Kings North International

So my newest move in cycling has been to relocate to Belgium where I am racing for Kings North International the same team that produced Jack Baur a competitor in this years Tour de France.

Race’s in Belgium are organised like a criterium in the UK but are longer and have a significantly larger turn out.  

The course’s are usually between 5-10km long with 15-30 laps,  passing through the center of the nearest town for the spectators benefit.  Technically there is always a great amount of curbs, drains,  poor quality roads and frequent attacks over such terrain to deal with.

Each race has a rolling road block (included in the convoy is police, ambulance, officials plus the broom wagon) so that traffic does not interfere at all with the race,  if a break establishes a larger than 2 minute gap the remainder of the bunch is pulled out by the broom wagon so that traffic isn’t stopped for too long.  Race entries out here is 5 Euro’s which you can win back, plus another 5 Euros if you finish in the top 20 depending on the level of race and sponsorship.  In addition to finishing the race for money,   every lap “primes” give riders the chance to earn a bonus if they cross the line before other competitors. 

02/08/2013

My Belgium trip began by leaving the ferry which arrived in Dunkirk circa 15:00 HRS.  Bike loaded up with tires wrapped round my frame with inner tubes and a pannier rack attached to my bike using cable ties in addition to more inner tubes,  I headed East.  Luckily I was aided in my journey by a consistent tail wind and slight cross wind,  passing through France and into Belgium within an hour and a half progress felt smooth.  A big thank you to Beeline Bicycles and the lads,  could not have made it out here with out all the help and guidance of recent.

  I arrived in Ghent around 20:00 HRS after a fairly uneventful ride,  consisting of very similar scenery,  using rough directions that I had googled the night before.  Temperature remained at 27 C until 10pm.  I was greeted by Janje and Bee; the some of the team’s keen and experienced pioneers who were getting the team presentation set up for the 180 sponsors, supporters and friends of the team arriving the following day.  I was introduced to the other riders: Peter a strong domestique from Russia and Michael a boisterous sprinter from the Ukraine.  They have been with the team for 3 years each.   I made small talk and then headed for the shower,  hit the sack and slept very well indeed.

The team presentation was great fun,  met a huge variety of cycling fanatics with stories from racing with Bradley Wiggin’s father (Garry Wiggins) and more recently Jack Baur.  Our photo’s were taken for the local news paper,  we were fed via the huge BBQ manned by chefs.  Novelty pudding was supplied by Mally’s Ice cream van and bed by 11:00pm to be fresh for the first race the next day.  I also met Jonathan a small rider from Hull over for the summer also (sponsored by team Jewson).

My first race out here with the team resulted in me supporting an attack for Michael to aid him to scoring a prime,  then counter attacking to secure a place within the break.  Unfortunately I then was pushed off the road and onto the gravel which I used to my advantage and rode up the bunch sheltered by the wind and back onto the road about to make an attack I realised I had received a double puncture.

I have done 6 races sp far but thought  I would put on my most recent race reports as we raced three,  one after the other.

  Sunday's race in Bezele sat around 29mph average speed for 72 miles, average power was 270 watts,  technical course, massive side winds and riders riding off the road at points at around 35 mph.  Played role as blocking for my team mates in a break that got away after lap 3/20.  Finished top 20.

 Mondays race, Hilly but very technical and there were very excited corners over cobbles for me (managed to make up 10 m on the bunch attacking through most of the corners) hills were short and steep but the descents were long and windey again something I enjoy more than I should.  Fairly hungry and during a fairly tough drive to close down a move that was looking a little too successful down the road,  I begged a gel off a Omega Pharma feeder team rider,  this did the trick and we closed them down,  attacking through their bunch also managed to shell  half of their riders too.  They were later swept up by the broom wagon as I didn’t see them on the finish sheet.  Average power was circa 290watts,  average speed 27mph.

Tuesday’s race,  was fun,  feeling fairly sore in the bum from before Monday and fairly tired anyway we rode out to Evergem (15K away),  where we tackled a flat very open course,  with a lot of wind.  Corners were fast and sweeping,  Really dug myself into a hole,  First lap secured prime with 2 other team mates taking 1^st,  2^nd and me 4^th.  Sounded great as they announced our attack over the tanoy system to the crowds. 

