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| Rolling out in the neutralised zone |
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| photo: www.grahamrobins.net bridging to the breakaway |
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| photo: www.grahamrobins.net established breakaway of 15 |
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| photo: www.grahamrobins.net |
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| photo: www.grahamrobins.net |
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| photo: www.grahamrobins.net finish line sprint |
Stockbridge Down Road Race
Full race report to follow.....
Torbay Velopark - Thursday Series Race 2
I was hoping for better things having been mugged once again by a strong Bikeshed - UEX team the previous evening at the Perranporth crit...still managed to hang on for 6th so was worth the trip to scrape a few more points.
Determined to put in a good show I worked with Mid Devon team mate Andy Hitchins to put in plenty of early attacks to try and get a breakaway established.
Around 10 mins in I managed to break clear and found myself with a reasonable gap so decided to press on and hope that others would bridge over. It wasn't long before Charlie McFadzean (CS Dynamo) came across and we immediately began working together to open up the gap to the main bunch.
A rider from Somerset Road Club then tried to bridge over so Andy Perkins covered the move. Andy put in a strong turn and dropped the rider and realising he was in clear space he then soloed on over.
Now a strong team of three we worked really well together to ensure the break was going to stay away. We continued to lap consistently, eventually lapping the main field with around 10 minutes of racing remaining.
Team tactics then came into play with Andy and I attacking Charlie until Andy broke clear to ensure a Mid Devon win. I then sat on for the last couple of laps before sprinting for the line to take second place.
A big thanks to my coach Mark Dolan of Epic Coaching - I'm definitely getting stronger on the flat!
Team Tor 2000, Race 4, Ilton
Headed up to Ilton again on Thursday for Race 4 of the Team Tor 2000 series. The weather was mint, a lovely and sunny evening with very little wind.
Warmed up and then headed over to the start line for the E/1/2 race. A break was quickly established with 6 riders getting up the road and pulling a gap on the main group. I'd had a tough week including a three hour ride in the morning so sat in the bunch and kept a watching brief on the action.
It was a pretty boring race really and although there were a lot of attacks throughout the race, all were brought back by the bunch. The lead group were never caught so me and Charlie Revell rolled the dice on the last lap and went off the front. We established a reasonable gap from the main bunch but eventually this was also brought back.
To knackered to contest the bunch sprint we sat up and rolled in after the main bunch. A good training workout if nothing else!
Warmed up and then headed over to the start line for the E/1/2 race. A break was quickly established with 6 riders getting up the road and pulling a gap on the main group. I'd had a tough week including a three hour ride in the morning so sat in the bunch and kept a watching brief on the action.
It was a pretty boring race really and although there were a lot of attacks throughout the race, all were brought back by the bunch. The lead group were never caught so me and Charlie Revell rolled the dice on the last lap and went off the front. We established a reasonable gap from the main bunch but eventually this was also brought back.
To knackered to contest the bunch sprint we sat up and rolled in after the main bunch. A good training workout if nothing else!
Torbay Festival of Cycling Criteriums, Velopark, Paignton
The £800,000 circuit consists of a 1.5 kilometers of ridge and rut free tarmac in a horseshoe shape which can be configured in one of three ways.
The opening day included an afternoon programme of racing and I was racing in the 2/3/4 race right at the end of the day.
A strong breeze had picked up by the time my race got underway and a headwind up the start finish straight meant a fairly slow starting pace.
As the race started to gather pace various attacks began but were quickly neutralised. The pace got higher as the riders got used to the circuit and the race began to split.
At this point I found myself off the front in a break of four strong riders. Once we all realised we were away we began working well and opened up a considerable gap on the chasers and it was looking like a very promising move.
Unfortunately whilst cornering hard at one of the hairpins one of the riders from the group rolled his tub off the rim and went down hard. This reduction in firepower, in conjunction with some Mid Devon CC riders actively chasing the break down........meant that everything got dragged back together :(
The pace slowed and the race plodded on until another breakaway formed, without any Mid Devon CC riders, a couple of laps from the end. The three riders stayed clear to secure the podium with everyone else trailing and fighting out the bunch sprint.
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