April 2008 Results
Birmingham CC Crits - April 27th
Paul Redman returns home for this one: "I'd manage to plan a week-end with Mum and Dad back in my native West Midlands to coincide with Birmingham CC's road race at
I felt in pretty good nick on Sunday morning and under sunny skies, made my way down the M42. On the approach to turn-off at J6, the full horror of possibly the dizziest blonde moment imaginable hit me. I didn't have my doorkeys on me. Granted, I wasn't on my way home and indeed wouldn't need said keys for several hours .... but that keyring had the key to my bike-lock on it and yes, my bike on the car was firmly locked up. Oh disaster of disasters. I decided to continue to the HQ and I screeched to a halt once there, dashing out from the car and being a pre-entered rider, I was fast-tracked to the front to get my number. I then raced back to the car and in a squeal of tyres, I was off again .... possibly causing some curious looks to all those around me.
Now this was a race as I had one hour to get to my parents' place and back to HQ again, a total distance approaching 45 miles. In fact, I had less than an hour because I'd need time to get the bike off the car, get the race-number pinned onto my jersey, lube the chain .... oh my word, I had no chance. Indeed, my chances looked grim as I belted back along the A446 near The Belfry because I was gaining fast on a Mercedes-Benz; some dumbass out with his family and doing 40mph on a 60mph limit road. It never ceases to amaze me how some people can drive so slowly in perfect weather conditions. Nonetheless, with the clock ticking I had to dispatch him and with no RPG-launchers mounted in my radiator grill to blow him off the road, I performed a daredevil overtaking manoeurve on the approach to a left-hand bend. This was getting to be a round of the British Touring Car Champion and with my lights ablaze, I made haste to the A38 dual-carriageway where I knew I could made up quick time. My poor Polo has never travelled at speeds anywhere near 100mph, but that is what I managed to coax out of her and there was a great "front wheel off the ground" moment going through the 'Weeford Dip'.
I got back to my parents' place alive and I belted back to HQ from there at just before 11.10am with the race start at 11.45am. It was going to need something special to get there in time and something special is what I delivered when I screeched to a halt back at the
Somehow, I managed to get a three-lap warm-up in. This wasn't as much as I would've liked, but it was better than nothing. We rolled away from the start for the 35-lap race of the
On the run-up to fifteen laps in and the first prime of the race, two riders had gone away from the front. Having already done one strong turn at the front, I went back again for another as it appeared as though we weren't gaining on them. I plugged away for a lap and a half and visibly saw them coming back towards us. Although they had won the prime, a couple of turns from some other strong riders saw the two breakaway boys back in the peleton. Of course, the counter-attacks came at this point but thankfully, never amounted to much.
Then with just over ten laps to go and only a few until the second prime of the race, a three-man break went away from the front. Again, the main bunch didn't appear to be reeling them in. My plan had been to launch an all-out effort with two, possibly three laps left. However, I saw what was happening ahead as a race-winning move .... if I could make the group four in number, it could succeed and stay away until the end. I saw it as a gamble worth taking, so I launched myself from the front and soon got one hundred metres on the peleton and gained on the break.
One lap went by and I was slowly gaining .... another lap went by and two riders from the peleton had caught and passed me, but I still hadn't latched onto the break myself. Then another lap passed and another rider caught me whilst I was still dangling in no-man's land and then I got to within three bike-lengths of the now six-man break. I looked over my shoulder and saw that the main bunch were swallowing up the lead. We had about six laps to go now and the break looked doomed. I eased off for the bunch to gobble me up once more and virtually straightaway, the six-man break was back in the peleton too. The gamble had not paid off and we were all back together once more .... this was very much looking like bunch-sprint territory.
I was back in the main field recovering and the pace was getting faster and faster. The final couple of laps counted down and with two to go, a lone attack was launched. The pace quickened in order to keep him in sight and there was no chance for me to make significant forward progress. Then the bell came and the main field was as one, but with a fiercesome pace. The time to launch a move was after the second roundabout and I moved to the outside to start making my way towards the front. Of course and totally as expected, the pace started to hit the roof and all of a sudden, I found that I wasn’t going forwards as fast as I needed to be.
Two riders directly in front of me bumped shoulders and their loss of momentum affected me as I too eased off thinking that carnage lay ahead. Thankfully, they both stayed upright but it was clear with 200m to go that I wasn’t going ot grab a Top 20 spot. I kept going quickly and decided that overtaking the sole Reading CC representative towards the line was a good incentive.
