I often get asked this question by friends who question me when I go out and do some stupidly long hours on the bike. It’s a hard question to answer. What do you think about? My answer is usually just a mutter of “erm….stuff, school….home, what route I’m doing. Don’t know. Maybe shouting in my head to go faster…..”
But on Sunday for the first time I thought of something which I have never thought of, nor ever thought would happen. It was Sunday, so race day. The first race of the National Junior Series, The Cadence Junior Road Race. The first big test for the junior squad of me, Jonny and Laurie. Everyone is always up for this race – all 80 riders, and being juniors, it goes from the gun.
As the lead car sped away the juniors fought to keep in its slip stream, the car struggled to get away and only just and so managed. This first effort got the race up to 46kph and kept it there for the next 10km. A tail wind and easy roads meant there was no chance of anyone slipping of the front. But the bunch finally slowed and I went up the outside and attacked. Shit. I’d got a gap and no one was with me. Only one thing was left and that was a 90km solo win. Easy. I kept the pace high to try and get myself established and quickly built a minute up. I’ve never been on my own before with my own lead car and service vehicle. It was ace.
So I got in my rhythem trying to keep the speed high as I knew the bunch would catch me, but it was a matter of when. My aim was after the last climb, 70km in. Ha….I wish. At most, 10km later Laurie crossed over with 2 other guys, happy to see Laurie and a Glendene guy I thought this would realistically last, it didn’t. The Glendene lad wasn’t doing strong pulls and I tried to get him to do more work, but I foolishly left a gap which he and the other guy sprinted across and I just couldn’t. I’d lost my sprint from the solo ride. I was quickly sucked up by a break which had just clipped off the front, but this was swallowed in as all the favorites were in except for a couple and Laurie’s 3 was also caught quickly.
After this effort I just tried to survive. I’d never done so much effort in a Junior race before it had got started, and wasn’t looking forward to the climbs. Jonny and Laurie were though!! They did some massive turns to try and split the race up, i nearly shouted knock a mile off but thought better of it. I really struggled up the climbs and was very close to sitting up. But at 30km, it was far to early to retire. So i hung in. Then we hit the main climb. I has about half way in the bunch when we hit it, there was a cross wind from the left and I was on the right. It was brilliant. I was struggling at first trying to power over the climb in the big ring as that’s the only gear I’ve needed in these early season races, with the bike being a really stiff “sprinters” bike. The climb looked to go on so I thought, well, time to put it in the little ring and hope I can keep the speed up. Suddenly the bike turned into a climbing bike, and actually thought, “I’m climbing alright, this bike is f***ing awesome”. I’ve never thought this before in a race, it always been about dealing with the suffering or tactics.
So suddenly climbing well, even after being in the wind a lot, I got over the climb, and was able to sprint over the top and make the split. I’ve never made the split before. Awesome. I start doing work in the group of 17, someone doesn’t come through so I do a quick turn, down a steep hill and up the other side, slowing quickly. I get dropped. I didn’t have any sprint since working so hard to get into the split and working so quickly so got dropped straight away.
I got swallowed up by the remaining bunch and sat in for the rest of the race. If I’d not got dropped we would have been the only team to have everyone in the split and it would have been awesome. Still, I know I can now simply put, I will always get in it!! 
The only other interesting thing about the race, was the crash which happend on the 80km/h descent. A sharp chicane caught a couple of lads by suprising with one person skidding and another hitting the curb. I didn’t feel in danger once, the bike just cope with it. No idea how they crashed, the descent was well good fun bruv. So a good race, Jonny and Laurie got 11th and 13th with me coming in 25th. Not the results we hoped for, but we animated the race a lot, and all rode well. Maybe next time, but very promising for the summer when we will all come into some good form!! Watch out.
My slender lead over the 3 chasing riders. Still 1 min up on the peleton.
Raglan Castle in the background
Smashing it!!
These photos are taken from http://www.rhodopsin.co.uk/
The other race since my previous blog was a CDNW event. Very windy and very fast, VERY HARD!! Again, early escape, luckily this didn’t last long. Then most of the big guys had gone up the rode. I managed to make the last serious chasing group, which eventually merged into the second group on the road. But I just couldn’t hack it due to some poor riding by me in the break and popped off the back. I struggled round on my own for a couple of laps and was eventually picked up by 4 guys who clipped off the main bunch. I came in 32nd at Saighton. My best result in an E/1/2 race. Jack and Dillon did an awesome ride to finish 8th and 9th.
An awesome photo by http://www.ilm-photography.co.uk/home.htm
Saighton Road Race - CDNW
Tags: Junior National Series