 *AHHH LAPTOP BATTERY IS GOING TO DIE*  Average power 300 watts,  71 miles,  average speed 30mph. 

It is inportant to note that although the race went fairly well,  in the 2nd lap I wasp flew into my jersey and began stinging my neck (5 times),  then at the end of the race when I was removing my jersey I found him again where he stung my belly.  To make matters worse he then fell into my lycra shorts so so so close to delicate things with unimaginable and catastrophic circumstances arising if I did not act swiftly to remove said wasp from my chammy!

 To sum up I took 2^nd place in our break out of 8 guys, most of which had stopped working for the last lap.  Now in bed with lots of cream applied and raised legs to protect my “BIG BIRD”  duvet cover which I treasure!  Belgium is FUN but as the picture below suggests pretty shattering!

Wednesday Jono and I rode to 60 miles at tempo pace to Van Eyc- Aalst,  a very impressive bike shop with very good deals on tires,  hot day too,  good to keep the legs moving too after the heavy few days preceding.

Thursday I rolled down the canal for 30 minutes and that felt adequate,  I then tuned up my bike for tomorrow’s race in Holland,  where we are driving 2 hours to race at.  Our team is actually paid to enter in addition to further pay too depending on our finishing position,  so that could help on the weekly shop,  and protein cost!  The race we are competing in apparently attracts several thousand so is well supported and a great event,  with a very tight course round the town,  large coarse cobbles and many crashes from previous years I am sure we are in for a rough ride!

Late June- July Update

So a thorough update is in order,  however there is not enough time!  I will therefore summarize as best I can and then dip back in and expand when things have leveled out.

The Ras de Cymru stage race 26th-30th June, was aborted due to a Neck injury that prevented me from even driving for 4 days,  real shame,  so gutted after putting in so much work and not being able to race with the team.  Also apologies to missing Uncle Clive's Birthday celebrations!  I hope you had a great day.

Belgium 2-12th July I was fixed just in time and was a great trip and  a really productive experience,  my best result was 21st out of 120 other riders,  Omega Pharma quick step were there (the feeder team for Mark Cavendish's team),  as well as Lotto Bellisol,  another feeder team for strong riders.  

We raced for two days on and one off,  meaning we raced 6 times in the 10 days we spent in Ghent,  overall a tough ride but very worthwhile.

Unfortunately upon return I caught a bug and took 5 days off the bike,  with a trial ride on the 2nd day with the local chain gang that ended in me overcooking a climb and nearly blacking out on the descent!!  I decided to pull out of the group and try to recover be lying down while my heart stopped trying to pump its way out of my eye balls.

On the 5th day,  ill prepared with unshaven legs,  arriving 15 minutes before the start of the rockingham Regional C circuit race and with my heavy training wheels (not especially race-quite heavy, with wire beaded tires too) I smashed round the course,  fresh from Belgium and a whole new understanding of tactics,  I took 1st place by 5 meters sprinting hard into the hairpin before the final straight,  shelling riders off my wheel as I held the fastest shadyiest line I could manage,  maintaining speed through the corner then drilling away on the exit to a suprisingly comfortable win.

Following the Rockingham success,  the team and I completed the silverstone 9 man team time trail the day after.  It was intense and involved the loss of 4 riders in the first lap but we recieved 6th place out of 52 teams, only 14 seconds of the podium.  Our time for the course of 11 miles was 23:23 minutes.  Not too bad considering no practice beforehand,  our average speed for our first lap was 32mph and we had the fastest first lap of the day.

See our team below!

The third day of racing was held in Bournemouth town center,  where literally thousands came to watch and really added an extra electricity to the atmosphere.  There were 60 elite riders to compete against, most in teams of at least 4.  

