What better way to earn your Easter Egg than go out in the bitterly cold and race around a circuit somewhere in West London? Tom and I couldn’t think of anything to top this plan, so we hopped in the car and went to Hillingdon.

Neither of us had raced at Hillingdon before so we weren’t sure what to expect. We found that the course is pretty simple and the facilities excellent (along with a really good offering of cakes put on in the café!)

Photo: UK Cycle Sport

The weather was cold but neither too windy or wet. My race (Women’s E1234 went off at 2.15pm, staggered with the Men’s 4th cat. The first four or so laps went reasonably well for me, but then, after choosing the wrong wheel to follow, found myself off the back of the bunch and in a small chasing group.

Photo: UK Cycle Sport

A friendly rider from High Wycombe had also suffered the same fate as me and we spent the remainder of the race working together. We must have maintained a good pace as the main bunch didn’t get round to us until the very penultimate lap. At this point we jumped on the back of the bunch and we all finished together in the sprint (trying not to get in the way of those actually contesting for positions).

Photo: UK Cycle Sport

Although I fell off the back of the bunch pretty promptly I felt this race went really well for me and I am reassured I am going the right way. I can see my main weakness, apart from lacking fitness, is my confidence within the bunch and riding closer to the wheel in front. I mostly ride alone, or behind Tom who I trust, so this is a weakness I will have to work on.

We’ll be back at Hillingdon next week for Round 3 and Tom will be riding in the National Para Crit Series.

At this time of year most competitive cyclists are getting stuck into their training for the coming season.

In order to be able to train to your best potential it is important to know where you are – and even more importantly – your training zones.

Whilst there are formulas that can be used to make a fair guess at your heart rate zones the best way is to undertake a fitness test.

I visited Koolstof and put myself up for a twenty minute threshold test which would allow us to figure out my stats.

Midway through the twenty minute threshold test

Spin Scan

Whilst I was doing the test JJ also ran a spin scan – which meant we could look at the efficiency of my pedalling. This was the most exciting part of the session to me and I had fun trying to make different shapes by changing my pedalling style.

A spin scan allows you to analyse the efficiency of your pedaling based on torque, the balance of power between left and right, and the balance of power between pushing and pulling on the pedal stroke.

The three main readings you can take from this are;

1. Your overall spin scan number for both legs and your overall spin scan for each leg
   • This is the average torque you produce throughout the pedal stroke
   • If your numbers are between 60-70 you push more than you pull
   • Between 70-80 you push slightly more than you pull
   • Between 80-90 pat yourself on the back – you’re a pro
2. Your average torque angle for each leg
   • This refers to the location in the pedal stroke where force is applied
   • Ideally your power would peak somewhere around 90-100 degrees from top dead centre
   • This means you can apply maximum force when it counts the most
3. The power split between your left and right legs
   • This reading indicates any power imbalances and which leg is dominant
   • This can be a result of imbalances in strength or leg lengths, or an improper bike fit.

This information proves useful to confirm that a bike is properly fitted (or not), to identify imbalances in strength between legs, or to determine areas of weakness within the pedal stroke. Using this feedback you can work to maximize efficiency and force.

I’m proud of my well-balanced peanut

Halfway through my fitness test my spin scan looked like this ↑ .

From looking at the peanut shape and the overall spin scan numbers you can see that I push more than I pull. I can work on this by practicing my pedalling technique and focusing on utilizing the entire pedal stroke.

The graph and table also show that I have a very good symmetry in my technique and both legs are very balanced. This indicates that I have a very good bike fit (thanks to CycleFit) which means I can utilize all of my muscles and body properly.

In summary of the spin scan: I have an excuse to buy a fixie! <- due to the fixed gear you are forced to practice good pedalling technique.

Back to the fitness test.

After the threshold test (where I quite simply rode a 20 minute time trial on the compu trainer) JJ got lots of numbers and watts and other unintelligable facts from the software. When I understand all the figures and what they mean I will write a bit more….all I can tell you is I thought I was going to be sick and my face went very red.

(I’ll write some more when I understand it a bit better)

In reality JJ will tell me what those numbers where and from there he will be able to tell me what zones I should be training in. Exciting!

A little picture Tom drew.

