The season so far – Part Two in the words of JHA

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Les Ingman (http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/76676/Norwood-Paragon-Les-Ingman-Memorial-Road-Race <http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/76676/Norwood-Paragon-Les-Ingman-Memorial-Road-Race> )
Last weekend saw the team visit Bletchingley for the challenging Les Ingman Memorial. The field feature strong entries from Sigma, Node 4 and Corely, in addition to our local rivals Pedal Heaven. Once again, Andy showed his metal by getting in the move of the day, together with Matt Higgins and James Moss of Node 4, and Wouter Sybrandy of Sigma. The four stayed together for most of the race and drew out a healthy lead. Back in the bunch, Alex and I controlled things, George suffering and Pete having punctured and received slow service. The bunch started to split midway, and George made a huge effort to get across to Marcin and in-form Alex Peters, recent winner of the Toachim House GP. The three stayed together for a long time, eventually to be joined by 7 others, including Alex Higham and I. This left us in a quandary – if we chased, we would take Marcin to the front group, or at least within striking distance of it, possibly threatening Andy’s chances of a podium. Thus we rolled through and off, never fully committing but ensuring that we moved away from the dwindling bunch. As it happened, the strength of the accompanying three professional riders would prove too much for Andy, and as they attacked one another, he couldn’t hand on. We reached him with c.10-12 miles to go, a distance to short to close the now 3minute gap, even if we had tried. Our group began to attack each other, and on various occasions it looked as though one or other of us might get away, but to no avail. We came to the final climb together, where Alex’s amazing climbing ability would not be enough to keep him away. Thus we finished with 4 riders in the top-15, but with 9th as our best placing. A frustrating day in some respects, but a creditable showing for the team, in a race sufficiently attritional that only half the field would finish.
  

Ras Mumhan – Awesome Irish Stage Racing by JHA

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Ras Mumhan Stage 1 (http://www.irishcycling.com/publish/news/art_6162.shtml <http://www.irishcycling.com/publish/news/art_6162.shtml> )
After a hassle free journey to the South West of Ireland, and having moved in to our lovely digs, we lined up for the first stage. The parcours was relatively flat, and with little wind, a fast stage and bunch finish seemed inevitable. 163 riders left Killorglin, and although there were a few small moves, nothing stayed away for long. The fastest hour was actually the latter half of the stage, done at an average of over 44kph, so this was hardly surprising. Coming into Milltown, I chanced my arm (or legs?) and attacked into the climb, but unfortunately it seemed as though half the rest of the field had the same idea and I was soon subsumed. As we approach Killorglin, I found George, got him on my wheel, and pushed up towards the front of a now rampaging bunch. He went on to score a brilliant 9th, with John and Andy not far behind and all of us happily in the front group.

Ras Mumhan Stage 2 (http://www.irishcycling.com/publish/news/art_6165.shtml <http://www.irishcycling.com/publish/news/art_6165.shtml> )
This being the queen stage, getting a rider in the move or at least staying in the front group was key. The parcours was largely flat, but with a finish up the monster Conor Pass. Andy excelled getting in the break of the day, which left John and I to control the front of the bunch, and George to keep his face out of the wind. All was going well until we got closer to the climb. As we approach the bottom of the climb, I saw Andy, his group having been caught by a horrible 20km chase thanks to one of the Irish teams. I put in a small effort out of the saddle, and had the feeling of a puncture. Looked down, nothing. Carried on riding in the saddle, all seemed ok, but then out of the saddle again and the same feeling. Looked more closely and my wheel was listing to one side. This necessitated stopping where I found my pikey skewer (thanks ebay) had come undone. The bunch shot out of sight but thankfully neutral service sorted it and gave me a big push, although I was already in the cars. I passed about 30 riders on the climb, but any pretensions of a GC finish evaporated quickly. George had another stirling result, taking 9th, and I am sure could have won the stage with a bit more confidence in his now clear abilities.

