In the month and abit since my last blog was uploaded, I have done a few rides around 4 hours with relative ease. I have also done 3 races: Big events at Hillingdon which I won and the first 2 rounds of the Oddown winter series placing 3rd in round 1 and winning both the prime and the race overall. I also raced the accumulator track race in London and picked up 5th overall. I also have been fully cleared of injury from my crash in June. The Mri showed evidence of damage to the indirect rectoral femurs head and conjoint tendon.
Big events- Hillingdon-30th of November:1st
This was my second adult race. I was able to do it as I got enough points through the season to get dispensation from BC to race with adults. This has the dual benefit of getting to race to make the racing brain work again so when I’m in a bigger race I’m less likely to make silly tactical mistakes. It also is helping me learn about how adult races play out. Also racing is really fun.
The race
Going into the race I wanted it to stay together for a bunch sprint so I could learn more about how adult races are played out.
From the gun a guy in a black Castelli skinsuit attacked (I don’t know his name so for the purpose of this race summary he will be referred to as Mr Castelli). This is the exact same thing that happened 2 weeks before in the previous race at Hillingdon. I was expecting him to do the same thing so stared hard. I got on his wheel and followed the attack. We were away for 400ish metres before we got caught. Following this initial attack for around the next 20-25 mins of the hour-long race counter attacks followed with an attack around every lap. I was present in all the moves off the front, but the attacks felt like they had no real aggression behind them. The attacks seamed abit half hearted, in as much as if the attacker saw the bunch chasing, they would allow themselves to be reabsorbed. Also, the sprint part of the attack was not very long so was easy to get onto. After this period of attacks, the bunch settled down with no attacks until we got shown the board with 5 to go. A further flurry of attacks followed with 1 or 2 a lap until the bell lap when the bunch stalled with 1 rider about 5 seconds off the front. Mr Castelli hit the front and began reeling the rider off the front in over the top before going down into the horseshoe where he got swamped and I didn’t see him again. The rider off the front still had 20-30 metres inside the final k of the race. Up the other side of the horseshoe 5-6 riders moved up the outside of the bunch. I dropped in on 4th wheel on this chain. With around 800 to go the lone attacker was caught. Going down the hill towards the club house 3 riders moved up on the right side of the track. I moved onto the back of this train. Past the clubhouse the rider on the front started to slow so was overtaken by man 2, 3 and me. Out of the last corner the rider on the front started to wind up his sprint. With 250 to go the rider in front of me started his sprint, with 180 to go I kicked off of his wheel to the left of the track and won the sprint by a few bike lengths.
Oddown winter series round 1-7th of November:3rd
The race start, after the neutral bike pulled over, was fast. Riders hit the front and strung the field out. Going into the bottom hairpin I was on the front, coming out of the corner I kicked hard, looked back and saw a gap had been created from my cornering, I continued with the effort up the home straight and got caught just after the next hairpin. The bunch was once again strung out down the back straight as it was a tailwind and downhill. Coming up the finish straight on lap 2 the bunch stalled out the last corner as it was a headwind. Just as the bunch stalled a rider attacked. It took the bunch until out of the next hairpin to begin to chase. We caught the attacker a few laps later. He got the prime while he was off the front. When we caught him there were about 10-15 mins of counter attacks from me and a few other riders. This period of attacking ended when a rider from bath cc attacked. The bunch all looked at each other and it took until 5 to go until a concerted chase effort happened. By then it was too late and the bat rider did not get caught before the finish. I was in 5thwheel coming into the sprint. It was a headwind and uphill finish. Coming out of the last corner I started to set up a gap to rush on the rider in front of me. For this to work I needed to sprint before he did. He opened up his sprint with 180ish to go. I kicked as soon as I was him sprint but it was too late the gap was gone. I was starting to close him down but the finish line came too soon. Came away with 3rd place with 2nd in the bunch sprint.
Oddown winter series round 3 - 14th of December: 1st
As soon as the race was live a rider attacked, I followed the attack and we broke away, we stayed together for around 3 laps but I distanced him by cornering hard and kicking out of the bottom hairpin, I was solo for the next 15 mins off the front, picking up the prime meaning I would get some socks at the end of the race. With 20 mins to go 2 riders made the bridge and up to me. When I saw they had almost caught me I eased up abit to recover and got on the back of them. Around 5ish mins later another 2 riders bridged over, so it was a group of 5 at the front of the race. Included in the group was the winner of round 1. Out of the bottom hairpin with around 10 mins of the race remaining I found myself off the front again. I carried on the effort as the group behind was looking at each other. I was off the front for a couple laps before being reabsorbed into the group. With 3 to go one of the riders in the breakaway attacked. We started to chase as soon as he attacked and caught him in just over a lap. The last lap and a half of the race were cat and mouse which we could afford to do as the peloton was so far behind. With half a lap to go the pace increased and the whole group kicked hard out of the bottom hairpin. I was in 2nd wheel and kicked just inside 200m from the line. The rider behind me was starting to come around me as he had a higher top speed due to me still being on U16 gears as I was racing with dispensation. I held him off and won the race.
The Accumulator – 28th December: 5th overall
Race 1- scratch,40 laps:7th
Race 2 - Tempo, 40 laps 6th
Race 3 – Elimination: 4th
Race 4- Points: 2nd
It took me the first 2 races to remember how to race track properly. In race 1 I changed off the front with 3 to go and dropped way to far back in the group. I this ment I was mikes away from where I needed to be when the sprint started. My sprint was pretty good, and I made up a good number of places but was just too far back when I started it. In the second race I was expecting breaks to form after the sprints for the point every lap. This didn’t happen so I ended up working hard and following almost all the sprints and only got 1 point from it. I was overall happy with my performance apart from messing up the sprint at the end, I should have committed to going round the outside rather than going down the inside and getting boxed. I was pretty happy with how I raced the points race. I was very happy with my attack at the end.
The plan for the next 4 weeks
Week beginning 30th December, Red week around 18 hours of riding.
Week beginning 6th January a green week around 10 hours of riding but with a normal weekend of racing at oddown on Saturday and 4 hours on Sunday.
Week beginning 13th January a normal week around 14 hours of riding with racing at oddown on Saturday and 4-5 on Sunday.
Week beginning 20th January a normal week 14 hours of riding including testing on the turbo, with racing at oddown on Saturday and 4 or more on Sunday. If all goes to plan at the races in the 2 prior weekends and this race then hopefully I will cross over the 40 pts threshold and get my second cat license.
So that’s the goings on in the period of time between the last blog and this one and the plan for the next 4 weeks until the next one.
All my rides will be uploaded to Strava so if you want to see what I’m getting up to on 2 wheels then consider dropping my strava a follow.
This is the link to my strava profile https://www.strava.com/athletes/18210922
