I'd not raced at Barcombe before, but I like the course. Dominated by one hill. Neither as big nor steep as Cutmill, but big enough to control how the race went. Big ring all the way up. It's also nice that the course isn't riddled with potholes. It's certainly not smooth, but there wasn't the the potholes that could feature on an OS map that are such an annoying feature of Surrey.
A field of around 50 2nd & 3rd Cats. PVT chief Comm. A couple of cars, 3 excellent motorbike outriders plus plenty of marshals to make for a safe race. The organisers also had 3 prime prizes for first over the line on each lap.
I managed to be in one of the 2 meaningful breaks of the day. 7 of us were away for half a lap or so, but the bunch seemed to be in a chasing mood today. Once we were caught, a lone NP rider went on a solo counter attack, a lone-break all the way to the end. Fine effort.
On the last hill, on the second section, my legs were screaming and I watched helplessly as plenty of riders came past, crossing the line in around 10th place. Makes a nice change to finish though, after getting shelled at Cutmill and puncturing at Bletchingley.
Back at HQ we all looked like we'd been coal mining, and now, over 6 hours after the finish I'm still discovering various bits of East Sussex in my eyes.
