Tour of Sussex - Stage 3

[-Adam-]

Yeah right, not a chance!

Still went to work last night as i don't like to let them down, however...

Woke up this morning at 6.30 as i just wanted to see if i was going to be in any way fit to ride. Well put it this way, i felt like the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz. Not good.

So went back to sleep, finally dragged my tinny limbs out of bed at 11 to drive down to the HQ to give my number back and say hello to a few guys. The general consensus was that the conditions weren't too bad, just the course was. Meaning the race split up quite a lot apparently, which was the main reason for my DNS. Todays stage profile read more like a cardiogram. And it is my shoulder that is giving me the most grief, meaning an out the saddle effort is nigh on impossible for me right now.

The rest of me is ok i guess, just irritating grazes. My knuckles are quite saw from all the skin they've lost too. And also I seem to have done something to my left thumb, but im sure its nothing. Wondering around the HQ today though it was nice how many guys realised who i was and asked my how i was doing etc. As crashing right at the front of the bunch ensured everyone had a good view!

I would also like to pay special thanks to Wendy of Sussex Medical Services who was the same paramedic that helped everyone out at Chertsey last time. She did a fantastic job of cleaning me up and checking me over. For the amount of business we have put her way this season surely she deserves an invite to our club dinner. Im sure she could give a few speeches on the drama of it all!

Anyway, they'll definately be no report for stage 4, it was painful enough driving down there today! I did maintain the ACC-Mosquito alliance however by giving Paul Richards a lift back to Redhill.

Well im off to continue licking my wounds, but i hope to be on the CR on Saturday...

Thanks for all your support guys,

Adam


OH, and by the way, I also smashed up my helmet yesterday as well. It helped but my head still has a lump on the side of it, and it hurts. But hey thats wat Ibruprofen are for right!?

Anyway, does anyone know of anywhere with rock bottom Helmet prices atm?

[Ian A4size]

Sad to hear about your crash mate.
I hope you didn't drop any bits of flesh into the meals you were cooking last night.... yeeech.

[Andrew G]

Ribble always have some good prices/deals. How big's your head as [url=http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/details.asp?D=C&Cat=HELMETS&Section=ZHEL&GenCode=RUDYZHEL0225]this[/url] looks a great deal.

Poor Wendy, we'll have to start racing in plain kit or she'll stop coming to the aid of us .

[Ian A4size]

with the lump on the side of his head- i would say Merrick proportions!

[-Adam-]

Even with the lump, my head is still a medium! but thanks Andrew!

So if anyones wants some gory details, here you go...
[img]http://img3011.photobox.co.uk/2618797024d8577321927a3383699d9a95629c5f5b94db8415f1d6d8c8bf060fc925b40b.jpg[/img] [img]http://img3011.photobox.co.uk/23762100ee617c2c93f346c51939462b03a78ed2c71f8db7c7a5b1ab6d7e0ff04a3de1bb.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img3011.photobox.co.uk/87829317e368cc737d2ef13d4f2d365402329dcd57283a91c156bb53c8906ec323c2ca45.jpg[/img]

And my helmet and jersey didn't get off scot free either...

[img]http://img3011.photobox.co.uk/93315222aba429fdcb24b6e4bbed1a5ec356746bd83d2aa99dc350d3bc901eb13cd00944.jpg[/img]

Oh well, c'est la vie

[Stu Merckx Man]

bludy ell adam!! that right knee looks pretty messed up!!

hope you heel up soon!

[Phil S]

Sh1t, bad luck mate! By the way that's a right dodgy pair of budgie-smugglers you're wearing in that piccie
I think you should be able to get another Giro for half price if you send back with their crash replacement policy, but don't quote me on that.
Hope you heal soon, but don't rush back - that's what I did two seasons ago and I went backwards faster than I went forwards.

[Toks]

[quote="Adam 'Petacchi-Boy' C"]I did maintain the ACC-Mosquito alliance however by giving Paul Richards a lift back to Redhill.

[-Adam-]

I guess that report was from pre-me giving him a lift home. My crash wasn't on the descent, it was on the flat bit before the sprint point as he realised yesterday.

Anyways, it still fcking hurt like hell!

Hope Paul did good today, and that John didn't have anymore crashes/punctures!

Eagerly anticipating the result now...

Unfortunately im now outside of three years on the Giro, plus i've had a crash replacement already. So im going for a new Bell Sweep R for 66quid courtesy of Ribble, not bad...

Actually, £64.99 from ChainReactionCyles. Oh i have too much time now to scour for bargains. White/Silver it is, bling bling!