With reference to this article by Maria Simone regarding spin scans

[Here are my experiences of the JHTGP. The other girls could give you a very different account of the race, what with actually being at the front, taking sprints points and finishing in the top ten. You'll have to ask Jo and Lydia what it's like. Meanwhile, this is what it was like for me ]

The over-ambitious fourth cat. strikes again! Race numbers 7 and 8

Johnson Health Tech Grand Prix Series

Photo: Mark Hopkins

Round One – Tuesday 22nd May – Oxford
Round Two – Tuesday 29th May – Peterborough
Round Three – Thursday 7th June – Colchester
Round Four – Tuesday 12th June – Woking
Round Five – Thursday 14th June – Stoke-on-Trent

Rd. One OXFORD

Photo: Larry Hickmott (http://www.velouk.net/)British Circuit Race Champion Hannah Barnes, World Champion Lucy Garner and previous series winner Helen Wyman are presented to the crowd

So after a few weeks of no riding (focussing on getting my dissertation submitted and a couple of other essays sorted) it was time to have a go at this bike racing malarky again! Race number 7 = the first round of the Johnson Health Tech Series that is being run in conjunction with the men’s Halfords Tour Series.

The JHTGP series is a bit of a step up – high-speed, televised, inner-city crit. racing – the highlight of the year for most teams and a great opportunity to increase coverage for women’s cycling in Britain. I was very excited to be lining up at the start next to teams like Node4, Matrix Fitness-Prendas, ForViored, Scott Contessa (etc) and with competitors such as the world champion Lucy Garner, national champion Hannah Barnes and the previous series winner Helen Wyman. Even more importantly I got to meet some more of my team mates (I still havent met them all :’( !). Lydia, Jo and Elise were in Oxford too and ready to show the the city (and the country) what we’re made of.

Photo: Larry Hickmott (http://www.velouk.net/)Myself, Elise and Jo looking keen to get the race under way

After a beautiful day wandering around Oxford with Tom it was eventually time to get lycra-d up and attend the pre-race briefing (during which I found I had stuck my transponder on the wrong fork of my bike duh!). The temperature was as high as 28 degrees so we werent keen on going over the top on our warm up and risking getting dehydrated before the fun and games even began, so after a few laps to check out the corners we were ready to start.

The course itself was very tight and technical, with four almost 360 degree turns which called for aggressive sprinting out of each corner. The race had a neutral start – the whole bunch followed the motorbike around the course for a sighting lap – and then everything got a lot faster. With such experienced riders in the peleton I was very unsure of my ability so I let myself slip back until things had settled down a bit and I knew where I stood. Of course this is never a good decision, and the concertina effect of the tight turns soon meant I was a long way away from the front of the race. The repetitive sprinting out of corners soon also took its toll on me and I was soon alone or with stragglers I’d either caught or who were catching me.

Photo: Larry Hickmott (http://www.velouk.net/)

Photo: Larry Hickmott (http://www.velouk.net/)

Because the Oxford course was so tight, wherever you were you could always hear the loudspeakers. This meant you could be entertained by the various musical choices of the organisers, but also you could get updates on the race as the commentators excitedly told the crowd when to bang on the boards for sprint primes and the like. I really enjoyed being able to know what was happening elsewhere in the race, because although I had by now been lapped it was still nice to feel involved and it was great to hear the names of my team mates being shouted through the tannoy as they sprinted for the primes and went of in the winning breakaway.

Photo: Mark Hopkins

Photo: Mark Hopkins

When it came to four laps to go and lapped riders were asked to pull off I felt a mixture of relief that it was over but also disappointment that I had to stop already. Tom was waiting in the pits having nabbed the team manager pit pass and sorted out a corner for me to die in whilst we waited for the main race to finish. I did jump up to watch the final sprint for the line and saw Annie Simpson of Matrix Fitness-Prendas take the win, closely followed by Jo McRae of Look Mum who took fifth! Along with Lydia’s finish at eleventh this secured our team position as third in the series so far.

