Some say road racing is a lottery. Others argue that you make your own luck. The Cheshire Classic was a frustrating day for our Altura Patterson Training Cannondale team, but nonetheless it was an exciting race.
It was a group of about 50 women, ranging from Elites through to 4th cats, who rolled out onto the 10km Weaverham circuit for the first of 8 laps. Our team comprised me (Jenn O’Connor), and Cannondale Good Fighters Annabel Simpson and Nadine Spearing on our new carbon
Synapse bikes, which as usual were getting all the attention. With just three of us we didn’t have much of a game plan, except that Annabel and I would stay up front, chase breaks and try to get away, whilst Nadine would sit in the bunch and wait to see if it came together for a sprint at the end.
The action started on the first lap, when Paralympic Champion Sarah Storey MBE jumped off the front and headed up the road whilst most the peloton were still clipping into their pedals. No-one else wanted to try for a break this early in proceedings, and we half expected Sarah to ride up the road a bit, then sit up. She didn’t. We had to pull ourselves together and get composed for a bunch chase as Sarah powered on ahead.
A group of about six of us started the work, with another six to ten doing the occasional turn. The rest of the bunch were along for the ride. As such, it took about three laps to bring Sarah back, during which time she stretched her lead out to 29 seconds, the biggest gap of the day. The bunch continued to splinter, and the slower riders were shelled out the back, but the main group stayed together as we moved into the second half of the race.
Good Fighters Jenn O'Connor and Annabel Simpson lead the bunch up Acton Hill on their carbon Synapse road bikes
Weaverham is a difficult circuit for breaks. There is one short, steep climb, Acton Hill, and the only natural point for a break is at the top of the climb when the bunch is strung out and the weaker and heavier riders are puffing. However, the circuit then rolls down steadily for about 3km, and inevitably the bunch comes together, gathers momentum, and usually sucks up any plucky riders trying to open a gap. The next section is a draggy and exposed dual carriageway, where the peloton effect is at its greatest, and any lone riders still out in front can be easily brought back by a working bunch.
So it was on Sunday. There were plenty of plucky riders in the bunch, including our Annabel, Annie Last, Dani King, Hannah Mayho, my good friend Paula Moseley (another mountain biker) and a number of others I didn’t recognise. We all had a few digs, especially Annabel and Annie Last, who for one lap attacked repeatedly. The biggest gap was never more than about five seconds however, as the main group was strong and determined. On the last lap it looked like a bunch sprint was looming.
It was Sarah Storey again who made the final attack on the last run up the dual carriageway, but this time there was no getting away. I made point of sitting on her wheel and the bunch stretched out behind us. We tossed away our drink bottles in preparation for the sprint up to the finish line, halfway up Acton Hill. I was in the perfect position, which made me a bit uneasy as I have no sprint to speak of, and I would much rather have had Nadine or Annabel in my place at that point.
Sure enough we rounded the bend at the bottom and I pulled out around Sarah, hoping my team mates were not boxed in behind me. Annie Last pulled up beside me and I could feel the rest of the bunch breathing down my neck. Then I saw a blue and white flash as Nadine, who had managed to get around the bunch, unleashed her sprint and came flying past. Get in! She and the rest of the bunch, including our Annabel, streamed past me in the rush to the line.
But it wasn’t to be. To my dismay I saw Nadine start to labour in the pedals and she seemed to almost grind to a halt. I thought she must have gone too early and blown, but it turns out that, in the heat of the moment, she had started her final sprint with her hands on the brake hoods instead of in the drops. The force of the sprint had pulled the brake hood over, and jammed the front brake on just 30 meters from the line. Our Annabel, who had been battling a nagging calf cramp throughout the race, was unable to muster her usual turn of speed and was not in a position to challenge for the line. We all finished in the bunch.
It was young rider Annie Last, also a mountain biker, who took the win a good couple of bike lengths ahead of Dani King in second. I have to give Annie full credit for her win, as she worked hard throughout the race and timed her sprint to the line perfectly. Credit must also go to Sarah Storey, who livened up the race and did more work than anyone, albeit to no avail on the line.
It is apparent that road racing is a trade that must be learned through experience, as well as training. The “she who pedals fastest wins” approach of XC MTB racing simply doesn’t work on the road. This is a whole other sport. The Cheshire Classic was our second race in our first season as a road team, and so far it has been a lot of frustration with little fruition. But we are fit, and we will get it right! Next week is the Bedford 2-Day, which is a stage race with two time trials and two road races. Our team will be more fired up than ever!
