Thanks to all those who marshalled and organised last weeks race, we do appreciate all your efforts.
Great result for the Addiscombe, on the course which seems to have become our favourite place for picking up wins. We've had about 5 there in the past few years
Super strong Rich off in the front group meant all the groups behind had to work hard to close the gaps, and with an army of ACCers scattered throughout all groups, we were very well represented in doing so.
A decent sized scratch group (including Me, Darren and Keith, oh and someone called Adam
) worked well together with almost all contributing to the pace. A few guys missed turns which was a bit annoying as it messed up the flow, but hey thats racing! A few laps of quite a tough pace (for me) saw us catch the two groups ahead, swelling the numbers to a point where extra recovery time made life easier, and with it being a pretty flat course, I was looking forward to gettting to the finish to see if I had any legs. No Palace racing so far this year, and the cold rainy weather stopping me riding with the training group on Saturdays has hampered my 'speed' work, so I was unsure as to how I would go once Adam and co let rip down the long finish straight. I knew Adam's wheel was the one to be on, so down the back straight it was a nice little move down the outside, with Darren bungee strapped to my back wheel, that got me into a perfect position before the final left hander. Rich led in to the corner followed by Adam then Keith, then me, then Darren.
Rich absolutely hammered it just before the little 'S' in the road and was 50m up the road instantly. From my point of view it was perfect
. Adam had to chase didn't he. He wanted to win and we weren't going to help him. He light a fire under his arse and took chase, with some speed. Unfortunately for him, Keith and myself had been quick enough to jump on his wheel, and maybe because I was two riders back, I got more of a draught. As soon as I saw Adam loose momentum and we had caught Rich (brilliant effort mate
), I kicked with all I had. My legs initially felt very good but the finish line was still 100m away. I started to loose power but I couldn't hear the whooshing of any wheels very close to me so I was ok to sit up, arms in the air
. YES!!!
1st 2nd 4th 6th 8th ---- how's that for domination of the points!!!
Steve