Imperial Winter Series - Race 11 - 4th Feb 2012

Brrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

Took a bold decision to cycle out all the way - 13.6 miles - but although I wasn't sure how much I'd heat up after the first couple of miles, by the time I reached Ealing I was toasty warm. All the credit goes to my Altura jacket. Once it creates my own internal fug, it could be any temperature outside :) My nose didn't agree, but there's not a lot we can do about that. So yes, by the time I arrived, I was nicely warmed up and ready to go.

Entries were slightly down on previous weeks (perhaps the cold weather kept away those who didn't fancy rolling around in the bunch) but on the startline everyone who was there or thereabouts in the series was racing today, so it was probably going to be a fast one. Much of the race was fairly straightforward. Quite often the bunch was strung out in a single line across the top of the course and down the back straight. The wind coming from the south had a pretty savage bite to it, so there wasn't a constant stream of riders moving forward from the back as we went down the hill.

Several people made strong breakaway attempts through the middle part of the race. The best one was Werner van der Merwe, who timed it sweetly to use the 4th Cats to help his solo effort. I had moved forward at that point, trying to make sure that no one would use the potential confusion as we passed the 4th Cats to split the field. Fortunately we went past without much difficulty, and once that move was complete, there wasn't any need to shoulder too much work so I let the bunch slip back past.

I have to say that today with the slightly smaller group, and perhaps the more keen cyclists(?), the quality of riding was particularly high. Very little shouting and squealing of brakes, and no crashes that I saw. Towards the latter stages of the race, several riders formed groups on the front that tried to up the pace, but usually there were riders chasing hard behind, even when strung out in a line, and the peloton stayed together. I think the wind and the cold were just too much for a breakaway to succeed today.

So, into the last 5 laps I was nicely positioned on the inside. With less riders than in previous racers, there wasn't too much chance of missing out completely on a significant move, so I was happy to follow some good wheels, suck in some freezing air, and see what I could do. Coming down the back straight on the penultimate lap, I saw a chance to move up on the left. This is usually impossible, but all the riders were crowding the right hand side, so I took up a nice position about 5th wheel back. The pace was high coming into the bell, but I knew that my job was fairly straightforward: if anyone starts to come past, merge into their train as much as possible. Safely through the hairpins, there was a big move on the right but annoyingly I found myself without a wheel to follow and had to suck it up into the headwind.

Two riders launched themselves off the front coming into the first corner, and coming into the second I was about fifth. I took off once we were straight, but just felt that the speed wasn't quite there to carry me all the way to the top. Probably a bad decision. I tucked in behind one rider briefly, and then with the two riders out front contesting the win, I found myself side by side with Tim Benham going for 3rd. He had me by a fraction with 50 metres to go, but had the strength to pull away to about a wheel over the line. Great fun though :) 

All in all, 4th was a great result in what was quite a testing race overall. Still feeling the cold at the back of my throat now. Sets me up for a good shot at the overall series at the last race next week. Really looking forward to it, especially if Rich from Durham manages to come along too. It should be a blast!

Imperial Winter Series - Race 10 - 28th Jan 2012

(If anyone has spotted themselves in any of these photos and would like a better resolution copy, put your email in the comment box with the number of the photo (top is 1, bottom is 9) and I'll send it through.)

Another day out at Hillingdon, and living the life of luxury this week with my fiancée Sophie and her Dad driving me out to the circuit in the warm car. Makes a big change from the last two weeks of dodging traffic on my route across North London to Southall (and on that note: when did it become acceptable for pedestrians to berate cyclists going through a crossing when the traffic light is green? I understand when it's red for traffic, but pedestrians should still expect me to hoon through even though there are no cars with me when my light says 'GO'!)