Don't worry Phil, I think it'll take me a while to build myself back up to be putting myself at the front of the race again, for sprints anyway.

Right, my gloves and jersey are pretty mashed too, better find some more bargains!

[Toks]

Stage 3

Paul Richards (Mosquito Bikes):
Looking at the yesterday's results this morning, I found out I was now 16th on GC, which was heartening, and I realised that if I really mugged myself today I was in with an outside chance of getting into the top ten. Alan (who doesn't have metal hands) announced that he'd cancelled the planned 50-mile single-lap route today because of the unspeakable weather, and we'd be doing the same course as yesterday. I wasn't unhappy about this, because the course seemed to suit me. The stage turned out to follow pretty much the same plan, certainly as far as I was concerned. The bunch stayed together for the first two laps, and I was languishing near the back, riding through a deluge of freezing rain and warm snot.

I started working my way forwards, when a yellow-sleeved arm went up: Ponting had punctured! The word got passed forward and the pace slowed. I thought: Armstrong and Ullrich got nothing on us, we're a classy field. I was also relieved to get a bit of recovery in, but after a few miles, the yellow jersey still wasn't back up, and everything started getting quicker. The bunch strung out down the descent, which was into an even stronger headwind today, and the next climb was nasty, lots of weaving, bottles dumped in the hedge, and grown men weeping. I ran through my entire repertoire of race faces: the Silent Scream, the Saint Sebastian, the Big German, and Toks' favourite, the Dogs Die in Hot Cars. By the time I got to the top of the steep bit a gap had opened up in front of me. Every time I got up there I had to be reminded that it was a faux plat, and there was a long drag still to go. I carried on, getting a bit of help from the remainder of the undead who were with me.

We neared the top, where it was gently undulating for a mile or two, and I wasn't really sure what was going on: how many riders were up the road, how far away they were, or whether the rabble I was part of represented the front of the bunch or a separate group. At some point on a downhill, a yellow blur passed me on the right, and I realised Mr Ponting had done something pretty special. Then things started to coalesce. There was a group out in front, still just about in sight, that looked to me like it had 9 or ten guys and the yellow jersey in it, and then there was another 5-man chasing group behind that had me in it. I took a few pulls, but didn't have many matches left to burn, and sucked wheels mostly.

I prefer not to think about the final climb up to the finish line. I wasn't fast, but most of the people I was with weren't either. I think I was third out of my group but I'm not sure. Riding back to HQ I started to realise how cold I was. I got into a hot shower and my feet felt like someone was hammering nails into them. Jesus Christ! I started to pull myself together, hands clasped shakily round a mug of sugary tea. I always love these post-race recuperation moments.

I made some enquiries to find out what really happened. A cocky Loughborough sports science student won today, as he did yesterday. Chris Lockyer of the Manchester Wheelers, second on GC, chose not to attack when he heard Ponting punctured. Ponting kept the jersey; a young guy from Boneshakers RT won both les pois and the sprint jersey. Respect. And it turns out the break today only had five in it, so I think I was in the top ten, which would be my first points this season. But I don't know for sure because Alan's taking his time about posting the results, so I'll have to wait till it shows up on londoncyclesport to find out how I did. Annoying.

Anyway, the whole experience has been very Hollywood, and I learned a lot from it. For example, that guy you hate because of something he did in a race, you might just develop a hard-won odd-couple friendship with, like in Lethal Weapon. I also learned about courage, sportsmanship and what makes a man. I learned that you can trust Jason when it comes to tyre recommendations, but under no other circumstances. And I reckon if I got a really roger expensive pair of wheels I could maybe win a race for once.

Apparently there's a 2,3,4 stage race in Wales at the end of next month. Does anyone want to do it? ...Oh by the way Paul's prologue time was actually 10mins 31secs for the 4 miles and he assures me he did not fondle the guy from Kingston Wheelers

[Paul R]

Hello ACCers, I'd just like to point out that everything I post on the Mosquito Forum, which Toks has copied my report from, gets edited into meaninglessness by our teammate Jason, who for some reason is allowed to be in charge of the forum. So it's also not true in any way that Ruth is after me, or that 2-time Giro veteran Giancarlo wishes he had my talent. It was my mistake about where the crash was though.

Thanks again for the lift Adam, and I hope those wounds heal quickly.

[Sylv]

I like the report better that way

[Tamar Collis]

Ouch! That is such bad luck Adam.

I can't believe how many Agreeables have lost skin recently. Quite gruesome. Hope every one of you is recovering well.

Surely that is the end of it now and you can look forward to a summer of sporting glory.

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

But did the Zipps survive

[-Adam-]

[quote="mrpvt"]But did the Zipps survive