SSSCCRRL 2016 Reports

Discussion about Beacon member participation in road, track and cyclocross racing

Moderators: laurence_cooley, JessRJ, AdeR, Pedlo Mudguardo, StuartWhite, gmac, Tim

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jdtate101
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SSSCCRRL 2016 Reports

Post by jdtate101 » 06 May 2016 16:40

Round 1:
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Nice weather for a change, about 18c with clear skies and a light breeze. Both myself and Laurence were in group 1, so started in the first wave on the Knighton course which is one of the faster ones. The first few laps were fast with myself and Laurence doing the majority of the work with about another 4 guys, no-one else seemed interested in doing any turns and despite indicating that we needed to get a thru and off going they defaulted to klingon mode...just riding the wheels. Luckily us guys at the front did good turns and kept the pace high, enough to shell some out the back and hold off the chasing groups until the last lap. I went for a 2-up breakaway when a rider from West Mids Police cycling team jumped off the front. I figured it was worth a try as the rest of our group didn't seem organised to chase. Unluckily for us they were caught by groups 2 & 3, so reeled us in within 3/4 of a lap. We hung at the front until the last lap when we were caught by the faster groups (4 & 5). I sprinted up the outside up to the front to get into the tight 1st turn first as it's tight and has a few nasty potholes. Unfortunately I got swamped on the back straight, lost contact with the front and then got caught behind a crash (Laurence too) caused by a touch of wheels. I saw at least 2 riders on the deck. I didn't crash but was forced to slow so much the lead group was 100m up the road by the time I got going again. This signalled race over, so I just rode in at tempo to finish out a good race overall.

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Post by Tim » 06 May 2016 18:35

Well done both!
Please like and follow Beacon Cycling Academy https://www.facebook.com/pages/Beacon-C ... 6499863667

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Post by jdtate101 » 27 May 2016 00:06

Having missed the last two rounds due to work I managed to get out again tonight for round 4 of the series. Tonight was the turn of Bridgnorth, not a course I particularly like as it's quite lumpy, has a very bad surface in places and has a nasty sting in the tail of each lap in the form of a steep climb.
Despite me saying to Laurence in the car on the way to the race, I was just going to sit in today, I yet again went off in the breakaway, just two of us today, for a full 1 & 1/2 laps which was both very painful and testing (when will I learn not to go early!!!)....the legs are more than a little tired now. Once I was caught I hooked onto Laurence's wheel for a rest before dragging us up to a larger group where we both rolled in to the finish. My breakaway companion managed to stay away after distancing me after the major climb, and won the race, just ahead of the scratch group. Shame I couldn't stick with him,, but it was worth the try non the less.

Huntingdon next week which is a much better course for me, so looking forward to it.

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Post by jdtate101 » 03 Jun 2016 08:57

Round 5 last night was the Huntingdon Course up near Cannock. This is a fast flowing course with long straights, one minor hill and a very fast downhill section.The race didn't start well for us as group 1 was as disorganised as usual, with only a few guys willing to do turns at the front. I got a bit frustrated and despite saying I wouldn't, I went solo again to try and force the group to speed up. After 3 laps the catch was made by group 2&3 and things got faster. Myself and Laurence managed to retain contact whilst the slower of group 1 were shelled like peas out the back. Eventually at the bell for the last lap the scratch group came through, again I jumped and kept contact with Laurence, but just after we crossed the line to start the final lap, there was a touch of wheels and Laurence went down hard on top of another rider. It slowed me a touch, but I sprinted to get back on just as we reached the bottom of the climb, but then had burnt too much to maintain contact up the climb and lost about 200m. I eventually came in about 30s back from the scratch group. After the race I found Laurence being patched up by the medics with some nasty looking road rash, luckily for him it wasn't too bad but I'm sure it'll sting for quite a while. I also had some painkillers in the car so he wasn't in too much discomfort on the way back, I also dropped him off at his door having decided it wasn't best for him to ride home from my house either.

No race next week as we are marshalling the Enville course up by Halfpenny Green Airport, which I'm quite thankful for as I dislike that course.

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Post by laurence_cooley » 03 Jun 2016 11:27

Thanks for looking after me, James. Much appreciated. The road rash isn't too bad (not too sticky), but the swelling under the patch of it on my hip is pretty sore this morning.

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Post by jdtate101 » 03 Jun 2016 11:46

It's always the least visible injuries that turn out to be the most painful...

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