Here we are again, Southampton, one of my favourite courses and always great for National events. But no mud!! Who took all the mud away? The sports centre incorporates two areas suitable for cylclo cross courses, one on the cricket and football pitches side, and one on the ski slope side. I've raced the ski slope side (not on the actual slope in case you wondered) in frozen conditions but only ever in mud on the other side to the centre which is always used for bigger events. The temperature was struggling to reach 2degrees and all that was missing was the snow that seemed to have fallen everywhere else in the country.
A very early get up (5.30 for the 6.55 ferry from Yarmouth) on a day like today isn't nice, but at least I only had to drive up to Southampton. I'm sponsored by Wightlink Ferries, so Red Funnel is out of the question, in this case a bit of a pain. I arrived at the sports centre at about 8.20 so had a couple of hours to prepare. First of all I took a bit of a walk around; still cold, then I got the bike ready, changed and went for a warm up lap; still cold. Two laps later my fingers had just about warmed up and that was with long fingered wind cheater gloves.
The course was great, not a lot different to normal, but a bit of a novelty in frozen conditions. It was clear that the corners might get a little slippery after a few laps when we had all dug in, but apart from that, it seemed pretty straightforward. The sports centre is based on the side of a hill so most of the time you are either going up or down. The hills aren't a problem but it does mean the more powerful rider, especially in these conditions, will have a bit of an advantage.
Southampton has always suited my style of riding, which is based more on speed and power rather than technique, so I was confident of at least a good start. Once again I aimed for a top ten as I did at Abergavenny. Having just won three Wessex events in a row means nothing in a race like this as most of the top contenders are all league race winners around the country, and with Riders like Darren Atkins, Chris Young, Noel Clough and Matt Denby in attendance, things are never going to be straightforward. That's not taking into consideration 15-20 or so other 'names'
Sean Williams (Wightlink/Offshore RT)
National Trophy Round 4
Southampton
Pic: www.grahamrobins.net
Thanks to my national ranking, I managed to get on the third row of the grid, a couple of riders behind Darren Atkins. This was good, I could keep my eye on him and the others. I got a good start coming out of the second turn into the short climb at the copse. I had made my way into the top six, just behind Chris Young. This was only a few minutes into the race and I thought if I sat on Young's wheel for a bit, he'd drag me through, but he seemed to be going quite slow and my inexperience at national level showed as I went by him. He's pretty Wiley is Chris Young, I didn't even see him come back past me, but going into the copse on lap two I saw him a few bike lengths ahead. Oh well, I was still in contention. But then it all went a little pear shaped. Attacking over the top of the copse drag, the riders ahead all pulled clear of me, I couldn't push it any harder and dropped back to about 9th or 10th. I'd lost count of position now and was panicking a little as the gap grew out.
Not far behind me and chasing strongly were Jonathon Watson and Tony Green, I could see another three riders not far behind them including Gary Allen, but thankfully the gap behind them was quite large so I knew that as long as I held on I'd finish in the top twelve at least. I just needed to calm down a bit, and a lap later the Watson,Green duo caught me and the three of us rode together for a lap. At this point we were about halfway through the race, Atkins was clear at the front with Young, Roach, Denby and Clough chasing (not necessarily in that order). The riders between them and my group were spread out with Kevin Knox and Keith Sheridan not far ahead. It was at this point I started to feel good again.
I put in a few digs to break our trio up and set about chasing Sheridan and Knox who seemed to be coming back just a little bit. Then coming into the finishing straight with two laps to go I passed a running Matt Denby. Fortunately for him, quite close the pits. This urged me on a little as I knew that he'd be chasing hard once he made his bike change. In the process I caught Knox, and Sheridan wasn't an impossible catch (although fairly unlikely)
The last lap was quite dramatic from my race point of view. Denby first caught Knox and then me with about half a lap to go on the back straight, which was annoying, but he was on a mission to get his place back after his mechanical. Coming into the last few twists and turns, Knox put a surge in and caught back to me. I should have fought harder to hold my place but he came past, and into the tarmac drag to the finish he gained about two bike lengths on me and saw me coming up fast, sprinting for the line. He just pipped me. At this stage I think I may have been 9th,10th or 11th but closer to the riders ahead than I was in the first round.
Result (so far)
Veteran 40+
1. Darren Atkins (Series Leader)
2. Chris Young
3. Phil Roach
After the Abergavenny National Trophy and now this one I can now see where my major weakness lies; holding the pace after the fast start I seem to be able to manage, matching the faster guys. Time for some more intervals I think. The pain never ceases in this game.