The 1.6 km circuit was tight, windy with short powerful climbs and flat out stretches where speeds were reaching 45 mph,  I sussed out the last corner to be a strong dictator for a good finishing place and held in there till the end where I muscled up to the leading team and tried to squeeze further up,  I was blocked,  but managed to take 6th place following a hectic bunch sprint our of the last right angle corner onto the straight.

http://www.flickr.com//photos/britishcyclingphotos/sets/72157634732218734/show/with/9331926007/

Do check out the picures from British cycling!

Here's a little bit by the organsiser:

Inspired by the success of the Nocturne races of Smithfield Market place London, Bournemouth will close major roads within the town centre for the first time to host a series of elite races.

Kicking off Bournemouth’s Criterium will be the women’s Cat 2, 3, and 4 at 6pm which will then be followed the men’s National B Cat 1, 2,and 3 at 7pm.

Taking in some of Bournemouth’s best sights, the 1.5km course has both technical areas and long straight sections, and should appeal to all types of riders. Starting in the heart of the Town centre, the route flows between ascents and descents and incorporates a number of pinch points where only the toughest will survive. Having jostled and fought for a good position those leading the pack will head onto a downhill straight to the finish. Picking up speed as they go, the route will provide a spectacular for riders and spectators alike.

Held as part of this year’s Night Sky Ride event, and promoted by Sky Ride in partnership with British Cycling the racing is expected to attract thousands to take part throughout the evening. People are encouraged to bring their families along to watch or take part in the Sky Ride that will be held in unison. Finishing off the evening will be a ‘Nightglow Procession’ - the town’s first ever bike light spectacular, where participants of all ages will be able to take part. So, you get to race and bring the family too – win, win!

For now I have been given a very exciting opportunity which involves a fair amount of travel and a total change of life style from here in Oxford.  I will disclose the details of this shortly but with the beginning of this new challenge ends the fun times in Oxford with Abi,  who's pointed out quite how much I have to do to get ready for my departure and how little time I have.  I am so grateful for all of Abi's help,  literally too many occasions to list and hope I am able to do a better job of reassuring her things will be ok while I am away,

 Stand by for the next update,

Late June- early July update

Race reports to follow shortly regarding last results

In summary:

Beeline's team attack on Cranfield university/ Virgin Active Regional A road race resulted in a 1st, 3rd and 4th place  and myself receiving a years worth of Virgin active gym membership!  Very excited, the gym in Oxford is the DB's!

Currently Max from Zappi's and soon to be Ben also from Zappi's will joining us out in Belgium for some hard core criterium training,  More updates soon following the races,  first race is tonight at 18:00

Our view from outside the famous bike mueum in Oudenarde :)

The Northern Block

In preparation for the National A- Circuit of the Fens in Cambridge,  Team mate Jozef and I,  head to my home town Leicester to tackle Mallory Park's Regional B on Tuesday,  followed by a 70 miler at tempo pace on Wednesday pace.  We then will be tapering down to a light 2 hours in the morning of Thursday and Rockingham's handicap Regional B circuit race in the Evening.

Tuesday
Mallory Park circuit race:
Regional B
30 Miles,  Average speed 29 mph
4th place / 80

Jo and I made numerus attacks and blocked for each other to try and iniatiatae a break,  this worked for a few laps and then swallowed by the bunch again, more attacks were made but nothing stuck and everything was chased down after a lap or so....Until Danny from Zappi's pro Cycling got away with one other rider and stayed away for 5 laps.  Jo and I attempted to bridge and were in limbo for 4 laps in between break and bunch,  I pressed on and hard recognising that the bunch were not catching and I was making small gains on the two up break away.  At the end of the 4th lap I was angry and closed the gap down into a headwind using up a lot of energy- being a bigger rider than either of the break away riders I convinced myself that I was more comfortable in the wind than them and attacking them there was obligatory.  I made it in with the help that preceeded on the downhill stretch that another rider who rode out to me from the bunch banged out.

Wednesday's ride:

Plan was for a flat route using garmin connect, 10 miles later we ended up on the A47,  bored of single carriageway we detour of course- hit lots of hills.  We then pressed on to Rutland reservoir,  grabbed a quick coffee,  then rode home with an offensive headwind.  Finished with 73 miles in the legs mainly hitting power zone 3 as intended. 