Ras Mumhan Stage 3 (http://www.irishcycling.com/publish/news/art_6178.shtml <http://www.irishcycling.com/publish/news/art_6178.shtml> )
Based on prior experience, it was clear that this would be the hardest stage, with a lot of climbing and many crosswind sections. Again, the plan was to protect George and get a rider in the break. The start of the stage was not particularly hard, but a break went with none of our riders in it. A little over an hour in, the bunch began to lull, so I took the opportunity and attacked, getting away and after what seemed like an age, making contact with the break. As it turned out, this was far too big, and did not work well together. This said, I knew there was a real danger of my getting dropped over the main climb on Valencia Island, so I was happy when we made it over this together. Back in the bunch, attacks went on the Island, and I was pleased to be joined by George whose excellent climbing had forced a split. There was a lot of attack when the groups converged, and I really had to dig deep to close gaps, telling George to remain on my wheel. As we crossed back onto the mainland, the front group began to split, and with more than a little relief I was pleased to see Andy and George get in the winning move. The race was far from over at this point as not all teams had made the move, and the final 50km or so were pretty unpleasant, with the pace hard over the climbs, and the bunch lined out most of the time. George and Andy had excellent rides, Andy apparently recovering from the previous day’s efforts to place an excellent 4th, and George remaining where he needed to be in 9th.

Ras Mumhan Stage 4 (http://www.irishcycling.com/publish/news/art_6188.shtml <http://www.irishcycling.com/publish/news/art_6188.shtml> )
Today our luck with the weather ran out. We faced a flat 75km to the technical finishing circuit, all to be done in heavy rain. Carrick Wheelers controlled the race for the first 75km, riding at a consistent 45kph, and nullifying any and all breaks that went. As we hit the finishing circuit, it became clear that only 40 or so of the bunch remained, so keeping towards the front was of key important. The eventual winner attacked and got away, but with most of Primal having been shelling, and Ryan Sherlock’s team having wasted themselves on the main loop, no-one seemed well placed to chase. That was until George called Andy to the front, and the pace ramped up. Whilst it turned out to be a little too late, it confirmed Felt-Colbornes place as one of the strongest teams in the race, and would lead George to 7th on the Day, and 6th overall. Looking back, it is noteworthy than on an extremely technical 3km circuit, containing 3 dead turns and a 12% climb, in howling wind and driving rain, we still averaged over 40kph. This probably also reflects why from 163 only 100 finished the race, most of these being lost on the final day.

Summary – we achieved a lot over the four days. It was the first time any of us had ridden a stage race together, and George’s first stage race and foreign race full stop. With this in mind, we had a rider in the break every day, and a top-10 finish every day, both in the individual and team classifications – this all in spite of the fact that we had only 4 riders, compared to the 5-15 of some of the other teams. George’s overall result and Andy’s result on day 3 must stand out as the performances of the race, both with the assistance of having a cohesive team and generous help from Darragh and Ken, our Irish soigneurs for the race. We made an excellent showing of the team, and have been asked to return for 2013, when we’ll be aiming at the top spot!

The season so far – Part One in the words of JHA

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SERRL Round 1

(http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/road/article/roa20120304-road-Road–Adams-Dominates-at-SERRL-Summer-Series-Opener-0 <http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/road/article/roa20120304-road-Road–Adams-Dominates-at-SERRL-Summer-Series-Opener-0> ) 

The conditions from the start were appalling – wind and rain set to be the flavour of the day. The race was characterised by an early break which pulled out a gap, this becoming unassailable. This being my first road race of the year, I didn’t really have any ambitions beyond a test of my fitness, but nonetheless followed attacks, but then got caught on the wrong side of a split, during a particularly cold/low moment. I was left with a group of about 10 with c.15miles to go, riding steadily, with Pete Wager also in the group. Being very cold and we, I decided to keep the pressure on as a means of warming up and getting to the finish as quickly as possible. This had the effect of shelling all but two from the group, who sat on my wheel for the entirety of the last lap, only to jump me at the finish for the minor placings. I was just relieved to see the site of the warm and dry team van shortly after the finish, and got inside immediately. Not that it matters much, but I placed 14th, there being only 26 finishers from a field of 80.
 