I have to say that I was totally geared up for a mudfest at Thruxton today. I had been looking at the location on Google maps all week and it was obvious there was a lot of grass, but I could also see a lot of brown area which could only mean one thing . . . mud!! CycloCross at Thruxton, as far as I know, was a first, so in truth, no one of knew what to expect. I kind of thought we may even use some of the motor racing circuit but as soon as I turned into the entrance I could see the course taping weaving around the grass field by the entrance. That answered my question.
Ok, no worries, that is still better than hammering my time trial bike down the P613, adjacent to Thruxton, in the summer months, but Grass? last time I did that, my mech exploded and I started hallucinating the unfortunate demise of aluminium tubes and drop handle bars before my very eyes. Those youthful days were, well, actually, never experienced, much to my benefit I think.
I digress!! That's enough talk about grass. This particular breed was in fact, a bit thick but dry. How could it possibly be dry? I've spent most of the week riding my bike in wet, petrol stinking lycra, from the shit off the roads, a wet arse and more water than I care to see for a lifetime. What a strange place Thruxton is. I walked some of the course and my shoes weren't even wet. There wasn't a tree in sight, no hedges, nothing, just grass. This was not going to be an easy race, and I could forsee road racing style bunches forming from the off.
Today would be harder anyway.I've had a bit of free reign lately, two Wessex league wins on the trot, but in my mind, with some notable absences in Tony Green (GA Cycles), Luke Cowley (Swindon RC) and Keith Sheridan (Hargroves Cycles). All three were present today, as expected, and from the start a trio formed consisting of myself, Luke and Keith with Tony just hanging off the back. I was pleased to see Gary Allen not too far off the pace too, it's always good to know there are people to push you, but the drawback to that is the race hurts soooo! much more.
There was no let up, the one small part of the course where I hoped I might get a jump proved to just be a launch platform for all four of us, and relegated the only climb to just another short, plain sector of the lap. However, the aftermath of that was a short drop where Keith and Luke dropped me for a few bike lengths on each of the six? laps (I lost count to be honest) meaning I had a short but intense fightback each time. Numerous twists and turns later led us back into the finish straight, and it continued like this for twenty minutes with me on the front until Keith took the lead, followed by Luke then me, and Tony yo-yoing off this lead group. The difference the tow made was amazing, being on the front into that cold wind was not nice; finally I could start to think tactically. I was not the only one though, obviously. It seemed none of us wanted to risk breaking away, we were too closely matched. Tony latched on again and again, and again and again he dropped off.
So it continued like this until the bell; (last lap) that sweet, sweet sound that means it's nearly over. How can you love something so much that all you want to do is end it, the pain and torture, but only seven more minutes, only seven minutes, one lap, hell and back, please don't crash, please. The temptation was to break right at the bell but realistically I knew that a seven minute interval wouldn't work into that wind, and I think we all thought the same thing. With about two minutes to go (I couldn't tell you which part of the course it was because frankly it all looked the same) and maybe a few turns, I got back on the front. Now, in a road race this isn't the best tactic, I know, but I could see some back markers up ahead and wanted to make sure I dictated the line going past them. This seemed to work. Ironically, the worst hold up we had was literally in the last 200 metres, on the slope going into the final turn. In my opinion it wasn't really a hold up but we had to ride the thicker grass to get by, this is where I attacked. It wasn't a big attack, but enough to keep me on the front into the right hander to the finish. Through the corner, and I opened up the sprint. Fortunately I think I had the perfect line and acceleration, and, as you can see in the picture, although close, I had a bike length and took the win from Keith with Luke another bike length back.
Great race, and in hindsight (after a bottle or red), not such a bad course for flat out racing if you like that kind of thing. Next week at Southampton, I'm sure, will actually be a mud bath, and it's a National so don't go getting too much confidence in this Islander, I'm papping my pants already.
Results from Basingstoke Cyclo Cross here - with lap times (Vets results at bottom of page). Looks like the mud slowed laps time quite a bit for seniors after the Veteran race; happy with my last two laps times as those were done in the quagmire.
On my way to another win at
Basingstoke today
Pic: grahamrobins.net
My legs are hanging, I'm still picking bits of mud out of my eyes but I'm enjoying the bottle of Merlot won today at Basingstoke. In attempt to ignore X-Factor I thought I'd get ahead of myself and write up today's race. I have to say that I expected a lot more mud and water this afternoon after what seemed to be a constant week of rain, rain and . . a bit more rain, but the course at the War Memorial Park in Basingstoke was ok, bit of mud, but not particulary wet.