Thursday 
Rockingham Castle handicap circuit race:

Regional B
5th Place/90

Jo and I talk race tactics and explain the dynamic of scratch racing.  Our groups are set off with 1.5 minute gaps.  The first bunch set off consists of 40 riders,  the second 20 and our group only 7.
We chase hard for  thirty minutes until we have caught the main bunch which was then an amalgamation of the two earlier groups.  Noticing the 3 man break away,  Jo and I make numerus attempts to bring the pace up to chase them down.  Unfortunately a team mate of the rider in the break slows any chases we make in our bunch,  we settle in and accept the 45 second gap the 3 man break has on us.  I tuck back into the pack biding my time,  2 corners before the finishing straight, I spin up riding over 15 meters of the black and white rumble patch skirting the corners,  I break away from the bunch with 20meters in 10 seconds.  I corner well, increasing the gap again.  I launch out of the saddle keeping as low as I can for the heavy cross wind hitting me hard,  I briefly look under and backwards of my bike,  one rider 6 meters away-  I'm still fifty meters from the line,  I move into his line,  we spend the remaining 10 meters side by side brushing shoulders,  he edges forward slightly over the line taking 4th,  leaving me with 5th.  Jo takes 6th in the bunch sprint.

Overall a fun race,  but quite negative and was a shame no others we interested in chasing down the break.  We'll get them next time!

Friday & Saturday light rides circa 1.5-2 hours long in preparation for Sunday's National A.

Sunday:

The UK's longest road race this year,  based in Cambridge and including town sections for spectators and to challenge bike handling skills. The race, which will take place on Sunday 16th June, has been scheduled to slot into the national racing calendar after the Halfords’ Tour Series finishes on Friday 14th and the Sunday before British Cycling’s National Championships on the 23rd.  Britain’s top teams will again be represented in the Tour Series with the last two events conveniently taking place in Aylesham, Norfolk and Ipswich, Suffolk. Many of the teams are planning to remain in East Anglia in readiness for our race at Whittlesey on the Sunday.

In support of the main race there will be a Regional A race held under ERRL rules this will depart at 12.15 and enjoy closed roads and the same course as the main race with a town centre finish.

‘NTFO’ were the first team to enter the race with 6 riders back in February whilst UCI Continental ‘Team UKYouth’ have now entered with a full squad of 8.

The “Circuit of the Fens” will be the longest single day road race on the British domestic calendar in 2013. The distance of some 200km will provide the riders with a real opportunity to prepare for the National Championship race in Glasgow the following Sunday.

Starting and finishing in Whittlesey town centre, the race will be unique insofar as the course will be totally flat without the usual hills to test the riders. Instead the wide open roads will leave the riders completely exposed to the renowned fenland winds. A special skill will be needed to combat the wind, that of forming echelons to gain maximum shelter. Thanks to support from Cambridgeshire Highways and Police, the riders will have a clear road for the race.

There are also a couple of narrow stretches towards the end of the race which will take the riders over rough and poorly surfaced roads that will again call for the ultimate in bike control.Such courses are common in Europe, particularly in the low countries of Belgium and ‘The Netherlands’. Even during the “Tour de France”, flat stages can play a crucial part in the overall result just as much as the mountain passes.

The whole on-the-road spectacle: the riders, official cars, service vehicles and race sponsors’ vehicles will make an impressive sight both for seasoned race followers and local residents.The main course for the Elite race will consist of a circuit of some 27km which the riders will cover almost 6 times. The route will then divert onto a narrow stretch of concrete farm road, worse for wear in some places, which will lead the race back via Decoy Lakes into Whittlesey and Market Place to commence the finishing circuit. The finishing circuit will consist of a 4km loop around the town centre and will also be covered 6 times.