Photo: Larry Hickmott (http://www.velouk.net/ )
Annie Simpson (Matrix Fitness-Prendas) wins Round One

Excitement post race

Round One Individual Result

1)    Annie Simpson, Matrix Fitness – Prendas
2)    Hanna Barnes, Team Ibis Cycles
3)    Jo Tindley, VC St Raphael
4)    Corrine Hall, Node4 – Giordana Racing
5)    Jo McRae, Look Mum No Hands!
6)    Lucy Garner, Node4 – Giordana Racing
7)    Helen Wyman, Kona Factory Racing
8)    Tamina Oliver, Abergavenny Road Club
9)    Natalie Creswick, Mule Bar Girls
10)    Sarah Reynolds, Matrix Fitness – Prendas
11)    Lydia Boylan, Look Mum No Hands!
12)    Adele Carter, Team Hope Factory Racing
13)    Penny Rowson, Matrix Fitness – Prendas
14)    Adel Tyson-Bloor, VC St Raphael
15)    Amy Roberts, Scott Contessa Epic
16)    Harriet Owen, Node4 – Giordana Racing
17)    Louise Mahe, Mule Bar Girls
18)    Rachel Stokes, Zappi’s Cycling Club
19)    Alice Barnes, Twenty3c.co.uk – Orbea
20)    Laura Massey, Vivelo Bikes / Inverse Cyclaim RT

Round One Team Result

1)    Matrix Fitness – Prendas, 39pts
2)    Node4 – Giordana Racing, 37pts
3)    Look Mum No Hands!, 26pts
4)    VC St Raphael, 25pts
5)    Mule Bar Girls, 16pts
6)    Team Hope Factory Racing, 9pts
7)    Scott Contessa Epic, 6pts
8)    Zappi’s Cycling Club, 3pts
9)    Vivelo Bikes / Inverse Cyclaim RT, 1pt

Overall Team Standings, post-Round One

1)    Matrix Fitness – Prendas, 39pts
2)    Node4 – Giordana Racing, 37pts
3)    Look Mum No Hands!, 26pts
4)    VC St Raphael, 25pts
5)    Mule Bar Girls, 16pts
6)    Team Hope Factory Racing, 9pts
7)    Scott Contessa Epic, 6pts
8)    Zappi’s Cycling Club, 3pts
9)    Vivelo Bikes / Inverse Cyclaim RT, 1pt

Here’s a full report of the race on VeloUK ‘Clean Sweep for Annie’

More photos of Round One from Larry Hickmott

Back to the Top

——————————————————————————————————————————————————

Rd. Two PETERBOROUGH

A week later and its time for round two of the series. This time in Peterborough. Again the weather was lovely and warm and the slightly overcast sky cleared up in time for the race. After using the Peterborough Rugby club as changing facilities and having our race briefing it was time to get back into the city centre for a warm-up around the course before lining up for the start.

Photo: Larry Hickmott (http://www.velouk.net/)

This time the Look Mum No Hands! team consisted of Jo, Lydia, Helen and myself. The Peterborough course was much faster with sweeping bends, allowing a lot of speed to be carried through each turn. There was a slight drag on the dual carriageway section back up to the roundabout but it was nothing major, if anything this was the fastest section. There was a bit of ‘bouncy’ paving just after the first corner which I didn’t like so much – I kept feeling my back wheel come up :s

After the sighting lap behind the moto the race was off. Quite quickly the winning break was made by series (and sprints) leader Annie Simpson (Matrix Fitness-Prendas), Node4 rider Harriet Owen and Hannah Barnes (Team Ibis) who went off the front and put a very sizable gap into the chasing bunch.

Photo: Larry Hickmott (http://www.velouk.net/)

I was quickly defeated by the rapid pace being set at the front of the race but luckily got in a good group of girls to work with for the remainder of the race.

Photo: Larry Hickmott (http://www.velouk.net/)

Photo: Richard Bennett

Photo: Larry Hickmott (http://www.velouk.net/)

Despite some confusion as to when the final lap was and a nasty crash for Sarah Reynolds of Matrix-Prendas Lydia managed to stay upright (if you see the photos of the crash you’ll see it was a miracle) and came across the line in sixth. Look Mum retain third position in the team rankings!

Round Two Individual Result

1)    Harriet Owen, Node4 – Giordana Racing
2)    Annie Simpson, Matrix Fitness – Prendas
3)    Hannah Barnes, Team Ibis Cycles
4)    Lucy Garner, Node4 – Giordana Racing
5)    Amy Roberts, Scott Contessa Epic
6)    Lydia Boylan, Look Mum No Hands!
7)    Louise Mahe, Mule Bar Girls
8)    Emily Kay, Scott Contessa Epic
9)    Helen Wyman, Kona Factory Racing
10)    Corrine Hall, Node4 – Giordana Racing