Until it rained that was.
Our 40minute race was run with at least half of it through a constant downpour, enough to start turning the parkland into a quagmire. The seniors must have squirmed around for an hour after us, luckily we only had to endure it for about 20 minutes. Endure is a harsh word though, because I love wet, rainy, muddy conditions and I wish it had been as wet as it got at the halfway point right from the start.
I think there must have been around 50 or so Vets/Juniors including old teammate Steve Dines and a handful of women including Karen Murphy, two of a handful of Isle of Wight riders, mostly all, except me, riding for the Wight Mountain team, great for the Isle of Wight to be showing well in this discipline.
Having only three results in the Wessex league so far I found myself on the third row of the start grid. The first half lap was quite slow, with a number of twists and turns around the back of the tennis courts before returning back to the main park area, and a few bursts around the football pitches.
I had placed myself in the lead again, with a small but healthy advantage over Billy Girvan, and around this section I think I may have gained time each lap, but my legs weren't telling me that. Bit annoying really as in training, big efforts of around 15-30 seconds have been going well, but in a race I don't seem to be getting the same feel. This is all good though as its showing where my weaknesses may lie. Technically I felt a lot better today, tyres were gripping and my lines were a lot better than previous weeks.
Regardless of some of my negativity, the technical sections and the straight sections seemed to have an effect at the halfway point as I noticed that I was gradually pulling out more of an advantage over Billy Girvan, using the football pitches as a gauge for time gaps. Up to this point Billy was closest to me with Gary Allen and Luke Cowley chasing. The gap grew out and I lost sight of what was going on behind, so I concentrated on at least holding my advantage. Then the rain started and the course quickly started to become a mud bath. Perfect! This is where I really started to feel good. Maybe it just took too long to warm up, maybe it was the conditions but it worked for me and with three laps to go I finally got into my stride.
Thankfully the course, although muddy, still felt fairly firm underneath the top layer. When the mud gets deep, that's when I start to struggle due to my slightly heavier frame and height, but this was ok. A bit of slipping and sliding on the corners, but generally, it was still possible to get the power down and keep riding. In those last two laps, I think I pulled out another minute or so as I crossed the line as winner, with a 1min 38sec advantage, a lot more than I thought I had.
This result will boost me up the Wessex League Veterans overall ready for Thruxton next week. There will probably be a few more Veterans of note as there are no more National event clashes. The moment of truth now as we enter the second part of the 2010/11 season. The aim? to keep winning :0)
It's been almost two months since I last posted, the cross season so far has been pretty intense, raced almost completely in dry conditions. Not everything has quite worked out to plan, but the form seems good and I'm hoping that now I have started some interval training, things will start to come good.
Not that it has been bad though . . well, not all of it.
Training has been good, couple of setbacks when I've got the recovery wrong, so one or two key sessions missed there. I was kind of following the Simon Burney plan up until the end of October which seems to have worked out well, but for some reason I found that I was struggling to complete two or three of the weekday sessions he suggests, at the intensity he recommends, let alone four. Maybe he wrote it with the younger rider in mind. I'm a Vet now and although I still feel like I can improve, It is becoming more evident that I'm not recovering anywhere near as quickly as I used to and this is causing some problems with deciding exactly what to do. However, I still think that some of this maybe due to mental attitude as much as the need to perfect the physiological preperation. That's not to say though that the unplanned recovery days have done any harm, in fact, maybe I've accidently made things a little better.
After the second round of the Wessex Cyclo Cross league in Oxford in September where I got third Vet, things started to get better. The week after, in Swindon, I was placed on the front row of the start grid, a position I hadn't experienced for a couple of seasons, and lined up with around 60 or so other Vets and Juniors including Juniors Luke Cowley, John Dibben and Vets, Tony Green, Andy Roberts and Gary Allen - amongst others. It's been maybe five years that I have had any confidence in continuing with the fast starts I used to have when I was in my early thirties, racing as a senior, but here, at Swindon, I found that the ability was still there and as Vet it seemed to cut the mustard once more. Only Luke Cowley managed to go with me, but not far behind, chasing hard was Tony Green and John Dibben. By lap three Luke and I were still sharing the pace on the front and John had managed to ride away from Tony and was coming across fast. Luke seemed to be more concerned than I was as John, the other Junior was now challenging not just for the Junior win but the race win. Tony was second Vet to me at this point and gradually slipping back so I just hung in, with Luke pushing the pace. Eventually it was clear John was going to bridge the gap and soon the three of us were together with two laps to go. Two juniors and an 'old man'. Admittedly, I had far more experience than these two but the guys were trying to beat each other for the win and John was clearly the stronger having rode across the gap. With a lap to go I decided to see if I could get the jump on the two youngsters and tried a couple of big attacks, but both attempts came to nothing and the lads counter attacked and rode away from me. Oh well, I might not have been on for the race win but I was clear for a Veteran win and in the last hundred metres, as John crossed the line as race and Junior winner, Luke came a cropper on one of the sharp turns and I just managed to catch him as he climbed back on his bike, allowing me a clear run for second place and Veteran winner.