In a healthy field of something like sixty riders, I think I managed to get Top 30. Nonetheless, I was pleased to have done some strong turns on the front and to have broken away from the main field twice. If that had been me a few weeks ago, I would’ve dropped off the back after those efforts. However, my disappointment at not doing better was evident across my face for the rest of the afternoon. I took a gamble on joining what I thought was a solid break-away, when it was energy I could’ve saved for the finish-line.
Granted, that was only my fifth 3rd cat. race; but, knee aside, I felt that I could’ve got Top 20 had I used my head more wisely such is my current form. Oh well, never mind …. something to learn from for the next time. On a much more positive note, many thanks to Birmingham CC for organising the event. It was a splendid race, nice circuit and well marshalled too. I’d definitely recommend it to my fellow Velo’ers!"
Race stats: 35 miles @ 24.4mph
MOD Chertsey - April 12th 3rd Cats
Redders, back from injury reports: "With no racing under my belt since the dicky knee let me down at Thruxton in March, it was time to test out my mettle at the Surrey League 3rd cat. race at MOD Chertsey. There was little or no PMA first thing on Saturday morning, but a few spins of Depeche Mode's "Never Let Me Down Again" (returning to a fond ritual of putting the track on repeat play like I did before each round of the Hillingdon Winter Series) and the ride over to track put me in a slightly better frame of mind.
I met up with our very own Gary Bullock on the start-line (having also passed on congrats to Abe Sharp for finishing the 4th's race unscathed!) and looking around, he confirmed that we had a field of strong riders around us. As Tony the Tiger would say, "Grrrrrrrrrrreat!"; but with much, much less enthusiasm from my part. Worst case scenario, I thought I would last a lap or two and then climb off in tears of absolute pain; my best hope was to last half-distance and then gracefully fall out of the back of the peleton.
Off we rolled for the twenty laps and starting towards the back, I made an effort to get nearer the front and stayed there for about a lap; so far, so good. I found a good line through 'The Snake' and thankfully for me, the headwind was barrelling down the start/finish straight, therefore making "little cog" action highly unlikely for the remainder of the race along that part of the circuit at least. I eased back slightly on the second lap and found myself towards the back, but not exactly hanging on for dear life. So far, so good.
A few more laps in and gaining in confidence that I wasn't going to break down or fall off the back, I eased my way to the front and took a turn at the head of the field, but not a particularly quick turn. Then there was a flash of green, red and navy to my right as Gary Bullock zipped on past .... not at full pelt, but quickly enough to get a small gap. A few riders went with him, but it wasn't a move destined to get out of sight of the main field.
Not long afterwards, I was at the back of the bunch once more and I managed to successfully get to half-distance. There was one occasion when I almost slipped off the back due to a Reading CC rider about eight ahead of me who was slipping off the wheel in front of him. Luckily, I was aware of the problem and about six of us got back onto the main bunch down the start/finish stretch thanks to some strong work by another rider and myself.
Three-quarters into the race and we were treated to a storm with sharp hailstones pinging off bicycles and riders. Whilst it made the track very wet, the spring warmth dried out it out again quite quickly. Before I knew it, there were only three laps left and it was during the 18th lap that I scooted up to the head of the main field so that coming up to start the penultimate lap, I was at the front, chasing down a lone-breakaway and taking a few riders with me. Around the first corner and there were three of us working hard to maintain a small gap we'd achieved. Through 'The Snake' and another couple of riders had joined us to make a good group of ten with at least a ten-second gap over the bunch. This definitely wasn't part of my plan anyway!!
Sadly though, only three or four of us wanted to work with the rest of the breakaway happy to hang onto wheels. I said to the non-workers that we had the opportunity to round out the Top 10 ourselves and stay away, but still they hung onto the back and not bothering to join the "through and off" party. On the last lap through 'The Snake' and having done some strong turns, I began to fall away from five riders who'd taken over at the front and were leaving me behind. However, I caught them on the descent to the last corner (yes, I know, I CAUGHT riders on a descent!! .... has that ever happened before??) and I tagged onto the back at the start of the long finishing straight.
About eight of us were together to start the final 500m, not realising that the peleton were breathing down our necks. No-one wanted to give it full gas at this stage and no-one wanted to open out the sprint. Inevitably, we were all caught with about 100m to go. I raised my pace a little, but didn't give it anything like a sprint down over the line. I tried to count the riders ahead of me and felt very pleased to have bagged a Top 20 place in a race I didn't think I'd even finish. I looked over my shoulder and saw our Gary right behind me, so couldn't have been far off a Top 20 himself.
So thrilled was I, in fact, with this Top 20 that I didn't mind the total drenching from a heavy shower that I received on the way home!!"