Anyway. I arrived in bags of time, so spent most of the time hiding in the car trying to keep nice and warm. I put the trusty Trek together and gave it a quick check. My Michelin Pro3 tyres are really starting to show a lot of wear, but my new ones should arrive next week. It's amazing how many little holes there are in the tyre now, but thankfully no actual punctures to deal with. I've definitely been lucky there.

Today was the first day that I pulled out my full winter gloves, because after a couple of laps 'warm up' it was obvious that my hands were probably going to be blocks of ice by the end if I didn't change. I haven't had to use them yet in the series, and I don't like using them for races because of the reduced precision in gear changes, but I didn't have a choice. It was f-f-f-f-f-f-freezing!!

Well, it was all right once we got going. The wind from the north was a new one for me, having had a lot of south-westerly, one due westerly and one due easterly. It turned out to have quite a marked impact on the general dynamic of the race. Usually the uphill finishing straight is the favourite place to attack, since the speed of the chasing bunch through the double hairpin is fairly constant, and then the breakaway can push on using the slope of the hill down the back straight. But in this race, an attack up the hill was almost impossible to make unless you were lucky enough to catch the bunch in an unresponsive mood.

Straight from the start, riders went off the front in ones and twos. The most effective break happened right at the beginning of the race, and the rider held on for a good number of laps. But the wind and the distance still left to run were always going to be too much for one rider to contend with. In general, the riding was of a good standard this week, without any serious mishaps. The only dramatic moments were when the bunch slowed down and people were slow to react. Most of the efforts were marshalled efficiently by those up front, often with breaks coming back into the bunch because of a reduction in the break's pace rather than any massive sprint from the bunch. That said, sometimes we absolutely FLEW down the back straight with the hill and tailwind, often touching 32+mph.

The 4th Cat race seemed to be fairly quick this week, and as a result we didn't catch up with them until very late in their race. The organiser seemed to encourage us to make the overtake when they only had three laps left to run, although I had thought he was going to ask us to neutralise for two laps to be honest! Anyway, we made the pass without too much of a kerfuffle, although several of the people around me seemed to be panicking as if the rest of the 3rd Cats would shoot off without us. No such drama, but something else equally predictable.

There was one 4th Cat just ahead of the 3rds, but with so little distance left to run in our own race, no one was keen to make an attack or even generally up the pace. So as we came up the finishing straight (I was about two-thirds of the way back in the pack), there seemed to be a lot of shouting from behind and suddenly 4th Cats started to shoot through gaps that weren't really there. All pretty sketchy stuff, but thankfully no one that I saw went down even though everyone was very tightly bunched together. But there was no time to relax, because the 4th Cats all slowed down (understandably) after crossing the line and turned into moving obstacles for the rest of us. The reason why circuit races work without too many accidents is because everyone is always driving forward, but as soon as you lose the ability to predict what a rider will do, everything turns to shit.

A few near misses later, I was free and flying along near the back of the group. With only a few laps to go, I was conscious of the need to make my way forward but every attempt seemed to come to nothing as everyone else seemed to have the same idea. I wasn't keen to make any stupid grass-based manoeuvres like one person I saw two weeks ago, so I just had to suck it up and see how things panned it. Coming through the bell, I still wasn't well placed. James Walker from High Wycombe had made a strong move off the front, but the bunch had been going fast and a final sprint for the line seemed inevitable. Through the hairpins for the final time everyone held the lines. I was still stuck on the left - good for energy saving (shortest way round) - but no good for breaking through to the front as riders always packed the inside. Coming through the top corner I moved to the middle of the track.

Although the front riders were all on the left hand side, behind them everyone was everywhere. Moving as fast as I dared, I squeezed through, relying on the general principle that an overtaken rider will gladly give you half a bike length if you give him the chance to jump straight onto your wheel and be dragged along. Luckily this worked and by the end of the back straight, I had no one in front of me on the right hand side as everyone hugged the inside, hoping for shelter coming up the hill into the wind for the finish. My max speed was 36.8mph and that probably happened here as I flew round the bottom two corners. If there had been a crash like three weeks ago, or any rider had moved out to overtake someone, my race would have been over. But as it turned out, I had half the race track to myself and plenty of room to lean into the corners and take them at full blast. The wind hit me hard at the bottom of the hill, but I was still flying past riders. As I came to the right-hand kink, I quickly tucked in behind the leading group of about 8. I changed up a gear because of the slower speed, and when they moved left to take the second kink, I took off up the right hand side and buried myself, taking the win by a bike length.