So, first win of the season, shame it wasn't the overall race win but it's only the Vets classification that concerns me so that was plenty good enough.This result as well as the third place at Oxford now gave me 23 National Ranking points which would help for the next race, the National Trophy in Abergavenny and the official start to the 2010/11 season.
Pretty much all the Nationals for me were always going to be an epic journey what with the need to catch ferries off the Island. The Veteran races for the Trophy mean very early starts to the day or overnight stops due to the 10.30am race start. Abergavenny meant the 04.30am ferry from Yarmouth (the six, and next ferry, was too late) and a three hour drive to what is almost Mid-Wales. It was still dark as I got near the Severn Bridge at Bristol, and I was getting twitchy with the driving. When I arrived in Abergavenny it was only about 8.30 and I still had two hours to hang around, so I got a few laps of the course in and was instantly surprised at how different these national courses were laid out compared to the local league races. Lots of sharp turns, very steep banks, slippery off camber sections and run-ups including a tarmac section through the finish line. I guess over the years the perfect venues have been sought out around the country to make the best courses. That's not to say the local events are bad, the majority are excellent, but some don't really have the variety to make these type of courses. I must admit I prefer the all out, less technical courses where speed and power are needed, but Abergavenny required a fair amount of technical ability too which was fun, but not always to my advantage.
Still, because of my fairly high national ranking I was placed on the third row of the grid with around 30 riders behind me and about 15 in front. The start was alongside a couple of football pitches and pretty firm before taking a right, around the bottom of the field. I got a great start, straight down the right side, no-one in my way, and by the turn I had got up to 5th. Maybe though I'd gone off a bit fast and after a bit of scrapping I settled into 9th. The favourites were away, as early as the first lap, and it was clear that I was going to have to fight just to stay in the top ten. This was good though, I might even make it to sixth or seventh as I could still see Keith Sheridan and a couple of others riding three up and about ten seconds ahead. Ten seconds in a national though is a big gap to cross and requires a very big effort to close.
Wessex regular Tony Green rode across to me and the two of us spent the rest of the race chasing down the guys in front. I have to admit that on my turns in front of Tony, I could have tried a little harder. He gave me a ticking off after, well more friendly advice really, and warned me that nationals were nothing like local races and the need to stay right on it all the time was paramount, and he was right, but that didn't stop the two of us going for a sprint to the line for 10th and 11th, which I duly won after Tony seemed to have dropped off a little to let me come through ahead of him so he could get the jump. To be honest Tony, if you are reading, you may have been better holding the small gap you had because I don't think I would have been able to ride across. That's the fun of racing though and what gives a rider the biggest rush. Darren Atkins won this race and I finished 2m43s down. A big gap....
The three hour drive home was nasty and I had to turn off through Bath as I couldn't stand anymore motorway, then ran straight into heavy traffic. On the journey I have to admit that maybe the thought of doing the Nationals wasn't such a good idea after all, and maybe I should just dabble until I feel as if I can challenge in the top 5 in order to make the journey, cost and effort worthwhile.
I was hoping for a bit of mud and rain in this race as I had fond memories of a great race in the nastiest conditions here two years ago where I was 7th Senior. It was almost entirely bone dry though, which was good, as Reading is great in these conditions. Still, that didn't stop the bike and a little stupidity from letting me down. Once again I managed to race off from the start and soon took to the front. This time it was a little more satisfying than my start at Swindon as I had managed to ride into the lead with Keith Sheridan, Luke Cowley, Lewis King and Gary Allen all behind me, riders that I'm well aware of keeping my eye out for. Lap two, and I got a bit of jump and managed to put around 10-15 seconds between myself and Keith Sheridan. It looked for a lap that I was holding this gap quite well, but then the gears started to play up, the rear-derailleur catching and lifting up and back almost to breaking point. I couldn't see what was causing the problem without stopping so decided to go on for one more lap before considering a bike change at the pit. Big mistake! Along with panic that the gears were getting worse and Keith starting to catch me, I shoved it into the big ring in the hope that maybe the issue was with a bent inner ring or a bad chain-line for the gear I was riding (I was clutching at straws now) but that was a bad move, the derailleur caught and the mech exploded, snapped in half and locked the back wheel up. Race over! The pit was too far to make any use of a spare bike. As it turned out, one of the jockey wheels had snapped so I can only think this caused the chain to jump around too much and catch the derailleur, resulting in the eventual fail. At least I could be happy that I was riding the race right at the front and seemingly holding that lead with relative ease.