Round Two Team Winners: Node4 – Giordana Racing

Overall Individual Standings, post Round Two

1)    Annie Simpson, Matrix Fitness – Prendas, 39pts
2)    Hannah Barnes, Team Ibis Cycles, 37pts
3)    Lucy Garner, Node4 – Giordana Racing, 32pts
4)    Corrine Hall, Node4 – Giordana Racing, 28pts
5)    Helen Wyman, Kona Factory Racing, 26pts
6)    Harriet Owen, Node4 – Giordana, 25pts
7)    Lydia Boylan, Look Mum No Hands, 25pts
8)    Amy Roberts, Scott Contessa Epic, 22pts
9)    Jo Tindley, VC St Raphael, 18pts
10)    Louise Mahe, Mule Bar Girls, 18pts

Overall Team Standings, post-Round Two

1)    Node4 – Giordana Racing, 85pts
2)    Matrix Fitness – Prendas, 69pts
3)    Look Mum No Hands!, 41pts
4)    Scott Contessa Epic, 40pts
5)    VC St Raphael, 32pts
6)    Mule Bar Girls, 30pts
7)    Abergavenny Road Club, 15pts
8)    Vivelo Bikes/Inverse/Cyclaim RT, 11pts
9)    Team Hope Factory Racing, 9pts
10)    WyndyMilla UK Youth, 6pts

Here’s a full report of the race on VeloUK ‘ Harriet Owen conquers Peterborough‘

More photos of Round Two from Larry Hickmott

Photo: Richard Bennett
Harriet Owen takes the individual win in Peterborough for Node4-Giordana

Back to the Top

——————————————————————————————————————————————————

Unfortunately that is the end of the tour series for me as I have final exams next week and afterwards I’ll be going to France with Tom for a couple of weeks in the sunshine.

I really enjoyed the experience of racing in the tour series – having the crowds, cameras and noise makes it really exciting! Although I didn’t do particularly well in the races I feel they were great experience and also loads of fun. As only my 7th and 8th races I’m still only at the very start of learning racing and I’m proud of how well I did. I am even more proud of my team who are really showing the big women’s teams how good we can be, even just as an amateur team. Go Honey Badgers!!

Maybe if I stopped doing races containing World Champions I might be able to become a third cat…..

Photo: Mark Hopkins

Back to the Top

Saturday 28th April

Race: Yorkshire Day @ The Races

One last race before I really knuckle down with uni work and get this degree out of the way. I chose to enter the local(-ish) race at Tockwith Aerodrome with is about ten miles to the west of York. For me, about 1.5-2 hours by train, and with a student return only costing £12 I thought it was probably worth it.

As usual I had work in the morning, but I had almost an hour at home afterwards to have breakfast and get ready before I needed to be at the station for my 10.47 train.

CrossCountry Sheffield>York

It almost went all wrong from the start. All the trains to Newcastle (the route I needed) were all delayed by an hour or more. Luckily I had an any-time ticket so after lugging my bike around the station after platform change I was able to just hop on which ever train arrived first.

I changed at York for a local service to Cattal which would leave me less than three miles to cycle to the aerodrome.

York Station

It was cold and windy and the roads looked like they had been recently flooded. ‘Road Ahead Closed’ signs were still up, which worried me. but luckily the water had receded and the roads were passable although there was an awful lot of standing water around in the fields. I could make a comment about the ‘drought’ here….

Anyway. I got to the race track. There appeared to be two go-kart tracks and a larger, more open car racing track. There were two portakabins providing basic (if grimy :s) toilets which was better than nothing.

After signing on I met up with Nicola Soden (Maxgear) who was lovely and let me sit her car and hide from the less than pleasant weather.

Here is a photo of me enjoying my lunchtime picnic in her car;

My quality pre-race fuel

The weather seemed to degrade from that point on, not that it had been anything to write home about previously. It was cold and windy and increasingly wetter.

It got round to time to start warming up. Nicola had come in her car so she had her rollers with her and got underway. To be honest I should have manned up and negotiated the long muddy track back out to the road and done a few ups and downs but I guess I didn’t fully acknowledge the necessity of a thorough warm up….I only managed a couple of warm up laps round the track before we gathered at the start line. I wasn’t prepared.

And it’s not like my competitors would be taking it easy either. When I first entered the race online there were maybe three other entrants and although I expected more entrants on the day I wasn’t quite ready for the number that had decided to brave the inclement weather. Also they all looked pretty serious riders too! No weekend warriors that day.

