Had the pleasure of watching this outstanding performance by Rich up close. Rosie and I saw (and videoed) the race 3 times on each of the seven laps, so could see the effectiveness and maturity of his ride.
Early attacks into the wind on lap one began to shed riders and a break of five riders got away. Rich bided his time at the back of the bunch at this stage, but by the next lap had moved up to the front and was involved in the first and most significant move of the race as a serious efforts were made by the favourites to bring the break began on lap 3. This serious and sustained raising of the pace decimated a good quality field, with riders spread in ones, twos and reforming to small groups to get what shelter they could from the blasts of wind.
The break was caught and reformed into a group of 15 of what proved to be the strongest riders, with a second group struggling and ultimately failing to close the gap. Now the weather worsened with heavy downpours and strong winds making the corners quite treacherous.
This front group now became “the race” as more and more riders headed for the HQ realising their race was done. Rich was prominent at the front of the bunch doing his share and making his presence felt amongst the group that included ex pro Mark Lovatt and numerous journeymen and sponsored riders.
As the race moved into the second half Rich began to manage his work load wisely as he readied himself for the inevitable upping of the pace in the latter stages. As the roads began to dry out with just under 2 laps to go, eventual 3rd place rider Tony Kiss attacked, initially opening up a 10 second gap as the break was split up in its efforts to respond. Mike Jones (Paramount RT) and Mark Lovatt (Planet X) were first to respond with Rich following with the stretched out group at 20 seconds.
A quarter lap later, and a group of 3 including Rich, were rapidly reeling in Tony Kiss, with the rest of the break chasing, at 10 seconds. Eventual 4th placed Paramount rider Elliott Jones managed to bridge the gap ¼ of a lap later, and then Mark Lovatt and Andy Leigh jumped across as the ‘full on’ final lap began.
The final climb blew the group apart with riders finishing over several minutes with only the first three close together. Rich has described the way he responded to Andy Leigh’s winning move and with 200 to go, as he came past me, dug out a final out of the saddle effort to pip Tony Kiss on the line for 2nd place, and an impressive 2nd cat licence in 6 races.
That’s Entertainment!
Paramount Road Race report
Moderators: Beacon RCC, David Cole, martin mc, JessRJ
well done!
Well done Rich. I spoke to Sean Mugovan, another Beacon who also raced, about it. He said that the wind was mental at times and made racing hard. He said load of riders bailed, something he didn't realise until he crossed the line. He did say that you rode really well and were strong in the break.
If you carry on with the impressive results against such strong riders, CAT 1 isn't out of the question. 100 points is do-able as there is plenty of time left in the season. It would be great to see a CAT 1 Beacon.
D
If you carry on with the impressive results against such strong riders, CAT 1 isn't out of the question. 100 points is do-able as there is plenty of time left in the season. It would be great to see a CAT 1 Beacon.
D