So, third time lucky? Oh yes, third time lucky. Another trip to Oxford School and another dry-ish race. Not as dry as the race a few weeks back but still no mud of any note. With last week in mind and a perfect start straight for another fast one, I made sure that I took full advantage and raced off with the sole intention of building the biggest lead I could by the end of the lap, which turned out to be around 30 seconds with Gary Allen and Lewis King chasing. This time I had complete control and each lap I pulled out a slightly bigger lead. On the finish line I had 1m10secs over the chasers and crossed the line as outright winner with Lewis and Gary sprinting for second place. It seemed strange to be a spectator for the remaining podiums in a race that I had just been in. Very satisfying, it's not a feeling that I get very often, winning races. In my twenty years of racing, I've probably won maybe ten or so open/league races in all my disciplines combined, and this win reminded me of why I do this sport. There is nothing like the feeling of being the quickest and knowing the training is working, its very satisfying but it doesn't take long to be knocked down a peg or two, and this happens in the biggest competitions time after time. Only a week later, I'd experience a personal flat spot in the season so far, but made a little sweeter by the fact that my contribution to the Inter-Area champs, riding for Wessex, still counted towards a nice achievement all the same.
Another long drive, three hours once more but this time I didn't have to leave quite so early as the Veteran race start was a bit later in the day. The Inter-Area champs have teams of four riders competing in the race from all regions around Great Britain. The Vets race had around 70 riders with around 20 teams taking part. Some regions had enough riders to make up an A and B team; Wessex A team had just three, Myself, Tony Green and Lewis King which would be enough, as three riders finishing was all that was required to get a team placing. In our opinion, the organisation at the start was shameful, this was a national event after all and we found ourselves five rows back, behind a number of B teams. This was totally unfair and once the fifth row had been set, the grid just turned into a free for all. We were at a total disadvantage, with one of the commissaries even telling us the grid was based on last years positions? Not sure that was fair. This may have been true though, but when it came down to it, the start wasn't wide enough to grid all the regions A teams to a fair order.
The start was frantic, within 30yards there was a crash and the three of us were held up by it. I think I came off worst. I managed to avoid being in the pile up but I was right behind it, had to stop, then ride over a bike to get back in the race, then, by the first set of hurdles, in my haste to move up, I slipped and went down, twisting around just in time to see another rider coming right down on top of me. In a tangle, and a few choice words the two of us got up and on our way, thankfully both in one piece with no damage done. I had no idea where I was at this point but I estimated around 30th. It was possible to pass two or three riders at a time this far down the field, but inevitably you start to reach riders as quick as yourself and it gets harder to make up the positions. Once I reached about 20th, I finally saw Tony and Lewis up ahead, so at least that meant we are all in the top 20. A few laps later and I was almost on Tony's wheel with Lewis a couple of places further up. We were all in the top 15 now but only had a couple of laps to go. The gaps had grown out and I couldn't quite latch onto Tony as he pulled away from me again. This wasn't a problem though as no one else passed me, and I think Tony and Lewis may have picked off another position or two in those closing stages. At the finish Lewis claimed 10th, Tony 13th and me 15th which was surprisingly good enough for third place team overall!! A great result, considering our rubbish start and the fact we only had three riders, leaving no room for error.
Personally, I was a little disappointed with 15th and believe I could have got a top 10 had our start been better, had I not crashed and had I not backed off a little in the closing stages, but still, considering all the negatives, I was ok with 15th as I didn't feel too good on this extremely twisty and slippery course that, although not muddy, was very slick due to recent rain and a lot of grass. Not really my type of course but a great course all the same, well worthy of any national level event. Just a shame the organisation at the start was a bit of a shambles.
Inter Area veteran Champs. I appear for 2 seconds between 1m03secs and 1m05secs going past the pit entrance, in the Wessex yellow and red top.
So that's where I am so far. With all the rain we've had this week I'm expecting Wessex Round 7 at Basingstoke tomorrow to be very muddy, and to be honest, I'm relishing the challenge as CycloCross doesn't get seriously fun until the mud arrives, and at some point soon, this has to happen.
