London Dynamo Road Race

This race last year was held in similar heat, and similarly I was on the recovery trail following an illness. The differences were that last year I cramped badly up the finish climb leading to a raft of electrolyte products deployed in my back pocket this time around, and that last year it was an Elite race. This year the Elites were removed from the bill, although the field was still pretty handy with riders like Rob Hurd and continental espoir Ali Carr lining up at the start. I was joined in the race by team mates Stewie Martin and Luke Wallis who was coming off a great ride in the Pearson Jaunts. Luke being there was a real blessing as his dad Mark is a great supporter of the club at races and was able to pass up bottles in the heat. He is so organised that within seconds of crossing the finish line I found myself with fresh water and a can of coke in my hand- thanks Mark!

The debate after the race on the Staplefield circuit was whether this was one of the toughest courses around. Having raced just about everywhere in the South-East I’m inclined to agree. There are other circuits with bigger climbs (Cutmill, Chilham, Bletchingly etc) but there is something about Staplefield that is sapping. There really is nowhere to get in a rhythm with only short climbs, descents and false flats to contend with, and at the end of the race you really notice it! The word racers seem to use for this is “grippy” but I’m not sure where that comes from, answers on a postcard…

My plan for the race was to remain in the top twenty or so riders at all times, and get involved with “making the race”. Early on a move went containing Ian Paine (London Dynamo), Dan Kogan (BMC), Warrick Spence (Cyclefit) and Dan Santoni (Pearsons). Behind there was a disjointed chase with counter attacks keeping the speed up rather than a true through-and-off effort. The riders up front pulled out to about a minute at one point, however the chasing group (including myself) had got a bit more organised with some eighteen or so riders, most of whom contributed a little to the effort.

About halfway through the race we caught the leaders leaving a group of just over twenty at the head of the race, with the bunch now well out of touch behind. To keep things going several riders tried to get away including the early breakaway riders Paine and Kogan, but again they were pulled back with a couple of laps left.

Finally on the back end of the course with a lap and a half still to go Kogan again attacked up the climb into Balcombe, and London Road Race champ Andy Betts (Sigma Sport) went with him. I liked the look of this move and even though only in the little ring got some good leg speed going and managed to get a healthy hundred metres by the top of the climb. The three of us set about working together to try and pull out a lead, but the riders behind were not keen to see us go far and we were always held at around fifteen seconds for the rest of the lap. Going up the finish climb for the penultimate time I looked behind to see Rob Hurd bridging across. This brought mixed feelings, the first being that it would mean the break had a much better chance of staying away, but ultimately that if Hurd was there at the finish it would be hard to beat him. Whatever the thoughts at that point he must have worked hard to make the bridge.

The four of us continued to dangle in front of the chasers, but we stayed ‘on it’, indeed so much so that all I could do for the final lap was stop myself vomiting. I missed a couple of turns as I desperately tried to stuff gels down, but the legs were certainly starting to feel the effort. Finally we descended together towards the finish climb, and behind I could see a group of chasers. The goal was now two-fold: don’t get caught, and win the race.

I followed wheels until halfway up the climb when I made my effort- I must have jumped about a whopping five metres clear until the legs went BANG and before I knew it Hurd whizzed by at top speed, with neither Betts nor Kogan able to hold his wheel. They came around me, and Kogan looked like he was struggling, leaving me false hope for a podium, but just as I went to pass him he put a real spurt on getting a gap on me and overtaking Betts for second. I rolled in for fourth place, safe from the chasers by ten seconds.

The main lesson of the race is that even though fifteen seconds doesn’t seem like much, if you have the legs to keep going the chasers may well give up hope and leave you to it. I also learned that to win a race you have to save something after a long hard effort. I’ll keep trying for the rest of the season…

Other race reports on London Cycle Sport and from Warrick Spence

For those statistically minded, here is the data including the neutralised start: 3hrs 19mins; 131km; 39.4kph av speed; 257w av power; 320w norm power; 171bpm av HR; 295 TSS (IF 0.941)