the race and if he feels slightly odd then he must pull out. They were my terms and conditions and he agreed. Sat Nav set we hit the road and on to the motorway which is only the second time i have driven on it so that woke me up for sure.

Arriving at the race in one piece i began to get the strangest feeling of day ja vu. I didn't recognise the name of the course but when we got to the HQ i realised that i had ridden the course before a year or 2 ago. It hosted the Regional Champs in 2009 where i was racing the 3/4 cat race, i remember it well as i had a great race by getting in to a 2 man break which was out all day before we got caught in the run to the finish but i still managed 8th. Now i knew what was in store i was more relaxed but my body was noticeably tired from the cold so i was unsure how i would go.

The race rolled out and started fast, it took my legs an age to get going, even longer that usual. once they did though i made my usual mistake of getting jumpy and excited too early and kept trying to chase down or bridge up to all of the stupid little moves that would never amount to anything. What i should have been doing was marking the 2 riders who were closest to me on point and waiting for there moves but nope, that's just me. When the favourites did attack i was struggling to go with them, both because of my cold and lifeless legs and also because i was tiring already. At one point, Mike Jones, who is the rider i couldn't let get away, managed to get in to a break with the other rider i should have been marking. This was not good and i ended up flogging myself to death to bring it back which i managed thankfully but boy, did it take a lot out of me.

One big problem in the race was that me and Mike Jones were very heavily Marked. everyone knows that mike is the strongest and now everyone' knows my racing style and that I'm a contender, they just would not let us go. When mike attacked i had no choice but to respond as well because A) i could not let him get away and 2) i knew that if me and him could get away together then would be able to stay away. However, this was proving frustrating for both of us and if neither one of us attacked then nobody would do anything but sit there and wait for us to do something.

At the half way point the race had split to pieces and there were maybe 30 or so riders in the leading group. A break of 6 did get away after me and Mike had initiated a flurry of attacks which had been chassed down and the counter was just allowed to go. By this point i was feeling rough, tired and annoyed. I was not strong where i should have been which was on the climb and i was unsure what i could do. On the last lap with the break about 40 seconds up the road. Mike decided to try one last move on the main climb where he was followed by Adrian Bird in an attempt to bridge to 3 riders who were just slightly up the road. I saw that no one else had jumped as we were all suffering but i knew it was now or never. I dug deep and accelerated away and up to Mike and the others. It was so painful it was crazy, when i got there Mike was struggling also and then Adrian just accelerated away on his own. He looked mega strong.

The 5 of us that were left just stuck at the same pace and worked together, we only had a few miles to go so we rode hard, really hard. Adrian was 20 seconds up the road and the original break was about 15 further ahead. The winner came from the front break who happened to be Mike Jones’s Team Mate and Adrian didn't quite catch them but came home in a well deserved 6th. The 5 of us were in the home stretch and beginning to mess around which was a bad idea as we had a hard charging peloton in sight of us. Nobody wanted to take it up as they too concerned about sprinting for 7th so i decided to drag them to the finish. I decided that i would rather come last in our group than be caught by the bunch and come nowhere. I opened up the sprint at the bottom of the hill with my legs already screaming, 2 riders slung round me and mike managed to just pip me to the line but it was pretty close, the final rider rolled in just behind me. A few seconds later the bunch gallop crossed the line which just shows that my decision was a good one.

On reflection the race was very hard for me as i was nowhere near my strongest yet i still managed to pull something out of the hat and against all the odds did manage to get away with mike in the end to secure some more points to the overall. Plus, by coming in only 1 place behind Mike, The gap from me to him remains small. With 3 rounds to go it anybody’s game.

Mike Johnson did the best thing that he could ever have done in todays race which was pull out after 2 laps. He had kept his promise and said that his kidneys were giving him grief so he called it a day. I am really proud of him for being man enough to do that as we all know how hard it is to make the sensible choice. Chapeau.