Absolutely over the moon! From the look of the video, the top 15 are only covered by 5 or 6 bike lengths, so there must have been a lot of riders boxed in as the whole pack came through together. I was very lucky to be sure, and there were a lot of moments in that last lap when it could all have gone pear shaped. But it was a fantastic feeling, and one that I'll use for a very long time, especially in the middle of a grotty training session. Keep 'em coming! Onwards and upwards.

Imperial Winter Series - Race 9 - 21st Jan 2012

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.

Imperial Winter Series - Race 8 - 14th Jan 2012

With the new term starting again, I'd been in the gym for my spin classes as I was before Christmas. Great sessions actually, even if I'd felt a bit rusty on Monday with the big sprints and climbs. A big session on Thursday got me feeling very excited for the race on Saturday, which was all to the good. With the lack of time on the bike, I decided to ride all the way out to Hillingdon, instead of either getting a lift in the car or cycling to Paddington station and taking a train to Southall.

So by the time that I arrived, I'd already been on the bike for an hour (slow riding plus traffic) so I was feeling pretty warm - a bit hot even - by the time that I arrived at the circuit. I sorted myself out in the clubhouse, wearing a lot of thin layers because of the cold and the light easterly breeze. A couple of laps warm up and we were good to go.

Starting this week, I had every intention of seeing what I could at the front of the race. The race started badly with someone squeezing into a gap in front of me as we set off, who then proceeded to try to put his gloves on... A slow start to say the least, but with the lack of wind relative to previous weeks it wasn't too hard to get involved in the bunch and started to watch the other riders.

I managed to get myself further forward in the first five or so laps, making moves round the outside down the long straights, but to be honest it was massively stressful in the middle of the bunch. With people on the front reluctant to do too much work (fair enough) sometimes the whole field would make sudden waves from one side of the track to the other. Pretty sketchy stuff, and nothing gained given that the group never split and the breakaways never stayed away for more than a lap or two.

That meant that for much of the middle of the race I was floating around the back, doing my best to keep alert to any serious breakaway attempts. I've been doing my best to learn who the riders to watch are, which certainly helps from a tactical point of view. We flew past the 4th Cats without incident, but at that point our pace slowed up significantly, which was understandable with still 35 minutes left to race.

From there to the finish, it was all about controlling my efforts and trying to put my last 5 lap routine into place. I'd been thinking about it all week, and I figured that the best idea would be to move forward very assertively (i.e. right to the front of the race) and from there be in a position to stick onto the wheels of any moves that did take off.

Well, that was the plan, but it didn't really work out that way. There had been a proper crash on the finishing straight in the final sprint of the 4th Cat race. Half the racetrack was blocked with 250m to go to the finish line. Needless to say, in laps 6-3 to go it made for some hairy moments as riders who had flown around the outside of the bottom corners tried to barge across into the smaller gap. Not very sensible at all. Lots of close moments between wheels and riders! As we came round with 2 laps to go, an ambulance had appeared! It hadn't pulled up to the side, but from where I was, it seemed to be parked pretty much in the middle (it certainly felt that way, even if we had more room in reality). So as we came up the finishing straight into the bell, I was tucked in on the left hand side, about halfway back in the field. No one had gone away from the front, so we were left with a flat out sprint, with an ambulance creating a bottleneck. Brilliant(!)

