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  :(