Today’s foray into the world of regional road bike racing was a return trip to the Sigma Sport hosted race on the Ewhurst circuit finishing up Leith Hill, the highest point in South-East England. This race last year attracted a tiny field and I had a bad day coming fifteenth out of seventeen finishers! Today was a little better with around forty or so riders signing on, with a respectable standard of 1st cat racers.
The plan was to get in an early move and drive it hard, but this failed to happen as legs were fresh and there were plenty willing to chase. Eventually I did get in a very promising move, initially of I think five riders bridging across to Ben Wilson (Solihull CC) and Stephen Dring (Team Echelon). On coming together the move failed to make much of an impression on the pack, with some sitting on and others riding less than smoothly. The result was a bit of a weird break that never felt like it was being driven.
As we were reeled back in Wilson and Dring counter attacked, with Guy Powdrill (London Dynamo) also clipping off to join them up the road. About half a lap later Harry Bulstrode (DHC) and two riders from AW Cycles initiated a bridge and Rob Enslin (AW Cycles) went to work at the front of the bunch discouraging attacks. Just as a Sigma rider I didn’t recognise was being hung out a hundred metres up the road I noticed a lull and made a big dig to get across. On looking back there was a decent gap so as I zoomed past the Sigma rider I encouraged him to jump on and the two of us went to work bridging to the other three. We made short work of this and the situation became Wilson, Dring and Powdrill still up the road, with my group of five chasing.
The move I was in was riding very smoothly, although the pace was not high enough to catch the leading trio, indeed it was something of a surprise we maintained a good gap on the bunch. With a lap to go one of the AW Cycles riders stopped pulling through. I wasn’t sure if his legs just weren’t up to it or if they were playing a tactical game, but either way I offered several bits of ‘advice’ to them to contribute.
Coming into the bottom of the climb I screamed at a marshal for the time gap and he said thirty seconds. Up a climb like Leith Hill thirty seconds is not much, especially if the guys up the road were tired. Instead of attacking I rode hard from the bottom of the climb, dropping my fellow chasers except for one of the AW Cycles riders (thankfully not the one who had been sitting on!). We caught Ben Wilson at the Coldharbour Lane junction, and then Stephen Dring with four hundred metres to go where I dropped my sole companion in the process. With two hundred metres to go I could see Guy Powdrill up ahead, but there was not enough road left to catch him in spite of one final dig.
This is the second time in two weekends I have been runner-up to Guy, and he won today with a very strong ride. The climb up Leith Hill didn’t feel as long as normal, hopefully a sign of some good form arriving. The legs and confidence are in just the right place for the upcoming Surrey League Revolutions stage race…
Stats:
RACE:
Duration: 2:52:29
Work: 2813 kJ
TSS: 249.3 (intensity factor 0.931)
Norm Power: 317
VI: 1.16
Pw:HR: 1.63%
Pa:HR: 5.54%
Distance: 113.228 km
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 1346 272 watts
Heart Rate: 99 192 168 bpm
Cadence: 31 239 97 rpm
Speed: 14.8 77.2 39.3 kph
Pace 0:47 4:03 1:32 min/km
Crank Torque: 0 143.4 26.9 N-m
Final mention goes to team mate Luke Wallis who came up the climb in 9th place looking very strong. One to watch!
Hi Steve,
If it had been another 100m you would have eaten-up, I was in pieces by the time I crossed the line. 3 man break for circa 25m followed by Leith Hill certainly took its toll. Super happy to take the win though, no-one more surprised than me, my first on the ‘road’ since I was a 4th cat in 2004!
Good training for a 50m TT I’ve got next week! Keep-up the good work, not much racing left in 09.
Thx, GP.
Pingback: No faking it | twowheelsfast