What happened after that was all really very very very lucky. I stayed on the left for the hairpins, but managed to make my way over to the right hand side along the short top straight. This was exactly what I wanted to do last week, but went so wrong when I got caught up outside the crash. There were still 15 or so riders in front, with about 6 in a line at the front. I was sheltering from the (gentle) crosswind on the right, when suddenly the line of 6 disintegrated at the start of the back straight. I have no idea why, but they went in all directions across the track and seemed to be watching each other. I was at the back of a little train of 3 on the very right hand side, and we squeezed through, just missing one of the 6 who had veered sharply right. I think one of my train peeled off, and I decided to stay tucked in second wheel since no one seemed to be coming past. My top speed for the race was 34.1 mph, and that could well have been at this point with the final sprint being uphill. Anyway, I rounded 'crash corner' second wheel, absolutely delighted with my luck, and moved out to move past the rider in front.

First wheel into the final corner, I absolutely buried myself. I went clear through the ambulance bottleneck, very relieved, but coming into the two kinks I decided that I was in the wrong gear. Learning from one of my first 4th Cat races last February where I could've won, I sat down, changed down, and then sprinted again. I could see the long shadows of the pursuing riders, I just had to pray that no one came past - and no one did! Hopefully they'll post the photo-finish, as it shows just how close 1,2,3,4 all were, but I was absolutely over the moon with my first ever win. During the summer, even a top 5 finish in any race had seemed beyond me, so this has lit a massive fire in me to do more and get better. If it hadn't been for being in the right place at the right time coming down the back straight, then the result could've easily been a different one, but everything came good in the end and I can't wait for more!

Many thanks to Lucy at Imperial Racing Team for the photo finish! I remember the lunge being a lot less upright.

Imperial Winter Series - Race 7 - 7th Jan 2012

A new year, but the same place for a Saturday afternoon's dash around the hairpins at Hillingdon. Not bad weather for the ride to Paddington to catch the train to Southall, but in the warm up around the course 'that breeze' was still very much, definitely there.

Plan 'A' it was then.

It seemed like a full complement of 50 in both races, so apart from the usual dodgems routine in the bunch behind the breakaways, the potentially deciding moment could have been the overtake manoeuvre around the 4th Cats. Having been blessed with the racetrack to ourselves since Christmas Eve, it felt odd to have another peloton going around the course at the same time. After about 20 minutes, it was clear that our speed was bringing down the gap. One lap, we were on the first hairpin and they were next to us at the top of the back straight; next lap, we were on the hairpin and they were coming round the top corner; next lap, we couldn't even see them because of the greenery/hill between the top straight and the mid-hairpins straight. By that stage, everyone around me kept looking up over the bunch to see if a large/strong group was going to try to break off the front, use the 4th Cats to rest, and then power on and leave the peloton behind. Thankfully that didn't happen this time (I think it was attempted in Race 2?). When I came past them we were on the back straight, and coming into the bottom two corners at the clubhouse. The only real danger came from the odd 4th Cat who was straying across the halfway line in the tarmac. Everyone held their lines round the corners and we could all breathe easily through the hairpins.

The pace ramped up sharply as we hit the final five laps. I had expected it a lap earlier from my timings, but it didn't make much difference. The plan was to keep to the left hand side (shortest way round) and try to find good wheels as I made my way forward. There were some fairly interesting pieces of riding going on, especially up the finishing straight as people looked to sprint up the hill, to the left (outside) of the first kink, and then let themselves come onto a wheel as the bunch went left at the second kink. The thing is, that was pretty difficult at that kind of speed, and one rider even took the grass at the second kink to make it further forward. Bonkers, if you ask me. By two laps to go, I had found my way into the front ten or so, and on the right hand side of the bunch. I'd narrowly avoided a rider with a puncture(?) climbing the hill into the second hairpin and that was when I made my move forwards and to the outside. Had to hold a pretty tight line through the first hairpin, but I was feeling fresh(ish) and hoping for a big one.