I started at the back, stayed there for a short while and then was unceremoniously dropped. No warm-up meant I (unsurprisingly) was not ready for 30mph race pace :p

However I carried on riding round, hoping to warm into it and maybe catch on the back again when they lapped me. I was cold, tired, poorly fueled and not warmed up – pretty basic mistakes (what a chopper!) and the bunch came past too strong for me. Eventually I started to warm into it but, even though the bunch seemed to have slowed, they sailed passed me for the second time.  I kept going round on my own however, and got some supportive cheering from Claire Rutherford which made me smile.

Here's a photo from Claire of the last few laps.

Afterwards, in a quick post race chat, Nicola explained to me that I should have accepted I wasn’t warmed up properly when I was dropped and then focused on warming up properly on my own (rather than smashing it) and then jumping on the bunch the next time it came round. That way I would have got a chance to practice at race pace, as the way I did it I just had 40 minute solo effort that I could have done just as well on any other day and didn’t really get much experience of racing done. I will remember this advice for next time.

I then spent a shivery few hours on the trains getting back to Sheffield although I treated myself to a big hot chocolate at York station. It was so lovely – I got marshmallows and cream with it

NorthernRail
Cattal>York

I sat by the radiator for a long time when I got home….

In all it was a very tiring day, but it was still only my sixth ever race, so I guess it’s reasonable to expect to get it wrong a few times :p

The next few weeks won’t have much cycling whilst I focus on getting my dissertation done, a couple of essays and get revision under way. The next date in the diary will be the first round of Tour Series – somewhat ambitious!

Ps How do you like the team issue tyres?

I’m sure there were more riders than this, but they haven’t been listed :s

My first time trial of the year was BUCS 10 TT in Cambidgeshire on the 21st of April.

Although we had driven the course beforehand and it had looked smooth and fast, it was actually quite slow due to a rise for a motorway flyover and long straits into the wind. (<— I’m going to leave that spelling)

Looking tired.
I hope this was taken after I finished, otherwise I was resting halfway round! *shock*

The large majority of people were on TT bikes which put those of us without aero kit at a bit of a disadvantage, but I felt like I was going pretty fast anyway! The roads were so smooth, it was lovely.

The course was an out-and-back, with the turn on a nice open roundabout at almost exactly half way which was well  marshaled so my ride went very smoothly.

Practicing pacing myself over a few ’10′s prior to the ‘big’ day would of course have been beneficial and no doubt aero kit would have helped me place higher. I am pretty certain with more experience I could go quite a bit faster as I don’t feel I went as hard as I could have, but it’s hard to know how to pace it and don’t want to blow too early.

Generally I enjoyed it, which I’m going to take as a sign I wasn’t working hard enough!

Planning to hit a Rudy Project TT later in the year and maybe Blenheim if there is space for a wannabe…

Clara

Our covered warm-up spot

It was torrential at times

Last year I did two 9.4 mile ’10′s but because they’re a bit shorter than a full 10 I am too lazy to calculate whether I went faster or not today. Of course the weather and the course make it all different anyway…

With the Johnsons Health Tech GP winners jersey

On Thursday the 19th of April Tom and I drove to Stoke on Trent for the launch of the Halfords Tour Series and the women’s series – Johnson Health Tech GP.

The men's and women's teams being presented.Men: L-R: Ian Wilkinson (Endura Racing), Tom Murray (IG Sigma Sport), Mike Northey (Node4 – Giordana Racing), Daniel Holloway (Raleigh GAC), Niklas Gustavsson (UK Youth), Tom Barras (Metaltek-Scott), Russell Falder (Cycle Premier Kovert), Jack Cutsforth ( Herbalife LeisureLakesBikes), Paul Oldham (Hope Racing) and World Team Pursuit Champion Andy Tennant (Rapha Condor Sharp)

Women: L-R: Penny Rowson and Hannah Walker (Matrix Fitness-Prendas),Adel Tyson-Bloor and Jo Tindley (VC ST Raphael), Alice Miller (Look Mum No Hands), Lauren Creamer (Abergavenny RC) and Bethany Crumpton (Scott Epic).

Highlights of the Johnson Health Tech Grand Prix Series will be shown on ITV4 as a part of The Halfords Tour Series highlights on the channel.

2012 Johnson Health Tech Grand Prix Series Calendar
Round One Tuesday 22nd May Oxford, Oxfordshire
Round Two Tuesday 29th May Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
Round Three Thursday 7th June Colchester, Essex
Round Four Tuesday 12th June Woking, Surrey
Round Five Thursday 14th June Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire

After the presentation in the Mitchell Arts Centre the team representatives all came outside for a few more photos with the cars.