The supporting ‘Amateur’ race, starting at 12h15 will cover 4 laps of the 27km circuit before returning to Whittlesey town centre – but will not use the finishing circuit.The races will be run under a Temporary Traffic Restriction Order, providing a ‘rolling closed road’ and the start and finish area will be subject to a total road closure. Cambridgeshire Police will be providing an escort for both the Elite and the Amateur races. Members of BC’s National Escort Group of motor-cycle safety marshals will also be providing back-up to both races. 

http://www.circuitoffens.co.uk

RACE REPORT

The start of the race began in the center of Whittelsey town,  with quite a large turn out of excited spectators cameras flashing and an all round good atmosphere.  We waited 15 minutes till the start of the race which is initiated by the mayor and then lead car starting off,  we ride 5 miles behind it,  as I move up from 30th place to the top 10 ready for the pace to spike as soon as the car pulls away.   As expected just as the car pulls away a break of 4 riders attack hard,  they stay away for one minute before being pulled back.  More attacks follow,  I roll through with the attacks remaining as sheltered as possible,  until a bunch of fifteen kick hard and break clear of the bunch,  I chase hard off the front hoping to bridge,  noting a rider who rides off the bunch now behind me.  Five minutes into our chasing we pass a Sigma Sport rider throwing up on the side of the road.  We work together for a lap where we maintain a 30 second gap on the peloton and a two minute gap that slowly grows to 3 minutes on the following lap.
 We ride at tempo pace,  preserving our energy and staying vigilant hoping for more riders to bridge to us.  Finally a chasing group break away from bunch and smash up to us and put in some big efforts,  our average speed picks up greatly from circa 26mph to 33 mph.  Our chasing group now twelve strong press on changing formation effectively and using the whole of the road for wide span echelons.
Another 10 minutes pass and the bunch catches us,  more attacks are launched,  I participate  in several, pull back into the bunch for a rest,  when BOOM- All 8 of Team UK Youth materialize on the front and push the pace up significantly,  cutting the peleton in half.

Approaching Glassmoor Bank I chase and close the distance from one hundred and fifty meters to twenty meters with one Spirit rider on my wheel,  I lead him out at a consistent 36 mph for the minutes effort,  I signal for him to come through he says he's got nothing-  I call again recognizing how little I have left and the urgent need for recovery before the next attack,  He comes through slowly and our speed drops to 30 mph,  I rest for 15 seconds then push again,  riding him off my wheel,  he blows up,  another fifteen seconds the pace of the break is clear to be unobtainable as the speed they pull away at increases.  The break gets away,  several riders were shelled later down the road including team NTFO who ease off completely,  the race from here seems to in 60% of the riders eyes to be over.


 I continue to work with the rest wishing to get my entry's worth for the day.
Our group of 20 riders ease up as it becomes now more widely accepted as the race is over,  however I see a rider down the road still riding hard at time trial pace,  I decide to chase him down,  I ride off the front of the group and settle into an average of 26-27 mph closing and then maintaining the gap of 50 meters between us.  We get black flagged with 65 miles of the race completed, return to HQ,  feeling slightly disappointed to have missed the bunch chop,  but pleased to have been involved in the early moves that didn't work but gave me a better understanding of what I could have done better.


Summary

The first 50 minutes the average speed my garmin recorded was 33.4mph,  with an average power of 344 Watts,  for this race I have something to take away in terms of  moving on in all my personal bests for power produced over 1, 2, 10, 20, 30 and 60 minutes.  This will however mean I will have to raise the bar in my interval sessions,  there is no hiding  :(

Central Region Road Race Championship

This was a tough race,  average speed of 29.8mph for the 90 miles caused some riders to be shelled and shelled hard!  The heat added another element to deal with too as it was around 25 degrees and quite sticky!  

Please see the report by BC below:

The Newport Pagnell 24-year-old crossed the line ahead of Henry Latimer (AW Cycles) and Mark Baines (Spirit Bikes RT) with all three coming from a 12-man break which formed on the opening lap and stayed away to the finish.

On a dry day with little wind the race speed touched 30 mph as the road narrowed for the first climb of Claire Hill, and as the field came past the finish at the end the first lap the 12 leaders – also including Rob Yeatman (Dream Cycling), Mike Wragg and Richard Wood (Arbis-Colbert Cycles RT), Will Goulbourne (Team V-Sprint), Pete Wager (Felt-Colbornes-Hargroves RT), Ken Buckley (AW Cycles), Phil Starr (Python RT), Josef Metelka (Zappi’s CC) and Ben Homa (Beeline Bikes) – had an advantage of 20 seconds over the rest.