Coming through the bell, the pace was high. Climbing the hill into the second hairpin, there was the telltale squeal of brakes and clatter of bikes as some riders got too close. That one was behind me, so I just pushed on. Coming down the back straight, I was on the outside hoping to sprint once for position and then again up to the finish. Apart from a short line on the left hand side, the entire bunch seemed to have massed together, and there was no way through as everyone in front of me seemed to want to get hold of a wheel rather than lead out an opponent. As we came into the bottom corner, the inevitable happened (it had been twitchy in the previous laps) and several riders came together. Being on the outside, I had no choice this time but to go straight on and into the grass as the crash must've happened on my left hand side. One rider somersaulted with his bike, and so I just had to keep going straight and into the long dry grass. Zero chance of any finish now, so I made sure there was no one coming to collect me as I turned, and I made my way slowly up the finishing straight.

To be honest, I was absolutely gutted. I don't think I'm strong enough to win, although I'd be delighted to prove myself wrong, but my big target for the series was to score points consistently and keep learning about bike racing with every race. I know Hillingdon has a reputation among some for being a bit on the wild side, but I've been loving it. So to have a finish taken away from me was a very disappointing feeling, and one that I'll just have to try to do something about next week!

At least me and my bike are still in one piece, and I know that's something that quite a few riders can't say for themselves at the moment.

Imperial Winter Series - Race 6 - 31st Dec 2011

New Year's Eve! Surely the last race on the calendar? Maybe some racers on Boris Bikes in London later on in the evening take that prize. The training beforehand had been a bit interesting - one eighty mile ride with Rich from Durham (now living the dream working for Cycling Weekly) around the North Downs. I'd decided to take on all the big hills nearby: Leith Hill, White Downs Lane, Box Hill. That wasn't the problem so much as the wind and the long false flats into headwinds. Add in the fact that almost all my training has been indoor spin sessions, then this ride was a MASSIVE shock to the system. And on Thursday.

So again with Sophie in support, we made our way to Hillindon, knowing that there would definitely be a nearly full field. That meant that last week's not-so-genius idea was left at home, and this week's tactic was to see how I got on, let the race unfold, wait for the sprint, and hide from the seemingly eternal 10-14mph west/southwesterly breeze.

The race was a pretty normal affair, and even though the breaks often seemed pretty intent on getting away and staying away, they always seemed to come back within a lap or two. I still wonder whether it wouldn't be simpler for the bunch just to let the breakaways dangle for a bit longer, but it never happens. Usually the bunch decides after at most two laps that it's time to swamp the break away. If it's up the finishing straight then the whole field sprints flat out, and if it's down the back straight then half the field sprints while the other half freewheels, chin to handlebars. At some points there was a long line strung out as the pace went high, but the quality of the field has so far meant that there are strong riders throughout the line who make up the metres to form the bunch back up again. There never seems to any real danger of a full-on split - at least not purely on athletic terms.

Which brings us nicely to the decisive moment of the race. With various riders going down in previous racers, there was always some evidence of the risks of fast, bunch racing, but personally I'd never been too close to anything actually happening after from shouting and squeals of carbon brakes. It must've been seven laps to go, and as we came down the back straight there was a group of five off the front. Nick Baker from Zappi's - although I knew him better from his rowing days - had been active all day as usual, but the bunch was flying and looking to bridge the gap. As we flew into the bottom corner - fastest point of the circuit at the end of the longest, and gradually downhill, straight - two riders near the front (but not at the front) and in the very middle of the circuit came together. Classic case of the rider on the outside turning in, the rider on the inside not quite there yet, and everything follows from there. Both riders (I think) came together, wobbled, swerved apart, and fell away from each other. At this stage I was only one rider back from them and directly behind, so I had a pretty 'good' view (didn't feel very good at the time). Fortunately for me, and unfortunately for a lot of riders, by falling away from each other, there was a small gap between the two. Most of the riders who went down seemed to be collected from behind, especially those on the outside of the bend. So in fact most of the riders to go down probably had no idea and very little warning of what was about to hit them, except for the brief moment of unfamiliar scraping of bikes and people along the floor.