It was great to meet the other girls and to wander around amongst all the stars of cycling. Beth is the current junior national XC champion, there also were Madison and Derny champion Hannah Walker, Andy Tennant who is World Team Pursuit Champion and ‘Superman’ Ian Wilkinson in amongst all of the other super riders who will be tearing up the streets of city centres all around the UK.

I am looking forward to the first round of the JHTGP in Oxford!!

Photos with the Halfords support car (in the rain)

Thank you to Larry Hickmott for the use of his great photos from the day. You can read a full report of the launch on his website VeloUK at this link and read more about the Johnson Health Tech Grand Prix here.

We were all assigned a mascot each from a local primary school to look after us on stage.

This post will be a collection of short summaries of the Tameside Season Starter races where I will record how I did and what I will be working on to improve for next time.

No. 1 Sunday 11th March

No.2 Sunday 18th March

No.3 Sunday 25th March

Held at the Tameside circuit in Ashton-under-Lyne, Manchester these races are open to all categories of women racers.

Because I work on Sundays I have a 5.30 start in order to work from 6-9am and then quickly catch a lift over to Manchester in order to be there for around 10 for sign on and warm up.

———————————————————————–

No. 1

Sunday 11th March

Photo from BC

I did a crit. race at Hog Hill last summer (post) on a day licence (and got dropped within 15 minutes :/ ) so Sunday’s race at Tameside was my first ‘proper’ race. After a lazy winter of focussing on Uni work and only a week and a half of actual training I wasn’t expecting too much. I went into this race hoping to start well and remain in the bunch for as long as possible (or for the whole race if possible). Experience is what I’m looking for – and collecting a few points of course :p

As a beginner, just starting a race is a bit exciting all the drama of clipping in etc. But I got away well and after a few laps everyone calmed down a bit anyway. I started off well, near the front, and generally kept my place, but after half an hour the little mistakes I kept making (such as being windward side of the bunch, or the outside-side of the bunch in corners) began to tell. I can do hard efforts and recover quickly, which is fine whilst I’m being economical and still within the bunch, but if I loose a few places or drop back a bit (thus working harder, in more of a pursuit style) I don’t yet have the correct type of fitness to survive many of those type of efforts. This is something Tom and I will be working on over the next few weeks.

Overall I was proud of my handling and being all squashed up between the other riders. I even survived a crash that happened right in front of me. Also I have doubled the amount of time I can spend with the bunch, compared with the race I did at Hog Hill – this time on less training, but more specific training.

Next Sunday I will hope to stay with the bunch for the entire race and get some experience of the last couple of laps and the sprint.

(Top Ten)

1 Rachael Bamford (Dirt Wheels Cycles)
2 Brit Tate (Dirt Wheels Cycles)
3 Hannah Layland (VC St Raphael)
4 Louise Borthwick (Edinburgh RC)
5 Lisa Daly (Sportcity Velo)
6 Iona Sewell (GB Cycles)
7 Frances White (Champion Systems/Maxgear RT)
8 Nikola Butler (Vivelo-Bikes/Inverse Cyclaim RT)
9 Nicky Shaw (Dinnington RC)
10 Joanne Blakeley (Seamons CC)

Back to the Top

———————————————————————–

No. 2

Sunday 18th March

Photo from BC

Today’s race started in a more relaxed manner with 23 girls at the start line. With a full turn out from  Maxgear  I expected the race to be controlled primarily by the lady’s team and this was the case. However a very early break of two riders from Dirt Wheels (Rachael Bamford and Brit Tate) got away and stayed away for the remainder of the race.

For some reason I found the first thirty minutes or so murderous. I was really near to getting dropped so many times but managed to hang on. Eventually I got more settled. Either the pace had fallen or I was just positioning myself better but I started to be able to cope with it better and get some recovery in on the straights and the swoop-y corner.

Yo-yo-ing
Photo from BC

This week I felt the race was much more ordered. Maybe there were more experienced riders out numbering us less experienced riders which helped keep everyone relaxed as there was less unpredictable cornering or maneuvers. With Maxgear controlling the front of the main bunch the race preceded smoothly. As far as I could tell there were no crashes. Unfortunately Nicola Soden’s (Maxgear) crank broke during the race.

