A really difficult race this week, showing just how much more work I've got to do before I can genuinely say that I am a strong and well-rounded cyclist.
I had a good three spin sessions this week, even if I did cut them short. On the ride out to the circuit, it wasn't too difficult to keep things ticking over, even though the strong westerly wind gave me a big clue about what the race would be like.
There was pretty much a full complement of 50 riders as we set off, and almost all the main contenders throughout the series were there to compete. Right from the off there were small digs as the dominant riders tested out their legs and took it turns to see how strong the wind was through the top corner by the roundabout.
For the first 20 minutes, all of the attacks were gently reeled in by the bunch, who were working in a disciplined and un-twitchy fashion despite the gusting crosswind up and down the long sides of the course. Eight riders then went clear at the start of the back straight where the wind was strongest, and it was obvious pretty much straightaway that the break had a good chance of sticking. In all the races I've been to at Hillingdon, whenever a group larger than 5 riders goes away, the whole bunch essentially sprints flat out to catch them. This time, however, there was no such reaction and the break was evidently determined and starting to build a significant gap over the field.
I made my way forward, and together with several riders (particularly one from Aylesbury who did a heck of a lot of work) the gap started to come down gradually but definitely, with 3 riders coming back to the bunch, leaving 5 in the breakaway. At one stage the reel-in attempt broke away from the front, but our group of four was caught by the bunch as they swept towards the group up the road.
At that point, I was really feeling the pace and needed some respite from the wind so I let myself drift back into the bunch. Unfortunately it was just at this point that a split occurred due to the wind, and nine riders went clear off the front leaving the rest of us chasing their shadows. For a while I helped out, but with the middle group chasing the front group, we never managed to bridge the gap despite some strong solo and group attempts to do so.
Away up the road, the middle group caught the front group, and two riders broke away to seal the one-two and leave the rest fighting for 3rd. I had partially recovered in the back group and decided to test out my sprint tactics for the finish. Again this went very well, coming round the outside of the bottom two corners, tucking into a wheel halfway up the straight, and then jumping out to cross the line. Happily, there were only 14 riders up the road, so I managed a cheeky 15th and 10 more points for the series. Every little helps! And the effectiveness of my sprint tactic certainly cheered me up for the ride home, even if the race had been a nasty, long and brutish one.
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