So of the people who finished in front of me this weekend we had:
* The 3rd best TT rider in the country - he rode 47-32 for 25
miles a couple of weeks ago. Do the maths!
* A guy who was second in the National Masters last month
* The guy who won the bunch sprint by 5 lengths in the 2/3/4 race I did about 6 weeks ago
* A guy who has previously ridden the Giro D'Italia and finished 12th in Milan - San Remo !!
So interesting competition to say the least....
My take on the race is not really so interesting as I largely kept my head down in the bunch. So in contrast to a couple of weeks ago when I did a lot of the pulling, and was in and out of the action, today was more about keeping out of trouble and seeing how it panned out.
The race was over 13 laps of a mainly flat circuit, with one small climb. It was a headwind on the main road section out back, a cross wind for the finish and a tail wind up the hill. It was super fast from the off. First 5 miles covered at an average of 27.6 mph, with a break of 9 men going in the first 3 miles. The gap went out to about 30-40 seconds quite quickly.
It looked to me like there were lots of strong guys in the break and I wondered if it was going to stick. Then the break stopped going away, and their future looked less assured. They stayed out front for about 35 miles in total, with Matt Bottrill attacking the break just before it was caught. He then just TT'd away from everyone (although people weren't really riding a lot of the time) and won by 2 1/2 minutes - amazing strength.
So there were various attacks that came and went. It was noticeable the number of strong riders there were, and I yoyo'd in the middle third of the bunch. Truth is I didn't feel great, but seemed to be riding ok, and was never in any danger of being dropped - although I was in grave danger of missing the key move. There was the constant fighting to move up the bunch. If you relaxed for a couple of minutes you'd lose 10-15 places, which made life tough as there were some technical corners before the bottom of the climb which you lose tons of time in if you are not near the front. I was consistently making 10-15 places on the climb without really giving it full gas - bear in mind it was a big ring job at 23-34mph so it was unlikely to shatter the bunch as people would always be able to chase back on. Interestingly, despite the race being over 27mph average, my ave heart rate was 160bpm. In training I'll often be well into the 160s and last time up Alpe D’Huez was 173bpm so there's something still in the tank.
There was a nasty crash with about 3 laps to go when a guy went head first into a hawthorn bush at about 30mph. Came up screaming like a girl with claret everywhere. It was a on a straight-ish bit of road. It didn't narrow. There wasn't a big ease in the bunch. The road surface was ok. And the guy veered from far left to far right and ended up in the hedge on the right hand side with a face full of hawthorn. He came up screaming like a bairn, and the other guy who went down was looking at him clearly thinking "oh just MTFU". Anyway, it turns out he pulled his foot out of the pedal for no real good reason, and that was him done. Few scratches and gashes but nothing life threatening.
I managed to pop off the front on the climb with about 6 others with 3 laps to go, but no one really wanted to commit so that didn't last long. The psychology of the race is quite interesting. In my own mind I was racing at a level above my standard - compare to a 3/4 race where I'd have been dictating on the climb, chasing and attacking. Yet the evidence was that I was amongst the better riders there, and was riding pretty strongly without getting into any real difficultly. I was lacking a bit of top end as I had been suffering from this cold all week, and I think that was also in the back of my mind. So with two to go there was another split over the top. I was probably in a position to make it to the break but would have had to have gone very hard over the top, and decided to hang back. In retrospect this was an error of under-confidence, as this turned out to be the key split. The break went out to 15-20 seconds quite quickly and no-one wanted to chase. I put in a couple of pulls but was also reluctant to commit too much to it. So the break drifted away and we never caught them.
My plan for the finish was to move up on the climb into the top 10-12 then ride assertively to hold that sort of position without getting dragged to the front. There was about 4 miles to go from the climb, of which the first one was a pretty easy downhill / false downhill flat. Fast but not too difficult to hold position. I had scoped the finish over the last umpteen laps so knew it was slightly uphill and people might die a bit. Not one to go for a long one on anyway. Obviously I have no team mates so I needed a good wheel for the sprint. There were two that I had identified over the race. One was a Planet-X guy who I'd overheard talking to Matt Bottrill at the start (and obviously knew him). He said he'd been riding the track all year so I figured he'd be quick. The other was a guy also riding on his own from a Wolverhampton club. He was riding Zipp 808s and had ridden strongly all race. He was a big fellow and riding those wheels I figured he would have a decent kick, and it was his wheel I managed to pick up. He came down the outside with just under 2 miles to go, which reinforced my impression that he fancied it. I managed to push my way onto his wheel, and then hoped he wouldn't do anything daft like go for a long one as I'd then be a bit snookered. So the last mile was over a railway bridge which everyone over geared for as they had every lap (so easy to pick up a few places), a sweeping left hander and a fast downhill bit. Then through a gentle S-bend and then a good 300m straight slightly up hill to the line.
Mr 808 obviously knew what he was doing although he was taking a bit too much wind for my liking. Suited me fine, as I was tucked up on his wheel in a nice position. The downhill bit made it quick enough that everyone was dissuaded from any long distance heroics, and in any case I was pretty much committed to waiting and using his wheel. We were riding just to the right of the white line, on the right hand side of the road as we hit the finish straight. It was almost echeloned out from left to right with perhaps 5 people to the left - and in front - of me. Then someone jumps on my right. So now I've got to commit (as it turns out I reckon his timing was bang on, mine slightly wrong - but we're talking 5-10 metres difference). So I kicked hard and tried to grab his wheel, as did my erstwhile lead out man. I got squeezed right into the right hand gutter a bit but no where to go but forward so I got my head down. The guy in red on the far left must have gone too and he won the sprint. I never got on terms with the guy who jumped on the right, and was baulked by one of the lead bikes slowing down before the line! I was certainly quicker than him, but his jump and the motorbike meant I never got on terms. Not sure if I could have beaten the guy in the red but we were almost in two different races at that point.
On reflection I went too late. Not just because I got jumped, but because my legs were better than I thought. I was still accelerating when I hit the line and could probably have taken another gear. When you hit the line in a sprint ideally your legs should be screaming, and your gear spun out- so c125-140rpm. My gear was done, but my legs were almost perfect. I had another 30m in me, and another 2mph at least I reckon and that would certainly have got me second and maybe more. I guess my recent inexperience in that situation caught me out a little. So the last couple of weeks I have concluded the following:
1) I can still sprint. I am very competitive at 2/3/4 level, and can win at 3/4 level.
2) I left something on the road in previous races i.e. I could have been quicker and got better placings. Frustrating, but that's life.
3) I need to be bolder - you have to be prepared to lose to be able to win
4) I am currently riding at (at least average) 2nd cat level.
5) Next week (Stockbridge) will be tough racing. Lot of juniors riding - incl at least a couple of 1st cat juniors and they tend to be aggressive.
6) I am strong on the climbs. Earlier this year I was hanging on in 2/3/4 races on the climbs. Now I am moving up the bunch and not in difficulty. In 3/4 races I can get off the front relatively easily.
7) I am stronger on the flat than I think - I seem to be able to find another level of performance with a number on my back.
8) My interval training and race programme has paid dividends. The ability to go full gas for one minute or more and repeat soon after is crucial to success.
9) I can imagine getting my points next weekend if I have a decent race.
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