Meanwhile, I was full on the brakes and trying very hard to stay upright. I've only had two crashes - both on the same ride, one slow speed onto tarmac when two riders overlapped wheels in front and took me down, one fast when I misjudged the exit angle of a downhill bend and found myself unable to make it at that speed and landing in the soft verge. To be honest, in that split second all I could think off was what I should land on. There were bikes and bodies sliding everywhere, and as I came into the middle of them I was waiting for the inevitable crunch from one side to lay me flat out. But I must've used up all my remaining luck for 2011 because I just made it through unscathed.

The sprint was a fairly simple affair after that, and I was pretty happy to come in 11th overall since I didn't really have the legs to push for anything better. Still some series points, and driving home with my bike intact unlike quite a few of the walking wounded. Lucky that no one was as badly injured as in some of the previous races.

Here's a photo of me and Kat Broadbent, the current Vice-President of DUCC who had come down from Northampton to race at Hillingdon. Great to meet up and have Durham racing 'in force' at Hillingdon :)

Imperial Winter Series - Race 4 - 24th Dec 2011

Christmas Eve, and another visit to Hillingdon. This time my fiancée Sophie drove me out, so everything was much more chilled this time around. Hoping to build on last week's result, but as it turned out these races are far more difficult to predict.

I had been following the online list of entrants closely, and I was convinced that with a smaller field that if the right breakaway went away, then it would have a good chance of succeeding. The only problem with that theory was that it was (a) still windy and (b) not a small field at all.

I started the race with a cheeky burst off the front - I wanted to stretch my legs and I had someone on the sidelines to impress - but there clearly wasn't much point launching a winning attack off the front so early in the race. I took up my usual position about halfway to two-thirds of the way down the bunch. I reckon that if you go any further forward, then you're constantly battling to hold your position with riders coming up from behind. Whereas if you go near the back (but not so near that you're in danger of permanently losing contact through a split or crash) then you can travel in relative comfort and regulated effort.

From about halfway through, I started to look for this race-winning break that I was so convinced would happen. The only problem was that if you make one yourself, then you won't necessarily have the backup to make it stick; if you sprint to catch up to an established break from the front of the pack, then you're effectively bringing the whole field back together; and if you sprint from further pack to bridge the gap, then you've got to travel a long way with a lot of solo effort and no certain hope of a clean break at the end! So. I think I made six flat out sprints to try to make something happen between 30min and 45mins, but to be honest I was so completely shagged by the end that I can't remember exactly. There was one which could've got away, but the pace in the break slowed up and the whole field were sprinting up the hill to make the connection. And that was the end of that.

The only thing left to do was sit in, try to recover (I could feel that sick feeling when you've been on the red line too many times, and any medium-sized acceleration takes your pulse above 185/190 and you feel like death). Just like the previous week, except this time with 5 laps to go, the Redhill rider - Dom Clegg - hared off the front and the bunch (for once) were content to let him dangle. Well, the thing is, he wasn't dangling at all because he was travelling too fast and too far away with too little distance left to be 'dangling'. He clearly timed his effort perfectly and crossed the line this time a short distance ahead of the sprinting pack. Myself, after last week's successful effort, I had a more standard sprint. In two minds how hard to push the effort in the last two laps (feeling so crap at the time was hard to ignore), I let fly from the bottom of the hill about 15-20 back. There was a split from the front 6 riders, and I crossed the line nicely in that gap in 8th. I'd managed to avoid the previous week's hairy moment going through the first kink to the right by just yelling to the riders in front as I came past. Not a bad salvage job in the end, but no early Christmas present. Shame to be missing the next race on Boxing Day, but still well placed for the series so far!