A pre race shake down of my race bike had not gone well. My first experience of carbon rims in the rain had left me with a dislocated shoulder when I had overshot a corner and thudded into a tree. That session somehow managed to completely trash the freehub on my Planet X wheel , but it wasn't all bad, it did open my eyes to the smoothness of riding on tubs!!!Dugast Rhinos rock!!!
anyway to Winchester... Its raining, though not that cold, and blowing a hooley.. open sports fields greet us, all facing into the prevailing.
Ribbons of tape flap in the wind as we try and work out the course.. Its was certainly a long loop!!
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| woo hoo sillystring on a map |
There was a bit of everything for every one.. Long fast downhill > gravel bed> a bit of woods> bomb hole> steepish banks> boggy running bit. no barriers though..but plenty of off camber grassy turns and switchbacks to keep everyone happy.
Warming up was a case of riding the course loop and then going back to the van, or hovering in the lee of a building, to try and stay dryish.
The circuit started up a longish farm track and straight out onto off camber slick slime a few off camber switches and short banks, skirt the edge of the top playing fields towards the top of the course. two short gravel pits ( too short to make much of a difference.) and then the longest straight bit of the whole Wessex series so far.. Long, straight but not as fast as you would have thought. switchbacks and across uncharted fields which were remarkably bumpy. these hummocks of grass or 'baby heads' as I heard them described, were energy sappingly hard as there wasn't really a discernable path across them. A bomb hole right next to the pits ( south side) and a loop around some woods. out across the fields again switchbacks down towards the bottom corner of the course. two awkward banks ( both rideable if nobody founders in front) and then back up the fields, this time with a welcome tailwind.
a couple of corners and a blip into the woods. Exiting the woods a right hander on a fast gravelly corner with a straight sprint on compacted gravel, before doing a meander around the trees. Off camber and slippy. A steep bank had most riders off and running a long boggy section tearing up the newly laid lawns of the horticulture college. ankle deep in parts, this was easier to run than attempting to grind your way through it.
a few switch backs and a boggy straight, another switch , boggy straight characterised this top section. A steep drop and off into the wind again. That awkward squirrelly bit just after the start.. A great circuit, around 1.9 miles long. Definitely not one to have to run around if you have a problem.
Slowly riders congregated at the start, reluctantly holding on to jackets as long as possible, and then wandering around looking for someone too leave them with ( in the van!!)
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| Looking across the top fields |
The whistle goes, and we are off. Not as quick as I normally get away and by the first corner I got a bit swamped and conceded places. The tyres twitch down hill as we collectively slither across the slippy section and I am soon moving up through riders.
I am with the group that I know, the regulars, let the battle commence. hang on to a wheel, and then push past when the opportunity arises. defend for a while, before having a dig to gap and work up to the next rider. Lap times were around the 13 minute mark and the race was soon strung out. There were plenty of opportunities though. The slick conditions amplified small mistakes, a duff line forcing a foot dab or a unscheduled dismount. I found I was very slow across the open bump field bits, and the long drag, even with a tail wind meant didn't help, I was hemorraging places. Top ten guys gapped me and I was being caught by the 10-20 placed regulars. I got worked over into the wind as I dragged a small group around, and then one by one they dropped me as we went across the flat fast bits.
Technically I was getting up there but these long bits were frustrating especially in the last few laps when my gears started to jump, crunch and grind. nothing would stick, I pushed on. Ed went down in front, Simon crashed through the tape twice, so I know I was pressurising them. Had I have known I should have pitted, but I was too desperate to defend my place as it was .
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| Looking at the Pits... I should have visited here. bollox |
Cornering became awkward, I was braking far too much into them and slow to get back up to speed. I was overtaken by two riders who i have alwasy been infront of...mentally this was a bit of a downer, maybe the lack of form was due to the enforced layoff due to my knee. Keep going, accelerate again , dont loose a wheel.
The bell came and went, time for a dig. "ride fast finish fucked" I got gaps on a few rivals. forced past Stuart who had only just overtaken me, and was steadily hunting Simon down in a rematch of our Reading battle. He pipped me by less than five meters, and for the first time after a race I had to lie down.struggling for breath and feeling wrecked.
pushing the bike back to the van and I notice the rear brake rubbing..infact it is hard up against the rear rim, no wonder working across the fields was so hard!! Turns out I managed 15th but again mechanical issues ( brake rubbing and slipping gears) left me bitterly dissapointed.
What went well:
Top 15 finish.
Very high heart rates, good finish despite the mechanicals working against me
Running boggy sections well, clean dismount and fast remounts. quite agressive in defending the line and slightly later remounts. Need to practice these more and include more runnnig in the off season.
I felt I rode off camber slime well, ( watching others slithering around)
Bollocks to the wind and rain.
Knee was ok racing.
Cornering when tired was girly..
Not so well,
Mechanical issues ( gears slipping and brake rubbing.) these are really demoralising at the moment. Its not fitness thats limiting results its these niggly little issues.
Digging deep and kind of trashing myself ( still not right and its Wednesday.)
Knee was not good after.
I should have pitted as soon as the gears started playing up... They always improve dont they!! Doh!!
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