Photo from Maxgear

As I said last week, this week my plan was to really focus on staying with (and in) the bunch as much as possible. This worked out well and by the final few laps I felt brave enough to move up the bunch and get within the front 5 or so riders. This gave me a great chance to experience the final laps right at the cutting edge of the action. It got pretty fast – we were leaning a lot more in the corners now and I miscalculated at one point, dragging my inside pedal on the ground, but luckily it was okay. Coming out of the wider bend into the final wiggle and finishing straight the sprint really started. I wasn’t quite in the right gear but managed to remain right near the front of the bunch, sprinting against Rachel Armitage from London Dynamo for fifth place. She just pipped me!

The penultimate lap
Photo from Maxgear

With the lovely weather and great selection of girls riding, today was awesome – plus I got my first points!

We rounded off the trip to Manchester with a visit to Ikea where we had a yummy hot meal in the restaurant followed by a casual browse of the shop.

Clara and Nicky enjoying one of Ikea's many living rooms

I think I need my bike to be mechanic-ed as I kept changing gear and not getting any movement from the mech…hmmmm.

(Top Ten)

1. Racheal Bamford, Dirtwheels Cycles 48:34:00
2. Brit Tate, Dirtwheels Cycles @ 5sec
3. Melissa Bury, Champion Systems/Maxgear @ 22sec
4. Vicky Annis, VC Bradford
5. Rachel Armitage, London Dynamo
6. Alice Miller, Look Mum No Hands
7. Frances White, Champion Systems/Maxgear
8. Liz Waterhouse, University of Manchester
9. Nikola Butler, Vivelo-Bikes/Inverse Cyclaim RT
10. Hayley Edwards, Champion Systems/Maxgear

Video by Simon Winston ( @simonwinston )

Back to the Top

———————————————————————–

No. 3

25th March
The final in this women’s set!

The day the clocks go back = a nasty early morning start for work  - I had what felt like a 4.30 am start today :s But the money got earned and it was soon time to drive over to Manchester

Maxgear were mostly absent (I believe on a team training camp?) which left a field of eighteen, mostly individual, at the start line this morning.

Photo from BC

Despite somehow managing to position myself right on the line, the race began rapidly and I am far to quick to give up my position, so almost immediately slipped halfway down the field. Although the race began quick and a few solid solo breaks went out but were brought back in by the bunch.

At one point a break formed as the bunch split from the high speed pressure being applied at the front. This looked like a solid break and had some strong riders in it, so I was keen to get with it. Unfortunately after killing myself to catch the front group, it became obvious people weren’t too keen to work together to keep ahead of the second group, and the bunch was all back together again very shortly.

Unlike the previous races, the pace was possibly slower, with some very sedate sections. This was a bit nervy, and served to build suspense for when the next move might occur, but allowed for a nice breather every now and again.

Photo from BC

The final laps were very slow. Somehow I ended up on the front whilst everyone was conserving energy for the final sprint. I slightly miscalculated the remaining laps and was happy to stay on front as I planned to attempt  an early break for the line. But there were more laps than I expected and I missed the moment when everyone accelerated so  I was soon much further down the bunch than was optimum.

A last effort to move up the bunch was reasonably succesful, but I was still barely within the front ten riders. Then, in the last bend, a nasty crash took two girls out and gave the remainder of the bunch a flying obstacle to avoid. The front three girls were far away but I aimed for Adela (Hope Factory Racing) and sprinted for fifth position.

Photo from BC

I am now one point away from becoming a third cat. rider, but more importantly I have had a great experience at these races and learnt lots. There are still many things to be worked on, but its the end of a four week training block and next week is set to be a lovely sunny rest week

1 Louise Borthwick (Edinburgh RC)
2 Rebecca Heath (VC St Raphael)
3 Hannah Leyland (VC St Raphael)
4 Adele Carter (Hope Factory Racing)
5 Alice Miller (Look Mum No Hands)
6 Nicky Shaw (Dinnington RC)
7 Nikola Butler (Vivelo Bikes-Inverse Cyclaim RT)
8 Liz Waterhouse (University of Manchester)
9 Phoebe Snedden (Mulebar Girls)
10 Catherine Wiggins (Liverpool Mercury CC)

A huge thanks goes to Jenny Gretton who organised the Tameside races and was completely lovely all round

Another great video of the race by Simon Winston

Back to the Top

Photos are variously my own, Clara’s, from BC reports and from Maxgear. Videos are from  Simon Winston.