The break worked well together, and at the end of lap two they had a lead of 2-30 on a bunch that was finding it hard to get a chase going.

The gap continued to grow and reached five minutes before, with 20 miles to go, Team IG-Sigma Sport riders Matt Jones and Jake Hales started to drive a chase group.

It was too little, too late and the lead group stayed clear to contest the finish with three riders going down on the left hand side of the road and forced to cross the line on foot.

“Corley Cycles is one of the bigger teams in the region and this is always a big objective,” said Smith. “I got in the break and took on the responsibility for the team today.

“I wouldn’t consider myself a sprinter, but at the end I just followed all the moves up the last climb until the flat with 300 metres to go. Luckily I was on the right and missed the crash.

“I’ve finished third in the national hill climb championship, but I’ve never won a National B so I suppose this is my best road race result – it’s definitely up there.

“I’ve not had consistency for a long time because of work, but I had a week riding in Majorca two weeks ago which probably did me a favour and that’s coming through now.”

Result:

1 Michael Smith (Team Corley Cycles)
2 Henry Latimer (AW Cycles)
3 Mark Baines (Spirit Bikes RT)
4 Rob Yeatman (Dream Cycling)
5 Mike Wragg (Arbis-Colbert Cycles RT)
6 William Goulbourne (Team V-Sprint Racing)
7 Richard Wood (Arbis-Colbert Cycles RT)
8 Peter Wager (Felt Colborne Hargroves RT)
9 Ken Buckley (AW Cycles)
10 Jake Hales (Team IG-Sigma Sport)
11 Ian Knight (Team Corley Cycles)
12 Simon Henley (Team Corley Cycles)
13 Ben Homa (Beeline Bicycles RT)
14 Roy Chamberlain (Team Corley Cycles)
15 Matt Jones (Team IG-Sigma sport)
16 Doug Coleman (CC Luton)
17 Jerzy Kuzminski (High Wycombe CC)
18 Ed Clemens (Spirit Bikes RT)
19 Philip Starr (Python RT)
20 Justin Belcher (Banbury Star CC)

 www.britishcycling.org.uk 

Bristol Regional A - Mike Rutty Memorial Road Race - 2nd June

60 miles

120 Riders

5th place

Average speed: 29 mph

Weather- Sunny, dry, 22 Degrees

New to the team current Slovakian Para-Olympic skier and general adrenaline sports addict Jozef Metelka and I discuss team tactics on route to the race after staying at a friends house in Bristol for the night.

We go through signs we will use to initiate, terminate or aid certain moves in the race,  laboring certain points during the race to take on fuel and fluid especially.

As we got closer to race HQ the weather was getting warmer and was clear that the conditions would benefit a fast paced race over the course that skirted the a sizable reservoir providing excellent  crosswinds provoking the pack to take on a strong echelon spanning the width of the road.

The field,  I noticed boasted several strong looking teams who've raced well together a team in previous races,  24/7 riders in particular.

The course had some great corners in,  my favorite was a snaking left-hander through a small village (West Harptree) that tightened up after entry and 50m later a right angle of corner,  this was an excellent place to deploy an attack as the  rolling hills to follow could provide good opportunity to really push on if the “shady lines” were taken.  I lead Joe out for the prime using this to our advantage,  riding fast and brushing the bush at 40+ mph making it difficult for Joe and even more so for those try follow his wheel.  We attacked approximately 2.5 miles before the finish which was around 60th rider,  to climb to 1st position several minutes later and a collection of surprised faces including Felt rider and several 24/7 and dream riders in a mini break 10 seconds off the peloton.  Following this we kept the pace fairly high in anticipation of the following attack,  which came through strong,  we managed to slot in smoothly enough and proceeded with the last 4 laps.