Jock Wadley Memorial Road Race

(http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/road/article/roa20120311-road-Road–George-Atkins-wins-Jock-Wadley-Memorial-in-Essex-0 <http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/road/article/roa20120311-road-Road–George-Atkins-wins-Jock-Wadley-Memorial-in-Essex-0> )
An entirely different race in all respects. Richard Cartland (Corely) attacked in the opening kilometres, and seeing Matt Higgins (Node 4) and Nik Gustavsson (UK Youth) give chase, I had no option but to jump across. The eventual winner, George Atkins (100% Me) came after me, and I let him get on my wheel before closing the gap entirely. The rest of the race was pretty uneventful – through and off until the last 5km when we were joined by Marcin Bialoblocki (Node 4) and Yanto Barker (UK Youth). As expected, this started some jumping around, and I had very little left to give at this stage. Marcin, George and Matt rode off, leaving Yanto in no-mans-land and Richard, Nik and I a little behind. Richard got round me in the sprint, but Nik very graciously let me have 6th given that I had not (unlike others) missed a turn all day.
 
Wally Gimber Trophy

(http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/road/article/roa20120325-road-Road–Jones-wins-Wally-Gimber-Trophy-0 <http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/road/article/roa20120325-road-Road–Jones-wins-Wally-Gimber-Trophy-0> )
A tough but enjoyable race. Chris got in the early move, and  it was then a case of riding through and off with the UK Youth riders, nullifying attacks and the like. After a brief stop thanks to a tractor, things started to hot up and the bunch began to split. I shouted at George to follow an attack and he put in a huge effort to get across, to this chasing group. Chris got 7th, but looking back that field, that is a great result in itself. He was the only amateur rider in the break, so all credit to him in a race characterised by incredible strength in depth. George snuck into 28th and I rolled in as part of the bunch. Another race, another great field, and another quality result from the team.
 
Beyond MBC Crits Week 2

(http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/75817/Beyond-Spring-Crits-Week-2-of-3 <http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/75817/Beyond-Spring-Crits-Week-2-of-3> )
More training than anything, but I took the opportunity of a road race-free weekend to ride out to Hillingdon, race, then ride home. Being a little cold on the start line, I attacked in the first corner, taking the very impressive Edward Clemens of VC10 with me. We rode alone for a while, then were joined by Ken Buckley (Reading CC) who was definitely the weakest of us, and frequently missed turns and lost wheels. We held the bunch at 30s for about half an hour, then the gap began to grow, and with another 2 laps added to the full distance, I’m sure we would have got the lap. Either way, Edward and I continued to work very hard together until the final couple of laps. Both of my break companions being 80kg+ bruisers, it was inevitable that they both came round me in the sprint, but I was pleased anyway, collected my money and rode home.

Thames Velo Road Race

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20120422-202206.jpg

The Thames Velo Road Race is a race determined more by the riders than the course. The hills are few and far between and none are particularly steep, the wind is always a player though this time a tailwind up Clare Hill made it easier than usual.
Using my local knowledge I managed to slip into a break at the end of the first lap and with few prepared to commit to a chase the front group gradually expanded to nearly 30 riders.
Unfortunately this was too many to ever work comfortably and going into the last 10 miles the groups merged leaving a small quartet 30 seconds ahead.
With Justin likely to do well im a bunch sprint I went back to the front to try and add some impetus to chase. Somehow this fractured the head of the field and I found myself on a small group gaining on the head of the race. With the break less than 200m on front riders started looking at each other and chances of the win drifted away.
In the final slow motion charge for the line I rolled in a tired 13th, not lucky but a damned good workout.