The last 4 laps saw two crashes,  luckily twenty or so riders behind Jo and myself. The first looked like a rider over-cooked it on the fast chicane (Ham Hill) approaching the descent to the reservoir washed out and low sided into several other riders.  Jo and I attacked at this opportunity however were brought back several minutes later with 5 other riders.  I sprinted up for the last prime of the race and took 3rd,  unfortunately we were not in a place for an overall prime position as Jo took the 1st on the previous rather than me,  but Beeline RT’s presence throughout the race was strong.

The rest of the race saw several attacks launch few staying away for not more than 5 minutes with a maximum gap of 15 seconds.

Last lap approaching I watched moves go through and calculating the break of 7 riders now 20 second gap,  decided I would attack 2 miles to the finish just as we came through West Harptree with my favorite corner.  The rolling hills saw several cars, caravans down the road towards the bunch causing panic bottle-necking of the riders particularly on the 2nd rolling hill on the run down to the finish.  

My maths had gone wrong, I was passing the top 15 sooner than I wanted still with 3/4 mile to go, now with good passing speed I put in another kick and boosted passed the main bunch to follow the edge of the road again brushing the bush.  A quick look confirmed no one had jumped onto my wheel,  I dug deep pushed on until I span out my biggest gear lay across the top tube and tucked into a ball. 

  As I approached the last 500 meters,  those in the bunch were catching,  so I got out of the saddle and sprinted hard,  bringing in the riders from the break and pushing away from those behind, I took the back 3 riders 5 meters from the line feeling fairly worked and very hot! In reflection I only just caught the break, so if I had left any later I would probably have not made it up to the last few of them, I could have gone earlier, food for thought.

Overall a good team performance,  Jo bagged 13th and me taking 5th,  missing 4th by inches.  Work to be done but things are certainly moving in the right direction. Bring on the next week Block!

http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/road/article/roa20130602-road-Road--Dansie-takes-Rutty-Memorial-win-0

2013 Race Calendar

21-Apr	EMRRL - Beeston Road Club(2/3/4)
20-Apr	Archer RC Spring Criterium(1/2/3)
31-Mar	Derby Mercury RR Windley(2/3/4)
09-Mar	The Roy Thame Cup & Spring Chicken Road Races(Roy Thame Cup)
02-Mar	Army Cycling Union Ludgershall Winter Series 8(E/1/2/3)
03-Mar	41st Severn Bridge Road Race
09-Mar	The Roy Thame Cup & Spring Chicken Road Races
30-Mar	NCRA Spring Handicap Road Race Series 2: Race 1
20-Apr	Archer RC Spring Criterium
04-May	Nigel Measom 2-day Road Race
11-May	Roy Ludford Memorial - Tour of The Milburys
16-May	NCRA Rockingham Raceway Handicap Series: Race 2
19-May	Central Region Road Race Championship
02-Jun	Mike Rutty Memorial Road Race
16-Jun	St Ives CC "Circuit of the Fens" Road Race
16-Jun	Winchcombe Kermesse
22-Jun	Team Virgin Active Road Race
23-Jun	Nick Clark & Ginger Smallwood Memorial Road Races
23-Jun	Colin Carfield Road Race
26-30th June	Ras De Cymru stage race
04-Jul	NCRA Summer Handicap Road Race Series: Race 2
07-Jul	Stockton Velo29-Altura Grand Prix
07-Jul	1st Chard Wheelers Summer Road Races
07-Jul	Derby Mercury Road Race Windley
14-Jul	Python Racing Team Summer Road Race
21-Jul	Fareham Wheelers Road Race
23 Jul -9th Aug	Belgium
11-Aug	Worcester News Trophy Road Race 2013
11-Aug	Billy Warnock Memorial Trophy Road Race
17-Aug	MKCA/Phil Corley Cycles 2-day Road Race
25-Aug	Peterborough CC/Alston Country Homes Road Race
01-Sep	Jef Schils Memorial Road Race 2013
01-Sep	John & Dulcie Walker Road Races
15-Sep	High Wycombe CC Autumn Road Race
15-Sep	Ride 24/7 Cricklade Kermesse
29-Sep	Last Chance Points Grabber